Treewolf

My view, for what it's worth (probably not much) is that wind farms are utterly pointless. They are a symptom of the human race's denial of the inevitable - that the earth cannot sustain an ever-growing human population of destructive, resource-consuming parasites. We obsess over issues like hybrid cars and renewable energy, but unless we can address the bigger issues of global population etc then the human race is ultimately doomed. Since we can't even achieve world peace, what hope is there for global agreement on anything. Ulitmately I think that the human race is incapable of self regulation and survival. The good news for the "save the planet" brigade is that the planet will be completely fine long after we have either wiped ourselves out, or nature has done it for us! It will be different, but probably better without us. For the avoidance of doubt, I don't suggest that the things we do to be "green" now are pointless, I just think that they are not enough. To ensure the survival of the human race indefinitely we need to do so much more, and address issues that are so huge we are simply not capable of even discussing them rationally now. When did you last hear a politician talk about population control? What woudl be the pulic reaction if one did? That's cheered you all up!

Probably, to be certain you would need to find the rim width rather than the width of the current tyres, but I am pretty sure on a 110 on (presumably) standard steel wheels you would be OK with 255s. You may find that there is a better choice of 265s, though, 265/75 x 16 is a popular size and is the largest "standard fit" tyre on a defender. I run 285/75 on mine on standard alloys, but this is pushing the envelope a bit and you need 30mm spacers if you want to keep the steering lock. With 30mm spacers the 285/75s are just in the arches still.

I think also that it is the maximum permitted GTW that determines the need for a tacho, not the actual weight. So if the trailer is rated for 3.5tonnes but is empty, you are still committing an offence. I actually believe that every time we set foot out of our homes now we are breaking the law in some way (especially if we then get behind the wheel). The world has gone mad. Very depressing.

Matt, whereabouts is that bridge/tunnel? I don't recall one round there apart from the long bridge that took the railway under the A350 by the A350/A357 junction and bridge over the Stour, is this the one you mean? Great photos, and the trailway you're working on looks really good. It is a stunning route up the valley there.

As I understand it any RRV must now run on white unless it is a vehicle which falls into a catgory allowed to use rebated fuel (mobile crane, engineering plant etc). Doesn't mean that they do - yet, of course.

Don't follow this link if you love dogs and are easily upset; it will make you mad. How stupid can people be! Rottweilers die after owner ties them to Land Rover and husband drives away | Mail Online

That's a frightening thought!

Tirfor - can't be beaten for quality, reliability, and longevity. Cheaper "griphoist" types don't seem to measure up (although those marketed under the "Yale" brand might be OK - Yale have made the best "Pullifts" for years and I doubt they would put their name to rubbish). There are many fairly good cheap ones around but they will not last, and cheap tools tend to be more expensive in the long run. Trewhella also can't be beaten for what they are, but they are very different to the griphoist type and are suited to rather different work. They also tend to be very hard to find secondhand and either very expensive or very old or both.

The taps for helicoils are "standard" sizes, in that it is possible to go out and buy taps from a variety of manufacturers for threaded inserts, but they are not the same size as the tap that would be used for the same thread if an insert was not being used. The insert taps will be the same thread form and same number of threads per inch as the bolt or screw thread, but will be significantly larger in diameter. Unless the chipper is prehistoric, it is likely that the original bolts (or setscrews) were M10 (which is approx 3/8" diameter). An M10 threaded insert tap will be approximately 11.5mm diameter (the root diameter of the tap will be approximately the outside diameter of the original thread form). If you have used a tap from a 3/8 helicoil kit, although the hole will now be approx 1/2 diameter the number of TPI will correspond with a 3/8" bolt not a 1/2" bolt. Although you haven't stated what thread form you used, in the case of BsW, BSF, UNC, and UNF the threads-per-inch there is a huge difference in TPI between the two sizes - a 1/2 screw simply won't fit. Your only solution is to fit the insert and then get the right sized bolt or setscrew for the insert. It is likely that the tap you used will be marked 3/8" and then the number of TPI. Unless you have got hold of something really freaky (like British Standard Cycle or British Naval threads) it will be one of the following (the numbers are the number of threads per inch for each thread form at 3/8" diameter):- BSW - British Standard Whitworth - 16 TPI BSF - British Standard Fine series - 20 TPI UNC - Unified Coarse series - 16 TPI UNF - Unified Fine series - 24 TPI Note that the BS threads use a 55 degree thread angle and the Unified threads a 60 degree thread angle, and hence they are not interchangeable (if the tap is marked "3/8 - 16" there should be an additional marking to indicate the thread form). If you can read the markings off the tap, check the length of fastener you need and simply ask for the apprioprate fastener (remember a bolt has a blind or unthreaded portion between the head and the thread, a setscrew is threaded throughout its entire length). You may also consider putting some loctite or similar threadlocking compound on the outside of the insert before fitting it. It is not essential but can help avoid dislodging it in future.

You're welcome. I suspect the reason that they are so cheap is because no-one can really figure out why they want one, other than it is top quality gear and "it's bound to come in handy one day". There's actually at least one other one on ebay at the moment (search for "tirfor" in all categories include titles and descriptions) which is actually described as a winch - clearly the seller hasn't a clue what it really is either!

I looked into one of these when one came up on ebay a year or two back. As far as I remember, it is a device through which a rope passes and which clamps securely to the rope my means of the handle visible on the left in the photo (the opposite end to the wire rope tail attachement). A sort of industrial Gibbs ascender, in some ways. The purpose of the device (as far as I recall) is primarily as a safety device for working at height, but it did occur to me that it could also be used to lock off a tensioned rope whilse re-rigging for a further pull. In the end I decided that my life was just great without one! Edit - just checked and found this online "The Blocstop secures loads or for use on manriding equipment. A "Tirfor" type jaw block fitted in the Blocstop which locks onto the wire rope main suspension rope or secondary rope. Automatic operation of the holding mechanism. Operation can be checked at any time." See TorqHoist specialty distributor of overhead lifting and rigging equipment Incidentally, was it someone from this forum who just bought the Trewhella winch from a seller in Hook for £205 on ebay? It looked a good 'un, a bargain for someone.

Never used a self-contained capstan winch like that but I have used Landrover capstans for many years. Used correctly and sensibly they are great tools, and in most - but not all - situations have the edge on drum winches. Never had a problem with rope wear, nor as a result of dirty ropes, but ropes should of course be kept as clean as possible. The most important thing to get right is the choice of type of rope - use a low-stretch rope only. All manner of things can go wrong if you use a stretchy nylon rope!

I have a Series 1 80" Land-Rover (with the 2L engine) which has a mains electric block heater fitted. Brilliant bit of kit for getting the engine warm - even in the bitterly cold winter back in '78 or so it would start without choke and the fug-stirrer heater would blast out hot air immediately. The only worrying thing was the effect on the electrickery meter - you could quite literally see the little disk thingy speed up and whizz round when you plugged it in! The LR is off the road now awaiting a new chassis, but I still have it. A project for when I retire, I think.

They were the best, but were both heavy and expensive new. I seem to recall that the Rover part no was 583590. I have been on the lookout for a set for some time, but they are rare as hen's teeth and when they do come up now they're very pricey (mind you I did think £250 was a bit steep, but perhaps that's what they're worth now). If anyone here has a pair for sale, please PM me!

I have a 6.5 ton mobile crane which has the same problem - it is MOT exempt but you have to say that you have an MOT to tax it online (even though there is a dire warning that giving a false declaration will result in eternal damnation). The online system still works OK. If you tax a vehicle which really does have an MOT, the electronic MOT database is checked, so it must realise that you don't need one because clearly it doesn't do this check for an MOT-exempt vehicle. After several years of doing this no-one has come to take me away yet, so I assume that it is OK to do.

Best electric winch for commercial use is the Superwinch Husky 8 or Husky 10, however for most commercial applications an electric winch will never equal an hydraulic winch. It all comes down to cost and what you want to do with it really.

I you had a 110 and cut and stretched the exisiting chassis to 130, presumably it wouldn't be a new vehicle, although I am sure that document/DVLA changes would be needed. If you replace the chassis on a 110 with a replacement brand new chassis (not one from another vehcile) that has the same VIN as the old, that isn't a change of identity. So if you replace the original chassis with a new galv 130 chassis with the same VIN stamped on it and scrap the old chassis, is it a new vehicle or not?

I am really sorry for your loss. Please keep the photos coming!

I had an 'interesting' moment a month or two back. Not far from here there is a major single-carriageway A road which runs through a series of sweeping bends that are not particularly sharp (50mph sort of thing) but which greatly restrict visibility due to high hedgerows. Throughout this stretch (perhaps 1 mile) there are double solid white lines up the middle and single solids up the sides to prohibit overtaking and stopping, both very sensible. One Sunday evening towards dusk I am heading along this is the Defender, fully laden, at about 50, no traffic about, lovely. As I round one of the bends, all that changes! There is an ambulance coming fast towards me on my side, across the doubles, because a car coming towards me has STOPPED completely in the oncoming lane presumably to let it past. Some serious braking by both of us and nothing untoward happened fortunately, but it did make me think how little some people think about what they are actually doing behind the wheel. 1) it is illegal to stop on a road with solid white lines, unless you are in a stationary queue of traffic. 2) it is illegal for anyone to cross a solid white line on a road, even emergency drivers are not allowed to, unless it is to turn off the road and no break in the line is provided, or to cross back to you own lane when there is a broken centre line on your side and a solid on the other. Even police pursuit drivers are not allowed to cross solid lines (an apparently drivers like the one I encountered are a major problem to them). The oncoming driver should have kept going (even speeded up) until the ambo driver could overtake safely and legally, instead of putting several lives (and the ambo driver's job) at risk by forcing him to act illegally. I do agree with the earlier posters that there is a lot of chronically bad driving about now. I think that the reliance on technology to enforce motoring laws has a lot to do with it (speed cameras are the root of this since they cannot do anything to prevent bad driving). There is also the widespread view that everyone has a 'right' to drive rather than it being a privilege, and the test regime is not really right. If there was some way to test that someone had a sense of responsibility before letting them drive, we would be better off. Cars now also engender a feeling of safety and security that encourages risk taking - there is a lot to be said for the theory that the biggest single step that could be taken to improve driving standards would be to remove the driver's side airbag and seat belt and fit a sharp metal spike in the middle of the wheel, then drivers would drive with care. Nowadays I tend to take the mellow approach. Assume that everyone on the road actually wants to kill you, and sit back and watch them all give themselves stress related illnesses. Avoid unnecessary stress and confrontation. Life is too short and precious to make it more diffficult than it already is.

Thanks, nptimber, I knew you'd come up with the goods! How is the restoration of Pogles Wood coming on? Am I right in remembering that it has Mat axles now? You really do have some fantastic vehicles!

Ooh, Mats and a classic Fordson! I'm drooling on my keyboard.... All it needs now is a classic Unipower.

Found this on YT:- [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOp3RFXjFQ]YouTube - RS Monkey Winch.wmv[/ame]

Done some measuring with one of mine today. Without including all the maths (which I am happy to do if anyone wants it), the 'velocity ratio' of a Trewhella is approx 120:1 pulling on the first layer of the drum and using the standard 5' handle held 6" from the end. Assuming that 1 bloke can apply 100 lbf to the handle (which is conservative for a well-built fellow) and discounting friction losses, 100lbf on the handle would result in 12,000 lbf on the rope, which is roughly 5 tons. To get a load of 10 tons on the rope, ie 22,400lbf, would require a load of under 200 lbf on the handle, which should be easily achieved by two moderately strong men. There is no doubt in my mind that you could easily load one up to 10 tons and more.

The other thing to consider is the factor of safety. A device used for pulling needs a lower FoS than one used for lifting. A device used for lift people needs a higher FoS still. I seem to recall that Tirfors are rated for lifting but not lifting people. This means (and I can't be sure that I remember my FoS correctly, it's been a long time) that the FoS is probably about 5, so the rope on a 3-ton Tirfor probably has a breaking load of around 15 tons. Tirfor of course also fit a shear pin in the handle linkage so that you cannot (in theory at any rate) overload it. Vehicle winches are almost always rated only for pulling with an FoS of 2, and not for lifting (FoS 5). This is the reason why a typical vehicle winch has a cable of only about 10mm diameter, roughly half the size of the equivalent Tirfor cable. (The other problem of course is that if the winch was to be rated for lifting, it would need the thicker cable, which would mean a correspondingly bigger drum, which makes it so big and heavy it wouldn't fit on the front of a vehicle. I am not sure what would break first with a Trewhella loaded to the point of destruction. I suspect that the rope would be the weak point (well, I reckon my back would fail first!) since the construction of the winch itself is massive. It shouldn't be too difficult to work out roughly the line pull simply by measuring the distance of movement of the handle and the corresponding movement of the rope, and using this factor to multiply the force a normal person can apply to the handle. Friction losses are largely unquatifiable, but it woudl give an idea. If I get the chance today I will dig one out and investigate.

I've just dug out the instruction booklet that Trewhella kindly sent me. It makes no mention at all of capacity, line pull, etc, but does say: "NUMBER OF MEN. One man often works a winch, but two are better. Never allow more than three men on the lever, or a broken rope may result. Even two big men can apply quite as much power as is good for the ropes." Later in the instructions:- "Take care when releasing a heavy load. It is absolutely essential to employ the same number of men as were required to apply the load. If not held firmly, the lever will swing violently, which is dangerous." Andy, I fear that I have to take issue with your calculations 10 tons = 10 * 2240 lbf = 22,400 lbf 10 tonnes = 10 * 1000 kgf = 10,000 kgf = 10,000 * 2.2 lbf = 22,000 lbf Comparing the size of the original Trewhella rope to the rope on the Husky 8 on my Defender suggests that a 10-ton line pull would be well within the capability of the rope. I do have somewhere a copy of the old British Standards for standard lifting/pulling tackle and wire ropes, and if I can find it I will see what it has to say. I am sure also that one of the films produced by the Army Kinematographic Service in the 1940's and released on VHS video in the 1990s (either "Scammell Recovery" or "Armoured Recovery") includes a sequence of Trewhella winches being used to recover something very big and heavy, and very stuck. I dont know if anyone has put these on YouTube, but I'll see if I can lay my hands on a copy.