Bulk Feed Truck

Overview

A bulk feed truck delivers compound animal feed in loose bulk from a feed mill to the storage silos on a farm. Instead of bagged product, the feed travels as a free-flowing meal or pellet in a compartmented body, and the truck blows it pneumatically up into a farm silo through a fill pipe. Because livestock operations run several different rations, the body is divided into separate hopper compartments so one truck can carry pig grower in one bin, layer mash in another, and dairy concentrate in a third, all delivered to the correct silo without cross-contamination.

The truck is built on a standard rigid chassis and diesel driveline, with the specialist feed-handling equipment mounted as the body. A weigh and metering system records exactly how much feed leaves each compartment so the farmer is billed by weight and the driver knows when a bin is empty.

Compartmented body

The body is an insulated aluminium structure split by dividers into four hopper compartments, each with steeply sloped walls so feed flows down to a discharge point under gravity. Feed is loaded from the top through fill hatches at the mill. At each compartment outlet a slide gate controls the flow. Pellets and meal can bridge or rathole in a hopper, so pneumatic bin vibrators knock the walls to keep feed moving. The shell is welded from aluminium 5083 plate, which is light, corrosion resistant, and easy to clean between products.

Auger discharge

Below the compartments, the auger discharge meters feed from each hopper. A metering auger under each compartment turns at a controlled speed to deliver a measured rate, and feed drops into a cross collector auger that carries it to the conveying point. The augers run in a stainless trough and are driven by hydraulic motors so the rate can be varied and reversed. Stainless flighting resists the wear that pelleted feed causes over thousands of tonnes.

Pneumatic conveying

The defining subsystem is the pneumatic conveying system. A positive-displacement roots blower generates a stream of low-pressure air, typically 0.6 to 0.9 bar. Metered feed from the augers passes through a rotary airlock valve, which lets product into the pressurized air stream without letting the air blow back. The feed then travels up the discharge boom and a chain of fill pipe sections and elbows into the silo, sometimes 30 m above the ground. The blower's lobe rotors are timed by a gear set so they never touch, and the housing is cast iron for durability.

Weighing and metering

The weigh and metering controls make the delivery accountable. Four load cells support the body and measure its weight continuously. As feed blows out, the weigh controller tracks the falling weight and stops the auger when the target amount has been delivered. The driver sees the running total on the in-cab display and prints a delivery docket on the docket printer. Resolution is typically a couple of kilograms on a load of many tonnes.

Driveline and chassis

The driveline uses an inline-6 turbo diesel engine near 9 L, a 12-speed automated transmission, and a power take-off that drives both the blower and a hydraulic pump for the augers. The chassis runs on air suspension to give a level ride that does not disturb the load-cell weighing and to lower the body for filling.

Materials and hygiene

Animal feed is a food product for livestock, so the body materials must be cleanable and must not contaminate the feed. The shell, hoppers, and dividers are welded from aluminium 5083, which resists corrosion and does not flake or rust into the product. The augers carry stainless steel flighting because pelleted feed is abrasive and steel wear particles would taint the load. Smooth internal surfaces and steeply sloped hopper walls reduce the residue that lingers between products, which matters when the same compartment carries a medicated ration followed by a plain one. Between certain products the bins are swept out and, where required, washed to prevent carry-over.

Variants

Compartment count and capacity are the main variables. A small two- or three-compartment unit suits a delivery round of mixed small farms, while a six-compartment body lets a single truck serve several rations on one trip. Some bodies use auger discharge as described here, while others rely on gravity into a venturi feeder, and large units may carry a tipping body to assist flow. The conveying air pressure and pipe diameter are matched to the bulk density and friability of the feed, since high-value pellets must not be cracked into fines during the blow.

Braking and use

A dual-circuit air brake system with disc brakes stops the loaded vehicle. In daily service the truck collects a multi-compartment load at the mill, drives a delivery round, and blows the correct ration into each farm's silo. The pneumatic conveying means no manual handling and no climbing the silo, and the weighing system gives both farmer and mill an exact record of what was delivered.