Motor vehicles | Machines Farming Simulator 18 Guide
Last update: 05 July 2017
In this chapter you can find description for machines that serves as a driving force and can be controlled manually (excluding forestry vehicles, they have their own category). Here, you can learn about tractors, combines and transportation vehicles.
Tractors
There are 14 tractors that you can buy. They are used for various tasks on your farm. They have three statistics: power (horsepower), maximum speed and front end loader. Power is a parameter that determines how much speed will go down after attaching a machine. Forage wagon and a big cultivator generates a particularly big load. For optimal work for most of the machines you need about 200HP. A good idea is to buy JCB Fastrac 3230 XTRA tractor early in the game. In this version of the game you can attach machines in the front so your only choice is to decide whether you want a tractor with or without a front end loader. It only has two functions (after buying rather cheap attachments): loading bales on a trailer - you can eliminate this function by buying self-loading wagon for bales as well as picking up and loading logs - this function can also be replaced by other vehicle, Ponse Buffalo. Because of that you shouldn't pay much attention to loaders and instead of that you can buy a more powerful tractor.
Combines
Combines are used for harvesting. There are four available models and they have different speed, width of their front attachment, power and their storage capacity. Each one of them requires you to buy separate attachments. Buying new models is necessary when you develop your farm. The default one allows you to handle three fields. Since combines are slow it is worth to use transport trailers to transport them to fields that are far away. Remember that a transport trailer requires a tractor unit. In order to unload a combine you must drive a tipper near its left side - an arm will move automatically and if your position is correct then the combine can start emptying. You can't harvest other crops if you don't empty your machine.
Notice that you can attach wagons to combines. Sadly, you can't use their functions (e.g. collecting straw by a forage wagon). However, you can use tippers if you are often running out of space during harvesting and load parts of what you have gathered into them or at least have a second attachment. Of course, a big tipper is an additional burden and can slower your work slightly. There are also two independent combines: for sugar beets and potatoes. They must be attached to a combine or a tractor and only after that you can use them.
Harvesters and headers
In this category you can find combine attachments. Notice that each machine has two attachments: one to cut wheat and rapeseeds and to get corn and sunflowers. In this version of the game you can transport them freely by using any machine because after detaching them from a combine they are stored on a wagon.
Forage harvester
Forage harvester is a very expansive machine. It has only one function - getting chaffs from corn which is the only way to get them. They are not that profitable but you sell them in biogas installations which gives you a little bit of slurry. If you want a functioning forage harvester you need to attach a tipper to its back, however, this slows the machine a little bit. Because of that you can decide to drive a tractor with a tipper next to a combine.
Transporters
There are three vehicles that are used for transportation: one pickup truck and two tractor units. Their only purpose is to transport wagons and machines quickly on the map. Buying a pickup truck in the beginning of the game is a very good idea. When you attach a tipper to it, it will lose a lot of speed (45 km/h) but it can get quickly to a selected place when it has no additional weight. If you want to buy a tractor unit you must be careful - they have hitches that allows you to attach only three wagons: a semi-trailer (transport trailer), wood trailer and the biggest tipper.