richy_B
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Everything posted by richy_B
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Well its cheaper to add more later if you want it, than rip off stuff in a month because you don't like it!
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Probably can't hurt to have it on there but I prefer the 'less is more' look. I see a lot of arb trucks with a list of different tree operations on there. All the customer wants to know is you work on trees! Doubt they give a monkeys if you plant, prune, pollard, coppice, reduce, reshape, fell, dismantle, crown thin, deadwood, etc, etc. For a niche item such as greenwood work I think graphics are key. An example of your best work with greenwood working below would be great. I do that with planting. Nice example of a memorial tree, a really nice shot of an avenue. Row of pleached hornbeams in a formal setting. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say.
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I'd go simple on the doors. Tree and garden work. Hedge Trimming. Fencing. Forestry and greenwood crafts are not the kind of thing people buy because they've seen it on a van, its a niche. You say removals people think of moving house. I think people like to see a location as well - It builds confidence. "Covering X, Y and Z". Obvious bit - landline number, website address, generic 'info@' email address.
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What I hate about politics is its always the lesser of two evils. You don't vote for who you want to win, you vote for who isn't as terrible as the other candidates. I appreciate no-one is perfect but out of 300 million people are these the best two people they can find to represent the worlds biggest superpower. I ask the same in our elections. I yearn for the day that someone actually inspirational comes along.
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It's always the way in Arb work. You want a 7.5t vehicle, so you need a yard. Get a yard, get a 7.5t vehicle all of a sudden you want a bigger chipper. Big chipper fills the 7.5t vehicle too quickly. You want an 18tonner. Maybe a larger yard to accommodate and while you are there, maybe an even bigger chipper! I have a bit of a 'habitat' when it comes to this and I am never satisfied with a machine for more than a couple of years before I want to go up one or two.
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Everyone considering the jump from 3.5t to c1 and beyond is always going to be put off by the initial cost. Getting a O license is maybe £500 in fees (provided you have a suitable depot), putting someone through a C1+E is going to be £1500 odd with medical, theory, practical, vehicle hire etc. 6-12 weekly tests are likely to be £100-180 ago depending on where you are. Lets say in the first three years you are looking at £3500 more plus the insurance. Not an insignificant amount of money but if you look at it as a 5 day a week, 48 week of the year cost its a fiver a day. Once you have a C1E or CE you've got it for life as well.I think its definitely worth it if tree work is your main job. The biggest stumbling block is the operating centre. Lots of guys working from home or residential areas are pretty stuck. Even if you chose to register elsewhere people will soon start complaining with bigger commercials parked up.
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I have an agt 835 which is 37hp. I run a 35m winch, zanon tfx 1300 flail and a skidding grapple. I pull a small timber trailer. My work is a bit niche as I do low impact stuff in urban woodlands. For me manoeuvrability was the biggest factor hence my decision for articulated steer as well. For most of what I do 37hp is fine but when flailing bramble/light undergrowth an extra 15-20hp could let me run in a higher gear or a slightly wider flail (jump from a 1.30 to a 1.5m) to increase productivity. If it am going up hill and flailing you really feel the power issue. Obviously you can plan around this but if it's a regular thing more power is the obvious answer. My opinion is go for the biggest machine your situations allows for. If you are self propelled and not trailering it around I'd go for a small 'full size' machine around 70-80hp over a large compact with 50hp.
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Give me a PM with a price and location and we could have a chat about it.
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Yeah. There is definitely a knack to it and the extra time snedding really helps. After a few hour you get a really good feel for what it can and can't eat though. We've not had it that long and now we're rarely have a blockage. For us its mainly bundles of finger width lime branches which I thought would have been a nightmare but as long as you keep the it to a handful at a time it is great. You can easily create a few cubic metres an hour of chip so it's pretty productive. We've filled the caged 3017 in an afternoon without too much effort. I imagine the m300 and m400 are great machines as well but they were a bit pricey for my use. The m200 was around £2k and pays itself back in no time.
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I do something similar with our m200 for basal pruning to 5 metres. Not sure about the m250 but two guys can lift our in and our of a trailer etc which makes it very flexible. I can put it on our plant trailer at the head of the digger or it can sit in the bed of the transit tipper for very restrictive jobs. I found that the m200 is the perfect height for a wheelie bin as well. We've done a few jobs down long tight alleys and you can chip into the bin then walk back to the main vehicle.
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I really like the L200s. I have had a few of older 2006 models. They are basic but as a work truck thats what you want. My current L200 is manual locking, manual windows, white,cloth interior. I put mud terrains on it and it's great. Can tow 2700kg happily, ok in general off road settings, reasonably comfortable for 4 blokes. It's not a motorway cruiser necessarily as it gets noisey above 60mph. Are you looking for double, king or single cab? You can pick up a decent 3 year old, 60k L200's for £8-9k plus VAT. Mainly double cabs but you get singles too. Get one without a tow bar and add your own. I do most if the servicing and repairs myself. I find them very straightforward. Get nearly everything from Milners but have found mitsubishi are not that expensive for more specialist parts.
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+1. Been using them for years and they are great. I'm a leftie (hand rather than political) so my only issue is having the scabbard on my natural side or facing the wrong way.
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Its sickening they are allowed to carry on like this. As soon as they arrive police should be down with Vosa checking every vehicle for tax, proper insurance and MOT. Impound everything that isn't. The same rules the rest of us play by.
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I did a 16 week evening course at my local college. 4 weeks arc, mig, gas and tig. Well worth it. In fairness all I ever do is arc weld now. Arc welding is very easy to pick up, hard to perfect but isnt anything. What i like is you can have a decent arc welding set up for £250. I found a decent mig unit is more expensive and you need an air cylinder. Couldnt get on with coated wire etc. Like gas as you can also cut but same with mig, you need to rent gas cylinders - too much messing around for me. I have a 32amp plug and thats all I need. In my opinion the key to welding is in the prep. Nice clean surfaces to be welded, test running settings to make sure you are getting enough penetration without melting and distorting. Definitely a skill worth having.
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I think it is good secondary advertising. Not had many leads from it but people will often 'like' the page after they've used us. Maybe their friends see it, I dunno. Worth having a free profile, not sure about paid promotion on there.
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It's quite a drive!
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Looks good. Shame were so far apart.
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Have a look on the aussie off road forums. Bound to be more people on there with them.
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Those seem really good value.
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Jones Springs near Birmingham do a set that looks pretty decent. £250. They fit as well.
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Weirdly the price (£1500 plus VAT) was the same for the double, single and king cab.
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Exactly. I thought there would be a caged or high side option as lots of people ask for them. The frames are tubular so i felt too hard to me to modify neatly myself.
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I had a look at them for my l200. They look solid and professional in my opinion. I was hoping there was an option to have higher sides/greedy boards but no and they seemed hard to modify to enable that. In the end I didn't think I could justify the cost. If you are going to have the truck 5 years I think they'd be worthwhile. The guys that import them were very helpful and quick replying to emails. I'd recommend them on that basis.
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Excavator with grab hire
richy_B replied to the village idiot's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
I am sure you know what you are doing but be cautious with a smaller machine and grab. Very easy to get 'over confident' and have a Squeaky bottom moment! I have a 1.5 tonner with a grab and can lift 300-400 close over the blade. You swing that to the side and it's reduced to 250. Very easy to topple! -
Excavator with grab hire
richy_B replied to the village idiot's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Hewden do an 8t with a demo grab. Nationwide hire. https://www.hewden.co.uk/products/plant-hire/excavator-hire/8-tonne-midi-excavator/ I don't know about Coppards but I've used Hewden quite a bit. Had an 8 tonner for a week last year. Was about £350 for the week, £85 each way for transport. Extra £100 for an attachment. All from memory so might not be exact.
