LGP Eddie

Just a couple more images, that raised cab really does give the best seat in the house. The Bandit ate everything you see whole, its ability to pull material in really has to be witnessed. Eddie.

The calls I have had about it, as it's pretty hard to hide, and the name on the back makes it unmistakable. Hopefully home tomorrow night. Eddie.

Yes that's the one, Greg has a really good video on his phone I'm trying to get off him of the Liebherr really making it work! Eddie.

Can you simply weld a lug on the outer box and use a Hi Lift jack on those legs like you would a portacabin? Eddie.

Yes, that's where it's currently parked, and it should have been home but for a bit of issue with Traffic Management for getting it off which scuppered the plan which is currently being reworked. It is turning out in many aspects even better than I could have hoped, and more than came into it's own working in front of a big Bandit many may have seen at the APF. The Bandit must come in for considerable praise, and the piece in the Liebherr grab here, simply got posted in whole and gone! Early days, but I have my eye on another attachment for the Liebherr now I've seen what it can really do. Eddie.

Just a bit of a heads up for anyone wanting to try some of the Wacker Neuson Mini's at a 'Dig In' event. New Haden plant sales are laying it all on, and should be just a great informal way to get some actual seat time and by the look of it the mini Telehandlers will be there. Just down the road for me. https://www.facebook.com/events/1109355029153594/ Eddie

Rough budget please Stephen, as the solutions have huge price and spec range. Eddie.

Thanks, been a long road to get them where they are now, but extremely happy with the setups. I'll be at APF probably a couple of days and always happy to meet like minded guys. John runs a great kit and the unit you bought was a particularly good setup. Sadly no Liebherr at APF as John Craig isn't doing the show for Engcon, unless someone wants to fly their banner a bit higher than anyone else! Eddie.

Not a route I'll be going down. Probably do some demos, just hard to get the right site as it means a Client getting messed about for a couple of days but they will get rewarded with a very cheap job obviously! Eddie.

Finally had the Liebherr next to the Kubota over the weekend so couldn't resist a few pictures. You will see the Kubota is no ordinary 8 tonner in stance, and the Liebherr doesn't seem to totally dwarf it. However jump in the Liebherr, get the cab up and things look totally different, with the Kubota looking like a 3 tonner sat alongside! The Liebherr is now complete, shaken down and ready to go with Shear, Grapple Saw and Selector Grab all running through the Engcon with full Ec-Oil hydraulic connection, so anyone with a lot to get down in a short time this can bring some serious capacity. Rubber Blocks are available for highway and for the right application it can go onto 1300mm Super Lgp pads for minimal impact. 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.