RichardT

Jim, If you've got rid of your photos of the mini skidder I've still got the ones you sent me a while back when I was under sore temptation to buy it....just as well it's gone as I've now got shot of the little Mog 411 and created some shed space, but a pity it's getting dismembered. Come to think of it, as you can't at the moment find me a used big alpine maybe you should build me one...

Two homebrew Alstor knockoffs, FYI: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_sVGPG5oA8]RF8 8x8 /3 - YouTube[/ame] Xcat - 8x8 auf 4 Boogieachsen

I still think a mid sized dumper could be made into a good compact skidder You'll occasionally see homebrews of this type on Blocket.se - Sveriges största Köp & Sälj marknad, also smaller ones designed for skidding elks to roadside. The obvious advantage of a tractor front end is that it can do other stuff when not hauling a trailer. I've probably posted this eg before: Mactrac | Miniskotaren Mactrac Then again something like the Kranman Bison front end could equally be mated with a simple skidder or loader back end....

I am sure that there are agricultural mechanics here that could build a better machine for a lower price. I agree, let's crowdsource a spec, seedcorn funding and crack on with it!

If I've voodoo'd you I'll pop up the A1 and help with the de-bogging!

How do you find the industrial tyres in daily use? The tractors look like a good deal but less so adding £3k odd for new boots....

Platts Harris are advertising a demo 532d for £13k.

What's the hp on the Boxer, and who makes the flail? I've a little Muratori flail for the Multione and I've pretty much killed it on gorse, broom &c.

Missed this thread. Definitely Goldoni, same nose as mine! Looks like they're badging up most of the Euro and Maxter/Cluster alpines. Doubt they'll get here. New Holland News - Notizie dal mondo New Holland Used to be badged as Deeres until quite recently.

Did the previous owner survive the shot through the windscreen?

Thanks all, on Friday I had a flying visit by a passing Arbtalk poster/ plant fitter and another, unusually prompt, by the local Deere workshop gaffer (my neighbour's a semi retired director) and both judged it fixable at sensible cost, so it's on the operating table at the moment and I hope recommissioned by next week. I'll send photos and summary anyway to the generally helpful CSF after sales people, but doubt I'll get more than an Italian style shrug.

They like their "system tractors", the teutons. Doppstadt and others used to do similar machines. Very capable. The price though..... There's a Fendt under all that, by the look of it?

this is an easy repair... I was with you up to there! No doubt it's doable, but not by me, and given the need for a total strip down etc. the repair cost/book value ratio is the problem. I'll use your comments for bluffing purposes when the estimates come in...... That looks like a weakness in design... My money's on duff welding on the flange, I've seen harder worked machines with much higher hours. The articulation joint should be taking almost all the strain and the steering ram brackets should be good for far more punishment than 20hp worth of hyd pump can dish out. Very annoying, it's been a really handy tool.

Cheers. It's pretty damned tight under there. Can't even see for sure if the plate the flange sits on has failed or if it was welded into a slot and just the weld has gone...and if I try to manouevre it to the hoist to get a proper look underneath and the tank weld goes completely in the process, it's a big slick and 900kg of dead weight.. Any recent experience of ag engineers hourly charging?

Well, I can see them on Safari, again..... Failing that they're in my profile gallery.

Here goes... General view: 2 of failed welds: Orientation front and side:

Arrrggghhhhh! Evidently not my day. Works for me on Safari, on Mac and iPad, not on Chrome and not on the Kindle browser. I'll have another crack at it after a coffee, tab and swear.

Good point. General view of ram and lower attach't on 'axle' box. Crack right through from rh flange edge to the circular hole the hoses emerge through. Hy tank plug to r. [attach]115954[/attach] Failed lower weld (or plate, hard to tell), see flange/pin angle. Upper weld fail unclear, but see line of hyd oil along upper weld edge. [attach]115953[/attach] Front view for orientation: 'axle' box, red filler cap at top of hyd tank. [attach]115955[/attach] Nasty!

So, my wee CSF/Multione artic yard loader has a hyd oil leak from the belly plate this AM, I remove assuming a worn hose or at worst failed steering ram seal, instead the front anchors of the ram have basically disassembled themselves: the horizontal flange holding lower bearing is nearly adrift from the vertical plate it's welded into, and as a result the upper bearing welded onto the horizontal surface above is being stressed sideways enough to crack its weld, this surface being, judging by the location of the drain plug, the bottom of the hyd tank. Hence leak. Can't begin to think how this happened, maybe post-pub Friday in Modena. It's well beyond my modest welding abilities, and being all-hydraulic I can't drain/ disassemble it prior to it being taken away (can probably drive it in a straightish line onto a wagon/trailer), so the whole job would be at however many gazillion £/hour ag engineers currently charge. Any help on working up ballpark numbers for fabrication work helpful, before I start making calls and have a coronary.

Top end alpine, guarded, reversible and dual steer, hyds and pto at both ends, easy on/off loader of the Biglift type. Loadsa spools.

if it was used as a daily grafter That's the plan, we're talking Hardscrabble Farm not Buccleugh Estates! Present workhorse is a Goldoni 70hp conventional compact w/ loader (pic in profile), handy but I've had to max the tread for slopes, and no reverse drive: I like to be able to get out of trouble as fast as I got into it (viz Donald Sutherland's Sherman) and spending the day mulching with my head turned 180* does not appeal...

Yes, that's pretty much my ideal rig right there. Let me know if it becomes surplus! Annoyingly I just missed out on a mint used BCS Volcan with Meri Crusher, minus loader and cab. Hens teeth, etc. That's a Seppi, yes? Cutting width? There seem to be a couple of cheaper Italian brands around that don't have proper UK distribution, maybe not contractor grade but I don't really need that. I may explore a direct buy.

Mulchers need lots of power!! Well, that presumably depends on what's being mulched, and how fast. A 10t 360 running a hydro mulching head doesn't have all that much power. And I wonder why all these 1.3m-odd machines are made if they need a full-size tractor to drive them..... The economics I can pretty much figure out myself, the old-fashioned way I'll leave to those a couple of decades younger, thanks anyway.

Anyone used a small mulcher (eg Seppi Miniforst) in combination with a compact (more specifically mid-range reverse drive alpine type, +/-60hp)? Plenty of YouTube footage to suggest the combo works ok, but I'd be interested in any experiences/opinions, what they can/ cannot realistically cope with, etc. Also suggestions on other manufacturers & suppliers. I've lots of work in mind here - establishing rides through birch/spruce regen, opening access across oldish brash for quad/foot/pony traffic, hammering rhodi spread, etc - and I've previously hired in 360 + mulcher head, but there are access issues for these machines and the skidsteer/mulcher hire outfits I've spoken to seem pretty selective about where they'll put their machines, also costly for long hire. ps very few used small mulchers around, so presumably resale values if bought new would be ok?