A move into larger premises a couple of years ago has enabled a Hertfordshire engineering firm to expand its product range with bigger equipment – notably tractor-mounted graders for renewing and forming farm tracks.

RSL Engineering at Hill End near Hatfield is best known for manufacturing specialist excavator attachments and tree shears rather than agricultural equipment.

But the company’s broadening track grader offering is proving increasingly popular, says managing director Richard Page.

See also: How to fix farm tracks with an adapted road grader

They cater for tractors of pretty much all practical sizes, with the 1.5-2.4m Compact models requiring 15-60hp and the Midi versions, spanning 2.1-2.4m, typically handled by 60-100hp machines.

The 2.4m variant in the Large range, where there is also a 3m, is now by far the most popular, Richard adds, as it’s a good match for 150-250hp tractors.

All feature a ballasted frame filled with sand and a finishing roller that should be filled with water, with further ballast available from 250kg saddle weights for the tine bar.

Eight-tine 3m model in RSL’s track grader range © RSL Engineering

The roller that provides depth control is mounted on a “flexible” linkage, allowing it to be pivoted to camber the surface to encourage surface water run-off.

Manual adjustment using turnbuckles is available but hydraulic control is apparently the more sought-after option.

Ahead of the roller are surface-busting tines with teeth containing a high chromium content for wear resistance, and a “quarry spec” levelling blade.

For creating new tracks, the implement can be equipped with an extended hopper and a vibrating packer plate, which is lowered along with the roller to lift the main frame off the deck.

With the side skids then dropped, there’s a gap beneath the levelling blade and, with the hopper filled, the machine can be dragged slowly forwards, pulling out a new track and leaving a surface rolled and vibration packed in one go.

In addition to tracks, Richard reports that some growers use their grader to level fields around bale stacks and to reinstate headlands on irrigated vegetable ground, levelling and consolidating the ruts to make it easier for spreaders and sprayers to operate.