LGP Eddie

The two piece boom in reality gives a much greater working envelope, be it more reach/height or depth, but other benefits can be the ability to work better under overhead obstructions or have a much higher lift capacity close in. They really come into their own on my range of works and I think the pedal is going to be very shiny! I would expect the ground pressure to be in the 2.5psi region, but it's yet to have a trip over the weighbridge until tomorrow. Eddie.

An interesting read here on what I thought a brilliant little attachment? Northerntrack?s ?Stump Raptor? does the business | EARTHMOVERS MAGAZINE' Eddie.

If we could get a close look at the tyres they should actually be twin tyres made to form one tyre to avoid all the hassles associated with twins holding muck and cutting into ground etc. These are very popular in Sweden where I first spotted them in use. However I could be wrong and they are wide singles as you would find used mainly on wheeled excavators in Holland. Eddie.

It landed today and I'm very happy how the machine has turned out. The new Two Piece Boom is brilliant, and I can't wait to see how it goes with the new shear. Eddie.

It's what's called an 'Integral Gripper', and basically stays on the machine all the time the actual Tiltrotator is fitted. It folds completely out of the way but opens out to give a grab that can be used at any time to make life a lot easier. Even a simple job like carrying a bucket is now a doodle, but timber rocks etc can all be handled easily with it. Some even specify them for planting electricity poles, and I've used mine to great effect when fencing for simply gripping and pushing posts into place. There is a Shear and Kesla Harvesting Head that goes on the machine. Eddie.

Just got back from a weekend visiting Scotplant and Wilson's open day. The reason for the Scotplant trip was the unveiling of my new Kubota 8 tonne unit on the JCC Engcon stand. To say I was happy with the result of John Craigs efforts would be an understatement! Eddie.

It happens, the hard bit is swallowing your pride very early on and getting assistance? The damage is done by fighting the situation, what could be a two minute recovery can very quickly become a written off machine. Eddie.

Someone is going to regret having number '1' painted on the dipper!!! Eddie.

If you're looking at an 8 tonner, the grab you need is a Kinshoffer D09HPX, which is a fantastic bit of kit perfectly matched to this class of machine. The HPX drive gives many advantages by not having any ram or exposed pipework, plus the gripping power available is massive. It really is the neatest setup you can get without getting on the Tiltrotator route. As for capacity, my 8 tonne Kubota even with long dipper and nearly 600kg of Engcon and Grab will handle and lay 650mm diameter concrete pipes of 1250kg in weight no problem and that's a fair lump in timber terms? Eddie.

I had a good look around one and I had my doubts on the undercarriage setup, but would love to give one a go. However have your tissues at the ready to wipe the screen when you see this baby! CAT DUECE DOZER For Sale - CAT Equipment Online Eddie.

Time was short, as it was for this project so we had to go with genuine inserts, but the grab looks a nice upgrade and looking forward to seeing how it goes on timber. The other grab is absolutely perfect for a 1.5 tonne Excavator, so I'm going to get a top bracket done that fits a Kubota/Takeuchi and stick it on Arbtrader. Eddie.

Here you go Stephen, a bit of a grab upgrade for her to a 0.2 grab and 3 tonne rotator. The Bucket inserts were bought for this project and are working brilliantly. I think they'll come in really handy. Eddie.

I'd keep out of the Ag side as its flooded already and rates are savage. You'll make more just driving unless you drop very lucky. I'd say advertising will be useless, you'll get calls from people sounding you out and checking the rate, but in reality it's very much who you know and reputation that will get the work. Dip a toe in with something used that will have negligible depreciation and get it out there in front of people to let them see what it can do. It's tough enough without having a huge capital investment around your neck and the pondering of having to drop rates just to make a payment. Aim for price work if possible, it gives the chance to earn a bit more, but also if using a bit older kit people won't be dancing up and down if you get the odd breakdown. Best of luck. Eddie.

I've gone this route for a few reasons, but one is I will have more need to take the whole Tiltrotator off to fit the Harvesting Head now. However I hope in applications that involve the Tree Shear and Selector Grab, I can switch between the two in moments and maximise production. Eddie.

The tractor is just a carrier and due to the competition there will be very little margin to be made in the actual base unit? You need attachments to make the money and these are going to cost big time too? I assume you'll be looking at a Forwarding Trailer setup to go behind it and then things like a Winch, Mulcher etc. My advice is get something going on the side first before you make any massive leap? Get a County with Winch and Forwarding Trailer setup or the like that if bought wisely shouldn't lose any money if you want out quickly. Just an example, a reasonable Forwarding trailer with a decent 100/120hp Tractor of your favoured brand a bit of guarding, loader whatever? You may have to break out the spanners now and again, but these are skills you will need to succeed anyway. Fit it around driving kit for others on the Ag side of the job and get yourself known. If it starts to build from there you can easily move forward from a solid footing. Eddie.

Nice to see a Case Cx on here, great machines and so frugal on fuel you keep checking to see if it's even possible! Looking good there Stephen, how's the CAT working out for you overall? Any issues? A bit of a video for you Stephen, this is the system going onto my new Kubota which should hopefully make it easier to switch between attachments or even remove the Tiltrotator completely. I'm hoping to go up to Scotplant to see the new machine on the Friday and over to Wilsons for their open day on the Saturday. Eddie.

I've just delivered mine this week. I don't do logs so just said 6 builders bags of Softwood logs as it was an easy thing to picture when people were bidding. I got the guys details after he bid £170 for help for heroes and me and a couple of the lads stayed over one night and gave him a fair old load in my 12ft ifor tipped with sides of mainly hardwood for his donation. He was delighted and so were we! Eddie.

PPE must be provided by employers and also be CE marked and fit for purpose. Employees must be fully trained in its use and fitting checked etc etc. I fully agree that those employers who choose to do just enough and supply what is basically crap, deserve all they get, but by the same token those employees who see it as a never ending supply of free kit to abuse need to be removed as quickly as possible too. Do employers have to provide ppe? Eddie.

I just think there's now the mini electric joystick option I tried as well as previous offerings? I've never operated one before but it had great feel and was very intuitive, so much so I would have been happy to take it straight to work. Obviously more expense and complications, but a long shift at standard levers chipper loading or the like would be pretty uncomfortable, and once you've used a decent setup like my excavators there's no going back. Eddie.

I know what you're saying but it literally is a case of buy one get one free! Eddie.

It's all horses for courses and if money were no object I'd certainly have Caledonian Forestry well up there on my list of candidates along with AC Price. However love or hate them Botex offer a brilliant package at the price? Trying the new control setup really convinced me, as coming from Excavators, a row of levers is from the dark ages! As for the Jake, it's a brilliant setup but I do fear that it may limit some implements, and extended link arms etc isn't something I'd want to get into? The Reach/Power debate is in the Stihl/Husky league, but for myself reach is what I require and the 580 will still lift a decent amount. For me it was simply a choice of 'N' with 570 or a 'T' with 580? The 'N' is out because they simply don't make a 200hp version and the 'T' seems to be hardly any compromise in reality. Anyone thought of a crane on a Reverse Drive CVT Case base unit? Eddie.

Crane reach is a big factor for me too, and at this point I'll simply use my Farmi 260 with conveyor on it which should provide a reasonable setup? I really just want to future proof it for Chipper/Mulcher/Stone Crusher use in terms of hp, so a T183 would be fine as it could be chipped if necessary. Eddie.

Couldn't have been more timely as I was sat with the Dealer yesterday afternoon and have literally just opened my e mail quote this morning. I had a little lie down after! The main thing I can say is I can't believe how far off what was my original proposed spec for a unit I have ended up, having now hired several units on fairly long term hires for different projects. My initial thought was N163 in Direct form for the CVT gearbox, which would give me plenty of go in a short manoeuvrable package, and look to top it off with a Botex 570. However we live in an area blessed with many steep hills, and whilst the Direct transmission is absolutely fantastic in the field/woods, show it a hill whilst transporting and it's incredible how much the losses can be? Absolutely now way I could consider it over the Versu version which was brilliant. Having had a few T series on hire and let everyone who I would consider to have an informed opinion use it, the conclusion really was it's pretty amazing how manoeuvrable they are (this is from die hard John Deere men) and what levels of traction/lugging power they have. The usual 'big nose' comment came out from virtually everyone, but was soon forgotten and the general verdict was one of surprise just what a package they are. The 'T' is a really stable platform for a crane base, and despite what your mind tells you whilst standing outside, they aren't a big clumsy lump once put to work. I am looking at a T183 or 213 in Versu form and would look to fit a Botex 580 onto it. I won't get into the crane debate as there are so many different options and Botex if cost were no issue was not my first choice. But having tried the new electric joystick controls and considered the value for money it's a really hard package to beat? So for my applications which will involve a lot of transport work and heavy pto use, the T is 100% the one for me. Interestingly the best tractor we have yet tried by some margin was a high houred T151 that was unashamedly chipped up to some serious hp with no ill effects. This thing pulled like a train and was remarkable on fuel too, proving that there's plenty of life in them if looked after. Absolutely nothing wrong with the N series, but I've always preferred 6 cylinders where possible and the N163 simply wouldn't have the hp I require. My best advice is Hire first and try all the different options, my Dealer couldn't have been more helpful with good hire rates, demo's of new machines, setting up attachments etc, so I have had full opportunity to use them in real world conditions. Longer term this should hopefully ensure I purchase something I'm not looking to move on 3 months down the line as it isn't right for me. Eddie.

It's very good quality and if it's just straight clean timber of the correct size it's seriously quick with a massive throw of chip. All the research I have read from tests against other chippers, gives the Farmi a big tick on chip quality which is no surprise seeing what the home market is. Obviously decent blades and setup well is essential, probably ideal for doing small places where they have a bit of their own timber and don't need a 300hp Fendt with monster chipper for a day. Eddie.

3 point links? Don't they need the hydraulic top roller mod for brash? Eddie.