FARGO N.D. – Marflex’s latest sprayer – available with 1,450 or 2,000 US gallon stainless steel tanks – is built on a brand new International 7400 series 2.5 ton truck chassis.
Leroy Mercil, one of the owners of Marflex, says the progression to larger capacity sprayers has been a logical step because farmers expect higher capacity.
“We used to make pick-up sprayers, but then we grew up to the truck chassis,” he says.
“There’s many reasons: they’re stronger, they’re simple, bigger load, interchangeable parts. And the truck chassis has a long life. They just don’t wear out.”
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While Marflex’s most popular sprayer goes on the International chassis, it has developed a niche market building custom sprayers for customers.
“We’ve converted semis such as Freightliner and Peterbuilt. We always start with a new chassis.”
The trucks are all conventional drive, with the rear tires doing the work.
“We can put duals on if a farmer wants, but it’s really not necessary because the tires are rated for 12,500 pounds each.”
However, tall tires cause considerable gearing problems on a truck designed for highway use. Marflex approaches each truck model individually to determine the best solution.
“On the International, we use a drop box to put the gearing back where we want it for a sprayer. On other trucks, we install planetaries. On some trucks, we’re able to get by just changing the ring and pinion. That’s the easiest.”
With only 27 inches between the ground and the axle, the truck sprayer has a full plastic skid pan cover below the truck chassis.
“That’s so the exposed parts under the truck don’t knock the heads off. You can spray corn up to three or four feet without knocking off cobs. And we have some farmers spraying canola.”
Mercil admits that a truck sprayer is not the perfect machine for tall crops late in the growing season.
“Remember that the truck is only seven feet wide and the booms are 120 feet. So you really don’t do too much crop damage. And, if you slow down, the damage is very slight.”
Marflex truck sprayers carry a 100 gallon stainless fresh water tank. They use a hydraulic parallel boom linkage to help keep the nozzles the same distance from the soil.
Separate hydraulic tip lift cylinders allow the end of each boom to be independently lifted to compensate for obstructions or field conditions.
The controller is a Raven 440 with Sky Track radar. Guidance is provided by Trimble Ag Leader.
The truck is powered by a 285 horsepower International diesel coupled to an Allison 3060 automatic and two speed drop box.
Running at 18 mph with the 120 foot boom, the sprayer covers 271 acres per hour.
Marflex sprayers are built in Brooks, Minnesota. Price ranges from $150,000 to $160,000 US.
For more information, contact Leroy Mercil at 218-698-4630 or visit www.marflexsprayers.com.
