Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists

Does anyone actually make flatbed hiab trailers, seen all these homemade ones, but thats too much like hard work for me!

atkinson vos have one for sale

one on flea bay at the mo 6months old all the whistl's and flutes £ 14,000 it's rico made jobby with timber crane maybe a bit small for your requirments

I saw that last night, nice looking trailer that

I have one of those, can lift a ton, welds and body designed to take 1/2 a tonne!!! Mines not very old and I am having to rebuild it to strength.

got some photo's bud

Yep here are a few, it seems that most things by riko tend to fall to bits or are not strong enough for the job, even on their own admission the 4.2m crane is too big for the trailer spec and hence why the legs bend in the A frame. I have even upgraded the 50mm box from 4mm to 5mm thickness to compensate but this has had no benefit. I am now putting in 100mm box but as you will see from the pictures it has meant a complete rebuild. I think their slogan should indeed be overpriced and under engineered!!!!
I will also throw in a Riko A12 log splitter with weld failure for your entertainment!!! This also trashed the ram and many other parts!!!

So you lift more than the recommended weight, no wonder your having to rebuild it

The trouble today is metal is not metal any more i think manafacturers should give you the metal grade they use in there machines or at least supply the information when asked , but to be hornest them A frame legs do look a we bit naff to the crane you have fitted ,are they tested by real people before sold or CE marked ?

I wish i could lift the recommended weight, its also has relief valves on the hydraulics so i cannot over load it. The problem is i just dont think they test smaller machinery well enough, the bolsters for instance where the welds have been ground started to split after the first day of use. Trust me when i say i take it easy on my kit but these things are pretty weak. If a machine is built so that the crane can lift 400kg at full reach then the legs should be able to take the force created by this. The physics involved are huge, even picking bits up close in you can see the body torsion and flex in the legs!! Hopefully by beefing it up and putting a decent set of rear legs on the trailer too will prevent future failures. I have just had the 2nd splitter head go on the log splitter too, this is cast metal and again we are getting this beefed up also!!! Its very frustrating, often i look at the instructions to see if it ever says "for domestic use only"!!!!

The problem is when you go back to the manufacturer with a bit of constructive criticism they get very defensive!!!