Friends Ben Furrer and Florian Perren farm their land of 14 and 16 hectares in addition to their work on Zermatt’s mountain railways. The Aebi TP420, which is already used by the Zermatt mountain railways and local farmer Paul Julen, impresses with its outstanding performance. Ben therefore wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity and take the Aebi TP420 from the railways’ fleet for a test drive. His decision to have an Aebi TP420 was made right there in the cockpit, and the switch from a competitor’s product was pretty much a done deal. It wasn’t just the comfortable drive that impressed Ben straight away, but also the huge torque and the well thought-out and extremely simple operation. When he saw that it also offered great value for money, Ben was totally convinced.
‘The ride felt right from the outset. The Aebi is powerful, but it still drives really smoothly. The effect of the double wishbone suspension particularly surprised me, as it noticeably improves the comfort of the drive while at the same time protecting the vehicle in the long-term. Combined with the well-sprung driver’s seat, the Aebi TP420 is also good for your back and driving it is simply more fun. The low centre of gravity and wide tyres with good grip make it safe off-road. That’s ideal for farming in the mountains, like we do here in Zermatt!’
Ben Furrer, farmer
Ben has owned an Aebi TP420 since April 2018. He also recommended the model to his friend Florian. By showing it being used in real conditions, he was able to convince him of the quality of the transporter. Florian was impressed and his own Aebi TP420 arrived shortly after in July. The transporters are now used for everything from harvesting feed and spreading manure in the summer, through to transporting straw in the winter. Both use them in a variety of ways, with different attachments that they can swap over in just a few minutes. This makes the Aebi a tipper, loader and muck spreader all in one vehicle.
Ben and Florian haven’t just benefited from the versatility of the TP420. They particularly value the high-torque engine combined with the suspension on both axles. The turbo diesel achieves 109 HP with a torque of 420 Nm at 1100 1/m. This means that it has large power reserves and delivers high performance, even when fully loaded. In addition to the powerful engine, Ben and Florian also appreciate the full hydro-pneumatic suspension. The robust drive train, together with the comfortable suspension and suspension travel of 10 cm, delivers unrestricted torque on the ground without any problems. This means that both are able to use the Aebi TP420 to travel quickly over rough terrain.
‘We drive as far as our land in Findlen, a considerable stretch on unsurfaced tracks. With its predecessor, we needed an hour to get there. But with the Aebi, it only takes 45 minutes, so we are saving half an hour every round trip.’
Florian Perren, farmer
The first summer season using the Aebi TP420 is now drawing to a close for Florian and Ben. They are both extremely pleased with their first experience of using the transporter and are already looking forward to using it in the coming year.
We hope Ben and Florian continue to enjoy their Aebi TP420 transporters and wish them happy and safe driving at all times.