Niall, Brendan and Brian Turley’s bin lorry feeder wagon was crowned runner-up in the complex category of Farmers Weekly annual Inventions Competition.

Rather than buy an expensive tractor to run their new Keenan feeder wagon, County Armagh dairy farmers Niall, Brendan and Brian Turley chose to graft it onto the back of a former bin lorry.

The 2014 Volvo-powered Dennis truck was picked up at an auction for what they describe as “sensible money” – particularly considering it has 320hp on tap – and once the dust cart was removed, they set about fitting the mixer in its place.

See also: Tips for buying a second-hand tub feeder wagon

Handily, the body of the Keenan 320 Plus was just the right size to fit on the chassis, but the process of getting the lorry to drive it was far more complex.

As there was no pto shaft they decided to rig up a powerful hydraulic driveline that was capable of turning the mixing paddles.

The lorry’s original hydraulic pump didn’t have sufficient flow for the task, so they stripped it down and fitted new vanes, upping the output to about 120 litres/min.

It was then connected to a hydraulic motor and gearbox assembly that they sourced after months of painstaking research.

When teamed with the modified hydraulic pump this delivers plenty of torque for turning the mixer paddles and it has no problem starting with a full load in the tub.

Diverter valve

As the truck’s hydraulic pump is live and constantly pumping, they’ve fitted a diverter valve to switch the mixer on and off, which returns the oil to the tank rather than using it to turn the motor.

The lorry also has sufficient hydraulic capacity to run the rest of the wagon’s functions via spool valves mounted in the cabin.

To keep it simple and reliable there are minimal electrics – they’ve even gone to the trouble of fitting external hydraulic connections so that a tractor can be used to power the wagon if the lorry won’t start.

As the truck is so powerful, the Turleys say it’s under very little strain during work and fuel consumption is surprisingly low as a result.

The automatic transmission also makes it smooth to drive and the steering rear axle means it handles “like a go-kart” around the yard.

Finishing touches included fitting a camera over the feed chute, a comprehensive array of lights and a full-width Beefy Flap mudflap at the rear.

Now that they’ve perfected the design, they’re open to the idea of building similar machines for other farmers.