ZX 550 GL Krone ZX 550 GL Specifications & Technical Data (2007—2011)

Longer service life

Excellent results require excellent tools to accomplish them. Therefore we equipped our ZX wagons with an extremely durable steel floor.

Powered from either end

The gearboxes and their respective hydro motors are integrated in the chassis – one motor on each end and for each moving floor. The operator can double the floor's advance speed from a spool.

Flat link chains

The four flat link chains feature massive joints and are extremely had-wearing and high-tensile. The wide chain links and sprocket teeth translate into an effective advance.

The body with a difference

More capacity and more fuel economy from the sloping chain-and-slat floorEasier unloading from a conical body with steel floorHigher efficiencies from a split chain-and-slat floor with separate motorsUltra-durable flat link chainsAutomatic ‘Power Load’ system

Automatic ‘Power Load’ system

A strain gauge measures the load on the cross beam that braces the lower part of the front wall. As soon as the gauge senses a load and the crop density in the wagon reaches the limit, the chain-and-slat floor starts moving automatically, filling the machine uniformly to capacity while keeping fuel consumption low.

Filling to capacity

The volume sensor on the front flap at the top senses the degree of filling. As soon as the flap moves beyond a preset angle, the system activates the chain-and-slat floor. The operator can use either the load sensing system or the volume sensing system or both systems together.

Advancing to success

The ZX range was designed with the contractor in mind. The sloping chain-and-slat floor is an achievement that brings efficiency and easy-loading plus boosted capacity – all at the same time.

Powerful chain-and-slat floor

As the chain-and-slat floor slopes at the front it shortens the passageway through which the crop moves into the machine. As a result, less power is required to feed the material into the load area, making the process faster and gentler on the crop at the same time for maximum efficiency at minimum consumption.

Professional features

Two chain-and-slat floors and the conical design of the load area combine to ensure smooth and fast unloading – bracing you for wet and heavy crops.

Safety features

This sensor switch on the tailboard stops the chain-and-slat floor as soon as the pick-up has filled the body to capacity. The floor automatically stops advancing to protect the tailboard from damage.

Fast unloading

The direct driveline to the discharge rollers gives dependable efficiency during the unloading process. The main driveshaft has an integral overload clutch that protects the rotors and speeds up the unloading process.

Automatic stopping of the chain-and-slat floor

When the machine is filled to capacity and material starts pushing the bottom rotor to the rear, the motion detector stops the advance and the discharge rotors start off smoothly.

The heavy-duty driveline

Strong chains and spring-loaded chain tensioners transfer the drive power efficiently and without losses to the rollers. A motion detector on the bottom roller shuts off the floor to ensure smooth unloading.

Three rotors for triple power

Specify your forage wagon with an optional third roller and an adjustable tailboard, and you will spread the material in even more uniform mats. Studded with V-tines, the rotors spread the crop across the full machine width, with the bottom rotor spinning faster than the top rotors to cut down on unloading time.

EasyFlow – more efficient and more effective

The camless EasyFlow pick-up is KRONE's response to the challenges posed by wide swaths, heavy crops and high workrates. Working at a width of 2,100 mm (6'11") (DIN 11220) and spinning at a higher speed, EasyFlow is the safest bet for those who seek to boost their efficiency.

Cost effective and powerful

EasyFlow is a camless pick-up that offers obvious benefits. Using fewer moving parts than a controlled cam track, this system is simpler by design and gives extremely quiet running, resulting in reduced wear and therefore less maintenance as well as fewer service costs. Operating at a 30% higher speed, EasyFlow is even more effective and powerful now.

Absolutely adaptable

The pick-up pivots in a linkage system that pushes the unit over the ground. Pivoting freely, the unit adapts to ground undulations both axially and transversely, leaving behind an absolutely clean surface.

Plenty of ground clearance

The articulated drawbar with double-acting ram is standard specification and provides for a generous ground clearance of up to 75 cm (2'6") – enough to roll on clamps without pushing up material.

Hardox for longevity

The cut-and-feed unit is exposed to the highest strains; so we made its tine plates and scrapers from Hardox steel to reduce wear and increase the service life.

Spot on

The powerful LED lamp inside the body illuminates the load area for effective work during those long working days into the night.

Cab based control

The steel tailboard is operated by two single-acting rams on the sides – a convenient and time-saving system.

Useful

The side door with foldable ladder offers convenient access to the load area for easy removal of any crops that may have been left in the machine.

Practical and convenient

Ease of operation is as essential as high output and high efficiency. Our shockproof operator terminals are compact, clear-cut and easy to operate. They feature backlit buttons to reduce operator fatigue during long shifts well into the night. The CCI terminal is a universal operator control unit that is compatible with a wide variety of ISOBUS implements from many manufacturers.

Extremely adaptable

The axles benefit from large suspension travel, thereby distributing the load uniformly to both axles at all times. The assembly provides for easy climbing and unloading on high and steep clamps.

Forced steering

The two steering rods are ball hitched to either side of the drawbar and feature hydraulic rams for control.

Suspended drawbar

The optional drawbar suspension system uses nitrogen tanks on the rams to absorb all shock loadings and provide a superior operator comfort.

Convenient attachment

The operator can also control the articulated drawbar from the ground on these standard controls. So, you can watch the hitching process.

Picking up fast and cleanly

The camless EasyFlow pick-up features a massive rotor cutter, which produces nominal chop lengths of 37 mm (1.5"), making ZX a full-fledged and high-capacity self-loading forage wagon with a cutting system – just the kind of high-output system contractors ask for.

Higher outputs, better cuts

The 880 mm diameter and 1,840 mm wide ZX cut-and-feed rotor features eight helix rows of tines to deliver an enormous performance. The tines feature extra wide feed plates to provide gentle crop treatment, enhanced quality of cuts and reduced power input.

Faster and easier crop feed

The ZX cut-and-feed rotor evolved from decades of field experience. It is powerful and soft on the crop as well as low-maintenance and modest in its power requirement. Depending on model and conditions, the ZX dual-purpose forage wagons can be operated by 143 hp+ tractors.

The crop is pulled over the blades

The knives cut down their full lengths, so the system runs easier and quieter. The wavy blades maintain their sharpness over extended periods of time.

Cutting like scissors

This technique prevents the stems from slipping through the small gap between the wide tine plates and the knives and eliminates the risk of mushing, ensuring perfect cuts.

Individual knife protection

Each knife benefits from its own spring-loaded protection and retracts and swings back automatically after the object has passed.

Finest quality cuts!

Cutting like scissors...The secret behind this system, which cuts the crop like scissors, are the extremely narrow gaps between the wide tine plates and the spring-loaded knives. As many as 46 knives are available to produce perfect chops. The central knife selection system operates them in sets of 23 or 46 for quick chop length adjustment.

Operating the cutting system from the tractor

The operator lowers the knife bank hydraulically to sharpen the knives or remove potential blockages. Once the blockage is removed, the knife bank swings back into position. You can also operate the unit from the ground.

Automatic knife selection system

The central knife selection system makes it easy for the operator to set the desired chop length. ZX operators can select sets of 23 or 46 knives and set the nominal chop lengths to 74 mm (3") or 37 mm (1.5"). 0 means the system will not chop the crop.

Knife fitting/removal without tools

Lower the knife bank hydraulically, move the knives to position 0, unlock and remove them from above – it’s convenient and user-friendly.

One machine – many applications

Viable farming and contracting means boosting efficiency, cutting costs and utilizing machinery to its full potential all year round. This is the backdrop against which KRONE developed the ZX combination wagons. These forage wagons serve two purposes equally well, either running alongside or behind the forage harvester or loading crops by themselves using their pick-up system.

Nothing is lost

Lacking cross hoops and ropes as well as sliding tarp, the ZX models offer excellent loading from a forage harvester, allowing the stream of crop flowing from the chute into every corner of the loading space.

Excellent tracking

The pneumatic guide wheels on either side of the pick-up offer height control for adaptation to any condition. Tracking excellently behind the tractor during headland turns, the system avoids scuffing and protects the turf.

Guide wheels at the rear

Optional guide wheels at the rear of the unit enhance its overall running and ensure all material is picked up from soft and wet ground. Not running in the tractor wheelings, these height-adjustable wheels ensure the depth of the pick-up tines is maintained.

Folding front flap

The top section of the headboard folds down 90° to provide for easier loading from the forage harvester. It is in vertical position when the wagon is running alongside the forager and inclines to rear when operating as a self-loading forage wagon. The automatic loading system is integrated in this top section.

No crop is lost

You can fit this plate when using the wagon as a maize trailer to run alongside or behind the forage harvester. The plate keeps the rotor and passageway clean and free of crops.

The Gamma terminal

This terminal offers operators full fingertip control of all loading and unloading operations. Here you retrieve the number of hauls and operating hours as well as diagnose potential malfunctions. In addition, you control the automatic loading and unloading processes, lock the steered axle and activate the automatic silage additive feed system. The backlit digital display screen provides an excellent overview of all machine functions. In addition to the fingertip control option, you can also operate the knife bank from the ground on two controls by the side of the bank.

Unloading without discharge rollers

The dual-purpose ZX 400 GL, ZX 450 GL, ZX 550 GL models are high-capacity machines with rigid steel sides, which ensure your valuable crop is clamped without loss. The two powerful chain-and-slat floors are driven by separate motors and move the material to the rear and through the huge opening, minimizing the amount of time spent on the clamp and maximizing your efficiency.

Unloading via discharge rollers

Their rigid steel structure and up to three discharge rollers make the ZX 400 GD, ZX 450 GD, ZX 550 GD models very versatile machines, which unload the material in uniform mats to reduce the workload on the clamp and provide the best conditions for high-quality silage.

Dependable in the heat of harvest

The GL models are the heavy-duty models in the ZX range. Rated to a gross weight of up to 31 tonnes, these massive machines boast huge capacities, highest workrates, a superior quality of cut as well as absolutely dependable operation – qualities that are crucial in silage harvesting. The ZX bodies are particularly strong and robust. Lacking top hoops and ropes, they make perfect trailers to run in the corn harvest chain.

Harvesting without losses

Offering capacities of 38 m³ to 53 m³ (DIN 11714) in versatile applications and featuring solid steel sides and no discharge rollers, the ZX dual-purpose 400 GL, 450 GL, and 550 GL models are our ‘contractor’ machines. These machines are designed to deliver highest levels of efficiency and profitability.

Clearing out effectively

Featuring a wide opening tailboard, two chain-and-slat floors as well as vertical and smooth sides, the ZX GL model effectively pumps out huge masses of forage.

Reaping success

The first step in making quality silage is spreading the material in uniform mats on the clamp. The ZX GD models with steel sides and up to three large-diameter rollers at the rear unload the material layer by layer and across the full length of the heap for effective clamping.

Optional weighing system

The electronic weighing system uses sensor pins inside the drawbar and on the tandem/tridem axle with hydraulic levelling. The system determines the weight of the unloaded material by computing the difference between the load when filled to capacity and the amount of material left inside the machine after unloading is completed.

The system

When the machine is running on undulating ground, the oil flows from a cylinder on the front wheel to another cylinder on the rear wheel and vice versa. The concept of using two separate circuits inside one axle assembly eliminates the risk of rolling and maintains the body level at all times.

On the road of success

Large wheels and high sides pose high demands on the running gear. The caster steered tandem axle offers hydraulic levelling to cater for all requirements and needs. The running gear offers stability when travelling at speed and around corners and on slopes. KRONE’s tandem axles are specialist axles and give you safest and high-comfort rides.

Gentle on the turf

You can lock the caster steered rear axle via a ram to protect the turf during headland turns and the silage when unloading on the clamp.

Steered wheels

A steered front or rear axle provides excellent tracking in every curve, protecting the turf and minimizing drawbar power.

Lifting axle

Raise the front axle by operating the single acting spool on the tractor. Lift the axle during empty hauls and save on tire costs.

The ideal hitch

Bottom mount attachment systems on forage wagons transfer more load to the tractor’s front axle and give the four-wheel drive system more grunt. The ball hitched ZX models impress by their quiet running and high ride comfort.