monkeybusiness

Sometimes heavy trailers pointed backwards downhill need a bit of extra handbrake lifty lifty to really engage the brakes in my experience. Mr Blair - if your trailer handbrake can foul on the headboard at or near full application then I would think that there is something wrong with the design/construction of the trailer. If the handbrake is restricted in its movement then full braking force can't be applied and your trailer may well run away backwards downhill. Heavily laden trailers with not enough handbrake application can creep back a bit until the handbrake settles and is pulled on further by the mechanism, but they shouldn't run away more than a few inches if correctly constructed and maintained. There are many adjustments required to properly set up trailer brakes - it isn't just a case of winding up and then backing off the shoes as the amount of play in the cables is equally important. It's a bit of a dark art which is why I leave all of my trailer/trailed plant running gear servicing to an expert every 3 months. Engines, vehicles, tractors and chippers are a piece of cake in comparison!

They do munch trough the brash when set up properly! I think a lot of these machines have been used on hire fleets with limited maintenance - get one that is looked after and not much will keep up!

Search for rye oil (that's his username but might be spelt wrong) on here - great value and really thick sticky oil!

That powerline will happily electrocute you to death just as quickly as any other - do not assume it is insulated whatever people on here say. Talk to the DNO (whoever owns the electricity network in your area eg Scottish Power, Western Power etc) before you mess around near that.

Crappy news, sorry to hear this. Good luck getting sorted pal.

Hi - we are taking a big beech tree down at the end of the month in Mobberley near Knutsford, Cheshire. I'm looking for a buyer for the timber. It can be delivered locally by tractor and forwarding trailer or stacked at roadside for your haulier. If you are interested please call Dan on 07970188050. Cheers!

Where? To buy or rent?

Greenmech 1928 Safetrak will get to places no other chippers will reach. They are great at chipping too!

Check it isn't drawing air in upstream of the pump (ie on the suction side).

Gray Git - what make is the platform on your Landy? I'm in the market for one and want as much reach as possible - yours looks good!

I've had foaming hydraulic oil on a chipper before and it was because air was getting in through a badly sealed filter in the suction line to the pump. Check all connections on the suction line.

Well done Steve and all the contributors - that is a well deserved thank you (and a nice touch to boot)!

I'm crying!!!

Cheers John - I've had a chat with him - seems a decent bloke. The spec is G30. Anyone else?

Hi - I've got a customer with a couple of hundred tonnes of timber that needs chipping into a boiler feedhopper - is there anyone around Macc with a decent set up? I'm not sure of the required chip spec yet but will post when I know. Cheers, Dan (07970188050).

Is it wood smoke or oil smoke? (ie does it smell like a bonfire or an old engine)? If it is woodsmoke check there isn't a chog of wood jammed somewhere rubbing on the flywheel/belts/tensioner pulley/resting on the exhaust etc. Also make sure the exhaust isn't blowing and directing hot exhaust onto a build up of chip somewhere. If it is definitely coming from the engine then go and see a mechanic would be my advice - an engine is an engine.

It's a big unit to shift about anywhere by hand, but on the back of the Land Rover/Iveco/Toyota Dyna/Ranger it's fine. I've never had a problem with it but have had quite a lot of practice reversing trailers. It's always useful having a banksman if it's a bit tight though...

I've got a 12x6 and wouldn't swap for smaller - I have never really thought 'I wish this trailer couldn't carry quite so much'. It'll go pretty much anywhere a van will go, and you can strip the sides off and carry a car/van/Land Rover if needs be. It's a heavy old thing when loaded to the top with logs or chip though (pushing 8 cube - you know it's on the back whatever you pull it with and possibly not legally allowed on the road in that state).

Lend him your old Makita (am I right?) harness and tell him to man up! 60 feet of blue polyprop should give him a chance to see if it's for him or not...

One of my neighbours is a commercial diver involved in the oil industry, and has worked a lot in the middle east. He told me that he'd been involved in that type of excavator set up (oil company buys a new machine, takes out the engine and removes the cab, plumbs it in via an umbilical to a big hydraulic powerpack on a vessel on the surface etc) and I was convinced it was a tall tale! I'll have to eat my words!

I think that most people with chippers generally don't like chipping other people's c**p. I will chip for anyone at £80 plus vat per hour (1 hour minimum), and occasionally use it as a fill in job on the way home, but it isn't work I actively seek. It is explained to the client before hand that only clean brash/timber goes into the machine, so there is a good chance that there may be leftovers! There is about 10 mins chipping in your pic at most, but it will cost you to get rid (unless you can burn it).

That is the mutts nuts! Your boy done good - better than poontanging around Cheshire in the p**sing rain fannying around with trees!

It's a Deutz Agrotron, not a JD.

Is that to 'confuse' the pump into not seeing the closed downstream spool as requiring maximum power? Would it work in the real world (would the pump perform as normal when called upon?). Would the pump be constantly engaged sending oil through the pressure regulator valve when not winching, negating some of the benefits of load sensing in the first place? Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to get my head around how this might work but I don't want to reinvent the wheel. It seems a shame not to make use of the pump already fitted to the tractor, particularly as a quick look at pto pumps on Flowfit's site appears to show nothing available from their standard line up that can match the performance of the power beyond setup. I would imagine an equivalent performing pto pump is going to be pretty heavy money itself. I know that there is going to be a chunk of money spent somewhere and that is fine, but I'd rather only spend it once and if I could kill 2 birds with one stone (ie use the flow to run the crane as well) then that would be superb.

There are obviously a lot of knowledgeable people on here so maybe you can let me know if my next idea has any legs or not... The winch came with a spool valve, but not compatible with the load sensing hydraulics on the tractor. Is it possible to fit a straightforward load sensing valve (no spool control required) 'upstream' of the winch's original spool valve to control the tractor's pump? If so I could also plumb my timber trailer's crane into it - this currently runs fine through a bog standard constant flow spool on the back of the tractor but a bit more speed wouldn't hurt...