Treewolf

Get in touch with Tractel in Sheffield (here's a link to their website Homepage ) and ask them for the details of your nearest dealer. They were very helpful when I did this. Hope this helps.

Spoiler alert - don't read on if you believe in magic and want to go on believing......... It is all to do with 9. There are only nine different possible numbers that you can end up with following the instructions, namely 0, 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, and 81. If you don't believe it, try it. Any two digit number between 00 and 09 gives 0, between 10 and 19 gives 9, 20 and 29 gives 18, etc. If you are quick, you will see that all these numbers have the same symbol when the symbol screen appears, so if you have done your maths right, it will always show you the right symbol. There are two clever tricks to the way it works though. The first is that the symbols are different each time which makes it harder to spot that the set of nine possible answers all have the same symbol (try using the same two-digit number twice in a row, the symbol will be different), and secondly only giving you 10 seconds to look at the symbol makes it very hard to spot that the critical nine are all the same. Very clever.

Over the years I have stripped and rebuilt a number of Tirfors. It is not difficult - the engineering is straightforward - but some parts are VERY awkward to reassemble. There are several springs which can drop off when you dismantle the unit before you have had the chance to see where they go. Unless there is some pressing reason to do so (like it doesn't work) then I would recommend NOT taking it to bits. The biggest problem if you do it yourself is that Tractel (who makes them) absolutely won't sell you any spare internal parts, they will only supply them to an accredited service agent. If you can persuade the local agent to get the parts for you, you're laughing. Parts are not cheap either, but they are of course very high quality. If you need a test certificate (which you will if you use it for lifting/lowering as opposed to dragging objects on the ground) it also is difficult to test the unit youself unless you happen to have a calibrated load cell or dynamometer. Generally speaking there is little to go wrong unless the unit has been seriously abused, although if I bought a second-hand machine and didn't know its history, I would definitely either overhaul it myself of take it to a dealer for a service and retest to make sure it hasn't been damaged. (I have seen units bought on ebay that have been bodged together to make them work so they can be sold as "good working order"). Keep them as clean as possible and well lubricated, and always make sure the correct shear pin is fitted. The rope for a Tirfor (or any other 'griphoist' machine) is not standard wire rope, it is made to tighter tolerances, so it is not a good idea to use anything other than rope designed for the purpose and for the right size machine. If the rope gets kinked you will have a problem. If it is looked after sensibly, a Tirfor will outlast most of us. Personally I would never bother with one of the cheaper look-alike copies, would always go for the genuine article. Most of the operating instructions and manuals are now available on line but the sare parts lists are not - these also are only available to accredited service agents.

I was told some years ago that muntjac will run round the outside of a circular fenced enclosure but go through a rectangular one. The bloke who told me was a gamekeeper in the Chilterns where the muntjac population is large, and presumably knew his onions, but to this day I don't know if this is a wind-up or true. Anyone know?

Yup, and I'll wager that periodically he re-annealed the sheet to keep it malleable. Either that or he's using a very fancy alloy.

What happens when you hammer a metal it depends whether it is a material that work hardens. Do that with aluminium and it will break unless you anneal it. With some materials hammering can stress-relieve them, but aluminium isn't one of them.

Not a good idea. If they work harden, which is possible through repeated moderate impact, they will become more brittle. The ultimate tensile strength might possibly increase but the failure mode will change from a ductile failure (when you will get some warning) to a brittle failure (when you won't). Furthemore any nicks or dents might lead to the stress cracks forming and fatigue failure following crack propogation. I used to pothole a great deal a good few years ago and it was a cardinal sin to drop ANY climbing hardware. Any krabs etc which were accidentally dropped would either be intentionally destroyed so they couldn't be used again, or marked for tackle-hauling only. Don't do it.

Dan, If you were able to post some more pics of the cab I would be grateful. The standard LR cab is in my opinion a bit small, and the double cab a bit big (wastes loadspace), but that looks just about right. If I ever get round to building my own vehicle (or getting one built to my spec) a cab like that would be ideal. It'd be better still if the small side panel was hinged from the back (like the back doors on the Maxda RX8) to give a full opening. Now that would be really useful ! Thanks, Roger.

That looks a really neat cab conversion - who built it for you, or did you do it yourselves?

I though books were zero rated for VAT ??

There's a much better selection of tyres to fit 16" rims than 18" rims. BFG has a tyre size guide for the AT at http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs/all-terrain-t-a-ko/44.html There is a LT265/65R18 (for a 7.5" to 9.5" rim) and a LT285/65R18 (for an 8" to 10" rim) which might fit, but you'd need to check that the increase in diameter won't cause a problem. It's likely that your rims would take either of these since they are likely to be in the 8" to 10" width range. The 265/65 is approx +15mm in section (+30mm on diameter) and the 285/65 is approx +28mm on section (+56mm on diameter) compared to your 285/55's. I would have thought that it is very likely indeed that the 265/65R18 BFG AT would fit without problems, provided that it is available in the UK.

I run 265/75 x 16 BFG Mud T/As on my Discovery 2 and love 'em. Fuel consumption hasn't changed significantly (how you drive makes much more of a difference than the tyres) and still get around 500 to a tank. They are a bit noisier and do hum on the road, but not enough to be a problem. Roadholding is very good for a mud tyre and I have never had any dramas, and in snow or standing water (heavy rain) better that the Michelin baby's bum things that were on from new. Best of all the last set did over 100,000 miles before they needed renewing, and two of them still had enough tread left then to be put onto a trailer. I know it's not relevent to the OP, but if you fit 265s on a Disco2 you will have to do some surgery on the front bumper unless you only drive on roman roads (dead straight), and for road use you will probably want to go about 10psi higher than the normal tyre pressures. If you run them under-inflated on tarmac you will eventually get an uneven wear pattern (alternate knobs round the rim wear in a pattern a bit like castle battlements) which can cause a vibration, but I found that upping the pressure stopped this completely. I have now done over 150,000 miles on Muds in the Disco and wouldn't even think of running on anything else now. Plus, they also look cool !

Love the two howling wolves ! If I had just a fraction of the carving skills you have I'd be a happy man, please keep the pics coming.

For some reason this made me remember a couple of photos I was sent last year of a chimney demolition job. I think this took place in the USA.

As Tommer9 says, the recovery wagon is an "FV1119A Tractor, 10 Ton, 6x6, recovery, heavy", better known as a Leyland Martian, but I bet it doesn't have the original Rolls Royce B81 eight cylinder petrol engine any more. Nice to see pictures of one at work. One almost as common as the Scamell Poineer and Explorer (everygarage seemed to have one), but a rare sight now that vehicle recovery has gone high-tech. I can remember going to the last ever Army vehcile disposal sale at Ruddington in the lates 70s or early 80s - ex-reserve Scammell Explorers in vgc with all the recovery equipment were fetching around £300. I was so tempted - it was only the thought of that Meadows 10.5 litre petrol engine (plus a bit of a parking problem) that stopped me.

It's never let me down. Usually I make sure it's had a full charge overnight before I need it, and I've certainly run it for several hours continuously without any problem, but I've never actually tested it to see how long it lasts on battery power. There's no reason I can see why it shouldn't run off an inverter in a vehicle if need be. Sorry this isn't much help. If I remember I will look in the blurb tonight to see if it says anything about battery life.

I have a Tosh NB100 and it does everything I want. Works well online with a 3G modem, but most of the time I use it as a small laptop. It runs MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access) fine. I also use it to back up my digital SLR if out and about taking photos. The only limitation is the very small keyboard and screen really. I also tend to use an external USB mouse to make life easier. I opted fro the Tosh since in the past I have used Toshiba laptops and found them to be good quality, and also because it has a real HDD of 120GB not am 8 or 16GB solid state drive. Overall I have been very pleased with it.

The 10% + 3mph business is based on ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) guidelines and is not law; it is simply that they reckon if they booked everyone over the speed limit at all there wouldn't be enough time left to catch real crims. Legally you could be booked for 1mph over the limit but realistically it won't happen. Vehicle speedos by law can over-read by (I think) 10% but are not allowed to under-read at all. So it would be ok to show 77mph at a true 70mph, but not to show anything less that 70mph at a real 70mph. Since it is is practice virtually impossible (and very expensive) to make a speedo that is spot on accurate, car makers always fit speedos that over-read, that way it keeps them safe from under-reading which would be illegal. Most if not all police traffic cars and bikes (but not the bog standard panda cars as far as I know) have calibrated speedos which are regularly checked and certified and can be used in evidence. I have a Disco 2 and do a regular run from Dorset to Devon every week. On the standard Michelins (235/70x16) the journey was 120 miles, when I replaced these with 245/75x16 BFG Mud T/As the journey reduced to 115 miles, and when the 245's wore out I couldn't get any the same size and went up to 265/75x16 BFG Muds and the journey is now shown 110 miles. The amount of fuel I use hasn't changed to any significant extent. If you do put large tyres on and want to check the speedo, all you need is a motorway or trunk round with kilometre posts and a stopwatch. This will be more accurate that a satnav. My speedo is now spot on at 50, 60 and 70 mph, even though the mileometer under-reads.

If you have any LR with the double cardon joint on the front propshaft, keep an eye on the DC joint. The UJ's fitted by LR are sealed for life so you can't grease them, and if they fail the joint will twist apart and the broken propshaft will take out the sump, the brake lines, the wiring harness, and (if fitted) the ACE plumbing. The bill for repairs will come in at several thousand quid. Not good. LR will tell you that you can't replace the UJs in the DC joint but have to have a new propshaft (at £300+). In fact the UJs in the DC joint are the same size as the front joint and are replaceable, and you can also fit aftermarket ones with bigger bearing surfaces and grease nipples. The centre bearing in the DC joint (a spherical ball joint) is also replaceable but you can't by them in the UK. Rockauto.com in the USA will sell them and ship them to the UK for about £25. On the Disco 2, TD5 front props seem to last longer that on the V8 probably because the grease gets baked by the cat on the V. Some last for miles (my TD5 lasted 155k miles) but I have heard of them failing in under 20k. Some folk who offroad a lot replace the joints every year. If you do have one, keep an eye on it! Sorry if this is old news, but if it saves someone a £2500 bill in this economic climate then it was worth posting.

Just found this on the 'trivia' section for FMJ on IMDB: "Former US Marine Corps Drill Instructor R. Lee Ermey was not originally hired to play Gunnery Sgt. Hartman but as a consultant for the Marine Corps boot camp portion of the film. He performed a demonstration on videotape in which he yelled obscene insults and abuse for 15 minutes without stopping, repeating himself or even flinching - despite being continuously pelted with tennis balls and oranges. Stanley Kubrick was so impressed that he cast Ermey as Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann." So it must be true.....

The 'gunny' in FMJ was played by Ronald Lee Ermy who is very much still alive, at least according to the Internet Movie Database IMBD (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000388/). Intersting and something I hadn't realised is that he was also in Apocalypse Now although uncredited, aa a helicopter pilot. IMDB credits him with 106 films. He served 11 years in the USMC including 14 months in Vietnam. Urban legend - unsubstatiated as far as I know - says that he was employed on FMJ as a technical advisor to start with but, as a former real gunny, he was so much better at being a gunny than the actor who was initially cast for the part that the first actor was sacked and he was given the part.

I've bought quite a lot of stuff off Ebay over the years, and the only problem I've had was recent. I had the top bid on a Snap-On torque multiplier at a price including p&p of £202, I paid by PayPal with £150 protection, and the vendor - sorry, fraudster - never sent the item. Gave me a lot of bull on the phone - it'll be in the post tomorrow, etc - and then de-registered from Ebay when I opened a dispute. Paypal reimbursed to the £150 protection limit, leaving me £52 out of pocket. The problem I now have, and which I am getting nowhere with, is that I cannot recover the balance. I don't know the fraudster's real name and address (only his old ebay ID name) and Ebay/Paypal won't tell me because of their data protection policy. They would apparently tell the police, but the police aren't interested in such an insiginificant crime. My only approach seems to be a civil action through the small claims court, but to do this I need to know who the scumbag is, and Ebay won't tell me! Needless to say I have had extensive contact with Ebay on the subject but they are not budging, and it is beginning to look as though there is nothing I can do. Apart from this one transaction, I have had no problems and have had some good bargains from Ebay. I am however as careful as possible. Incidentally the villain mentioned above did have a good feedback record that didn't appear to be falsified. First post, by the way, and fairly new to the group. I would like to say that I really enjoy the wealth of experience and useful information here! Roger (Treewolf)