The End of the Road(Show) for the Combi RX218

In April 2021, the Hustler Combi RX218 multi-feeder wagon hit New Zealand’s roads for a national tour from the very bottom of the South Island to the very top of the North Island, visiting big farms throughout the country.

The idea of organising a Grand National Roadshow was born in Hustler’s mind only a few months ago. At the time, the innovative, triple-axle twenty-one cubic meter capacity, Combi RX218 multi-feeder wagon had just come off the factory floor for a series of field testing. Simply going to the regional field days wasn’t enough for this beast that needed to be put at work to reveal its full capacity! 

A roadshow was also a great opportunity to showcase the New Zealand landscape and the different types of farming, which vary greatly from region to region.

“Normally farmers and ranchers from around the world are coming to New Zealand this time of year for their annual tour,” said Brent Currie, CEO of Hustler Equipment, “and since they can’t come here this year [because of the COVID-19 pandemic], with the tour we can virtually bring New Zealand to them.” So the tour visited many iconic landmarks along the way, celebrating some of the most picturesque landscapes that New Zealand is known for.

In any case, the bet was kept: more than 3000 kilometers and 130 hours later, including crossing the Cook Strait on a ferry, our Hustler Combi RX218 went around New Zealand from South to North. Sometimes, our machinery expert and driver for the tour Jaiden Drought (who is also – when he is not driving through the country from bottom to top – a dairy farmer based in Taranaki) had a few scares: driving over the one-lane bridges of the South Island, through the narrow tunnels of the Forgotten World Highway or going through Auckland’s traffic in peak hours to reach Northland.

But we also drove through breathtaking places such as Queenstown, Lake Tekapo,  Arthur’s Pass, Hobbiton, Rotorua… and met up with great people all along the way. Of course, our Hustler’s videographer and host of our 60 Seconds of MiNT series, Oli Brunton, captured all the best moments. Find all our photos and videos on our Facebook Page and our Instagram Account.

We would like to thank all the farmers who joined the adventure…

Dave Campbell, George Barnish, Eugene Casey, Peter Stocker, John Gray, Phil Wells, Rangi Hahn, Vincent Park & Tom Curnow, Matt McLeannan, Jeremy Mckenzi, Fraser Middleton, the Cleaver Family, Marcus Deadman, Glenn Speed, Graham Shearer, Cameron from Lakeside Arohena Farm, Geoff Sutherland, Louis Cronin, Richard Westlake.

…as well as our great dealers who helped with the organisation.

FarmChief Invercargill, CLAAS Harvest Centre Otago, Still’s Farm Machinery, Drummond & Etheridge Timaru, All Farm Engineering, FarmChief Christchurch, NC Equipment, Norwood West Coast, Drummond & Etheridge Nelson, Power Farming Wairarapa, Mech Agriculture, Power Farming Taranaki, Giltrap AgriZone Rotorua, Power Farming Te Awamutu, Giltrap AgriZone Cambridge, Roger Gill Agriculture, Power Farming Northland.

We can’t forget to mention that 2021 is Hustler’s 60th anniversary, and for this month-long celebratory tour we’re partnering with a tractor brand observing their own 70th anniversary, AGCO‘s Valtra. That’s how a nice white Valtra T174 EV tractor ended up bravely towing the Hustler’s wagon from one end of the country to the other.

Also, giving back to the farming community that has kept Hustler innovating for six decades, Hustler organised a donation on behalf of every registered adult attendee to Farmstrong, a nationwide mental wellbeing programme for the rural community. Thank you for everyone attending the demo, we hope you had a great time with us, and we’ll see you next time!

With more than six years of extensive product development and testing on large-scale farms in New Zealand and around the world, the new Combi RX218 – the largest-capacity multi-feeder on the market –, is ready for whatever you throw its way.

100% hydraulically-powered and equipped with a twin-speed rear-pusher blade and a heavy-duty puck board floor, the Combi RX218 is the world’s biggest feed out wagon in its category. It was designed for durability and efficiency. Low maintenance and easy-to-use, the tridem-axle Combi RX218 is particularly suited to the rugged terrain of New Zealand farms. It’s perfect for medium to large-scale operations, and simplifies the handling of large volumes of feed. The RX218 provides versatility to economically feed out a wide variety of fodder, such as round or square bales, silage, maize, root crops or food waste.