Treewolf

Wow, your photos are quite breathtaking! Stunning photos of stunning places (and ladies)! What equipment are you using, and what (if any) post processing techniques, to achieve these results, if you don't mind me asking? These are some of the most awe-inspiring images I have ever seen! Thank you so much for posting them.

My Milwaukee has battery status leds on the battery, not the tool.

Yes, no rush at all, I will just be happy to pass it on to someone who might possibly have a use for it. Whereabouts are you? The gearbox is actually in storage very near Shepton Mallet, and I am often heading towards North Devon, so we might be able to arrange a handover that saves some motoring. There is no rush, however.

I have a gearbox out of one of those, condition unknown, which I can't quite bring myself to throw in the scrap metal bin. You can have it FOC if you want it, but you'd gave to collect it from Dorset. It was on the back of a P6 I bought to fit in a Coles Milo crane I used to own, the P6 had been the propulsion engine in a snow blower. I also know of a complete, unrestored 6-wheel snow blower which starts and runs but needs restoration if anyone wants a project. I know the owner will sell, though he might have an unrealistic price in mind.

I have been using a Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1/2"dr impact wrench for the last couple of years an can't fault it. I was a great cynic of cordless impact wrenches prior to buying this and it has totally changed my mind. It is staggeringly good! I will be replacing my other cordless tools with Milwaukee as and when funds permit.

Bonkers! You pay him £2000 for a truck he'll be keeping and using for the next 2 months, so you've no idea what mileage or state the vehicle will be in, or if you'll get your money back if it becomes a total loss. Why doesn't he wait till it's available before selling it?

To the best of my understanding you can use a 3.5 ton trailer with tacho as you are doing now with no extra requirements.

Yes, it's because C1E gained through grandfather rights has a lower max gross weight than C1E gained by taking a test. Your CE of course trumps the C1E(107) as long as you maintain the full HGV, so it is only an issue if one day you allow the HGV to lapse by not renewing it when your 5-yearly medical renewals are due. In this case you'll lose the CE but still have the C1E(107). Simple really! Mine is the same.

I've had over 100k miles out of each of my last 3 sets of BFG Muds (one original pattern set, two KM2 sets) and all have had enough tread to sell 2nd hand when they've come off. The KM2s seem more prone to road noise, picking up stones, and vibrating than the originals, but in my book they are still tbe best.

Yes. (I have just learnt something - you can't post a reply shorter than 5 characters. Didn't know that!)

The chassis can rust badly on some (from the inside) above the rear axle, and from there back to the rear crossmember. Check carefully in these areas. Disco 2s have some well known problems but overall are possibly the best true multi purpose 4x4 yet produced (at least IMHO).

I've always dug a hole, inserted the post, then backfilled, but then that's always been for DWA fences that extend 2m into the ground. Utility companies use a big auger, but if you don't have a big auger I'stick with the JCB and hole method.

It's a total hybrid, and quite well known in MV circles! Matador chassis, Militant cab, MK body. The ad says it's "rare" and unique, yes it is but only because it's cobbled together from several different vehicles! Looks cool, though.

Yes, subject to very few restrictions, anyone in a public place can photograph anything which is visible from that place. If they are on private property (not their own) and the object they're photographing is also on private property restrictions apply. In a public place anyone can photograph what is in your car legally and there's nothing (legal) you can do about it.

I like that! Very nice job.

Breathtaking! Really, really good!

If Tirfor is the daddy, then Trewhella is the grand-daddy!

That takes me back....

Jon, your posts always bring a smile to my face! The forum would be a dull place without you! Much of the time I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about, but it still cheers me up. Keep doing it!

I want a map, not directions, and use an inexpensive Tesco Hudl running Memory Map, mounted on a Ram mount. Works a treat, and has a decent sized screen.

There is no doubt that an unacceptable incident took place - an assault - and realistically the BBC has no real choice. In Clarkson's defence he reported the incident himself, and made repeated attempts to apologise to the victim (whois of course entirely within his rights to ignore those attempts). The widely-publicised campaign to get him reinstated is utterly irrelevent. I know that Clarkson and Top Gear is a bit like Marmite - you either love it or hate it, it's a matter of personal taste. There is no doubt that the program is enormously successful, and this is almost entirely down to the dynamics of the three presenters working as a team. Take one of them away and it simply won't work. All three, working together, have a unique and probably irreplaceable talent, and Clarkson undoubtedly acts as the catalyst. I doubt that May or Hammond, though talented in their own right, would be as effective without Clarkson. It is also very evident from watching the program that the three have worked so closely together that they have fused into a single team in a way which is rare, and May's comments don't surprise me in the least. Personally, even though the BBC is talking of "re-inventing" Top Gear, I think the program is dead now, and if Clarkson is out then it is right that it should be dead. Go out on a high note. I do not believe for a minute that a "re-invented" program could come close. (It is interesting that of the many worldwide franchises of the format, the one with Clarkson, May and Hammond is the only one which is massively successful, whcih is probably the result of the three presenters. There's a lesson here for the BBC). I hope that the holy trinity of Clarkson, May and Hammond will now go on to make more programmes either themselves or for another company, not necessarily replacements for Top Gear, possibly a new format. The creative energy of the three would allow them to do almost anything. One other observation about Top Gear is that the production standards were remarkably high. The quality of the camera work and editting, and the creative genius that went into the program was almost unparalleled in any mainstream TV series. I can only hope that whatever comes next is as good. Let us not forget that at the moment it is not just the presenters who are in limbo, but the whole production team. Do not forget also that as far as is known the victim of the assault has not at any time complained to the BBC or anyone else, and is now also out of work. He has been the subject of a massive and wholly unwarranted smear campaign and troll campaign via "social" media, and I imagine has been living through the worst days of his life. This, I find the most distasteful part of the whole fiasco. Whatever your views about Clarkson, it is not Tymon's fault that this has happened. I am sure that Clarkson knows he crossed a line. I doubt for a minute that he is surprised at the outcome which he must have expected, and I am pretty sure that he blames no-one but himself. All in all a rather sordid end to something great. An end which brings credit to no-one.

I think the only alloys with a load rating that makes them suitable for a 130 are the Blindos (available from Silverline) as fitted by Ricardo to military WMIK and Snatch Landrovers. An expensive option.

That looks more like a 5 tonne pintle, not 15 ! 15 tonnes on four M12 bolts? Aer you sure? Also with a fixed pintle you can only tow trailers with a rotating lunette.

I think that part of the problem (as with so many other things) is that the increased availability of inexpensive equipment means that there are now many people who think they can weld but who are really so gripless that they shouldn't be allowed to use tools of any kind. I had some extensive repairs carried out on a steam boiler not long ago, and since it is a pressure vessel the welding had to be undertaken by a coded welder to an scheme of work approved by the boiler inspector beforehand. This included prescribing the prep work, the style of the weld, and the procedures for inspection and NDT of the weld afterwards (which included crack detection and ultrasonic testing). The result is staggering good. The restrictions are (thankfully) legal requirements due to the pressure vessel regulations. How is it therefore than any fool with a cheap DIY MIG welder can start welding safety-critical components of road vehicle? If I ran a business which included welding customers' vehicles then nowadays I would make damn sure that I had ample evidence of comptence for all my welders, and a documented test regime. I dread to think of the law suit if the failuure of my welder's welding caused a trailer to run through a bus stop queue of school kids.