jose

Hi All thought i would ask in the general section as its more an advice question. All of last year i was crazy busy with work. I only have a small 3 man team as present(I did have 4 of us last year). I started to get second vehicle ( look up the tread with the micro chinese truck). Hindsight the purchase falling through was a blessing! So i am geared up for a second small team to take on the smaller jobs that i didnt have time to do, all minus a truck. have now decided to get a 4x4 tipper, the Isuzu dmax with a single cab and separate tool box ticks all the boxes, followed by a ranger. Only thing is that work has slowed down quite a bit ( running 5 weeks lead time vs the 10 weeks last year). We have not had the storms of last year down south so i am not surprised it quieter. I have very good faith that we wil get a lot more work come in as the weather continues to improve ( note i have been running my business for 8 yrs now successfully). My old partner ( and brother) was against the idea of a second truck but sadly he passed away so i dont have him to bounce the ideas off any more. So my question is this: Would you buy/ invest in a second vehicle even though times are a bit slow? It would help me out but wouldnt be worked every day tbh. It would be used daily for pricing and serve as a very good mobile advertising board ( be sign written). Also i have access to a field but when wet it is only with a 4x4. and its wet a lot of the time. I currently have a 3.5 tonne truck so it would also help with carrying weight ( no need to raise the topic of all 3.5 tonne trucks been over weight). I have learnt the hard way 2nd hand is not always the best way to go ( ill say no more than my land rover). So would you buy a new vehicle ? Appreciate any input many thanks Jose

Try them out. I had a preadator 450 ( Non turntable) and its a good little machine. When the turn tables came out i tried the Bandit HB20 but personally didnt gel with it. Found Dean A very nice chap who couldnt do enough ( helped out chipping and hole digging while on the demo!). Thought i was going to have to pay him some wages. Its very capable but personally found it quite a large machine and found i couldnt see where i was grinding. Managed to get a demo on a preadator 460 ( one dealer wouldnt do demos believe it or not, apparently there is no profit on a 7K machine). Personally i got on very well with it and so went for a new 460 which i find so much easier to use than the non turn table one. Only downside is it has a electric drive motor which is all on or off, no graduated drive system which lets it down. I know they are working on fixing this. Otherwise its all good.

Thanks for that. The tree ( oak) was struck by lightning an unknown amount of urs ago. Owner had the main stem reduced down but for some reason didn't remove the limb growing over the bird cages. There is another dead tree the is the obvious tree to work from as its closest but again it's been dead for years ( 4-5 at least). I would get a platform normally but no access at all. I can't ask my climber to climb something I wouldn't do my self. Saying that I will be the one doing it. Cheers

Got a job with a dead limb i need to lower but really want to attach a rope without climbing it in any way. Its the classic situation where the client has left it for years and not realises that when (Not if) if fails its going to squash his bird cages below. I can set up a lowering point in a nearby tree but i cant climb out to attach the lowering rope. After a bit of advice on a way to attach a rope without actually climbing the limb. ie i can throw a line over the limb from the tree which im lowering from but how to get it to lock off. I use to have that tree book with all the cartoon diagrams which was actually a very good informative book but it got pinched when the gypsies stole my truck! Many thanks Jose

I had one for a year or so, didnt use it that much in the end ( change of direction business wise). When i first got it they had fitted the wrong type of connection that resulted in when it was lowered into travel position it bent the pipe joint to the hydraulic tank. cant say i was impressed by their customer service in as much as when i called them up to ask the obvious question that this couldnt be right they huffed and puffed like it was my fault that they fitted the wrong connection. But that aside the machine is good, very easy to move about the garden etc and weights nothing on the back of a vehicle. if i needed to i would buy another one. Cheers

That's a good response Ed. I may pass on this and see if they wish to take it on. Many thanks

Let me know what you find. In this case the silver birch is tiny ( 10 minutes to chip the brash) and the oak is a decent size but the canopy is one sides and i could have it stripped in about 30 mins. Nothing else to come out so no license needed.

Thats what i would have suggested hamdogg but it was done initially by the previous Busur and then and the new one has inherited the problem. Thanks the for reply. Like i said its really their problem tbh but i wanted to know more for my own knowledge.

Just more for my own interest as its not affecting me directly. I recently went to a site where they have put in a application to build a building. It would require removal of some trees. The entire site has no TPOs and not in a conservation area. The submitted planning and the council have come back and is saying that they must leave the trunk of a large Oak standing and also create an eco pile from another silver birch tree which is to come down. These trees are on the border of a massive woods with thousands of trees and a very large amount of fallen trees left inside these woods in piles and also natural fallen state. There are also a very large amount of rhododendrons covering most of the area so most is not accessible to people to walk around. My question is that if there is no TPOs then why cannot they fell the trees completely. Once the planning state the conditions/ requirements of things to be left is this a legally binding situation or more of a recommendation? I dont know the exact details 100% as i am unable to see the paperwork ( Not my bussiness). Just curious i guess and thought i would ask. Many thanks

If your a member of the shooting association or what ever its called (BASC or such) for over a yr u get a percentage off (7%or such). Similar can be got for the ford too apparently.

as do the Isuzu damx. Im looking at them now.

When i spoke on the phone today he said that they have had loads of these saws come in with the same problems, and they try to clean up the carbs but this doesnt fix it as they cannot get it clean enough. Added to that the time they spend doing it works in labour costs out similar to replacing the carb. I sent it in as it had a cracked handle aswell ( the mystery damage that nobody had a clue as to how it happened!) and i got to say i was very surprised when they came back saying it needed a new carb. Spark plug i can understand but a new carb? I love the light weight saw but ive never thought its run right tbh, wouldnt be surprised if this is a way of they ironing out a poor design using joe public to test and fix at our ouw cost. i will definitely get them to give me the carb that comes out as i want to have a look myself. Thanks for your input guys

Mine was running very poor,use it for 10 mins and it would just die and only start again a while later. Dropped it off at Lister wilder to sort out and they have just told me it needs a new carb. This saw has hardly had much use, is just over a yr old. They tell me its all the ethonol in the petrol corrodes the aluminum in the carb hence needing to replace it. Anybody else have this? Strikes me as more poor showing from sthil if parts that cost nearly a quarter of the whole saw dont last the yr! Not sure id Aspen prevents this or not. Thought welcome please. Cheers

My brother and i did tough mudder a while back. We too are a pair of tree surgeons with our own family bussiness. It was a blast tbh. enjoy!

Looks good. Very tempting! thanks for the pics. Are you happy with it?

yes pics please! this is the kind of thing im interested in come the new yr. if u dont mind a rough idea on price would be great too, pm if u rather keep it private.

3rd as is 03 of december? how do u afford to live? im self employed but still have bills etc to pay.

Just like any other day. Hedges saying that i treated the guys to a KFC. Must be xmas!

tothby1 be interested to see this. Is it coming from the factory as a tipper? be interested in the specs etc or a link to a website Cheers

sure i saw those icon trucks on tv this yr, came in at something like 80k or some huge amount. look very cool though

Jeep commander 7 seats, comfy as hell. Pulls like a trooper. Only negative is been a 3.0V6 it does like the diesel. but it will shift if u put the pedal down or u could go for the 5.7v8 now that petrol is going down in costs.

Personally i would go the ms200T route. ive bought 2 x 201 T in the last yr. To put it politely they are a pile of S##T! never run nice from day one. always chokey regardless of tuning. Eat spark plugs! no joke if u buy them buy 2 spare per saw, u will need them soon enough. so stars playing up then just dies and refuses to start again until a new plug is put in. Never in 10 yrs did i ever change a plug on the 200t. not used a T540 but hear they r easy to break. got a 150 as well, love it when i runs nice but always seems like the choke is on a bit. Been meaning to drill the exhaust on it, just waiting for the warranty to run out. Its not for take downs but great for thins and reductions etc. Biggest thing though is its light. after using it a 201 feels so heavy! any body got advice for the 201 i would love to hear it as i hate them at the moment, feel like sthil have really dropped the ball on this saw.

The chipper works fine, can't blame it because he started chipping exactly as it should! Just should have checked first! Glad a few of u have responded about the lids, a friend has brought over both the husky and the stein. Got to say the stein feels more comfy but heavier. That's said if it's a lot hotter ( let's face it this can be a hot job) plus if it gets stinky then I may give it a miss. Not had a chance to try a vertex vent ( looks good in black). So looks like a husky technical or another protos. £80 vs £189. Ummm

Lol funny thing that.... No really he's a good lad but wished looked! Best part of £200 for that lid! Not sure if I think it's worth the money tbh. I'll try one of the above and then I guess I'll know. It was good but then again my old £40 standard husky lid went on forever and never gave me any trouble.