Back step or weather the storm?

[Mark Bolam]

I am getting a 36’ combine head for my Worky Quad.

 

I’ll be a millionaire come harvest time.

[william127]

55 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

I am getting a 36’ combine head for my Worky Quad.

 

I’ll be a millionaire come harvest time.

I need the 'crappy no access fence repair attachment' if you know anyone that's selling one l 😆 😂 

[devon TWiG]

This time of the year is usually less busy , i usually make the most of the fine weather and go to the beach , ride motorbike , walk coast path etc ....or catch up on DIY , and cut and split logs and put in shed etc etc ... not really a fan of being busy all the time !!  I appreciate I am in a fortunate position to do this but there is more to life than work , it is easy and common for people to become slaves to the machine rather than the machine being your slave ...

[Domino]

On 26/05/2023 at 12:10, doobin said:

Trouble is then you're up against us contractors with actual tractors 😀

 

What does an Avant flail collector cost to rent? I've always thought it an absoloute abortion of an attachment, as well as horrendously overpriced. No visibility, shit laods of hydraulic losses and knocks the hell out of the loader when you lift it up to run it to the collection point. I guarantee I could cut any meadow you cut with it in less than half the time with my cheap compact tractor and secondhand flail collector.

 

If you're getting plenty of that kind of work you could buy a secondhand tractor and flail collector for around £5- £4k for a 26hp Iseki or Mitsubishi and £1k for the collector. You'll quickly see just how much more efficient the tractor is for all other mowing also.

 

Flail mowing possibly an exception as front mount is nice, but thats why you buy a reverse drive tractor! McCormick G23 reverse drive hydrostatic alpine tractors come up occasionally for around £4k.

 

Just get on absolutely fine with it to be honest my friend.  An Avant is just in a different league for maneuverability on small sites and perfect visibility being up front vs trailing behind, so not sure what you're on about there.  Wild flower meadow mowing is all about adjusting heights across the whole area and limiting compaction which are the real benefits of the avant in that situation.  Yes I agree a standard compact tractor setup for traditional mowing would be better suited, but that's not what I am being asked to do.  Regarding cost, a weeks hire on standard flail or collector flail is pretty reasonable. 

[doobin]

7 hours ago, Domino said:

 

Just get on absolutely fine with it to be honest my friend.  An Avant is just in a different league for maneuverability on small sites and perfect visibility being up front vs trailing behind, so not sure what you're on about there.  Wild flower meadow mowing is all about adjusting heights across the whole area and limiting compaction which are the real benefits of the avant in that situation.  Yes I agree a standard compact tractor setup for traditional mowing would be better suited, but that's not what I am being asked to do.  Regarding cost, a weeks hire on standard flail or collector flail is pretty reasonable. 

You’ve got no visibility at all with the collector box in front of you! With a rear mount you’ve a chance of seeing some thing you want to keep and lifting up as you pass over it, no chance with the box in front of you. Compaction levels- the tractor weighs less than the loader on a similar footprint. The tractor is more nimble than the loader with its independent brakes and in this case bi-speed turning. 
 

 

I do tons of cut and collect and all the loader is good for is clearing up and pushing the dump pile up imo. I don’t get why people are wed to using their loaders as an inneficient hydraulic tool carrier when direct drive pto compact tractors and implements are much cheaper to buy and run. 

above all, a tractor is far, far quicker. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by doobin

[difflock]

On 25/05/2023 at 21:49, Dan Maynard said:

Tell him I'll do it for £600.

 

We had a song and dance over money last week, reasonable size job but customer has range rover and Bentley on the drive. Difficult to figure sometimes.

May I comment that I am perhaps a trifle sensitive to tradesmen looking at the size(largeish, but very plain) of the house we built, then computing the acreage it is sitting in, and thereby adjusting there prices!

I fear it does happen, consiously or unconsiously, "cos, hey, "they" can afford it",

Btw. Tis is a phrase I have heard farming neighbours use in respect of better doing neighbours.

No Ferraries, Bentlys or RR's here though.

Only 2 parked-up scrap cars in the back field!

[Steve Bullman]

The Bentley in the drive thing means nothing. Everyone has different expenses. Some people start to feel the pinch when their bank account t is down to £1000. Others, like the guy mentioned earlier with £20,000 rent payments to find probably starts to feel skint when his account drops below £100,000

[Domino]

On 31/05/2023 at 06:46, doobin said:

You’ve got no visibility at all with the collector box in front of you! With a rear mount you’ve a chance of seeing some thing you want to keep and lifting up as you pass over it, no chance with the box in front of you. Compaction levels- the tractor weighs less than the loader on a similar footprint. The tractor is more nimble than the loader with its independent brakes and in this case bi-speed turning. 
 

 

I do tons of cut and collect and all the loader is good for is clearing up and pushing the dump pile up imo. I don’t get why people are wed to using their loaders as an inneficient hydraulic tool carrier when direct drive pto compact tractors and implements are much cheaper to buy and run. 

above all, a tractor is far, far quicker. 

Wow, that's an amazing setup, simply stunning, I can only dream of such things...I bow down to you're immense setup and knowledge oh great one! 

You seem to be totally missing point matey....I do tree surgery, hence the forum title, not mowing for a living.  Our two Avant loaders earn their keep moving timber/brash/chip as well as running digger attachments, cone splitters, flails, cement mixers to name but a few.  My point was using existing equipment to make an income when tree work is quiet...do you get that, or is it too complicated?? 

 

[Hank]

Different industry here (timber frame carpentry) but one thing that has really stood out to me this year is the amount of ghosting going on from prospective clients. I've had plenty of people asking for quotes and drawings and such, which I usually just absorb into the final cost of the project, except this year all but one of those enquiries has ghosted me. Infuriating. 
 

Are tree companies experiencing anything similar? It's so rude!

[Mick Dempsey]

59 minutes ago, Hank said:

Different industry here (timber frame carpentry) but one thing that has really stood out to me this year is the amount of ghosting going on from prospective clients. I've had plenty of people asking for quotes and drawings and such, which I usually just absorb into the final cost of the project, except this year all but one of those enquiries has ghosted me. Infuriating. 
 

Are tree companies experiencing anything similar? It's so rude!

Well yeah, but we don’t have to put the amount of work into a quote that you do, so if someone doesn’t respond I assume they don’t want me to do the work.

I’d charge them for the plans if I were you.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Mick Dempsey