28 November2023, Italy: New Holland is using SITEVI 2023 as the launchpad for its new Comfort Ride™ cab suspension system on T4V and T4N vineyard tractors, bringing the health and productivity benefits of greater comfort and fatigue reduction to operators.
The cab suspension, well established on higher powered New Holland tractors, needed to be adapted to vineyard’s width. This new suspension, patented, allow a vibrations reduction of 15 % in the field and more than 60 % on the road and has been welcomed by many drivers. Comfort Ride™ suspension will be available on all New Holland T4 specialty tractors by the end of 2024, including the F and LP versions.
The number of hours spent behind the wheel of vineyard tractors increases with the average size of farms, the growing mechanization of work and the evolution of cultivation techniques. With this comes an increase in the hours during which operators experience the persistent vibrations that can be transmitted through to them. Comfort Ride™ addresses this by integrating components including the tractor’s front axle suspension, rear hitch suspension, air seat suspension and progressive engagement of PTO-driven implements. In this way it counters all key sources of vibration, including mechanical, travel speed, ground impacts, implement forces, tire impacts and more.
To ensure that all specialty tractor drivers benefit from greater operator comfort regardless of the constraints imposed by the tractor’s size, New Holland has further developed the Comfort Ride™ suspension system for T4V and T4N vineyard tractors with an overall width of up to 1.06m. The suspension consists of a combination of a Panhard bar,- hydraulic shock absorbers and a pneumatic cushion located at the rear of the cab of the tractors, with no impact on their overall width of 1.06m.
During work, vertical movements are cushioned by two hydraulic shock absorbers located on either side of the rear of the cab. A Panhard bar limits the cab’s left/right movements to prevent a rolling effect being felt by the operator. A pneumatic cushion at the rear of the cab manages the height and limits forward and backward movement. This design also enables the two Silentblocs at the front of the cab to be more effective in their vibration-absorbing role, as they become independent of the rear of the cab.
The flexibility of the suspension can be adjusted according to the driver’s weight. A pressure of 2-3 bar, for example, is perfectly suited to an 80 kg driver. A gauge at the rear of the cab shows whether the suspension is optimally adjusted for the operator.
“The Comfort Ride™ Cab is a great example of our focus on customers when developing new technologies and innovations,” said Marco Gerbi, New Holland Global Product Manager Head of Specialty & Compact tractors “Agriculture is evolving, and so is the equipment required to meet today’s demands, with operator comfort at the centre of those. Comfort Ride™ has proven its value in larger tractors across the New Holland range, and it’s now time for vineyard operators to experience its benefits.”
