Containers/Farming Simulator 17

A Container is a collective term that is used on this Wiki to refer to all types of mobile equipment designed to hold large quantities of solid materials.

In Farming Simulator 17, containers include Tippers, Loading Wagons and Auger Wagons. These machines have a lot of common features, and are used almost identically for most purposes. The main difference between different containers is in their accepted cargo types, as well as their extra features:

• Tippers can carry almost any type of solid material. They have a larger capacity compared to other Containers, given their low price. They are designed to allow easy bulk transport of cargo from one place to another. Tippers can also be chained together easily, so that a single vehicle can tow two or more at the same time.
• Loading Wagons can only carry a limited variety of solid materials, mostly those used in Animal Husbandry and the production of Silage. Their main advantage is that they can pick up these materials from Piles on the field.
• Auger Wagons can also carry only a limited variety of cargo (mostly Crops), and aren't very large for their price. Their advantage is an overloading pipe that allows them to transfer their cargo into any other Container. They are typically best for long-term storage, particularly for Seeds and Solid Fertilizer.

There are several other types of storage equipment in the game, particularly various Tankers. However, these only contain liquid materials, and are filled and emptied in a very different way to Containers.

Loading Containers

All three types of Containers are designed to carry a large quantity of cargo. With the exception of Loading Wagons (which can fill themselves), Containers can only be filled using a second machine (e.g. a Harvester, Loader, etc.) to dump the cargo into them, or by pulling cargo from a stationary loading point (e.g. a Silo).

To put any type of cargo into any Container, all of the following conditions must be true:

1. The container is not already full.
2. The container does not contain 5% or more of another type of material.
3. The container must not be "covered".
4. The container is not in Manual Unloading mode. (This rule does not apply when using a Loader.)

If any of these conditions fails, the material cannot be dumped into the container. The vehicle trying to load the container will simply refuse to dump the material into it. This can lead to strange situations, such as a Bucket being tipped down over the container, but the material refuses to spill out.

Note that if a container contains less than 5% of any material, it can then be filled by any other material just fine. Doing so will cause the material already inside the container to "magically" transform into whatever material you're trying to pour into it. For example, if a Container currently contains 4% of Corn, and you try to dump Silage into it, all of the Corn in the container will instantly turn into Silage.

Harvesting

(Applicable to: Tippers, Auger Wagons)

All Harvesters, Potato Combine Harvesters and Sugar Beet Combine Harvesters have an offloading pipe that enables them to dump the crop out of their holding tank. This pipe can be extended out of the side Harvester when it is time to unload.

If the Harvester detects that a valid Container is underneath the pipe, it will automatically begin dumping cargo into the container. If that container moves away, becomes full, or the material in the harvester runs out, the dumping will stop automatically. You can also stop the cargo transfer instantly by toggling the container's cover Tipper: Toggle CoverDefault Buttons: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/d/dd/FS17_Logo_PC.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234847 Nhttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/6/6c/FS17_Logo_XBOX.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234910 ??https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/e/e3/FS17_Logo_PS4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170828002413 ??, if it has one.

Forage Harvesting

(Applicable to: Tippers, Loading Wagons)

Forage Harvesters cannot collect any materials without a container to receive them, since they do not have an internal holding tank to collect the materials into. Instead, they must be constantly unloaded into an external container while they're working.

The offloading pipe of a Forage Harvester will automatically look for the nearest valid container to dump the cargo into. If it finds one close enough nearby, it will track its position, and shoot the material into that container as the Forage Harvester does its work. If at any point the container becomes full, or there is no valid container nearby, the Forage Harvester will not collect anything - but will continue destroying the crop it's working on.

For this reason, Forage Harvesters will often tow their own containers behind them. Alternatively, you can have a second vehicle tow the container next to the Forage Harvester as it works.

Forage Harvesters can tow Fifth Wheel Tipper Trailers via a Dolly. Advantages include a reduced turning radius, and a larger load capacity. However be aware that this setup does not allow the Forage Harvester to load the rear end of the long container thus preventing the container from being loaded to its full capacity.

Loaders

(Applicable to: All Container types)

Another way to load material into a Container is to use a Loader equipped with a Bucket or Manure Fork. These tools can be used to scoop material from Piles on the ground, lift it over the Container, and dump the material into it. The process is repetitive (especially if you use small Buckets or have plenty of material to scoop), but it will get the job done.

Also note that a Pallet Fork can be used to lift a Pallet up above the container - at which point the contents of the Pallet will spill automatically into the container. This is only possible for pallets containing material that a Container can hold, e.g. a Seed BigBag or Solid Fertilizer BigBag.

Conveyor Belts

(Applicable to: All Container types)

Conveyor Belts can collect material from Piles on the ground and dump it directly into a Container. Conveyor belts are set up by connecting together several separate pieces to form a continuous belt, starting at the edge of the Pile and then slowly lifting the material upwards until it reaches a dumping nozzle.

To trigger the belt, drive the Container underneath the nozzle. The belt will then continuously pour more and more material from the Pile into the Container without need for any additional work on your part. The pouring will stop automatically if the Pile becomes empty, the container becomes full, or the container is moved away from the nozzle.

Conveyor belts can dump massive quantities of material into a Container or multiple Containers with very little work. However, setting up the conveyor belt in the first place can be tricky and frustrating.

Elevators

(Applicable to: Tippers, Auger Wagons)

Your Silo and Train Stations have a spot where they can dump out material from their holding tanks into any valid Container. This is a downward-pointing nozzle extending out of the side of the building. When driving a Tipper or Auger Wagon underneath that nozzle, you get the option to initiate loading. Pressing the correct button will allow you to choose which material stored inside the silo/station you wish to put into the container.

With Silos and Train Stations, you have the option to manually stop loading materials at any time, by pressing the same button again. Alternatively, if you pull the container away from the nozzle, loading will stop automatically.

Note that the loading nozzle at a Train Station is rather low off the ground. Some containers may have trouble sliding underneath it, but you should be able to get any model in the base game underneath the nozzle with a little effort.

Towing Containers

Containers can be towed behind a variety of vehicles, including primarily Tractors and Trucks. Different models of Containers have different Attachment Points, which can hook up to different varieties of vehicles. However, with the right equipment and upgrades, Trucks and Tractors can both tow any Container in the game - and are typically the best vehicles for doing so.

Containers can become exceptionally heavy when they are full of cargo. The larger the container, the more it will weigh. Certain types of cargo are also heavier than others (particularly Crops and Fertilizer), and large Containers full of them can easily weigh dozens of tons. Therefore, when working with the largest Containers, you'll want an appropriately powerful vehicle.

It's also important to consider how many flexible joints a Container has. Some Tippers are towed by a rigid boom arm, while others have a swinging arm connected to their front wheel axle. The second type is much more difficult to tow in reverse (such as when backing up into a dumping area).

Unloading Containers

Containers are capable of dumping their own cargo out - there is no need (or ability) for any other machine to unload them. Dumping is the only way to unload a container.

In Farming Simulator 17, other than driving a Container to a designated unloading spot like a Silo or Sale Point to be unloaded, you can also dump the cargo directly on the ground to create a Pile of material.

Designated Unloading Spots

(Applicable to: Tippers, Loading Wagons)

The map typically features plenty of designated unloading spots where your Container can unload its contents into a storage area. These points include the Silo at your farm, as well as any Sale Point and Train Station.

Most unloading spots are marked on the mini-map, so that they can be located easily. In the game, a designated unloading spot typically looks like a large metal grate, with ramps leading up to the grate and back down from it. If you've set "Interactive Zone Markers" to "ON", each unloading spot will have a yellow-and-black marker on the ground around it, showing where your container needs to be in order to unload.

To dump cargo into storage, tow the container right over the unloading spot's grate. As soon as the container's body is over the grate, you should get the option to "Unload". This option will only appear if the Container is carrying cargo suitable for that specific storage area - such as Wheat at your Silo, Wood Chips at the Sawmill, and so forth. If the cargo type is not suitable, you'll get an on-screen flashing message warning you that you're carrying the wrong type of cargo for this spot.

When unloading into an Unloading Spot, you can manually stop the dumping process by hitting the unload button again.

• There are many Sale Points on the map where you can sell a variety of goods. Each Sale Point accepts different materials, as defined in the map's data file. In the base game, most Sale Points will accept Crops of all kinds, while some accept Wood Chips, Manure, or Slurry. Dumping cargo here does not store it - instead the cargo is instantly sold for its current price at that given location. Note that as you unload, the price of that cargo will drop correspondingly.
• The Silo at your farm accepts Wheat, Barley, Canola, Soybeans, Sunflowers and Corn. Dumping materials here will store them inside the Silo. Note that there's a limit to the total amount of cargo you can store in a Silo, which can be expanded by purchasing a Silo Extension.
• Each Train Station has a small access road running into the building, leading to an unloading spot. Train Stations accept everything that a Silo can accept, and also Potatoes and Sugar Beets. Each Train Station can hold up to 500,000 Liters of materials in total, and cannot be expanded.
• The Barn near your farmhouse contains an unloading spot, although it is not physically visible. You can dump Hay, Grass, Silage and Straw here, and they will immediately be sold for their current market price. Note that the Barn's roof is a little low, and can cause some larger Tippers to be stuck temporarily (until the unloading is over, or until you stop it manually).
• Feeding Troughs are also unloading points. These do not have a dumping grate in the ground, but you can find them by driving around an Animal Pen. These troughs only accept the various types of materials that can be fed to the animals. You can find a list of those materials in the game's "Animals" info menu, or here on this wiki in the various articles on Animals.

Manual Unloading (Piles)

(Applicable to: All Container types)

Farming Simulator 17 introduced a new feature that allows you to dump the cargo from your Containers almost anywhere you want. Simply hit the button combination for "Unload Here" to order your container to dump its cargo on the ground - creating a Pile of that particular cargo.

Different types of Containers unload their cargo in different ways. Loading Wagons can only unload it through a large rear door. Many Tippers have the ability to use a small Grain Door for precision unloading, or even to dump the cargo out either side. Auger Wagons can only dump their cargo out of their offloading pipe, which shoots the material some distance to the left.

You can dump cargo nearly anywhere. However, some places (e.g. in town) do not allow cargo dumping. If you try to dump cargo at an invalid location, an animation might play, but no material will be dumped. There is no punishment for doing this accidentally.

Piles can be a great way to store cargo outside, without having to drive all the way to a storage unloading point (see above). For example, you can dump the cargo out in the field during the harvest, and then pick it up later when the harvester has finished its work. You can later use special tools like Loaders or Conveyor Belts to load the material back into a container when you need to move it elsewhere (e.g. to sell).

Offloading

(Applicable to: Auger Wagons)

Finally, Auger Wagons are capable of directly unloading their cargo into another container or machine. Read more on this in the article on Auger Wagons.