Jonny69

The TORX security bolt set that you get from screwfix does not fit all security fences. I have encountered a couple that they don't fit. Best bet it to put a blade screwdriver head that fits inside the torx or allen key head and spin it up on the impact driver. It will snap out the centre pin and then you can use normal bits. Easy

I've been asked on several occasions. The answer is always the same. Wallet out or its being chipped. They always want it a bit small, bigger, longer, straighter than the piece they are holding on to. If the wallet isn't out within 3 seconds the revs go back up and I chip all the nice looking bits first. Just to make sure they don't come back scrounging again. They are the most useless, boring people I've ever met. Surely there are exceptions to my experience, I'd like to meet someone sharp who did it. Because the thought of saving a few bits to be made into something nice makes my heart warm.

Was that total lifts an weight for the whole tree or is there more to come? Nice video btw

I think you'll be fine. Bear in mind the 3000kg is breaking strain. So when new that pulley design would have had 1500kg of pressure applied to each leg and snapped just above that limit. I've never snapped any mechanical equipment used in tree work. Only ever had the ropes break and they were certainly not being used for their intended purpose at the time.

I think you may have your maths out. 30kn is 3000kg not 300kg. 1500kg each side. Which is 10x your working load of 150kg. Rigging kit is supposed to be 5x working load. PPE is 10x as I recall.

I looked into sharpening grinder teeth and imo its not worth bothering. It's a dusty horrible job and creates one hell of a mess in the shed unless you've got a good extraction system. Also, it takes forever and grinding stumps pays better than sharpening teeth. Change them on site and crack on. Saying that I collect the ones i've taken off and probably have several thousand pounds worth of 700series greetheeth in a box. When someone comes up with a cost effective way to do it ill be quids in!

Good work. I thought those first few bits were going to end in tears for the shed and next doors fence. Have you got a GRCS?

I can't believe no one has said this, but I think you are lazy Stefan. Working 23hours a day is standard for any grafter. Why would you want to work any less. Best bet is to reduce your prices a bit more so you get even more work in. When you have to buy night vision goggles and grind from 6am-11pm then you'll have reached your true alpha male potential. Btw, 11pm - 5am is for maintenance, paperwork, quoting and mainlining coffee. Of course you could eye ball paul it for the same effect.

I hate to play devils advocate and of course it is very silly.....................but have you ever tried to ignite petrol with a lit cigarette?

Stephen Blair summed it up. Unless you will be turning over £250k plus in the first year and have 100k in the bank they are really not interested. Small fry to the banks. When you have a chunk in there they will constantly try and sell you overdrafts and credit cards. No point spending the extra accountancy fees on being a LTD company unless you are clearing quite a lot of money and want to shield it from tax and national insurance. Even then an LLP is probably better if you are married or have a partner. R.e not losing your house. If you can't afford very expensive lawyers and it goes wrong you'd better get a job quick. The mortgage company isn't going to care if you have lost your business. At the same time, a finance company will not make you homeless over a 20k chipper. They want the debt recovered and that won't happen if you are on the street.

Get a 14-16ft tilt bed with dropsides and a drop down tailgate/ramp. Covered both ways. I wouldn't get a car transporter. They are normally just floored where the wheels go and not really much use for plant and tools.

If you are planning to sell these could you please pm a price to do it. They look really handy. Many Thanks Jonathan EDIT: c......................collection of course

This Reputation and of course the main concern when owning a shiny new pick up, street cred. I saw one of those ssangyong (spp) pickups in the village the other day! I realise that a work truck is there to earn its keep. But if you are a owner driver why the hell would you buy a cheap nasty looking piece of scrap when the mainstream competition is so readily available and you have so much choice. As a side note, i'm not a massive fan of the D-max but pretty sure that comes with a 5 year 100000 mile warranty and with a bit of spec on is about £20k. The difference you will get back at the end of ownership anyway.

Have a hedge cutter in the truck and start doing that for a couple of hours, leave at 3pm. offer to get the customers ride on out of the shed and mow the lawn. Do some weeding. Any other option you can think of. Meanwhile whoever else is on site cleans and sharpens the saws, does the truck tyre pressures, greases machines etc etc. Works well enough for me. I explain this to the customer. Of course you could drag the job out all day if you wanted, i'm not a fan of that option though. As a side not, we do quite a bit of commercial site and building site work which is almost exclusively priced on day rate.

I found a good way to get around this it to give them a day or 1/2 rate instead of looking at the job. Some tree cutters obviously don't like this option. But it means I get quite a lot of work without ever seeing the trees and that saves loads of time for me. I might be an hour long here and an hour short there but its pretty close and it has saved me no end of time driving around the countryside. I would say it averages 2 days a week being filled and I haven't looked at the job. Of course there are exceptions to this and anything tricky sounding gets looked at. EDIT: Just realised most of my work is commercial or in villages so I rarely see a job less than £300. This may not be applicable depends on the type of work you do I suppose.

Currently I am being loaned a TR6 with about 300 hours on it. We have put about 12 hours on in the last week, so, I am far from an experienced user. I would have preferred the folding hopper, the fixed drives me mad though that is personal preference. The tracking. Knocks the hell out of you over long distances and is very lumpy to operate and twitchy. One track goes quite a bit faster than the other (this could be down to maintenance from the previous owner) The pan and welding in general. I can see clear daylight through the pan in several places. Not sure if this is normal but I don't like it, it just looks a bit pokey. Saying that I currently own a bandit. It has had whole new tacho, control unit thingy, which is currently showing about 17 hours. Which seems like a lot of money for not much benefit. Would a normal tacho and ignition not save a few hundred per unit which could be passed on to the customer. Grease bank, one pipe has been rubbing for a while on the top roller spring which looks a lot it was there from new. The grease pipe for the main flywheel bearing had come off when I opened it up after greasing twice. No idea how long it hadn't been on, or when that bearing was last greased. It now has a grease nipple in it because I don't want to give it back broken. All that said, it chips really well. Rollers are fast and aggressive. Throws chips nicely into the trailer and tows well, with it being quite a bit lighter than my current machine. I have't had it on any banks yet so can't comment on stability. I would be interested to try a TR8, Provided they seam, not stitch weld everything, it comes remote control, and on a wider track base.

I am no expert, having never been employed and not gone out self employed for about 10 years, but I think you actually earn more than the self employed climber. I would think at £110 he would earn the same as you are now. Assuming your employer provides everything (PPE, chainsaws, climbing gear etc) and he provides everything himself.

Chris Rock solved most of these issues many years ago and even made a handy instructional video for everyone

As quick update: On my travels yesterday along the A14 I spotted a Landcruiser VX/Amazon on its wheels, facing the wrong way with a trailer on it's side, belly facing the opposite carriageway. It must have only just happened as there was only a tiny queue at this point. I couldn't quite tell what the trailer was (As I only had a clear view of the underside) but it had two axles and a galvanised canopy so I assume it was for livestock, at least a 12ft long trailer. So even if you have the right vehicle for the job you can still be in trouble. He/she can't have been going very fast as the trailer was still attached, when I have seen bad towing accidents with trailers before everything is on its side and a couple of times I've seen the trailer come away as well. Stay safe.

Beautiful trucks, great to drive and tow with. I have highlighted in red where you may be mis-informed. If you are going have one may as well get the XS for the cruise control, heated seats and screen etc. These don't go wrong anyway. As Dean has already mentioned. The average bill for repairs will be quite different to your current truck. If I was to have another Disco it would be less than a year old, run it till the warranty ends and sell it. Not worth the trouble or time off the road if it's your only vehicle. On a side not you can get the same year Range Rover 4.4 petrol (no lpg kit) for similar money but it will be much tidier and have all the toys already. I wouldn't worry about the fuel consumption anyway. The repairs on either will outweigh a few quid you might save on fuel.

Just buy more machines to get the jobs done faster.

Just cut a hole in the back (or sides) for a bottle jack. £30 max Just re read your post. Is the tree already failed against the piggery, ie it's standing timber but no longer attached at the floor? If it is a tirfor won't help you. It will just take up the tension then the piece will roll/fall sideways and bust the wall/roof anyway. If its already fallen over into the wall just chain it up with a telehandler and lift it away.

Glad you are okay. I came to that conclusion by trial and error, of course I am no expert but I do have a lot of miles towing heavy trailers on a large variety of 3.5ton trucks and 4x4's so that must count for something. If you have an outstanding issue like a tyre half flat or brakes that don't all work at the same time, or work at all then of course you're fighting a losing battle. One major issue I see on the road is people buying a pickup and believing themselves to be "invincible" because of marketing literature and ignoring the potential for issues when towing heavy.

I know everyone is saying towbar to high, but I would be inclined to think the towbar was to low and the trailer weighted poorly. Which made it pick the back of the truck up. Made worse on a pickup because the towbar is so far from the rear axle. No way should you be getting snaking with such a light load on at 40mph unless something was off. Out of interest what was the wheel size on the trailer and what tyre pressures did you have on the truck and trailer? As far as correcting it. I either leave the whole lot alone and let it come back naturally or time it so I stab the brakes as its comes past straight, if you time it right you can lose 10mph and the trailer brakes coming in hard pulls everything back in line again.

If its hire purchase you will be fine. The settlement figure will be without of the next two years worth of interest as well. Of course the interest will compound over the period so you will have already paid a fair chunk of the total interest repayable in the first year. If you pay off a large sum you should be able to chose to shorten the period remaining and keep the same repayment or lower the monthly repayments and keep the duration the same.