LGP Eddie

I think you know the name already of any new chipper I purchase! The Farmi has been great for me and it'll benefit from a little upgrade. I'll be nipping down to the show no doubt. Eddie.

That's great news, I'll be getting a price to upgrade my 260hfc to the later control setup and remote control, it's been a fantastic bit of kit for me. Eddie.

Good article featuring a modern take on the Powerslide, and fans of the JCB 814 too! Draining the land | EARTHMOVERS MAGAZINE Eddie.

That one pictured was sold by me to a good friend and I continued to operate it for him on and off. The work it achieved for him was incredible and only two burst hoses in around 5 years. He moved it on to a local farmer for almost the same money. It was in great condition and the powerslide is a great feature when setup correctly. This only applies to the grey cab versions which were really JCB's last roll of the dice before deciding to simply buy Japanese engineering and badge it. Crazy thing is with all Rexroth hydraulics, Perkins 6 cylinder engine side mounted for incredibly easy maintenance, powerslide and high seating position the last machines at least in my opinion were brilliant to own and operate. Never been a better ditching machine since. Eddie.

That is my old Grey Cab 814 Powerslide, and I'd have another tidy one in a heartbeat, great machine. Eddie.

I encourage everyone to speak to as many actual users as possible and then go and try as close to your setup as you can before jumping in. The problems come three months down the line when guys decide it's really all for them and start going down the attachment route. This is where the homework and future proofing really come in, and a bit extra on the initial can save a huge amount later. Just because your application doesn't seem to need it now, you must remember your world and often client base is going turn turned upside down by the added dimension. Another thing to consider is resale, and sometimes it simply pays to spec a unit a certain way as it will be extremely sought after come time to change, trade up or whatever. The single biggest factor in my experience is the actual installation, and it is simply critical this is done to a very high standard to avoid future issues. This is my opinion, but you're unlikely to get much argument either way that you either want John Craig, Pat Bulcock or Tom Lomax to be installing your unit, or else be very careful and pick up on every detail it's crucial. Very interesting your comments on Engcon UK themselves, as I will only deal with John Craig of JCC Engcon, and most on here who know my Kubota and Liebherr units will understand why, as he delivers some incredible solutions to problems I throw his way. Eddie.

Where you based roughly? Eddie.

It's extremely difficult to just throw in a price for the Engcon or any manufacture of Tiltrotator for that matter, due to the various configurations that are available. Control systems, joysticks, grippers, top and bottom quick hitches, etc etc can all vary quotes so much it is vital to get a full understanding and ensure you are comparing exactly like for like. You simply can't do enough homework and ask as many users as possible, I speak to loads of guys up and down the country about them and generally know someone with a similar sort of setup I can pass them onto for a real world review. All that said the setup here on Shaun's machine which includes a control system, new joysticks, top and bottom hydraulic quick hitches and an Engcon Ec02 would be in the region of 10k all in. Some will fall off the chair at that, but I can assure you a few minutes call to Shaun may give a different take on it? Eddie.

This is a video of a good friend of mine who used to have load over height issues until after much trying to explain ended up borrowing my 5 tonner Kubota a couple of times with Engcon system and the penny finally dropped. He ended up going on this job for the council to put a demo on against a traditional JCB 3cx the gang would utilise. To say the odds were stacked when the gang had the same machine operator for years and the tipper was from the same company also. However he stuck to his guns and ended up literally blowing the 3cx away on this type of work, and as you can see is able to load the tipper easily utilising the ability of the Engcon. He went on to do literally months on the project. With the Engcon you can load over easily if you know how. [ame] [/ame] Eddie.

I have a very good friend who had a lot of the same issues, I'll look around for the video of his solution to it all. Eddie.

It must be a bulk body you're trying to load? Anything from a CAT 302.5, Komatsu Pc27, Kubota Kx71 etc has been no real issue to load standard 8 wheelers generally Thompson muck away bodies given a bit of a stockpile and will get the last bit over too. I would try the Hitachi as they generally have poor geometry for loadover and the Komatsu Pc range excell in this aspect. I think it's the general fact Hitachi don't have as much of a dealer network as such we don't see more? JCB, CAT, Kubota etc, and now Neuson have dealers more more spread around that people can feel as though they can just nip over to if they have the need. The Hitachi is good, I didn't like the split door arrangement they had. Best little Tilt Bucket in my opinion is the Geith and an unashamed plug for Callum at Highland Hammers who is great on service and price for them. They are getting more and more popular, the old saying why move the machine just to move the bucket soon rings true after you've tried one. Eddie.

Great you got sorted and that's as bombproof as they come. 4cx just come on Mascus, looks all there and ready for more work. JCB 4CX Backhoe loaders, Year of manufacture: 2001 - Mascus UK Eddie.

I totally agree, it's extremely difficult to get a line speed worth having from hydraulic winches in tree work and the best I've found that I would consider fitting to Mini Excavators or the like is this. Not the cheapest but serious quality and will have a reasonable resale value I'd expect if needing to be moved on. These are the type of guys who would probably do a faster version than this if required, but not too bad as it is, and two speed which is a bonus. RED Winch Hydraulic 4x4 Challenge and Competition Winches It's the Trydent twin motor with standard or XL drum. Eddie.

Yes obviously a bit of compromise to be had, and they generally have wider track frames to help redress the balance, but obviously in this class they can't go much more than 100mm wider over standard or the machines can't get in the tight spots. Some offer additional counterweight that then sticks out the back, and in the worst instances people stack these and end up with a big lump of weight hanging out that gives more tailswing than a traditional machine? I would just prefer the zero swing option for the bits and pieces I have in mind, hopefully less susceptible to damage and able to work in tight spots. Eddie.

Just a snippet of information on a very long overdue change on the extremely popular size Kubota U27-4. This machine is finally available with factory twin dual action auxiliary circuits making attachment fitment easy with what should be great control without interruption of other functions. It's took a bit of digging to find, but they also do a bolt on folding track pedal kit that is fitted to the larger machines for this model. A couple of seemingly minor points that make a massive difference to the operating experience and production over the lifetime of the machine. I await my demo shortly, but if I had to take the Volvo Ecr25D today it's certainly a great machine too. Eddie.

I would say it's pretty obvious a 1.5 tonner will struggle for height so go for lower mount if possible, and due to geometry quick hitch etc, usually a bit of mock up farm engineering can beat the CAD drawing when a bit of real world applications are thrown in. I assume you wish to have a control on the mast rather than operate the auxiliary circuit from the actual machine? Eddie.

Anyone with larger attachments but wanting to keep a smaller carrier can scratch their head at this? Obviously it has negatives but ideal to get a larger post knocker on a small carrier Eddie.

Just seen that Ross at Sandhill Plant has got a new batch in which includes a cabbed TB016 and a lovely Kx61 Kubota. Money seems right enough on both. If my word is worth anything, he sold my last two machines for me and is 100% recommended. I can't do links on the phone so you'll have to Google it. Eddie.

It's only a phone call away! Eddie.

That's a lovely looking bit of kit.👍 Had my machine parked against a big black Bandit at the Rail show, they are just the most old fashioned common sense build it to last forever and it will machines you ever come across. That's going to serve you well. Eddie.

Always a hard call and everyone has a different take on it, but you have more than enough to purchase your trailer outright, put a tidy chunk in and take a little bit of finance to get something that in reality isn't going to be a huge chunk of money more, but almost certainly will provide a better starting point. Keeping a bit back for issues and the simple fact you will soon be looking for attachments in some form, as the reality is these are what can really earn the money in comparison to a base machine. Just a thought, and I fully appreciate both sides of the arguments, but I do know a couple of guys who have switched their thinking and running something a bit newer than they originally intended and the odd attachment has worked well for them. If that is your budget end of, my advice is go with a Takeuchi TB016 and trailer, you will be looking at real tidy examples for this money, literally no running costs and if you lost £500 getting out of it in a panic if it wasn't for you I'd be surprised. Chip away at it and perhaps a Kubota Kx61 after if you see the bigger machine is for you? Eddie.

I would say pretty much anyone I've ever come across with the Kubota 41 or Takeuchi TB016 has pretty much the same experience as yourself. The Takeuchi will always edge it for multiple operators, as damage is so easily and cheaply remedied on them, but for me Kubota always have that extra touch of refinement some owner operators really appreciate. Running costs and residual against actual work produced can be extremely low, and specialists like Digbits really help keeping consumables down in price, but not at the expense of quality. I have a brand new 1.5 hour Volvo Ecr25D this weekend on Demo to try as I'm looking myself at this end of the market and decided that I'd rather go just that but bigger than a 1.5 tonne as an all rounder, and the instances I simply must have the smaller machine they are readily and cheaply available. I'm going to demo this Volvo and the Kubota U27-4 as that's what I have my shortlist down to, but on paper they both start off on slightly different starting points. The Volvo has a very large cab, with flat floor and a lovely set of full size track pedals that allow true multi function operation just like much larger machines. The Volvo is also available with two double acting auxiliary circuits controlled by rollers on the joysticks that will allow easy installation of a grab with fantastic control. I'm looking forward to a few hours on the Volvo, but it's certainly impressed me in many aspects having studied all the details. I doubt the Kubota will dissapoint much, and I shall be making enquiries as to the availability of any extra pipework in other markets, which can happen as the UK always take low spec. Eddie.

We seemingly now have a UK Dealer for Eurocomach machines, and boy are these going to make a few sit up! I tried 3 and 8 tonne versions out in Sweden last year and all I can really say is they are total quality with absolutely silky smooth hydraulics. As for spec, nobody really offers more features or options for machines. Just to get you all going, how about this 5/6 tonner blade!:thumb up: [ame] [/ame] Eddie.

Some light trailers about now though which aren't much over the 500kg mark. The Kubota U27-4 will be a beautiful bit of kit to be honest, but the track pedals on the Volvo that you can actually use with ease are a real bonus, and Kubota are dreadful on the small machines for not offering the type of pipework setups you get from 5 tonne upwards from them. It may just be possible that Kubota do the extra pipework for Germany, as they are much more demanding of such standard items than the UK. Eddie.

Can't see much wear creeping in, and a few pins/bushes wouldn't break the bank at that size. I agree on the single side tilt, but I suspect not that difficult if you plan your work around it. Not a feature I'd be that bothered about specifying to be honest. Wacker Neuson are really on the up, the new 5 and 8 tonners are stunning bits of kit, I think it depends if you have a local dealer or not. Eddie.