monkeybusiness

If the sole purpose is for moving machinery, I’d give serious consideration to a tilt bed for its additional versatility by the way. I’m considering one at the moment as it will be easier to load 3PL attachments than onto our current tipper trailers as they have a low load bed (which is also flat).

I bought it from a dealer in Chester - they told me to bring it back after a couple of hundred miles for a free service (no Ifor dealer has ever offered me that, and I’ve bought quite a few over the years)! Great I thought! It was originally supplied with a really snazzy jockey wheel that folded up when you wound it up, but it didn’t work with any sort of loaded nose weight (genuinely unusable) so I asked them to swap it for a more traditional style. ‘Not a problem sir, sorry about that - come and pick it up this afternoon’. Popped back later to collect to be confronted with a £100 plus bill - there was a tiny (as far as I was concerned totally useable until a much larger inevitable smash occurred) crack (not a hole, a small crack which had already led to a bollocking at work) in a light lense which apparently warranted a complete light unit replacement, and some other bullshit costs for me to swallow. I let them know my thoughts, they spat the dummy and tore up the bill, I won’t spend money there again, and subsequently the snapped trailer has been professionally repaired at my expense a few times, there are other issues with this trailer that aren’t easy fixes (the ‘regular’ jockey wheel clamp bolt is a ridiculous skinny specialist affair that strips threads for fun but is a bitch to tap out larger as it goes into a casting, the brake cables come from the factory dangling down underneath on cable ties and they get snagged off road, the hubs don’t centralise the wheels so refitting is difficult) - my love affair is well and truly over with Brian - Ifor, I am sorry I strayed!)

We’ve had a number of Ifor GH94 trailers past and present (2.7 tonne, carrying 2 tonne tracked chippers) - one was a real Friday job - cracked welds, incorrectly fitted axle etc. I had a battle with IWT to get it sorted (they eventually did, but wriggled terribly in the process) and whilst this argument was ongoing I refused to spend any more money with them and bought a Brian James DiggerPlant. It is about the same size as the GH94 but has a 3.5 tonne gross weight, but is only used to carry the same 2 tonne chippers. When it came I was made up - fantastic build quality, tows very well, doesn’t rattle etc etc! However, it keeps cracking and requires welding every 6 months or so (even though it is apparently a stronger trailer than the Ifor)- we’ve actually gone back to the GH94 now (but GAP hire spec - built on stronger axles with double leaf springs and beefier tyres - still 2.7 tonne gross but over engineered). I’d struggle to look past Ifor when next buying (even though they are tossers if you are unlucky enough to have an issue!).

You’d need to be some driver to back that up a narrow drive!

Today’s predicament...

Pretty sure it’s a scam - think I’ve seen the same listing highlighted on another forum a few months ago.

I wouldn’t put a link on here - last time someone had similar suspicions and linked on here the listing was quickly pulled (the seller was apparently either an Arbtalk user or was tipped off by one).

If it is just a BT pole (and not owned by an electricity supplier) and there are no longer any wires coming from/going to it I’d be inclined to remove it myself and not say anything. They will never know/check - probably the least organised company in existence.

I’d imagine that would need a complete new cab to maintain its ROPS/FOPS integrity? Expensive times...

I’d have to check, but it’s running at least 2k.

My tractor will use 25l an hour when mulching, and it’s only 150hp!

Smokey and the Bandit. There is no better film.

I’d be wary of buying anything that’s going to be an integral part of your new business second hand, particularly throwing strong money at it. Ok if you spend 3 or 4 k on something to get you going - it’s almost disposable then and would leave enough in the kitty to fix/quickly replace if necessary. If you are set on spending a decent lump on a tow vehicle then why not use it as a big deposit towards a brand new truck? I’ve got a new Navara that will do everything those Land Cruisers will, it is relatively economical in comparison, has a 5 year warranty, and can be bought for around £20k. I’m not crazy about finance and tend to buy stuff outright, but I’m also nervous of you spending everything on a kool looking setup and struggling to meet massive unexpected bills that have a habit of cropping up out of nowhere. And before the Toyota lovers start bleeting on about how they never break, I can assure you from personal experience that they do just as much as any other make on the roads, and tend to be very expensive to fix...

Is there a reason that you don’t reverse the hitch to put the rotator motor on the driver’s side where it can be seen? Or would it block the view of the head/saw?

Superb! Can’t wait to see some action shots!

Any sign of the Incredible Hulk yet Eddie? Have you had a chance to use it in anger?

I lost a close friend a week before Xmas - he had just turned 39. Only 7 weeks from diagnosis to game over. Enjoy every day, there is no way of knowing when your time is up.

That’s ace!

I’ve got a 1928 safetrak that has done at least 3000 hours and it’s still a great chipper. The 1928 road tow is one of the most underrated chippers out there imo - I’ve had a few now (2 of which got nicked and have yet to turn up...). The top mounted stop bar and feed hopper shape are great - they are a fantastic machine that can be picked up for not-a-lot of money. Look out for water contamination in the hydraulic oil (the early ones had a design fault with the breathers, it doesn’t affect the safetrak though). Otherwise they are pretty much bombproof with regular maintenance.

Shit the bed!!! Any pics of the old unit?

If you ever need hydraulic motors speak to flowfit. They’ll match just about anything (motors aren’t expensive to be honest, less than £150 a lot of the time).

Can you not get it made/copies/repaired?

I had a D4D Dyna that had similar symptoms - turned out to be a very dirty sensor within the air intake pipework (possibly the air mass sensor). Took it off, gave it a good clean, sorted the issue! Had to subsequently sort the air filter housing that was letting dirty air through...

I don’t have any first hand knowledge of those old 230s, but was once told by someone well up on his Timberwolfs to avoid them as they have some sort of problematic issue with the drive belt setup.

If you want something manoeuvrable that can get to your worksite pretty much wherever it is there is nothing that will touch a 1928 safetrak. They need maintaining (like anything really) and I wouldn’t pay any attention to the hours showing on them as the boxes have a habit of resetting... Isuzu engined ones are the earlier Mk1, but I prefer them tbh. Overheating problems will almost definitely be down to a blocked radiator - there could potentially be an issue with the engine if it has been allowed to overheat too much though. The control boxes are good at shutting them down if they overheat/have an oil pressure issue etc, but will also shutdown if a bonnet switch etc is loose which can give a false overheat alert (making you think there is an issue when there isn’t). Sharp feed rollers (dress them up in situ with a flap disk on a 4.5 inch grinder - a horrible job but makes a big difference) and sharp disks give a machine that will feed as well as any of the competition. There’s a strip of metal that partially closes off the rotor exit chute which gets broken off - they block with this missing but not many people realise this causes the problem. Small Bandits are not much good from my experience - nothing like their big brothers. Stick with something European if it is on tracks and to be towed behind a van/pickup.