Show us your Arb Diggers please.

[LGP Eddie]

Yeah, I was talking to the fella from Liebherr who heads up the refurbishment team and he was rightly very proud of it as a showcase. I couldn't believe it when he let me have a go, and I was surprised how well that shear cuts through limestone too....

 

Hope you filled your boots, the blades will touch up with the grinder!

 

 

 

Eddie.

[monkeybusiness]

Hope you filled your boots, the blades will touch up with the grinder!

 

 

 

Eddie.

 

Ha ha! I don't think anyone was getting near the cab on the Big Feller Eddie - no way would Liebherr want any dirt getting in there!

 

The 970 on their stand was some tool too - it should be for £450k to be fair (but that looked pretty reasonable compared to £170k for a 10 tonne Atlas Copco pecker displayed near by)!!!!

 

Great show, and plenty of food for thought!

[donnk]

wee digger and wee chipper

 

Wouldn't the chipper benefit from the feed chute being able to be angled up so the weight of the branches force it through as it seemed to stop a lot.

[Gray git]

Well spotted!

 

Basically for absolute maximum height and reach, I can remove the actual Engcon Tiltrotator unit and go directly with the top quick hitch into the bottom position.

This gives a worthwhile gain in forward reach and cutting height, with the bonus that 900kg of weight has been removed to counteract this.

All this can be achieved without leaving the seat via the Engcon Ec-Oil connection system.

 

To give some idea, the machine will handle around 1 tonne at full reach in the shear over the side in the configuration you see there, and more in the grapple saw.

 

It's really a lot more compact than it would at first seem, and folds down superbly for transport, but once unfolded and cab set at a comfortable height, its some bit of kit and seriously quick too!

 

 

 

Eddie.

 

Cheers Eddie

Makes sense now, dropping that 900kg of mettle equals a awful lot more tree that can be handled at full reach or on a slope and so nice being able to do it from the cab quickly and without getting covered in oil.

Looking forward to the video and finding out how it go's on go's on the job.

[rowan lee]

That's a work of art Eddie. Hats off to all the thinkers making this stuff real nowadays.

[Tentman]

A very interesting thread Guys, could I please have the benefit of your vast experience . . . I need a very stable mini in the 1.7 to 2.0 tonne operating weight class. All the machines I can find in this class are optimised for "access" with trackframes limited to about 1400 maximum, wether extended or not.

 

Down here a lot of larger machines - 20 plus tonnes usually - have the trackframes widened (and sometimes adjusted for ground clearance) when they are to be used in forestry where operation on steep slopes is the norm.

 

What would be the issues/problems (apart from transport and access) with operating a machine if I was to have a mini with a frame length of about 1900 widened out so the trackframe finishes at around 1600-1800 wide?? Would it give a noticeable increase in stability for working on slopes over a 1200/1300 wide machine ??

 

Thanks

[Tom at Heartwood]

Hello.

 

I've got a Doosan DX27 on demo tomorrow, any thoughts or experiences of these? I'm looking for a machine to tow on a 3.5t trailer, not necesssarily zero tail swing. It's for ground work at home, possibly for use with a cone log splitter/stump planer and log grab and for bits and pieces of woodland access track work. Also considering a Kubota KX61 and Volvo EC25 or EC27.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

[LGP Eddie]

Hello.

 

I've got a Doosan DX27 on demo tomorrow, any thoughts or experiences of these? I'm looking for a machine to tow on a 3.5t trailer, not necesssarily zero tail swing. It's for ground work at home, possibly for use with a cone log splitter/stump planer and log grab and for bits and pieces of woodland access track work. Also considering a Kubota KX61 and Volvo EC25 or EC27.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

 

 

Just looking myself at present and shortlist started at Kubota U27-4 and Volvo Ecr25d, as I wanted reduced tail, but would tick any additional counterweight box which always adds a little.

 

Kubota is total quality, extremely sought after and almost a no brainer purchase. However, sitting in the Volvo at 6' 4" and best described as fat, it was surprising how not only have they achieved a cab that is what some 5 toners have in terms of room, but a real set of track pedals that put many full size machines to shame.

The Volvo also has the added benefit that two dual acting auxiliary circuits controlled by rollers on the joysticks are available from the factory, making for easy grab installation with excellent control.

 

I'm going to get both on demo, but first impression and available spec, the Volvo is edging it.

 

Kubota KX61 is totally bombproof, but always horrendously lively when trying to track carefully.

Volvo Ec27 can be had with all the auxiliary pipework which is handy.

 

If you're heading in the woods, the Yanmar has incredible ground clearance, and again great pipework options.

 

Nothing wrong with Doosan, but price should reflect it'll be no Kubota come resale time.

 

 

Eddie.

[LGP Eddie]

A very interesting thread Guys, could I please have the benefit of your vast experience . . . I need a very stable mini in the 1.7 to 2.0 tonne operating weight class. All the machines I can find in this class are optimised for "access" with trackframes limited to about 1400 maximum, wether extended or not.

 

Down here a lot of larger machines - 20 plus tonnes usually - have the trackframes widened (and sometimes adjusted for ground clearance) when they are to be used in forestry where operation on steep slopes is the norm.

 

What would be the issues/problems (apart from transport and access) with operating a machine if I was to have a mini with a frame length of about 1900 widened out so the trackframe finishes at around 1600-1800 wide?? Would it give a noticeable increase in stability for working on slopes over a 1200/1300 wide machine ??

 

Thanks

 

 

I don't know if you have seen the Wacker Neuson ET20 VDS, but this would be one way around it without any mods.

 

Other than that, yes modify the frame and don't spare the metal as any weight you add is all doing good down low.

My own Kubota is incredible on side slopes, being widened, low ground pressure and a big winch in the frame all adding weight down low.

 

 

[ame]

[/ame]

 

 

 

 

Eddie.

[Matthew Storrs]

Hello.

 

I've got a Doosan DX27 on demo tomorrow, any thoughts or experiences of these? I'm looking for a machine to tow on a 3.5t trailer, not necesssarily zero tail swing. It's for ground work at home, possibly for use with a cone log splitter/stump planer and log grab and for bits and pieces of woodland access track work. Also considering a Kubota KX61 and Volvo EC25 or EC27.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom.

 

How about getting a demo on the wacker neuson 2503 (2.6t) can be towed comfortably at that weight without having to make sure you get all the dirt out of the tracks like you do with 2.8t models. I've just ordered a new Takeuchi tb216 (1.8t) but the Wacker i compared it against was a pretty hi spec machine as standard, more so than the Tak but more pricey.