LGP Eddie

I must say I was anticipating an answer of Roofmount Valtra but I like your thinking with that setup? We got on ok with mine once we'd got setup, but it just doesn't quite workout with an Excavator loading it and tractor running it for us. Your dumper idea should be better and a single operator much more efficient. We found it took some fair size gear no issues and it's actual pulling power was awesome. With regard to twisty stuff, you wouldn't believe the difference from the beginning of our project to the end in terms of what we could get through and it was all down to the operator gaining experience. Eddie.

What are you planning to run the Stroker on? Eddie.

I knew you'd like it, and I've sent it to Greg to dream about too! You'd never believe it Stephen, but the slopes I've been raking mulch off of late are so steep your old girl won't go up them in parts!! It's still a beast and can shift a serious amount of material on a shortish haul though. I can't see Greg trading up to that Prinoth just yet! Eddie.

Looking forward to seeing how it goes Stephen, you'll not sleep tonight, but if you do dream of this!!! [Other] Prinoth Panther - Forwarders, Year of manufacture: 2013 - Mascus UK Eddie.

Time for a tracker unit in a length? Plenty of non subscription units about and can be tracked on a phone easy as. Just to see their face when you cut it open! The odds in favour of it ever being found in a timber stack would be needle in a haystack? A mate has a fully operational Chainsaw in his truck fitted with tracker and you'd never know? He's been cleaned out a couple of times along with most of his local friends. If that tracker one goes missing, he'll not be short of a few friends to go and collect! Eddie.

I've seen plenty of gas bottle versions including the one at a friends workshop that virtually collapsed on itself. However last time I was in there I had to do a double take at it's replacement! Talk about heavy duty, those are truck rims and the lid was 15mm plate! It's performance is unreal, get it hot and it just sits there and radiates so much heat it's fantastic. I think it'll be there for a while, even with it's lucky handle! Eddie.

PM back, but your box is full! Eddie.

You need to speak to Gregor McArthur at McArthur Forest Services. I had all Sunday morning with him and he's truly a guy who knows his Mulching stuff and passionate about it! His attention to detail is fantastic and probably guilty of not advertising enough just what a range of conversions he gets involved in. I had the exact same conversation regarding the powerpack route and if you're pockets are deep enough, a very surprising solution is possible from him. Eddie.

I visited Cragside earlier this year for the first time and it's stunning! Those pictures here are a fantastic view not many will ever get! Top Job! I thought this was brilliant in the grounds. Eddie.

I'll give you a call and we'll nip over with the tape measure! Did you plan to stick that 250 on the Tracked Dumper Stephen?? That would be pushing things a little!! I'd have thought Greg could get through some gear in a day on pretty much any terrain with a 90 mounted to the back? Eddie.

Well yes something like that!! You should know exactly where I'm coming from on this Stephen as it would be to go on Greg's dumper, which should obviously carry it just about anywhere. If it would just fit inside the width for transport and then rotate to a suitable working position it would be ideal, as from the protected seating position of the dumper you would get a great view for feeding. I was extremely impressed at the Confor show with the very heavy Bandit build and they couldn't have been more helpful. A refurb would be ideal for our needs as obviously the machine is multi purpose and wouldn't justify the outlay on a new unit. Do you open Saturdays? Eddie.

What price region are the refurbs? We are investigating fitting a self powered chipper onto the track dumper bed to feed with the crane already installed. It would simply be on a swivel mount to rotate for easier transport when required, and then turn so the feed hopper would be easily viewed by the operator. Basically the chipper pictured minus the axle/drawbar, and a suitable mounting. Air cooled would be ideal too? Eddie.

These guys are unbelievable and made the first version of a Hi Tip Dumper Loader conversion I saw. It's pictured briefly in the video here, but what they came up with also was well worth of a look? Hat's off to them! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTptr1-1jaU]Lifton skip loader - YouTube[/ame] Eddie.

Really sorry the guy posted the image up as some sort of pdf link and despite my best efforts I can't get it into a normal image? I thought it was worth posting up so just gave it a go how it was. Hopefully someone may be able to convert it? If Apple put a couple of servo levers on these Macbooks I might get on better with them! Eddie.

It's on the CE Forum, and I believe it's a straightforward home built design with the lift arms cut out of road plates! There was an earlier version done on the same forum, but not to this standard, which I thought was a first class job? It would certainly make a great all round machine with pretty narrow access, and the ability to turn it straight back into a hi tip dumper was really handy. Eddie.

I spotted this on another Forum and to be honest thought the guy had done a brilliant job of the conversion? Apparently 5 minutes will have it converted back to the original hi tip dumper skip for a real dual purpose tool? I'm certain plenty on here could make good use of such a conversion? Eddie. Copy of DSC01927-1-1.pdf

This is what we came up for on Neil's Tracked dumper. Basically a forklift mast converted and all the hydraulics sorted to run his big Bryce knocker setup. Basically it remains a Dumper but can lift and carry all sorts of thinks on the front linkage without sticking out too far or impeding any normal dumper use. Neil usually runs the Bryce on a Valtra, but this setup keeps him going when others have to give up and has won him plenty of projects. It's got bags of power and will lift the front of the dumper in the air when pushing down no problem. We wanted it to take an angle blade for backfilling drainage trenches too. It comes up a lot higher than the position in the picture. Eddie.

Thanks very much, it's a stunning site to work on. An engine pack is the way if possible, but obviously my machine has to do such a wide range of work. The FAE is in reality the best I can find in this class for the cost and packs a serious punch. The fact it has the two opening doors exposes a huge amount of the rotor making it very aggressive and able to work effectively either direction. Size is one of them piece of string questions but Rodie up to approx 12" is pretty straightforward, and something like a birch of 6 to 8" would be very easily disposed of to below ground level. Things like bramble, gorse, heather etc it literally hoovers up, and in soft conditions you've got to remember the Kubota will go pretty much where you can't walk and mow a swath of 14.5 metres wide. Covering a large site, it's remarkable how little you traffic it? There's also the winch which can be used for safety on slopes and also eliminates the need for any scratching and scrabbling about to get back up a slope. It's a strange sensation when you're down on the wire though! The Rhodie picture was as extreme as it gets but was mulched, and the if you look at the last you will see the wire to the 20 tonner! Eddie.

Making serious progress through Rhodie on this site with the Kubota and FAE head. Not a bad place to be working too! Eddie.

Here you go terrier, this'll lighten things up? Fancy explaining this one away? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=958b5Siv6kA]Backhoe Recovery.. Epic Fail - YouTube[/ame] Eddie.

You only need to provide proof of competence should the worst happen and the FMO is a very easy way of doing this. There is no requirement to use this scheme unless your client expressly insists on it, and you can get a reputable training provider to give you some specific training in line with your current competence/experience then issue you with an in house certificate. This is all getting out of hand with card schemes overlapping and costing a fortune for operators, but the flip side is standing in the dock at the inquest spluttering about how you've driven one for years? Where does it end though? If I jump on a tractor would I eventually need one for every implement I use with it? The jobs on it's arse! Eddie.

Oh yes! CITB levy they call it I believe? It's some percentage of turnover I believe and is basically how the whole scheme is underpinned. Obviously large contractors contribute an awful lot hence their insistence on having CPCS certification on their sites. Interestingly CPCS assumes if you can operate the machine then you can handle the wide range of attachments that go on the end? With regard to annual testing of practically anything like winches, cranes, loaders etc, it may technically be exempt but we've unfortunately passed that point now in our claims culture if it isn't absolutely for your own use. Should the worst happen a basic 12 monthly inspection certificate by a reputable company and some maintenance records could be very useful and considered best practice? They aren't expensive and a qualified eye every 12 months will make you round up all them little jobs you wanted to get done on a machine. Eddie.

It's truly a minefield and the simple fact is there is very little overlap of the CPCS and FMO certification? Basically for some clients they would insist on CPCS (or similar) others may want FMO (Forestry commission insist on this), leaving poor operators having to fork out for two sets of training and card schemes. CPCS does have competition from other schemes and plenty of clients accept it, I wonder if anyone has ever challenged the FMO schemes dominance and is there actually an alternative available? Eddie.

I'd say Arb work will cover a multitude of clients and I'd expect very little to be on Forestry Commission sites which is where the insistence on FMO certification will come from? If that's specific to what you do then FMO is the way to go. A CPCS is accepted as the basic unit for excavator operation in the FMO scheme anyway. I'd have said most on here would be better off with CPCS if they want to go the whole hog or get an in house certificate at the very least if not? Excavators are required to be tested every 12 months. Eddie.

I'm lucky in that my mulching head is setup through the Engcon control system, it simply has an on/off detent button to power the mower and the Kubota has big enough pedals for full control of the tracking. Interestingly I hope when I replace the machine to have the tracking moved up onto the levers besides remaining operational from the pedals. This would work by having a roller in one lever that gives proportional control of forward/reverse travel, and a roller in the opposite lever will control left/right movement. Such a setup should be ideal when mulching as I should be able to simply feather in the required bit of forward motion for the next cutting sweep without any need to touch the pedals. The blade operation can also be included on a proportional roller within the levers which is a nice feature, with even steering on the wheeled excavators being included now. It's perfectly possible to do a very tidy job of a hedge without the need to track along by working in small sections then moving on. Eddie.