WALKAWAY farmer Tom Levett jokingly says he didn't get much say in the purchase of the family farm's new Versatile 620DT tracked tractor, bought from McIntosh & Son, Geraldton.
Though he did admit he got what he wanted - three metre spacings, four tracks, power rating over 410 kilowatts (550 horsepower), PTO and three-point linkage (3PL).
What his dad Dean also reminds him of is that it has got a Cummins motor.
"It's an old man thing," Tom joked.
"But our farm worker Aaron Cole also loved it because he used to drive a Versatile 1150 (built between 1981 and 1985).
"The main focus for me was getting what we wanted to handle a 40 foot (12.2 metres) Nufab Tilco deep ripper at 500 millimetres in our hard gravel ridges and hard clay under gravel country where we're getting huge crop yield responses.
"You need a lot of hydraulics to lift it out because it's a very heavy machine and the Versie also meets that requirement with six remotes and hi-flo hydraulics up to 400 litres a minute."
The 3PL will be used to hitch a 13 board (7m working width) Gregoire Besson mouldboard and according to Tom the hi-flow hydraulics will serve the unit well.
"You need a good hydraulic flow on the mouldboard for more consistent torque," he said.
And the PTO will come in handy for a range of jobs including spreading and auguring.
Tom agrees the Versatile's history has proven it to be a reliable tractor and with his shopping list for the Versie compete, he's anxious to get a crack at seeing how it operates.
The DT620 (DT stands for DeltaTrack) should have few worries pulling the deep ripper and mouldboard and it should produce constant power to the ground with the balance of four tracks and the mid-mount fuel tanks which grosses the tractor out at about 29 tonnes.
In heavy working that also should mean less slip and less fuel burn.
The DT620 is rated at 463kW (620hp) with the Tier II Cummins engine (no AdBlue) linked to a CAT TA-22, 16-4 powershift transmission.
The power arrives at the track assembly through Versatile outboard planetary axles and this final drive system can be serviced without the removal of the track system.
According to Versatile, the DeltaTrack was designed as a dedicated track machine instead of simply adding track assemblies to an existing platform.
The integrated track undercarriage mounting system includes a reinforced connection to the tractor frame so that the frame absorbs load, reducing stress on the undercarriage and track components.
The large one-piece cast drive sprocket features an industry-leading drive bar engagement for better torque transfer and long life.
The 21 centimetre (8.5 inch) drive lugs are the largest in the industry and eliminate the chance of track slippage.
Versatile also says the idler wheels and mid-rollers are polyurethane-coated and offer a significantly longer wear life when compared to rubber-coated mid-rollers.
Two track width options available are 75cm (30in) and 90cm (36in).
According to Versatile, it has maintained ease of service with the new model, another great feature.
