richy_B

It's all pretty new to me but so far it is really useful. Cutting one channel 'blind' then switch to offset and go up and you own clearing is a massive benefit for me. In London there is so much junk in the undergrowth so having that diagonal view is great. This seems pretty good fo neck strain too. I find the flail sits nicely to my right side where I can just look slightly down. I imagine with the inline you are going to be leaning forward a bit more and it could be uncomfortable after a few hours Using it as a side flail opens up a whole world of opportunities. You can cut hedge rows, rights of way, etc. It doesn't compete with a full size flail arm but will do the work of ten guys with hedge cutters. The side shift is a chunk of money but if you have the right sort of work it's a really amazing bit of kit. The downsides are the weight and how far it sticks out in front. It feels sure footed enough and if you drive down your own clearing you should see what's in front of you but I could see how you could easily get yourself in trouble with all that weight up and stretched. Even when it's 'closed' it's probably 80cm further out than the standard flail. This means more adjustments on undulating terrain. I can't transport it with the flail on. Can't get the weight distribution right even on my largest trailer - lm126. What works well is having the MO in the small plant trailer and towing it behind the transit t350, which can hold 4 attachments in the back. Dropside down, quick change and you are off me with a new tool. I found that pretty useful when switching between the hedge cutter and muck forks for collecting.

Ok. I had a 35m on a agt 835 and it looked a lot smaller than that. Agreed on the pto angle, can be a bit worrying in certain situations. It's par for the course with alpines. I had a flail that when set on offset looked really iffy.

Is that a u 45m? Looks like a nice fit.

This is what I had in mind. Perfect fit. Should shovel a whole lot of chip.

Had the flail out again this morning. Getting the hang of it now, quicker on the fine adjustments. Could have done with a cab and heater first though - quite wintery.

Really pisses me off in London. Every fecker seems to use one.

Difficulty being that with your qualifications and experience you are competing against 19 years olds who will be very happy with £95 a day. It's a tough situation but in until you have 2 years of good experience the pay will be low.

Got to love a worker who doesn't know when to keep their mouth shut! We were planting some street trees and a resident came out. 'These don't grow too large do they?' , labourer said told them they ones are huge, 50 metres or so he thought. Queue an onslaught of angry residents. We were planting a row of prunus nigra on a verge on a wide road. I have no idea where the wally got 50 metres. The answer to all questions is - my boss is over there, I'll get him for you.

Agreed. It gives a very poor comparison/expectation. Yes, good genuine contract climber should be £150-200 a day but you are not going to find PAYE climbers on more than £32k, maybe £35k if they are leading larger teams/other responsibilities. That is the glass ceiling for the role in the UK in my opinion. At the lowest end of the scale though you have to consider minimum wage is steadily increasing and the so called 'living wage' is pretty high. In the South east you are expected to pay £10 an hour plus for completely unskilled labour. At a direct effect an experienced groundworker will want £100-120 PAYE.

The industry is juxtaposed in terms of expected and actual pay. An employers view of a 'fair' days pay is seemingly very different to an employees. The issue of 'freelance' or self employed basis which is grossly misused in the arb industry. The arb industry is an exciting concept so attracts a lot of people. They all do a short course then are battling for starter roles but have a perceived pay rate in mind.

Great videos. Really well shot and informative.

Good to have than in there but it has to be enforceable and worthwhile you enforcing it. Lots of companies will pay the original amount then the onus is on you to decide about chasing the 25%. Between a rock and a hard place.

Have you ever started a thread and really wished you hadn't!

30 days would be a treat. A lot of larger customers are 60 or 90 days.

For LA stuff I've found it is per 30cm x 30cm / sqft. Doubt there is any any way to add a 'formula' to it accurately for private work. Just attribute your target hourly rate by time it takes and go from there. After 50 customers youll6have a better idea.

Thanks. It is the XL light weight bucket. At 1800mm the MO is 660 litres, Avant is 900 litres. I shift woodchip around so the extra capacity will speed things up. The Avant bucket is heavier but it's just woodchip so I don't feel the 100kg is going to be an issue.

I want to use an Avant bucket on a multione. Nothing hydraulic, which woukd appear to be different.

https://www.nptc.org.uk/qualificationschemedetail.aspx?id=318 I looked at it a year ago but never got any further.

Is the Avant and the multione bracket the same size? Ie one can use the other make without modification?

You can insure anything against anything - cost and benefit are the real question. Best to speak to a broker. Tell them what you want to insure and the values. Once you have a premium you can go from there. Arborisk or trust might be a good place to start.

My mum is in west fermanagh. Hitting pretty hard from hard from the sounds of. They've closed lots of schools.

£200 to dismantle, log up and chip a 60' tree !?! Leave them to it. £400 is pretty cheap in my opinion for a two man team, rigging kit, tipper and chipper.

Does anyone know of a UK supplier of a root ball strop / carrier? Can't see to find anything via google. Want it to go over forks and be good for heavy standards upto 200kg.

Probably not a lot you can do if you are sticking with the same vehicles. Keep on top of servicing and make sure your tyres are at the right pressures is all that occurs to me. Avoud sharp acceleration and braking. Probably only a nominal difference though. Have you got a fuel card? Perhaps worth shopping around and seeing if you can get a better rate. We only run 3 vehicles but they all tow. Our diesel bill is £5k ish per year. Painful.