combined tree services

It is highly likely that was the reason for vosa's interest , mind you it has done me a favor in some ways because i will clear up the questions surrounding its use and put me in a much stronger position to compete even more !!

but until a specific category for unimogs is formed then they are mearly working on most similar category's , there is not one specific category that a unimog or more specifically an ag mog can fit into - it is from this point that vosa start to lose the argument , and more to the point there are almost no mogs that came out of the factory as ag mogs that run an O licence based purely on the fact that the legislation surrounding them and the common category's that the vosa man tries to put them into do not add up . How can you run a mog on an O licence which therefore makes if an hgv and expected to comply with plating and testing regs , driver licencing regs etc etc when it is already proven that said machine is exempt ?? and this is what the kind chap at vosa's plating and testing department has told me

to put you guys in the picture this guy is genuine and i have made sure of it . I will happily get an O licence if i genuinely need to BUT there is more than one element to an O licence and so far i have been informed by plating and testing at vosa that i am exempt from plating and testing , i am also exempt from having to have hgv2 licences under sections 5456 of the driver licencing regulations ! So in short i am exempt from 75% of an O licence ! I will happily have a bolted front mounted chipper fixed to the front of my chipper if that is what it takes (its what i would like anyway) the rules are exeptionally grey and in most cases conflicting. How many mog owners running an ag built mog that use it solely for chipping run them on an O licence ?

so far after reading through the vosa opperators guide it would appear that there is a possible exemption - a vehicle with equipment permanently attached to it for the life of that vehicle. Examples of such equipment include permanently fixed machines or appliances. Additionally, the only other goods or burden that such vehicles are allowed to carry are those essential for use in connection with that fixed equipment. As a general rule, loose tools, cooking equipment, foodstuffs, furniture or display units of any kind or other articles that are not a permanent fixture on the vehicle would not constitute goods that are essential for the use of the fixed equipment. surely a wood chipper fixed via a 3pl linkage could me made to be fixed !! and wood chip is carried as a coincidence ??

The only problem that we see with the O licence is that in doing this ALL drivers must have hgv2 etc etc , this is where by doing so you are accepting that the mog is a lorry and not an ag spec machine , We hope that the solicitors will find a way to enable us to register as engineering plant or mobile plant , however this wil restrict the activities of moving the chip once i have chipped the debris that i had bought , so all in all i may well sell the mog and get a rather large valtra twin track !!!!! I wonder how it stands if i give the chip to a farmer for cattle bedding ? that way im not making a profit form it and it is agricultural based

so then , effectively all i need to do is not carry chip on the mog while on the road ?

ahh yeah we service the mog regularly (every 3 months) so it gets looked over when servicing, mogs really are not that complex or expensive to look after if you accept having to spend money to get it into shape from the outset

how ever our need for a mog is because we spend roughly 70% of our time off road working where the need for a machine that carries a chipper , collects that chip and can get almost anywhere is essential these are all things that when all put together equates to only a mog being able to do the job

I have to ensure that it is road worthy , i do not need to have it inspected as i do not opperate an o licence , and as said before , vosa have accepted that a mog is a forestry vehicle and is exempt from plaiting and testing

however using a mog as a chipping machine is not haulage , as is raod sweeping , its just unfortunate that the vehicle is needed to collect the arrisings from road sweeping or chipping , i did read something about single/dedicated use being something that changes the rules

so if i run my mog on the road but do not fill it with chip what so ever i can get away with no O licence but put any chip in it and im going to need one ? thankfully i have an appointment in exeter with allegedly the counties solicitors in transport law , with a bit of luck they will have it sorted , what baffals me is that a road sweeper does not need on o licence and other than the fact it does not chip it practically does the same job !!! the other interesting thing is that an ag mog is exempt from plaiting and testing and exempt from drivers having to have hgv2 !! so what really is an o licence going to do ? not a fat lot really

i can see what you mean , but surely if it is made clear that the paid job is to take the tree down only there is no reward in chipping the brash ? of course i love chipping so i wild be following my guys round chipping anything i could lol just a shame i could not charge for it i really can not see that every mog user runs their mog on an o licence

My only possible help is that on all invoices and quotes we now clearly state that the costs documented are only for the taking down/felling of the tree(s) and once felled/taken down they become the property of myself and i am therefore responsible for removing the arrisings in any way i see fit . Usually the arisings being wood chip are donated to local colleges and one market garden for people with special needs !! So in a nut shell i dont charge to chip anything and anything that i do chip is mine .

The mog is registered as AG and was produced in the factory as an AG mog , the guy is genuine but would appear the he is lacking in knowledge and simply trying to justify making me go for an O licence , im really hoping that some of the mog owners can shed some light on this as the mog is currently sat in our yard to ensure we dont upset mr VOSA any more

Hi guys. Im looking for some advice !!! we have been contacted by VOSA who tell me that they are interested in the running of my U1600AG UniMog , the kind Gent seems to think that we should be running our mog on an operators licence as the vehicle is used for haulage !!! i assured the gent that it was not used for haulage as the unimog is dedicated for chipping and that the vehicle is only used for chipping . this conversation went of for some time in which i was told that if i didnt accept what the gent was saying then simply he would catch me on the road and take me to court !!! Has anyone had any experience of such a situation with a unimog and would anyone care to give me some pointers please ?? this truly was the last thing i needed on monday morning after my partner gave birth to our firs child in the early hours of the morning , a day of joy and happiness was ruined by the "gent" from vosa . Many Thanks Dave oh and before this possibly descends into a discussion about the colour of diesel we run the mog on white to ensure such questions can be cleared up quickly with customs !! that being said if the mog is off road working for weeks at a time it is then run on red and re filled with white before going back onto the public highway ! Thanks Again Dave

we do alot of utility work and therefore have to use insulated pole saws , they are supplied by a company called Aus ltd - even if i was not working round powerlines i would highly recomend them , they are alot more robust than the silky pole systems and with 10 or 12 1.2m poles you can reach a long way !!

its an interesting thread - do you guys that frelance agree payment terms before commencement of works ? i pay the guys either at the end of the job if its a one off or on the next payment run which is fortnightly , i dont think i have ever had a subby/freelance worker come too me and discuss payment terms before starting work . being honest its not the way in which i work but if your in business and subying/ freelancing should you expect the company to pay you weekly or monthly like the rest of their creditors ? like i said i dont do it my self but even now we go in to work for firms that dont have the kit and get told that we will be paid when they get paid !!!

for what its worth there is just the same problem for the employer - i have had my fair share of wanna be climbers that come down promising the earth , delivering very little and in some cases not being able to do the job that they assured they could do , i have had guys turn up with no climbing kit and tell me it was nicked by the last chap he worked with , i have had some that expect to stay in my house and expect my missus to lie to me/ not tell me that the person was out all night and is not fit to be at work !!!! - but still they expect the money that was agreed at the onset of work . all of that aside i now have/use some cracking guys that are spot on , they are paid on time and treated well , it is a shame that good guys do get conned and not paid but like huck has said - do your research and ask around , i also would advise any firms out there to do the same before getting a climber in or even taking someone on for a trial !!!!! -this is what most established firms are doing anyway so as a subby i would be expecting to give references and expect that they are contacted and asked about my services and how happy the firm was with me ! if a firm does not do its homework then i would question how professional that firm is .

Nick that may be the case with Bales but thats farming right ? the comment was made because the guy asking opinions works in arb and forestry , a have driven a fastrac fully loaded with timber from mine-head down to the other side of exeter with approximately 12 tons of timber behind it and it was pretty poor to say the least , i was fortunate to get anything more then 30mph out of it on the flat and even then it drank fuel .

having opperated a fastrac in the tree surgery and forestry industry and now owning a mog i would definately say that the fastrac needs to stay on the edge of the woodland in the field with a silage trailer behind it , i certainly would not be buying a fastrac and run it round at 30mph to ensure it uses less fuel. with the ammount of hils down here it would be working its guts out to do 30mph up hill on a good day !!!!

had one with a botex mounted behind the cab , we were fortunate enough to have a hi spec model with crab stere and all wheel steer etc , it was ok for pulling a timber trailer on the road but not much cop in the mud , chipping was ok if you had a site with lots of space , other than that i honestly would not bother , as previously said they like a drink and you need deep pockets full of cash to fix then when they do go wrong !! and believe me they do go wrong . oh and the seat didnt turn in the cab so using the botex was pure hell if you were using it for long periods of time

25m3 ?????? stick another tenner on it and send it to cornwall

im sure i saw him down this way before christmas , who ever it was had a huge fendt and a jenz behind , i almost spat my coffee out when i saw that behind the chipper he was also towing a showgun on an A frame !! lol

yup !!! i thinks its called ............................... Dadioism !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lmfao

this is exactly why it is always best to get everything down on paper no mater how well you get on or even good friends . I regularly work for firms that claim that all the kit is theirs and that im only one of the men !!!! its great as i dont get the crap or the bad name when/if they screw up . anyway this particularly is something best to be dealt with behind closed doors and without being hindered by the tinterweb. Hope you guys can get it sorted and get past it !!