Farm Tiling

We did some tiling this spring on our farm.  The tiling machine below is what puts the tile in the ground.  This is a 350 horsepower Cummins powered machine with four wheel drive and a 7 foot wheel trencher on the back.  It has a 20,000 lb 5/8 cable winch on the front and we used it extensively because of the muddy conditions.

This shows the rear of the machine well.  The wheel moves counter clockwise and as it rotates the dirt falls from the wheel getting expelled by the belt to the side of trench.

 This is view of the cab.  It is GPS guided and is auto steer.  Technology at work.  The driver drives the machine in reverse where he would like the tile to go.  Then when the machine is in the ground and going forward the computer places the tile with appropriate drop/slope.

 This shows how wet one spot was.  Norm, the owner, was driving the machine on the reverse course to get a new string strung and wanted to go right through the heart of this wet spot.  After getting unstuck we decided to go above it a little.  The 20,000 lb winch was used to the maximum to get him out.  The tires are about 6 feet tall when not stuck.

This video shows smooth running of the tiling machine.  The wheel hauls the dirt up the front of the trench dropping it on the belt for expelling out the side.  Then the tile boot, the attachment on the back of the wheel, cleans the trench for placement of the tile in the bottom.  You can see the black tile being pulled into the tile boot.