FARGO, N.D. — The new S3 Norwood tender trailer has five tanks, each with a capacity of 2,000 U.S. gallons of liquid, 240 bushels of seed or 300 cubic feet of granular product.
Company president Dan Norwood said the S3 is the first all-in-one tender on the market with such high volume and the capability to run a variety of products through any one of the five tanks. It takes about 20 minutes to switch a tank between liquid and dry.
“The S3 is part of the natural progression in farming. Everything gets bigger,” said Norwood.
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“Air seeders, field size, farm size, tractors, sprayers: everything gets bigger. Strategically, you need a bigger tender to keep up with your seeding and application equipment. The last thing you want to see is equipment sitting idle in the field waiting for the tender.”
All five tanks are served by a side-folding conveyor and a transfer pump sized to match the trailer. A 15 inch belt running in a 10 inch conveyor is standard equipment and an 18 inch belt running in a 12 inch conveyor is optional. The conveyor reaches 24 feet at a height of 11 feet at the maximum discharge rate.
The stainless steel lids are four feet square, with different lids for granular and liquid.
Although the S3 was designed to serve seeding and spraying operations, each poly tank holds 240 bu., so it could be used as a grain cart in a pinch. Norwood said the small size of the lids might pose a problem for combine loading.
Norwood said his S3 customers ran water in four tanks and used the fifth tank for mixed chemical during the spraying season this summer so that there was always product ready for the sprayer.
One customer who grows corn uses three tanks for liquid fertilizer and two tanks for seed. He said that balance works about right.
Norwood said a tridem trailer is necessary if a customer wants all five tanks.
He is willing to build the tender with as few as two tanks, although that loses the benefits of economy of scale.
“With all five tanks and a tridem trailer, you still might be over weight if you fill everything to the top,” concedes Norwood.
Customers can provide their own trailer or have the trailer custom built to fit the tanks and equipment.
Options include stainless steel, hydraulic openers on the lids and bottom gates, chemical injectors on the handler unit, a variety of transfer pumps and a power plant or wet kit hookup for the semi-tractor.
“There are so many different ways we can build this. I’d say the price range is $30,000 all the way up to $100,000 with all the options.”
For more information, contact Norwood at 701-588-4000 or visit www.norwoodsales.com.
