Dutch publication Mechaman.nl reports that Italian Claas dealer AgriNord is working to perfect a tractor-mounted jack that can lift the tractor’s rear wheels off the ground – quickly and safely.
The device has reportedly been dubbed the ‘Atlas‘.
According to Mechaman.nl, to use the device you must first attach an adaptor plate to the tractor’s hitch and back-end. You can then attach the device.
Thereafter, you can use the tractor’s own hydraulics to force the device’s own wheels onto the ground – thus raising the tractor’s rear wheels clear.
The device is reportedly intended to make it easier to change the tractor’s rear wheels or move the tractor in the event of a transmission fault.
Presumably, with 4WD engaged, the tractor can be driven short distances with one or both of its rear wheels removed.
Interestingly, the device is currently listed in the online show catalogue for the upcoming EIMA agricultural machinery show in Bologna (Italy) – in the ‘Technical Innovation‘ category.
Existing Irish invention
Of course, regular or occasional readers may know that Irish man Pauric Fay (from Cootehill, Co. Cavan) has already developed something similar.
The Trakjak (pictured above – coupled to a Massey Ferguson tractor) uses the tractor’s own lower lift arms to “jack” itself off the ground.
According to Pauric, it’s the world’s first two-wheeled jacking device that enables a tractor to stay mobile – after one or both of its rear wheels have been removed.
He says that it was the challenge of cleaning and manoeuvring tractors – before and during service and maintenance – which prompted him to develop the Trakjak.
He’s already won an award for it, at a previous LAMMA show in England.
