Today it's all about the FlexFrame.
The FlexFrame is the defining characteristic and what makes
the Ventrac 4500 different.
It's career day here at ventrac. You guys having fun?
The FlexFrame is what makes the 4500 ventrac totally
different from all other compact tractors. Technically speaking the
ventrac 4500 is a center articulating and oscillating tractor.
That doesn't float off the tongue very well so we coined the term FlexFrame to give you
an easy way to remember when we talk about our tractor bending and twisting.
We will just say FlexFrame and that's what we mean. Now that we have the correct
terminology that's easy for you guys to remember and us to say let's define that
technology and what it actually means for the tractor in use. Our tractor
steering is actually accomplished at the center point of the machine and that's
what most people would know as an articulated machine. But what we've also
added is oscillation into that same joint. This comes with some extra benefits.
Basically our tractor bends and twists at the center. When these two
things come together they provide a whole host of benefits. First of all like
we already touched on it protects the turf underneath you.
Second, it's more comfortable for the operator because the machine isn't
bouncing around as much. You also experience benefits with hillside
stability or traction in general so that you don't get stuck as often. All of
those advantages come together to create a more effective machine that's easier
and more efficient to use than alternatives. So let's talk about why
this matters. At this point you might be thinking that sounds nice but what's the
advantage? How does it compare to what I'm used to? Or what everybody else has?
Because their stuff is supposed to be good too right? Yeah. It's supposed to be
and in most cases it works okay. But what most people are familiar with when you
think compact tractor is a standard sit on the back steering wheel in front of
you rigid frame single piece tractor and the
front wheels turn to steer it. That's problematic in a couple ways. When you
turn those machines very sharp those front wheels are jacking all the way to
one direction or the other. And you're actually pushing them as
you're turning so you're literally tearing the turf to make that turn.
Being able to turn the ventrac by having the front and rear
axle follow the same wheel path does zero damage in comparison to that.
The other advantage that the ventrac has then over the normal compact machine
that has a rigid frame is that when you go over an obstacle or dip a wheel into
a gopher hole or something with a normal tractor you'll feel it at the operator
seat because since the frame is rigid the whole machine will tip. Most of
them have some sort of live axle or torsion system to help absorb that
impact but it's not nearly to the extent that the ventrac is capable of.
You can actually take a forty five hundred and park that tractor on a flat surface and
drive one corner of the machine only on to an eight inch block or curb or
whatever else you've got a log or something and all four wheels will still
be contacting the ground with the exact same force. So it allows you to take on
more extreme conditions while still feeling perfectly stable and maintaining traction.
Normal compact tractors don't have the capability to do this and if
you try often times it will lift one corner of the machine up completely and you'll
just have one wheel spinning. In that scenario you have to have the
differential locked so that you maintain traction and you can actually keep driving forward.
And then you have to switch back and forth between diff locks so that you
don't tear the turf up. The ventrac can do all of this without a diff lock at all
so you never have to make those changes. You simply get on the machine
and drive it. And that differs obviously for most compact tractors where they all
have four-wheel drive but you have to select between two and four. Why would
you ever take it out of four-wheel drive right?
Well if you're mowing your yard or something and it's a front-wheel steer
you would want to be in two-wheel drive so that those front wheels aren't
tearing up quite as bad. But then you might get to a section of the property
where you have to have four-wheel drive to make it through or you need the extra
traction on a hill or something. And you have to switch back and forth. So there
are times where you might not be in the optimal two-wheel drive four-wheel drive
in a normal compact tractor but because of the situation with the machine you
have to make this distinction yourself and decide which one you want to choose.
the ventrac being full-time all-wheel drive is first of all possible because
of the FlexFrame. We're able to have it full-time all-wheel drive and still not
tear up the turf. And secondly since it's in all-wheel drive the entire time it's
something you don't have to think about. Which again lends it to being an easy
machine to operate. So there it is. That's all about the ventrac 4500 FlexFrame.
Thanks for watching this Monday Morning Minute on the FlexFrame.
And remember everytime you watch a ventrac video where
you see our tractor doing
something amazing it's made possible in no small part by the FlexFrame.