Stewart Trailers have made a significant impression on farmers and contractors around NZ, with the hard-working bright blue trailer brand a familiar sight on the rural landscape
The Scottish-built trailers are well-respected for delivering a quality build around a hard-wearing and well-performing design. North Island distributor of Stewart trailers, TRC Tractors, have a long and solid reputation with the brand and have been able to tailor the Stewart design with modifications to ensure the tough, versatile trailer is 100% geared towards the design of the New Zealand terrain and working conditions.
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Two new Edge 12 silage trailers heading out from TRC Tractors
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With its willingness to provide custom-built machines, the Stewart Trailers team created the NZ 5500 – a flatbed trailer that can be equipped with a silage bin, gravel sides, or bale extensions and designed around New Zealand customer feedback for the ultimate trailer.
TRC Tractors is based in Feilding, and branch manager Aaron Meurk says in the UK, farmers tend to have different trailers for different jobs. Kiwi farmers and contractors want a trailer they can use all year round for different jobs.
The NZ 5500 has a flat deck with hydraulic tipping and a fixed headboard. The flat deck is 5.5 metres long and 2.7 metres wide, and it can be fitted with
750mm high gravel sides or a one-piece removable silage bin. The deck on the
flat bed is Hardox steel, which is one of the strongest steels available. The gravel sides are also Hardox and have their own hydraulic high lift rear door, and the one-piece silage bin also has a hydraulic tailgate.
“Our customers also told us they want to change over quickly between the sides and the silage bin. The silage bin comes off in one piece, and it takes just 45 minutes to switch from the silage bin to dirt sides.”
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The NZ5500 fitted with dirt sides behind a Fendt 724
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Stewart Trailers designs its trailers so that the tipping deck chassis fits inside the trailer chassis. This means the NZ 5500 has a low overall height and a low centre of gravity, which makes them safer on hills as well as silage stacks.
Another feature Stewart Trailers has added to the NZ 5500 is centralised greasing. While the tailgates on the bin and the gravel sides have their own external grease points, the grease lines for these are at standing height. There’s no need to reach over your head or get down under the chassis to do daily maintenance work.
“In Europe, they use hooks to provide tie-down points, but for the New Zealand market, Stewart Trailers has fitted the NZ 5500 with a rope rail so bales can be tied down along the full length of the deck.
“The trailer has marker lights along the side so operators can see what they are up to in the dark. The lights are recessed into the deck so if you hit a fencepost or something, they won’t get knocked off.”
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Stewart Construction Pro (CP20) ready for silage
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South Island distributor Ikon Machinery also finds the robust design of Stewart Trailers to be a hit with South Island farmers, in particular, the Pro Series 18T Hardox trailer, proving to be popular as the ultimate large multipurpose tip trailer – able to handle everything from grain and root crops to dirt, rocks, and shingle.
There’s an impressive collection of Stewart Trailers in stock, from a basic eight-tonne model through to the larger low-loader trailer. With such large trailers, stopping them once fully loaded is vital for safe operation. This is another area where Stewart Trailers’ road industry knowledge comes to the fore, offering braking to all four wheels. Options include hydraulic, air braking, and ABS with load-sensing valve. Not many tractors in New Zealand are equipped with ABS brakes, but it’s not a problem, as the trailer can take power from the lights connection to run the system. For parking, there’s a standard multi-stroke parking brake under the left side of the trailer.
Aaron says Stewart Trailers are highly responsive and fantastic to work with, particularly when developing the NZ 5500.
“They are a family-owned business, and they respond quickly to any suggestions we had and provide great support.”
Stewart Trailers are available around the country from TRC Tractors and Ikon Machinery.
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