Lots of updates for Unimog-based sprayer
A re-designed driver’s cab said to provide improved visibility, driver comfort and storage facilities, features on the latest self-propelled sprayer from German specialist Dammann.
Based on the Mercedes-Benz Unimog 4×4 truck chassis, the DT500 retains as much as possible of the host vehicle’s components and layout, which includes the side-mounted engine radiator.
Positioned just behind the left-hand front wheel it is located there on the Unimog primarily for packaging reasons; but on the DT500 it is thought this layout is less likely to suffer debris blockages, especially when spraying tall crops such as oilseed rape.
Spraying gear aside, the new cab is one of the few items not carried over from the Unimog, which otherwise donates its ladder-rail chassis, 8×6 automatic transmission (plus low range gear set), all-round coil spring suspension, and portal axles with rear diff lock.
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Four-wheel steering features for the first time on Dammann’s Unimog-based self-propelled sprayer, which also has a cab said to provide improved driver comfort and storage space. |
Four-wheel steering is also part of the new specification to give the machine added manoeuvrability; and as with the rest of the vehicle, this is covered by the Mercedes-Benz warranty as a factory-engineered system.
A five-year warranty on the spray tank and three years’ cover for the sprayer chassis and boom add to the protection package for a machine that importer Chantry-Dammann UK offers with a 4500-litre tank, a 60-litre induction hopper, and a 36m boom.
The boom has aluminium outer sections to reduce weight and folds in three sections on both sides using ‘softer acting’ pneumatic rams rather than hydraulic cylinders.
See the DT 500 in action
It can operate at 24m, 30m and 32m in addition to the full width – useful flexibility for contractors working on farms with different tramline layouts.
Pneumatic high pressure spray-line purging is standard to ensure efficient expulsion of all liquids and the spray tank has a smooth interior finish for effective rinsing.
