The Trantor Tractor Project

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Category: Trantor

Written by TIL

The Trantor^® Tractor  Project  is moving toward the world’s market for farm machinery.

The Trantor farm transport tractor was conceived in the University of Manchester when the Faculty of Technology embraced the Manchester School of Management (now the Manchester Business School). It was this important coordination of Engineering (Design Manufacturing and Technology) and Business-focused market research that was encouraged by the “Action Learning” approach to education and training,  in that special part of academia, then known as Manchester’s “Tech”.

In the 70’s, Graham Edwards and Stuart Taylor, were fortunate to be interested in  Engineering Management and, in the Trantor tractor project they introduced some  fundamental analysis into the farming industry of the U.K.  In those days, farm machinery adopted a  “follow the lead of the tractor makers” philosophy.  The average U.K. h.p. of tractors in the U.K. was about 65, some combine harvesters were used, and almost all tractors were 2 Wheel Drive. The U.K was a major producer of over 400,000 tractors per annum, with over 70% of those being exported.

John Deere built a plough of steel in 1837, and 1976 was their bicentennial year. It is hardly surprising therefore, after such a long time working with the plough, that farmers have found it difficult to comprehend the practical on-farm research of W.S.H. (Stuart) Taylor. He simply asked the leading question – “For which tasks and for how long do you use your tractor?”  He found that, in time terms, ploughing is often a minor task, whereas Henry Ford noted that “There are 1700 – other – than ploughing duties for tractors”.

Being from an educational background the Trantor project team, wrote about and explained their on-farm experience. The material from their case studies helped engineers to appreciate what appeared to be a new reality in worldwide agriculture.  Alongside the action-learning procedures, the design team created a transport tractor for pulling trailers, but product development was aimed towards analysing the wide variety of low-draught duties, so that a revised tractor could be produced to perform all or most of those duties.

Farm machinery began to change rapidly in the 80’s and 4WDrive, safety cabins and higher horse power were centre stage.  At that time the Trantor team were trying to catch a runaway train and ploughing tractors became bigger and heavier in the pursuit of deeper ploughing, wider implements and labour efficiency.

A series of challenging problems arose:-

(i)   Where would the plus £5 million, to enter volume production, come from?

(ii)    Which of the main tractor markets required the Trantor most, and for what reason?

(iii)   How could the Trantor team persuade the farming community, to appreciate the value of reducing fuel-consumption and increasing speed, just as the ploughers  increased (slightly) their out of field operating speeds.

(iv)   How could fuel costs be properly considered when labour was so expensive and fuel costs such a small volume of total farm costs?

Two Decades of Failing to Acknowledge the Inevitable.

The realisation that ploughing damages the soil, the losses of carbon in the soil, the emergence of conservation and sustainable agriculture, the reduction of the worldwide water table, the emergence of peak-oil and the increase in price of diesel-fuel, have all contributed to make the future of Agriculture so different from the past.

By 2010, fuel costs had risen sharply to reach the level of labour costs, as the main costs of food production – worldwide.  In India, for example, the labour costs are a fraction of those in the U.K, yet fuel costs are roughly the same as in the U.K.

More fundamentally, however, ploughing should NOT be conducted, if the soil is to be preserved.  Prof. M. Dobre of Romania, the Sulky team and many others, have shown by their practical research that “the farmer must manage his soil” now and in to the future!

Just as these dramatic changes are occurring, the Trantor project has reached the stage where its PDF reports and written material can be a useful frame of reference, for teachers and others directing their attention to farm efficiency.

In the meantime, the  “Trantor Project Team” have produced some working documents to assist farmers and Agricultural Engineers, who are concerned about the future and consider change to be critical to the future.

These are listed below:-

PDF FILE-based  Brochures & Substantial Reports about the Trantor Project.

·  BROCHURE A - WORLDWIDE CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE - WHERE THE TRANTOR TRACTOR FITS – (10 pages & 11 pictures).

·  BROCHURE B - WHAT IS A TRANTOR & WHAT CAN IT DO? – (13 pages & 13 pictures).

·  BROCHURE C – AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD’S FARM TRACTOR MARKET Examples from Middle East – (15 pages & 8 Pictures)

·  BROCHURE D - IS THERE A MARKET FOR TRANTOR TRACTORS IN THE WORLD OF FARM MACHINERY AND IF SO, WHERE IS THAT MARKET AND HOW BIG IS IT? – 29 pages (includes 2 graphs, 5 maps, tables 1 to 6 & 11 pictures). – Summary of a series of market researches in 15 countries.

·  BROCHURE E - WORK TASK ANALYSIS – A KEY PART OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE. – (6 pages, includes 5 charts & 2 pictures).

·  BROCHURE F - THREE NEW CONCEPTS – THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACTOR CHOICE FOR THE FUTURE IN CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE –  (6 pages & 8 pictures).

·  BROCHURE G - THE NEW TRANTOR TRANSPORT VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO WORK MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY ON PALM-OIL ESTATES THAN THE CONVENTIONAL “PLOUGHERS”.  (7 pages & 10 pictures).

·  BROCHURE H - SEEKING SUBSTAINTIAL, NEW ENERGY SAVINGS, whilst increasing the productivity of Farming Systems across the World – A Unique British Approach. (5 pages, 5 photos, 1 table & calculations)

·  BROCHURE J - INDIAN TRACTOR & TRAILERS + THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENT FARM TRANSPORTATION IN INDIA.

·  BROCHURE K - The Benefits of Using Trantor Tractors in a Farming Context – Based on Severn Trent Water Authority Work Study Report Findings – a thorough cost/benefit analysis on farm transportation (8 pages + diagrams & 7 photos)

The above brochures are available from P.M. Owen by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Trantor Tractor

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Category: Trantor

Written by Graham Edwards

The Trantor tractor has Land Rover origins:

The Trantor tractors origins can be found with the original Land Rover.
The Willys Jeep influenced the development of the Land Rover, and the Land Rover was a strong influence upon the design of the Trantor tractor. When Rover decided what the design brief for the original Land Rover should be, it began:
"to design a vehicle rather similar to a Willys Jeep - even more useful to the farmer, a proper farm machine, not just another jeep..........
much more versatile...........,
much more use as a power source............,
able to drive things.........,
to have power take-offs everywhere....,
and to have all sorts of bolt-on accessories, to be used instead of a tractor at times.......
to be able to do everything!"
So Land Rover had decided to produce a vehicle which was quicker than any existing tractor, but to have as many uses (if not more) to the farmer. The Trantor tractor uses the same basic brief, but approaches it from a different perspective.

The Land Rover 'centre-steer' prototype.
Note the single seat.

Land Rover - A farmer's vehicle?

Ken and Julie Slavins' fourth edition of their book published by G.T. Foulis, is an interesting and well-researched review of Land Rover's history, which includes a photograph of the 1947 Land Rover 'centre steer' prototype with central driving position (driver in the middle not to one side) and no doors. Another interesting aspect of the book is the assertion that the Land Rover was intended to be a farmers work and transport vehicle for, as Autocar magazine reported in 1948, " Land Rover is a mobile power station, will tow or do a variety of useful work on the land over rough ground. It can drive a large circular saw and cut up timber for firewood. It can be used with trailers to transport loads (2-3 Ton) over ploughed fields or other hard going. As a mobile power source it takes the power to the job. Through the power take off, it can be harnessed to drive a threshing machine, an elevator or a chaff-cutter. It can draw a plough, and most other farm implements". Motor Magazine also reported, "There is no doubt also that in its design the Rover company has applied a wide knowledge and experience not only of vehicle manufacture but of agricultural and industrial requirements." Additionally, they called the Land Rover "a portable source of power, and an alternative to the light tractor".

The Land Rover 'centre-steer' prototype.

Tractors and Land Rovers are different.

An obvious statement, you might say.
But this is exactly what Land Rover were initially aiming to create: a light vehicle for general farm work and transportation, even going as far as having a central steering wheel (like a tractor) on the early prototypes. But light tractors across the world were doing many of the jobs the Land Rover was designed for, and so the main differences could be distilled down to four main areas:
Seating - Land Rovers have two seats or more, but typical light tractors have only one.
4 wheel drive and suspension - Light tractors tend to be 2 wheel drive, and have no suspension.
Built in load-carrying capability - Most Land Rovers have some built-in load carrying capability, but usually a trailer is used for medium size farm transport tasks. Speed - Land Rovers can pull a trailer of 2 to 3 tons on-road at up to 60 mph, but tractors of under 65 hp tend to pull trailers with up to 8 tons of load almost anywhere at 10 to 15 mph.

Tractor and Land Rover Development

Of course, the weight in 2007 of most European ploughing-first tractors is about 5-8 tons and the horse power is usually over 100hp. All of them have safety cabins by law with one seat in the middle, no suspension on axles, so that 5 or 6 furrow, reversible mouldboard ploughs can be used efficiently. In the last 50 years, European tractors have become vastly more sophisticated in order to conduct more output per man. Land Rovers, on the other hand, have been developed toward Discoverys and Range Rovers and the agricultural aspect has been diluted to almost nil.

Useful Statistics

In 1972, the first statistical study of vehicles and tractors on British farms was presented at Manchester University as an M.Sc. thesis by Stuart Taylor, who showed why transport on British farms, largely by tractors and Land Rovers at that time, was such an important element in achieving high farm productivity. Taylor, of course, looked at large British farms which, by the standards of the bigger countries, are still quite small. In the early seventies there were many farmers using Land Rovers which worked alongside and in support of farm management systems based largely around smallish farm tractors. Whilst the tractors were powerful enough, the users of Land Rovers regularly criticised the lower power of the diesel engine.

By 1983-84, however, things had begun to change, for the farmers bought the 90" and 110" Land Rover with much improved diesel engines for about £10,000. Early Land Rovers were frequently modified by farmers so as to improve the power and efficiency of the Land Rover diesel engines and, in consequence (before 1984), had become much less popular in farming. The new Land Rover however reversed this sales trend and farmers began to consider them again, for light work with trailers and horseboxes, where 3 ton trailers presented few repair problems and a reasonable level of economy.

Developing Land Rovers For Farmers

From its farm and central drive farming origins, it is sensible that Land Rovers have a power-take-off (p.t.o.). Tractors have a p.t.o. because European farmers find many farm uses for them. The Land Rover used to have a power take off and a simple 3 point linkage. On tractors, both are much used so the Land Rover could support tractors and conduct some of the lighter and faster power-take-off and linkage work of tractors. Farm managers could then, it was thought, have a command and support (to tractors and ag-implements) vehicle. This idea was not lost on farmers nor on those Land Rover users who were especially interested in spreading, spraying, fencing and mowing grass. Keen farmers tried to explain their needs to a Land Rover executive management, which had become hide-bound and conservative. Since these managers were unable or unwilling to listen to key customers, e.g. their demands for a bigger diesel engine, it soon became clear that farmer-focused vehicle development, in which the Land Rovers would do some farm work, was not part, and would never again become part of Land Rover thinking.

AgRover - The Farmers Real Land Rover (1985)

Realising this fact and spotting a potential market, Steve Castellani and Roger Stephenson found the new 90 and 110 models were a good basis for farmers real needs. Steve therefore decided to design an ag-version of the Land Rover which had a powerful power-take-off with accompanying independent clutch and a category 1, farming-focused, 3 point linkage (to control the mower etc.) along with higher clearance axles and demountable body, so that customers would have a useful vehicle for light p.t.o. and linkage work. The AgRover vehicles began from the receipt of a complete 110 Land Rover pick-up, and modifications were made by adding and by removing parts. Land Rover were not now active in this market segment (a working Land Rover for farming tasks) and they were approached to evaluate the AgRover and provide an "opportunity" to throw less away. "AgRover" designs and detailed engineered parts were provided for the scrutiny and approval of the experienced engineers at Rover. Castellani's Land Rover conversion to "AgRover" was thus assessed by Rover who conveyed the impression that it would be necessary, to consecrate and sanctify the additions made by the bright young AgRover designer, which were fitted to the Land Rover to make it ag-worthy!

The AgRover was much appreciated by its customers but was essentially killed off by lack of interest and lack of support from those at Land Rover, on whom the product depended for about 70% of its parts.

AgRover.

Land Rover and tractor combined?

In the period before AgRover and working elsewhere, Stuart Taylor created a vehicle based around his statistics, which he called a "TRANTOR" (TRANsport tracTOR). In a farming context, early Land Rover's were speedy 4x4 pick-up trucks working alongside slow tractors. As Land Rover became more sophisticated, as passenger vehicles and Range Rovers became the ever more luxury side of passenger carrying, their product designs moved up-market in the passenger-carrying direction. The real work and transportation tasks of people and goods are normally conducted in rural environments by light or heavy farm tractors. The work and transport equipment is fitted to the tractor by means of trailers, (on the hitch), sprayers, (on the linkage), and also using the p.t.o. in a stationary (e.g. pumping water) or moving role (rotovating). Taylor's first Trantor vehicle aimed, to come between the Land Rover and the tractor and was designed to carry people and goods and conduct most of the work of both. The statistics he collected clearly showed that a vehicle-like tractor appeared to be required, and so he and his colleagues, built and sold 17 development prototypes into big Land Rover and tractor markets in Africa, Middle East and Europe. Whilst properly recognising that there were large numbers of tractors used only on roads in the U.K. by Water Boards and County Councils, for example, Taylor and team underestimated the significance, to the buying public, of anything really new. Some of the European tractor industry's well developed features, (independent power take-offs, linkage strength, lift capacity, cabin noise and power-steering etc.) were not present on the early Trantors. Trantors, however, had braking to all wheels, balanced braking to farm trailers, and suspension on the towing hitch and 3 point linkage, so as to carry implements at normal road speeds over rough farming country!

Pictures of the first Trantor prototype in action.
Pictures © Trantor Tractors

The Series 1 and Series 2 Trantor Tractor.

Taylor developed his prototypes into the first production run of the Series 1 Trantor. Customers appreciated the Series 1 Trantor machines because they easily conducted all the duties of a Land Rover, towed much bigger trailers, had a linkage (which by 1980 had become unavailable on Land Rovers) and a more useful power-take-off. Stuart Taylor learnt some valuable lessons from Trantor buyers, and the early customers helped him with the second production run of a wider range of Series 2 Trantors with 2 and 4 wheel drive, and some large six cylinder, Perkins 6.354 engines as part of an advanced haulage specification. He exhibited a 96 hp. diesel powered, 4 wheel drive Series 2 Trantor with an independent power take off, (giving about 65 hp. to operate farm machinery or spreading, spraying and mowing equipment) and a category 2 3 point linkage, at the Smithfield Show. British farm customers were thus able, to purchase (in 1985) either a specially converted 4x4 Land Rover (AgRover) with a high quality 45 hp. independent p.t.o. and simple linkage (category 1) which would pull a 3 to 4 ton trailer at normal truck road speeds or they could buy a 4 wheel drive Trantor with 65 hp. p.t.o., a category 2 linkage, which would haul over 10 tons at normal truck road speeds. Both the AgRover and all the Trantors have 3 front seats and extra space behind the cab.

Trantor Mk 1 - Picture © www.stationaryengine.org

The Trantor Mk1.

Farmers were thus able to choose between the very lightweight Land Rover in AgRover form at 2 tons and the Trantor at 3.2 tons. But while the trailer pulling ability of the Land Rover was not increased by the additional AgRover specification, the Trantor increased the haulage capacity to 10 tons and this increase in load weight was significant because British farmers and Vegetable Growers need to move bales, fertiliser, and goods, just as sugar, tobacco and cotton growers in the tropics need to move the crop to the processing centre! Whilst the features of both vehicles are clearly important to farmer users, so is ground clearance. The AgRover and Trantor had similar ground clearances. Part of the AgRover's specification, which was even less appreciated by Land Rover than the 3 point linkage and central P.T.O., were the high clearance axles which AgRover's designer created in order to help customers achieve their fieldwork objectives.

Pictures of the later Trantor Mk 2.

So the Land Rover, The AgRover, and the Trantor were each looking at the smaller, faster farm transport vehicle problem from differing angles. The AgRover is a Land Rover with additional features, which enable it to be a work and transport vehicle and not just a transport vehicle. It adds a small linkage and smallish p.t.o. and has the same haulage capacity as the Land Rover. The Trantor solves the problem by being less focused towards passenger carrying (in the cabin) and more focused on the size of the trailer to be hauled, the size of agricultural equipment on the linkage, the greater power of the independently-clutched, pto and having sufficient traction for the lighter weight soil-engaging work tasks.

Text adapted from information supplied by Trantor.

Trantor Vehicles Ltd - a potted history

1971: Graham Edwards and Stuart Taylor (the inventor) begin to develop ideas for a high-speed tractor.
1972: Taylor Engineering Developments Ltd begins the design phase of developing their high speed transport tractor (Trantor).
1974: Lonrho Exports, a trading company with interest in Africa, makes a £200,000 contribution to Trantor development costs.
1976: A Leyland-powered Trantor was launched at the Royal Show.
1978: Trantor Mk1 - the first fast tractor - introduced to the public.

1983: Trantor Mk2 introduced.
1986: Four wheel drive Trantor Mk2 Launched.
1987: UK production of Trantor stops due to high build cost - new production centres come under scrutiny.
1989: Company name changes to H.S.T. Developments Ltd.
Graham Edwards becomes a major shareholder in the company.
1991: 500 customers had owned Trantors and the concept and vehicle became accepted as an innovative tractor in the U.K. market.
1997: Design work starts on a new range of transport-first tractors with supply sources in the Asia-Pacific region.
2003: Company name changes to Trantor Vehicles Ltd.
2004: TVL signs a licence deal with Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) to build the Trantor at their facility in Pinjore, India.
2005: HMT Trantor launched.

HMT Trantor:

The HMT Trantor was a versatile tractor developed for the first time in India in technical collaboration with Trantor Vehicles Limited. This high speed tractor, while performing all normal operations in the field, can run at maximum speed of 65 kilometres per hour on road. It is equipped with synchromesh gears, front and rear suspension, cabin and other features for the operator's comfort.

If you can help us out with more information regarding any of the machines mentioned here, please do so.

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Trantor International

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Category: Trantor

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 December 2010 19:24

Written by Jim Cordner

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Jim Cordner remembers :

After I was made redundant from Trantor they built the 6 cylinder 4 wheel drive vehicle which was purchased by JCB farms. (They apparently had a very good selection of Unimogs, and MB tracs together with 1 other Trantor). It was another 3-4 years before the Fastrac was born. I include some pictures, pre-digital era, below.

The MkII trantor was built in part of the old Foden works at Sandbach next door to the Saxon Fire engine workshops. The pictures show our production line with each bare chasis gradually fitted out adding axles, engine, gearboxes and cab and all the other components as in any vehicle assembly operation. Each unit moved to the next work station as it progressed through the shop. (we pushed them round) There were 4 or 5 of us working in the factory. There are also some pictures of us on a demonstration at one of the big vegetable growers near Boston, Lincs. I remember driving there from Stockport in the morning and driving back again to Stockport afterwards. There is also a picture of a snow blower sitting on a trailer, I think the plan was to sell them to airports for grass cutting, runway clearance etc. There is also a picture of the vehicle at Smithfield Show with lots of interest. One of the best memories of my time at Trantor was out on a farm where the farmer wanted to check out the trantor for pulling his slurry spreader. We hooked up the slurry spreader and went off across the field to the slurry lagoon where we attached a big flexible pipe that headed off into the middle of the lagoon. As soon as the pump started we realised something was wrong. The end of the pipe rose out of the lagoon like a very angry loch ness monster spouting sh*t in all directions. We just ran. Fortunately the farmer stayed and switched off the PTO and then proceeded to put it on to suck instead of blow! After the demonstration we took him to the pub for lunch where we had no trouble in finding a nice quiet table to ourselves!

Jim Cordner

Trantor production

Trantor production

Trantor on show

Trantor

Trantor

Trantor

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