monkeybusiness

I bought a timber trailer from Mark at Ryetec and he is a top bloke - if you have any issues (and I very much doubt you will) he will sort them straight away. I would imagine he has one of those grabs in the yard that you can have a play with before deciding whether to buy or not.

That is a great tractor - thanks for sharing. Why did you sell it?

Any pics of this beast?

Impossible to say without seeing it but if you have already ascertained that you aren't comfortable with a decent anchor point allowing you to reach what you want to cut then you need a MEWP IMO. Otherwise you are going to struggle/over-reach/bodge with poles/get Elvis-leg/leave a shoddy job. Someone will probably say that it is safe to tie in to 1" pop and that will be the answer to your question - if you aren't happy with your anchor point (and you know the job/your ability/comfort zone better than anyone on the internet) then you will probably not end up happy with the outcome. Get a MEWP and add it to your bill I'd say.

I've never had any problems with Saturn machine knives (and their sharpening service is very good too). They are all I've ever bought for Timberwolf and Greenmech and I can't say I could personally tell the difference between these and manufacturer's original equipment.

Reversing one of those with a tractor or a car/van are two completely different kettles of fish. I wouldn't consider one personally if you ever need to reverse anywhere - you lose all the steering lock and visibility afforded by a tractor.

I have installed quite a lot of Cobra/Boa and had one constantly undo itself. I think the problem stemmed from too sharp an angle of the rope entering the splice. I moved the splice further away from the branch (ie made the entire branch loop bigger) and it never came undone again.

I don't have personal experience of the Mowi or Palms but I have just bought a KTS trailer off Ryetec and I have to say I am very impressed with the build quality and attention to detail.

Have a look at certainlywood.co.uk - they sell bulk bags and deliver them on pallets. They seem to raise strong opinions on here but I don't know of another nationwide firewood supply company, and they appear to be doing well.

You want the twin wheel 350 if you want any sort of useful legal payload. The cab is tiny too. Good trucks with fantastic steering lock though.

Don't bother unless you want/need to fit bigger tyres - it isn't as simple as just fitting taller springs. You may need to extend brake hoses, you will alter the camber of the front axle unless you buy new radius arms, you will eat propshaft UJs unless you spend a fortune on new propshafts etc etc. Heavy duty springs (or helper springs inside the rears) are more than adequate and avoid all the headaches associated with a lift IMO. I have just read this post and was about to offer you my 110 300tdi HiCap for sale - it is rough and ready but will be going shortly as it is currently not being used. It sounds like you bought yours at the right price to be fair. Good luck with it (I hope you like spending your winter evenings underneath it with the spanners out!). You will probably spend a lot of time fixing things over the next 12 months, but will then have a very good understanding of your Landy. They can be as bad as people make out, but there isn't another vehicle on the market that is as versatile, easy to modify, easy to fix, as good off road, and as cheap to run (parts are cheap and depreciation is glacial) than a Tdi or TD5 Land Rover. Once you have owned one you will be smitten (but that isn't necessarily a good thing!).

I wonder how it would handle stumps?

Use a flap disk on a 4.5 inch grinder - it does a better job than a grinding disk.

Pete - if I had any more notice for this particular job then I'd have been on the phone to you straight away to give that beasty a test drive! However, Bob at Wolves trees has stepped up at short notice - thanks for the heads up Mr Walker!

Hello Can someone point me in the direction of a firm with a forestry mulcher in Brum please? Cheers Dan 07970188050

I've just bought an 11 tonne KTS from Ryetec - it looks very good but isn't being put to work until next week. I'll let you know how it performs!

If you are handy with mechanics then don't be scared to go second hand - there isn't much to a chipper in reality. If you allow an additional £1000 for parts etc over and above any purchase price you should have a decent contingency. Get one bought, get it home and pull it apart before using it full time. Fix/replace anything that needs sorting whilst you have it in bits, and then go and earn some money! You will know the machine backwards and will be able to keep an eye on any potential weak areas that you may have discovered. Alternatively, buy a new one (on finance if necessary) and save yourself more off your tax bill whilst not having to worry about reliability (but remember that new machines can also have their problems, and whilst these problems are covered by warranty you could waste an equal amount of time getting it sorted as you would repairing an older machine). If you buy new make sure you are confident that your dealer is going to be able to give you fantastic support in the event of something going wrong. Down-time can be more costly than parts and labour!

That's a bit poor. If you need to borrow a roller until one arrives then I might be able to help.

The job is a lot cheaper/easier if you start with a chassis cab or hicap, as the cab has the lower rear bulkhead in place already. Don't forget that you need to allow for rear lighting (mounting etc), set up the fuel filler (difficult to do tidily) and remember that wheel articulation will be compromised if you build the tipper floor too low. Also, will you need mudguards (almost definitely). Consideration needs to be given to rear overhang (will the tipper clear the tow bar/lights - will it hang out too far and affect handling/axle loadings). What will you make it out of - 100% aluminium would be amazing but difficult and expensive; steel frame with ali panels is a lot easier but still expensive and the frame will rust eventually; all steel is the cheapest but reduces payload. Let us know how you get on.

That sounds unusual. It also sounds like an unusual problem - what's happened to the feed roller?

They have a very fast stress control recovery time when compared with other chippers with the same sized engine.

Don't bother with the dealers - speak to Mac or Jason at Greenmech directly. They will fix any problems down the phone.

I am not a massive TW fan, but the offset knives is actually a very clever bit of design IMO. It allows a smaller engine to chip faster as it only takes half a bite at a time. This does lead to quicker knife wear, but it is one of the reasons that the TW150s have suck quick recovery time on the stress control. A smaller, more lightweight flywheel has enough momentum to cope with the smaller 'bites', and is subsequently brought back up to speed quickly as it offers less inertia than a larger equivalent.

If it has such a small reservoir is there not a risk of it overheating the oil? I know very little about hydraulics and realise that these pumps have always operated with the reservoir in question, so I may have answered my own question (doh!).