Combine + Grain cart = TRIBINE

Around the year of 1997, a man from Logansport, Indiana had an idea to increase harvesting capacity and decrease harvesting labor requirements. His concept was basically a combine that pulled a 1,000 bushel hopper directly behind it.  The machine was articulated to be able to steer, where the tail of the harvester connected to the front of the 1000 bushel cart. As I understand it, from 1997 to around 2012, he built three prototype machines. Each new machine (I'm sure) incorporated new ideas and benefits to his dream futuristic combine. The goal was to have 1,000 bushels in the hopper and unload into a semi-trailer in 2 minutes and then right back to harvesting. This concept harvester eliminated a tractor, 350 bushel dump cart and an operator, to catch grain on-the-go and then dump into the semi trailer. I first became aware of it in late 2012 or early 2013, when he had just built the fourth prototype machine, using a Gleaner S-77 combine platform !!  Man, I was all in over this !!!!! The most radical design change in harvesting since WW2 (according to him) was now working in fields of wheat, corn and soybeans and it was a GLEANER platform he chose to build his concept machine with !!   I know little to nothing about the three previous proto's, but by now the TRIBINE had large drive tires in all four corners and was true 4-wheel drive. The steering was mainly articulated at the tail of the harvestor and front of the grain cart. It also had crab steer at each of the four king pins (for getting close to a truck) and compound steering (for sharper turns on the end of the fields). Well, apparently the GLEANER platform wasn't going to cut it capacity wise, as a Class 7. I'm sure he was getting lots of interested parties calling him and suggesting what it would take for them to purchase one of his new harvesters. So, from 2013 with GLEANER S-77 (at 370 HP) to a totally new design by 2016, with a 38 inch diameter axial rotor with TWO engines, totaling around 650 HP !!   Well, the other machinery manufacturers were watching and re-thinking their position in the harvesting markets as the TRIBINE kept morphing itself into a larger and different machine. Today, everyone's unloader system is about double the BPM, shortening unload time, and grain tank capacity is also larger. Many of the large grain carts you can buy now are waaay more than 1,000 bushels and 1500 bushels is becoming more common every season.  Where am I going with this ??   Think about the hundreds of farm equipment manufacturers from 100 or more years ago, who didn't make it.    I believe in my lifetime, I have witnessed the beginning, the struggle to make it somehow someway work, and in the end, it didn't.  I watched a brave man with a dream bet everything, and I don't think it has turned out well. I admire those who have more guts than I've ever had to follow their dream.  Google: Tribine Harvesters and there is tons of information on this subject.

Edited by DrAllis - 15 hours 52 minutes ago at 7:33pm

I had forgotten about this concept.  I'm not clear if they're still building any.  Saw this thing at a Farm Equip. Show in KC Mo. when it was being introduced.  You can bet the Big Boys have not lended any support and probably done what they could to quash the idea.  There is another monster machine from Europe out there making some test runs.  Again, not sure what happened to it.  From what I recall it was a transit nightmare.  Probably another example of a good idea with not enough financing for the long-term battle.  Dr., thanks for the reminder.

Didn't someone in Indiana buy the Bi-rotor on tracks and was going to try and make it into a production machine?  Andy

That European machine/system was called Nexat out of Germany.  It was undergoing testing here as late as 2024.  Not sure if anything happened after that.  Google has some information on it and there are videos. It's a beast.

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Yes, both Tribine and Nexat were interesting machines and I followed them for quite a bit.

Since then I saw the Brazil "agro never sleeps" guys and they think the whole US fascination with grain carts is absurd. I see their point.

They buy a second combine instead of the cart+tractor. Same labor. They park the semi at the headland, combine down field until half full, turn and combine back next to the section they just combined so they know the yield/field is the same and get full just as they are at the semi and unload. Even though they are idle unloading, the second combine doing the same allows them to combine at 189% of a single combine and cart system.

Plus they have a backup combine if either goes down.

A recent set of videos on grain bag systems revealed a few operators avoiding the semi truck labor and excessive long weight traffic at the elevator. Specialized bag fill and empty machines.

So I expect the next big idea in combines will be onboard large grain bags that get dropped like round bales or long beans, with two typical hoppers in them. Or round bale size to handle with skid steers.

Almost like the old days of AC All-Crop combines with bagger chutes instead of a bin.

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Years ago, Uni-Harvester(New Idea) had a combine that had an additional unloading auger straight out the back of the machine. We would pull a gravity box behind, and unload on the go. Worked great especially when ‘opening up a field’.
I too, have always thought the grain cart usage is absurd, we would just park trucks/gravity wagons at the end of the field, then the combine would stop and unload into them. We would occasionally unload on the go, with just a gravity box pulled by a Farmall M, or a 400.

Been 60 years ago, but we had a neighbor also pull a wagon behind his ALL-CROP 66 powered by an Oliver.

Been know to deadhead in road gear to other end and pick 3 throughs to end up full at truck. That's if I'm working alone. Grain cart is handy with help.

Edited by SteveM C/IL - 1 hour 47 minutes ago at 9:38am