Trees, tools, vehicles

[cornish wood burner]

Brilliant I was thinking this - a relative may have one surplus to requirements - but a friend talked me out of it saying that lawn tractors have no articulation and wouldn't be suitable for rough ground. I mean, he's right, but maybe it's flat enough?? Must have another chat with relative!

If you did go down this route I would suggest it would be best to have some weight on the hitch, so if you build a small trailer for it keep the wheels further back than normal.Not so far that it will sit the mower up though. I use mine for transporting everything around my patch, strimmer,chainsaw, petrol,water and wood.

Amongst other saws I have a ms211 and while it probably is too small for most professional users I do most of my cutting with it. Suits me and probably do for you to. Remember even a ms 171 beats a hand saw. Get a short bar though

[coppicer]

In terms of versatility and keeping your options open in uncertain times, you can't beat the humble tractor.

If budget was no object I'd get a compact Kubota and a trailer just for the coppice and buy a secondhand 4x4 separately for occasional road towing. It's trying to squash all my requirements down to one vehicle that's causing the pain.

[cornish wood burner]

If budget was no object I'd get a compact Kubota and a trailer just for the coppice and buy a secondhand 4x4 separately for occasional road towing. It's trying to squash all my requirements down to one vehicle that's causing the pain.

Do you really need a 4x4 for occasional towing on the road? I have a braked 4 wheel 8x4 that I tow with my car that I use for transporting my wood.

[coppicer]

Do you really need a 4x4 for occasional towing on the road? I have a braked 4 wheel 8x4 that I tow with my car that I use for transporting my wood.

Mmm, don't have access to a braked trailer. I plan to use the trailer chiefly for carrying hard core from the local quarry to the house, a route with some fierce hills. Don't really want to try using my 1.6L work car (on which I depend) for that.

[scbk]

You could also look at a 4wd dumper truck. not as versatile as a tractor but can be used both on and off the road. Shorter than a tractor with trailer so can turn where there's little space.

[Coletti]

Mmm, don't have access to a braked trailer. I plan to use the trailer chiefly for carrying hard core from the local quarry to the house, a route with some fierce hills. Don't really want to try using my 1.6L work car (on which I depend) for that.

 

If you don't have access to a braked trailer then you can only tow a max gross weight of 750kg so you'll be lucky to get half a ton of hardcore at a time.

[normandylumberjack]

I take it the work that you are looking to do is more of a pass time than a cost cutting exercise/ self sufficiency attempt?

 

Have you looked into having the gravel delivered? or hire a tipper truck for a day or two? If you are looking to invest in a 4x4 for the sole purpose of shifting half a ton at a time, the fuel, wear and tear, mot, insurance and tax will all add up. not to mention your time.

 

I am not trying to put you off, as doing things in this manner is very enjoyable and rewarding, but, as I see many people here in Normandy doing is hobby farming, where they will buy thousands of €€€€ in compact tractors, implements, 4x4s, fuel and servicing etc. to grow a few euros worth of veg a year. and then claim that they are self sufficient.

 

It may be worth considering how much firewood you will consume each year, 10, 15, 20 M3 etc. and what is really needed to extract it? a trac barrow will shift a fair bit and could be hired for not a lot, no on going costs to you for repairs etc. just an idea.

[Commando]

I beg to differ on the not using atv's on serious slopes. I worked on a hill farm on exmoor for 4 years and it would surprise most people exactly where you can get a quad bike if you know what your doing and with good enough tyres. A decent quad will go literally anywhere!!

 

You are absolutely right about where you can get an ATV 'if you know what you are doing', however if you are towing anything weighty ie a laden trailer, topper etc on serious slopes then they are a dangerous bit of kit. Plenty of people killed and injured on them every year, with or without towing. (and many of them thought they 'knew what they were doing').

[sandspider]

If you do go for a lawn tractor / ride on mower type thing, I understand you can weld / jam the rear diff. That way if you get one drive wheel off the ground, it won't just spin uselessly but will carry on until both wheels touch again. Might make it harder to steer though!

[coppicer]

I have looked into delivery of the aggregate I use for filling holes on the track. They'll only deliver in bulk and they will dump it in one place. So I'd still end up wheelbarrowing it up and down the track and as I can't use everything at once I'll have a mini-volcano of aggregate sitting in a corner of the garden for most of the winter. First world problems perhaps, but I want to avoid them if I can.

 

I take it the work that you are looking to do is more of a pass time than a cost cutting exercise/ self sufficiency attempt?

Something along those lines. I mean, the woodburner is an integral part of the house's heating system so supplying my own fuel will help with the fuel bills and give me some exercise too. But the financial return on investment is going to be principally determined by the size of the investment, so the key issue is keeping the "I" in the ROI as small as possible.

 

Your comments about people spending lots of money to be able to claim, in effect, that they're not dependent on money are bang on the mark. I was brought up on a series of smallholdings by "back to the land" parents in the 1970s, so I understand the self-sufficiency mindset and the associated traps pretty well. (Ironically my property lies less than a mile from the farm where John Seymour wrote his classic [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/1405345101]book on the subject[/ame].)

 

I have repeatedly reminded myself that a quad/mini-tractor and an arb trailer would be cool, but they would have no utility outside of a very specific task. That's why I keep coming back to a 4x4 banger, although it wouldn't do that particular job as well as a tractor and although it would incur, as you point out, various other costs. In addition to extraction a decent 4x4 would be able to haul road stuff and allow us to get out of the house when the river floods across the half mile of woodland track that connects us to the outside world.

 

So the cheap-second-hand-farm-vehicle 4x4 has always been the "sensible" choice. I was just rather hoping that somebody would argue me out of it and persuade me to buy the Avant with the tree shears.

 

Anyway, it's been an interesting discussion so far and I thank everybody for their comments and advice!