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Our call out is built into a term contract, its about £90 an hour from when we get the initial call for a 2 man team. We don't take the chipper, just a 4x4 with saws etc and cut and stack, doing minimal works to make safe, re-open road etc. Private work gets less priority unless cutomers will pay on completion, they want you there straight away so they can get out of the drive etc. Then when you give them the bill a week later they start arguing about 'how much' and 'how long' you were there.

I've just done that very thing, and my 26 tonne hookloader and 14t pm crane should be here in tuesday. I don't really like mogs they are just usefull for some jobs, our u1200 can get places that our 3.5 tonner & 7.5 tonner can't i.e. round narrow access roads in cemeteries without needing to reverse with the chipper or they drive into fields where tracking the tracked chipper might be too time consuming. I like to have options when programming work so I will keep a mog and chipper combo. Your right about the expense in running them. We have just been investigated by HMRC for the second time in less than a year regarding running them on red, and now have to run both mogs on white, and parts can be frightening when compared to say an Iveco. As for landrovers, they just annoy me, the bloke I worked for about 12 years ago had a normally aspirated defender 90 with no heaters and typical no door seals, I had to drive it all over scotland during the winter months towing a 3.5tonne tipping trailer. I swore down then I would never buy one for work. I did buy my lass a freelander TD4 which has been alright for the last year or so but defenders are a no go area.

We're on call from the 19th to the 5th, no calls yet but I have been out at 1am on christmas day before and stayed sober on new years eve because it blowing a gale all night and whats worse is I didn't even get a single call.

I saw that machine, it blonged to Elite Tree Services, it was as clsoe to an ultimate all rounder as I think you could get. The benifit of our set up is we can be in two places at the same time.

Hey Stevie, I think that grant is just available in our area i'm afraid, its based on increasing the renewable energy available and will pay for infrastructure, plant, training etc. I'm sure there will be grants availalbe in your area, its just a case of finding them, a friend of mine told me about it and gave me the number for the scheme administrator who came to our yard and advised what could and couldn't be applied for. I'll give her a call on monday and see if there are any similar set-ups around the country and who to contact if there are.

Our u1500 has the crane mounted on the rear and tows a similar trailer to Skyhucks, we then have a U1200 with a chipper and chip box. This set up probably cost less to buy than skyhuck's all singing all dancing single mog but for a one team set up, who I assume will only need the crane and trailer at the same time its probably the best set up for him plus if you put that crane onto the mog there would be no room for the chip box.

I told ACP I would have one of those 8-400's in his yard in October, but had to postpone it as I found out I may be able to get a grant to fund 40% of the purchase price. I'm working on the business plan for the grant application and hopefully will find out if successfull in late jan.

Our works party was last weekend, Go karting in the morning, get changed go to pub for meal and a few beers, then into town for big night oot. Got back home at 2.30am (apparently) , don't know how I got back, I can't remember much after 8pm woke up on sunday with the mother of all hangovers, but I did better than one lad who slept in the multi storey car park and got the bus home in the morning.

Sorry to hear about your mog Skyhuck, I know the pain a mog can cause, its worse than any other pain in the world. I'm sure Alex will have it sorted and back at work in no time.

We hired a Predator 26 last year, it had very few hours on it and had just had its 2nd new cluthch fitted by the dealer. We ground 8 or 9 stumps in the morning and the clutch was bunt out, that was taking our time, grinding 14" diameter ash and cherry stumps. I personally think the machines are an excellent concept, just poorly constructed.

This is possibly one of the most interesting threads I've seen on here. Long may it go on.

I'd go for a Greenmech, I had loads and loads of problems with them in the past (older models) and didn't really rate them as a chipper at all. I now run three jensens and a Schliesling. Our tracked 9" Jensen will not go up a railway cess or anywhere for that matter that doesn't have flat ish ground with no obstructions. I've hired in Greenmechs for rail work, leaving our Jensens in the shed becasue of that reason. I still don't think greenmechs are as well built as the the others but they are a lot better than they were and are the best for rail work. Like Ed says, if the job justify's it get a big chipper in and forward the material to it if needs be because more often than not its large mature hawthorn on a steep embankment and no greenmech or jensen likes them.

We now use Riskdisc which is a kind of credit check company, you can view a company's performance and history etc on thier website before you begin doing work for them or you have done the work and they will not pay for some reason. There are a few comany's doing this now, it will give you an insight into the comany, they will also do any legal chasing on your behalf for an additional fee, its seems to be working so far.

I'd only ever lost £400 in 9 years trading until this year when a large Landscape Design firm went under taking us for £4.5 grand, that was hard to take.

Like you say, its about having a laugh and getting on the bike, I'm no pro, I just love a blast out on a sunday to clear the cobwebs. Did you get to Wec in Wales, the extreme test was an eye opener, log section looked rally tricky until Paul Eddy cleaned it, feet up in no time at all.

I'd love to be able to keep them covered and indeed split them under cover as it usually ends up getting done in the pissing rain. I just have one bay made up of steel girder and sleepeers and welded to one of the shipping containers. Our sheds are full of more expenside chippers, trailers and stump grinder etc, so they take priority unfortunaltey. I used to deliver them on the transit, tip the back up slightly and pull and run. I now either drop them on my little single axle trailer which is only about 8" off the floor and can be moved in to peoples garages if need be, or on the 7.5 tonner with a small hi-ab which will lift them over a wall and upto 4 metes.

Not as yet, this year I've done the Dirtbike-traxs cross coutry series, North Yorks area (Hare and Hounds) and few of the North of England Enduro Championships (Timecard enduros) and the Dirtzberg extreme enduro in Penrith which wasn't all that good. I'm on the lookout for a decent camper so I can do the british Championships next year and I'm going to do all the North of England Rounds if possible, its much preferable to a hare and hounds. Got my presentation night in Harrogate on saturday night, I came third in the Clubman Open Class so I'll get a trophy and probably a Litre of Putoline as a prize. But at least I get a good night out.

Get a look at http://www.enduronews.com and see where your nearest club / event is on. Then get a day licence and have a go at a hare and hounds. Theres nowt like a bit of competition to get the heart pumping.

We sell bags at £40 plus delivery, (usually £5 - £10) Selling around 5-10 per week at the moment and I'm quite happy with it. Thats mixed around 80% hardwood from last years pile, stored outside. We've never had any complaints and get lots of repeat orders.

Hi David, did you build or modify that trailer? it looks a very tidy bit of kit. Does the mog tow it ok?

There's no saving in fuel on the mog, its been run on white for over a year now. It does about 11 mpg and I assume the Iveco will be around 8? I've just been investigated today by HMRC again (second time in 14 months for running the mogs on red diesel. I've now been told in no uncertain terms that our unimogs cannot run on red diesel whether carrying a load or not. (I know this is off topic so I wont go any further) I didn't realise I'd have a 12 tonne payload, that sounds good, although we'd proably struggle to get that into a 16ft bin.

I've just priced a T190 from our local(ish) dealer in Northallerton, he reckons additional £3.5k for a reverse drive console fitted which is well worth it if your going to have roof crane or forwarding trailer behind, but probably not so valuable if its just a standard trailer or winch.

Cheers Ed, I'd of prefered a daf or scania but this is the first spec like this I've found so it'll do. It'll run rings round the mog all day, 270hp, double drive with diff-lock, reversing camera, on board weigher, overhead cable warning device etc. Its ex Environment Agency so pretty well maintained and not done a lot of work.. I also think I've sold the mog (without the trailer) for the same as money as I've just paid for the truck, fair swap I'd say.

I've never looked into them but I bet your teking £20 - £25K for one

(Twin trac) Not sure what this is but if its the 40k box and creep all valmets have it as standard so its no extra mate. good luck with it, there are plenty around now so look at a few of them at least