Tracked Grain Cart

Overview

A tracked grain cart is a towed buffer that keeps a combine harvesting while grain trucks shuttle to and from the field edge. The combine unloads on the move into the cart, the cart fills over several passes, then it drives to the headland and augers its load into a waiting semi. The tracked version replaces the usual large flotation tires with a pair of rubber belt undercarriages, which spread the loaded weight over a long footprint and cut the rutting and soil compaction that heavy carts cause on wet ground.

The machine is conceptually simple: a large welded tank on running gear, with one auger to empty it and a hydraulic system to fold that auger and aim the spout. Most of the engineering effort goes into carrying 25 to 35 tonnes of grain across a soft field without sinking, without compacting the root zone, and without tipping when the auger swings out loaded.

Grain Hopper

The Grain Hopper is a welded steel tank built from formed Sheet Metal Panel sides braced by a top rail and internal gussets. The Tank Shell uses 4 to 6 mm plate, and the Cone Floor slopes steeply to a corner sump so the tank empties clean without grain bridging in the corners. A hand-crank Roll Tarp on aluminum bows keeps grain dry between field and elevator, and Sight Window ports let the operator judge fill without leaving the cab. An Access Ladder reaches the top platform for tarp and auger service. All major joints are bolted with a Fastener Set where field service may be needed, and welded where they are permanent.

Capacity ranges from 1000 to 1700 bushels. Bigger is not always better: a fuller cart means higher ground pressure and a longer auger reach, both of which push the design toward tracks rather than tires.

Track Undercarriage

The Track Undercarriage is what distinguishes this cart. Each side is a Track Frame carrying a Rubber Track Belt, a Drive Wheel, a row of Mid Roller units, and a grease-cylinder Track Tensioner. The cart is towed, not self-propelled, so the drive wheel is really a large idler that the belt wraps; traction comes from the tractor through the drawbar, and the track only has to roll and carry load.

A Walking Beam lets the roller set pivot and follow ground contour, keeping more of the belt on the ground over ruts and ridges. The rollers turn on a Ball Bearing at each end. The payoff is ground pressure in the 40 to 70 kPa range, roughly a third of what a tire cart exerts, which preserves soil structure and lets harvest continue in conditions that would mire a wheeled cart.

Unload Auger

The Unload Auger empties the tank through a two-stage corner auger. A horizontal Lower Auger draws grain from the sump into a Gearbox Housing holding a Helical Gear Pair of bevel gears, which turns the flow up into a folding Upper Auger. Both stages use hardened Auger Flighting inside a Auger Tube, sized for gentle high-volume handling so the cart can move 450 to 650 bushels per minute without cracking grain.

For transport the upper auger folds alongside the tank, driven by a Fold Cylinder. In use it swings out over the truck and a pivoting Discharge Spout with a deflector hood places grain into the box. Unload height reaches 4.0 to 4.6 m, enough to clear the tallest hopper-bottom trailers.

Hydraulic and Driveline Systems

The Hydraulic System runs off a PTO-driven Hydraulic Pump feeding a sectional Valve Bank for the fold cylinder, spout and tarp. Oil is held in a Oil Reservoir with a return filter, plumbed through a Hydraulic Hoses set with an O-Ring Set at every fitting.

Auger power comes through the Driveline: a 1000 rpm PTO Shaft with Universal Joint ends, a Slip Clutch to protect against jams, and a Driveline Shield over the rotating shaft. The shaft carries a Ball Bearing support near the gearbox.

Scales, Hitch and Electrical

The Weigh Scale System places a Load Cell under each hopper mount, summed in a Junction Box box and shown on an in-cab Scale Display. Accurate cart weights feed yield maps and let the operator split loads to legal truck limits.

The Drawbar Hitch is a forged Drawbar with a Hitch Pin and a Parking Jack for parking. The Electrical System system carries a Tail Light pair and Marker Light units fed by a Wire Bundle through a standard Connector to the tractor.

Use and Variants

Carts are matched to combine class and field size. Smaller 1000-bushel carts pair with mid-size combines on rolling ground; 1500-bushel-plus carts feed high-capacity combines on large flat fields. Tracked carts cost more than tire carts and roll with more drag, so growers choose them where wet harvest and soil compaction outweigh that penalty. Common options include duals on the auger fold, a second weather tarp, and camera kits aimed at the spout for unattended truck filling.