The V-Ripper Myth

The V-Ripper Myth

The truth about V-ripper’s is Australian ag’s best kept secret. The entire philosophy is at odds with the design and manufacturers have been ignoring this fact for decades.

The parabolic shank is the only part of the machine holding up its end of the bargain and doing what it is designed to do.

The extremely long curve creates a far more horsepower friendly ripping system requiring up to 35% less power to pull BUT… this isn’t the silver bullet they claim.

It cuts and slices through soil which more often than not creates a sidewall on the rip line. At the same time, it can bring up lots of things you don’t want on the surface and leave a very rough finish – which necessitates the addition of a roller of some sort.

The myth of the V shape ripper is that the machine is easier to pull because of the wedge like design – something akin to a ‘cavalry charge’ – this is false.

The only reason these machines are easier to pull than any other machine is this shank design.

The other thing no one will tell you is that this v shape is the root cause of the failings of the bar design itself and the all-too-common frame cracks seen in v-line rippers.

Some manufacturers know this happens but don’t know why and so they ‘band-aid’ the problem by using more heavy steel and extra plating to treat the symptoms not the cause.

A shank under pressure wants to twist both back and up – to essentially head towards the pulling point of the machine. The very same way they break out hydraulically or on a pin – funny that. Also, the same back and up they haven’t really braced or built the machine to withstand…

Each shank gets less ‘help’ from its neighbour than it would in a traditional bar design and this adds to the stress.

Because of this bad design, no matter how much steel gets ‘fish’ plated on the frame the result will still be the same frame breakages in the same spots.

V-Ripper Pros vs Cons