gensetsteve

I never actually drove the new dmax but on paper it looks an ideal truck. The ones made 2103 onwards tow 3500kg as long as you dont have the boot full. They have 3 years isuzu warranty then its out sourced on major components. I read alot of complaints on line of the latest ones dropping from 40mpg to 20 and the engines filling with fuel and blowing up. A faulty dpf regeneration problem but they may have it sorted now. I prefer the look of the hilux and the quality of the interior. The top of the range hilux was nice to drive but extreme engine noise when pushed. When ever I see a demo with £1500 of the new price I just think go new and get a brand fire new one. Demo normally means courtesy car/abused hire car driven by people who have the hump theirs is broken again.

I am in the same position as you. Bought a d4 before christmas with 60k on the clock 3 years old just out of warranty. Paid 19k+ vat since then its consumed over 3k in repairs/tyres etc in 10,000 miles. If you dont tow much I would go for bottom of the range double cab hilux for £16k + vat. It has most of the features of the top of the range £28k one but simpler and more reliable and probably better on fuel. Same, body, axles, springs. 2.5 litre engine which is reviewed as nearly as good as the 3.0. Manual box which will be more reliable. Black plastic bumpers and mirrors cheaper when you beat them off. Looks like you are going to work rather than cutting hair. If you have 10k cash to spend finance the rest it will be cheaper in the long run and you know the vehicle has been treated well from day one. If you need to finance the lot go for a £6000 hilux mk5

with 10k to spend I would be really tempted to push it that little bit further and get something new with warranty. Modern diesels are an absolute nightmare and it does not take long to eat through 4k when an engine goes tits.

definately a rotating pin jet lance is bad news. Some machines you can turn down. I did wonder if you could use water at 60 deg with low pressure as this kills grass so it may kill off the green stuff.

If you renew in time its only £100 for the next 3 years. I probably dont need one but its just easier to have one. I remove waste oil and filters I have created in the course of my work = dont need one. I may move logs about = dont need one. I take scrap metal up the scrap yard = probably need one. If I have something loaded I did not think about = covered.

Be careful how much pressure you use to blow back up the fuel line. Often on the end of the fuel line in the tank is a brass filter which also holds the end of the pipe in the fuel tank down. If you blow it of the end you will find in the future when throwing the machine around on slopes you will start drawing air up the line.

Looks interesting but only if you have a better payload and gross under a car licence ie 7.5 tonne or 8.5 tonne what ever it is now. Once you are into operators license you may as well have a proper lorry unless I am missing something ie fuel savings.

I did not realise you could do that. I had an lt 35 and it towed 2 tonnes better than the disco at the time. More stable and sure footed no wandering or tram linning.

I also think the wetter the log the more you need to open the vents until eventually most of the heat goes up the chimney. My logs for the house sit in a clear poly tunnel for 2 years on average. The idea that dry logs burn too quick is rubbish in a woodburner you can clamp it down till they burn just right with max heat.

most 3500kg vans will tow at least 1700kg of trailer. I think my last vito towed 2000kg. I see the new sprinter tows 2800kg. The older cabstars were prone to over heat when solo and new so would not be a vehicle I would pick to tow with.

I actually spent a few seconds looking for an orange coffee grinder on the floor. Didnt see the chipper perhaps it is time for glasses

Got the same thing on mine

That set up makes lots of sense you could have a trailer half the length and still get 3 tonne of wood on easily.

How is the wood measured in the famous bulk bags which have 1/2 cu metre in them ? . If it comes in bulk bags make sure they are 1000mm all round. 1/2 cube of larch for £25 suddenly not such a bargain.

I spoke to a sky sales man in a shopping centre and explained we have two lines and two internet providers. He thought we would be better binning both and coughing the £55 a month for satalite 20meg ?

I know a few people who would have nothing else Hiace all the way. But its not a proper Toyota anymore. I never had one, just did not fit my build a bit cramped with soft seats and little Thigh support.

I found green beech split and left in the sun now covered in september will be perfect for the winter.

Beech is my wood of choice. Ash ok but tend to send out to customers as they love it. Could just be my wood burner it hates oak as well.

I think we are at cross purposes I was imagining the deck swivelling 360 deg. I now get that the front wheels steer so the rear wheels can be at the back. I dont think my reversing skills would be up to that

I found this with beech especially when felled the wrong time of the year. I never really understood the parking up of cord wood for two years and then processing straight out. If you log and split and leave in the open it will go black and 80% of customers will turn their noses up. In a barn it will stay light coloured and if you have a mild winter will keep for a few years especially if their is a bit of birch.

You could find with hiab on back and empty trailer it snakes like a pig at best it will lift and shake back of vehicle. Put it on tracks stick it in middle when empty push and lock to front when loading and loaded.

I have thought about doing something similar in the past and could only find the following solutions. Get a big 18ft trailer and put the crane in the middle leaving 7ft load space front and back but then crane and trailer weight leave little payload. The other solution is have you seen the big brick lorries where the hiab runs on a track and you can position it in the centre when empty and move it to the front when you have a load on. If you tow with 275kg on the hitch you will kill the sliding coupling in a few hundred miles and probably the rear end of your truck. I doubt that draw bar was designed for that much weight that far forward. 12vdc powered cranes are never quick enough a small engine will be much better as said flowfit are a good place for kit and advice. A 12vdc charge circuit on a generator will be less than a tenth of what you need to keep that pump running under load. BT used dc generators where the whole out put of the alternator was dedicated to dc but I think they were 24vdc or 50vdc cant remember now but got a nice Honda one in the workshop been sat there years doing nothing could be for sale but I dont think it will be any good to you. Looks like your trailer will be an excellent tool when done just need to get over the technical hitches

Sold mine a few months ago gutted to see it go superb bit of kit just no reason to keep it since we stopped doing logs. Just watch the weight once you have tipping gear on the payloads not massive.

Dont worry about the ram its a d22 and it still runs will be worth something to a museum

If we dont try you dont know. Most inventions are born from prototypes. From effort comes success ( eventually ) I would imagine you would need some serious tonnage to push that bad boy through and it would take some time to clear a jam. I have seen some great finger trimmers/kindling machines over the years.