monkeybusiness

A mate of mine has one and is very pleased with it. He’s near Nantwich and would probably be happy to show it working if of use?

I don’t know why they don’t just tee them into the tank line off the motor as a matter of course. If everything else is plumbed correctly then it isn’t an issue.

What about a case drain - did you plumb it direct into the tank line in the head? Or do VD motors not need one?

What sort of oil flow did you manage to get through that EC oil setup Eddie?

I didn’t at any point say someone without employees need EL. A self-employed gardener can have whatever insurance they want/their employer insists upon. If they pay others to undertake work they will legally need EL though.

A bona fide subcontractor would definitely need all of their own insurance, full stop. If you are confused as to whether you are bona fide (or are employing someone in such a capacity) then you need to get your stall set out properly and remove any ambiguity. If you are a labour only subby you don’t need any insurance.

Surely you only need employers liability if you are the actual employer (ie the person/business paying someone to work)? Just because an individual may be operating as a team leader giving instruction to others (howsoever employed) cannot possibly mean that they have to carry separate EL cover. If a subby works for me (not in a bona fide capacity) and damages something, whether they hold insurance or not is irrelevant as the PL claim would be against me/my business. I can’t see how there is a difference with EL.

£300 is quite a lot for a couple of trees - I’d try and get stuff from a commercial nursery if I were you.

Anyway, forget this van nonsense - show is some more pics of ace diggers Eddie!

Yeah, physically they are the same size as the 3.5 tonne ivecos, just built on heavier chassis and axles (engines/gearboxes etc are the same across the weight ranges AFAIK). Iveco Dailys are built like little trucks (unlike transits etc, which are built like big cars) and can all carry weight incredibly well, especially with uprated springs on the smaller ones. Running the one you’ve pictured would be a sensible solution to many in our industry but brings with it a multitude of hurdles. Those prepared to jump over those hurdles can just as easily run any weight rigid truck and trailer combo, and the chances are if they are bothering to upgrade it’s because they need more capacity (volume as well as weight). The ridiculousness of the situation is that anyone could buy that truck and downplate it to 3.5 tonne, thus not needing a tachograph/o-licence etc. It wouldn’t weigh significantly more than the official 3.5 tonne version so would have a similar payload (next to bugger all). Obviously it could then be used day to day in the same way as the majority of transit based setups are - grossing 4.5 tonnes plus when loaded etc etc (anyone suggesting this isn’t the case isn’t being realistic). Totally illegal but arguably safe as it’s designed to run at 7 tonnes. They need to look at 3.5 tonne class vehicles in this country IMO as they aren’t really fit for purpose at present, something that will get worse as we are forced towards electric vehicles. It needs to be much more straightforward for people to run little trucks like the one you’ve pictured legally.

It’d make sense as an addition to a larger truck fleet for bad access etc but to my mind if going down the operators licence/tachograph etc route on a small scale you may as well have a proper truck (12ish tonner) as not much bigger but could be a useful tipper/hooklift/hiab etc setup. It does look handy though!

Tachograph and possibly speed limited too though. And 6 week checks. And you can’t tow 3.5 tonnes with a standard licence, even pre 97.

Tachograph and possibly speed limited too though. And 6 week checks.

There’s a lot of work in that Eddie - are the tracks longer too? They look enormous! I doubt you’ll be able to even see that bucket...

It’s going on a 6 tonne Takeuchi - apparently it has 100l/min oil flow so should (on paper at least) run any in this size range. My concern is it taking longer to recover the drum speed when working if running a larger/heavier rotor. I’m not concerned about the weight of the unit/machine stability, just the recovery lag between ‘bites’ if that makes sense? Willow is always a pain to mulch (it’s bad enough putting it through a not-razor-sharp chipper!).

Just out of interest, are you happy with how this performs/how your digger runs it? I’m seriously contemplating one of these but am torn between the 90cm and 110cm. I’d prefer the wider cut but don’t want to over-face the machine!

Great stuff, thanks John

Weapon! Where did you get that from if you don’t mind me asking?

As previously asked - what flail is that boyo?

Hi John - is that running flails or a caged rotor? Cheers

I think you need to go and do all that other work you have available and leave this current set-up. It’s not beneficial to you or your employer to continue with such animosity on your part. Sometimes it might be worth reflecting on who is out there finding/providing the work that puts food on your table though - they aren’t necessarily out to make your life hard/totally useless/coming up with apparently ridiculous suggestions for the sake of it. This (and pretty much every other) industry is full of hoops that need jumping through, and it’s not likely that there will be fewer hoops any time soon IMO.

If you want to work for someone you need to play by their rules, it’s pretty simple really. I’d personally argue the tablet charge but otherwise what they are asking seems reasonable to me.

Or is it a pointless exercise on a small digger like this?

I’d imagine a decent autoelectrician would be able to piggyback it, so you get both options.

I’m considering buying a mulcher for a 6 tonne digger - anyone have any recommendations/personal experience?