Agricultural plant specialist Farol has continued its long-standing relationship with Andover Trailers, taking delivery of a new ultra-versatile drawbar combination to help move a variety of plant and machinery across the UK.
The bespoke-built Andover plant body, mounted to a new Scania G450B 8×2 chassis, works in tandem with a tri-axle drawbar trailer to combine impressive payload capacity with innovative loading options that competitor builds are unable to match.
Matthew Vellacott, Managing Director at Farol, says: “We’ve been specifying Andover bodies and trailers since the ‘90s, which underlines how highly we rate their products. The combination of unbeatable build quality and an innovative approach to design truly sets them apart from the competition and keeps us coming back.”
A new addition to Farol’s 20-strong commercial vehicle and trailer fleet, the drawbar combination joins three other trucks featuring Andover plant bodies, plus two drawbar trailers and one low loader, all currently in operation with Farol or its sister company, Helpful Hirings.
Andover’s innovative approach includes a hydraulic beavertail and the company’s pioneering fold-forward ramps, which combined offer a flat load bed, providing maximum deck space on the truck when coupled or when operating without the trailer. When folded, the ramps also keep wind resistance to a minimum, which in turn helps to reduce fuel consumption.
Because of Andover’s specialist ramp design, the plant body can be through-loaded via the trailer, without having to uncouple the two – a unique feature that helps to dramatically reduce loading and unloading times.
With a payload capacity of up to 18 tonnes, the trailer also features Andover’s fold-forward, knife-edged flip toe ramps, providing a shallow loading angle for low ground clearance machines. Eight additional five-tonne D-ring lashing points have been included to allow for a wider range of loads, alongside extra LED lighting on both the plant body and trailer for added safety.
For maximum versatility, an electric winch and a front mounted 48.5-tonne/m Fassi crane, capable of lifting 2.66-tonnes at 14.6 metres, have been included on the plant body to help with loading and unloading. The drawbar combination will carry a range of John Deere farm machinery and golf and turf equipment, Kramer telehandlers, Yanmar excavators and a host of other cultivation and haymaking machinery to customers across the UK.
“When it comes to working with Andover Trailers, what we really appreciate is the effort the team puts in to both understand our specific requirements and how best to deliver them. They also keep us in the loop from start to finish on the progress of the build, meaning we can accurately plan for the vehicle’s entry into service,” adds Vellacott.
Expected to clock up between 80,000 to 100,000 km per year, the new combination should remain in service for eight to 10 years.
Established as a family business in 1976, and still family-owned today, Farol operates from eight depots across the Midlands down to the South coast. Working in the agricultural, ground care and garden sectors, the company is an official dealer for John Deere.
