Big J

I was just in a 3 litre Grand Cherokee yesterday in Finland. Really nice, but very small inside for someone my height. Went like the clappers too.

I'd forgotten about the Ssangyong Will, but it might just be a bit too uncool for me! I'm sure they are done and I'm not generally image concerned, but Ssangyong seem to produce only hideous vehicles! Lux. Thanks for the recommendations. Another for the landcruiser. It looks like the likely option then.

Not sure if it's coincidence, but we've had a small (circa 30ft, bushy) willow in our garden come down as the snow started to melt. Was probably on it's way out, but the timing is interesting.

Thanks for the detailed replies chaps. Lots of food for thought. I'd remembered about Aspenarb's Delica, but hadn't remembered what make it was. Looks superb, and with my preference for vans, something that really appeals. The issue I think would just be fuel economy. The 3 litre V6 petrol seems to be the most common and it's reputed to struggle to get 20mpg. Towing, far less. LPG would be the only option I think. Steve - I think an 04-06 Amazon might just be out of my price range. They have incredible residuals. I'll look though.

I had an '89 Shogun SWB many moons ago and loved it. Bought it in Plymouth and drove the 477 miles straight back up. Had to stop for fuel though, as it was a petrol. I drove an almost new Shogun a few years back and it was OK, but I was surprised how agricultural it felt. I do need a little bit of comfort. At 6ft 8", I don't fit that well into vehicles, full stop. A uncomfortable vehicle for a normal height person is just uncomfortable. For me it's doubly uncomfortable because I also won't really fit. The old Patrols certainly have their appeal and most reports are that they are bombproof. Do they have cruise control? I doubt it

2.4 would be OK, as the machine I need to move is only 1600kg. That being said, the XC90 has no low range box, so can't be considered. I love my van for towing, but really miss having low range for reversing trailers.

I have always coveted the V10 TDI, but they are apparently very expensive when they go wrong! Does anyone have any experience working with a XC90? They are very popular amongst the landed types, towing horse boxes and the like. Cheap now too.

It was a couple of years ago and it wasn't £7k!

They are amazing trucks Josh, and I'd love to have one, but the issue here is the teeny tiny roads and the sheer size of American pick ups. In Sweden, you've got such a strong passion for American vehicles that I'd bet that getting spares is quick and painless too. Either way, you'd have fun in both of them I think!

Got burned a bit by a Disco 4, so wary.

This is a question that has no doubt been asked before, but looking for peoples opinions on forestry tow vehicles. I'm going to need one later in the year, and the obvious choice that I keep coming back to is a Toyota Landcruiser VX80 series. Reading about the 100 series that followed it, the independent front suspensions seems to be a bit of a weak point. The old school reliability of the VX80 appeals, and the fact that it is supposed to be comfortable too is a plus. The older Nissan Patrols appeal too, but I still haven't quite recovered from my Navara ordeal, so very nervous about anything with a Nissan badge on it. Defenders are out as my height precludes me from being able to drive them more than about half a mile. All I need is something that is comfortable, reliable and has cruise control. I'm still recovering from a long term back and right leg injury and I need time away from pedals when driving. Any other options? Budget £7-8k. I love the Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 but they are daft money. Don't want a Japanese pick up again as they aren't practical (massive overall size combined with dinky cab and difficult to access load bed) and they don't seem reliable. I also don't need a super modified hardcore offroader as the trailer is going to be the limit off road, not the tow vehicle.

That's the igloo done:

Haha!! In actuality, she gave me lots of useful help with the larger shovel:

A snow drift on my way to work: And the snow we've cleared from the first 40m of our drive:

Lifting is going well. Pbs on everything (bench 110kg, squat 130kg, push press 85kg, power clean 90kg and more in the tank on all of them) and bodyweight nearly up to free flu levels. The only issue is that I seem to have developed cubital tunnel syndrome (irritation of the ulnar nerve). Bothers me most at night when one of my arms is bent (I sleep typically with one hand under my head). I get numbness and tingling in my little and ring finger. It's quite unpleasant, and last night was the first night I've had it really noticably on both arms. Also the first morning I can really feel it into the daytime. Does anyone have experience of this? I think the tricep extensions yesterday might have been the aggravator, but I do press quite a bit, so maybe need to tone that down a bit. Any advice appreciated!

Don't risk it. You'll just end up in a ditch and as a picture on the BBC news website as an example of irresponsible driving

That looks like a professionally installed kiln CDMR - much more so than mine! Donnk - in some instances a dehumidifier might be cheaper to run, but I found the difference to be very small on the larger kilns we have. There is also the reliability aspect as dehumidifiers break down a lot unless specifically designed to dry timber. The heat recovery units do recovery a fairly high percentage of the heat, so it's not wasted.

Best option at present:

The snow got so deep here, I had to crack out the snow shovel: Snow was 26 inches deep on our drive with the drifting, but cleared a 100m section of the main road on the way back that was 4ft deep, and dug out an idiot Ford Ranger driver who'd slammed into the aforementioned drift, and got stuck (on summer tyres, and they didn't even have a pair of gloves in the car). The forklift is staying at home until the snow clears. The drifting off the field fills up our drive in no time.

About 8 inches level snow here and the strong easterly has completely filled up our drive with at least 30 inches of snow. So waiting for the gamekeeper to give me a lift to the yard so I can grab my bucket forklift to clear my drive. Stupid snow!

Just started to snow in the last few minutes here near Edinburgh. Minus 3.5 overnight, so hard frosty ground for it to lie on.

Not possible. The estate I used to live on had huge stacks of hardwood thinnings (nothing large diameter - max 300mm) which they left off the deck drying for 3 years so that they could process straight into the trailer for delivery. Even then, moisture content varied wildly and was never under 25%.

It's much damper up here. We're 1.3 miles from the sea, which doesn't help. Looking at the data from my weather station (s), the relative humidity averages over 95%, and can go a week or more at 100%. We're in a cold spot, so our temperature is usually 2c less than our friend who is 3 miles away. He has the same weather station. Average temperature since the start of November has been 3 celsius. As such, equilibrium moisture content is around 24%. Summer is incredibly wet here too, to the point that keeping the house free of damp is tricky. RH in the house is usually over 70% through summer and whilst we do get days of 30-40% RH outside, more common is 70-80%. At the moment, the sawn timber I have in the barns is sat at 20-21% MC but that has crept up from 17% over summer. It never goes lower than that. The yard is a bit less damp than home (further inland and windier).

16% might well be what performs best but it's just impossible for anyone in the UK to achieve drying or storing firewood outside. Equilibrium moisture content up in Central Scotland is well over 20% during winter (about 24% here at home, as we are in a cold spot and relative humidity stays high). How would you suggest we that people in the north of the UK or on the west coast achieve 16%? Genuine question, not being difficult

I think boiler stoves are much more prone to chimney fires than normal stoves. We've had our stove (Champion Stoves, Dominator 20kw) for 5 years now, put 35-40 cube a year through it (mostly softwood now) and I've not swept the chimney in that time. I've seen no reduction in flue performance in that time and seen no evidence of any chimney fires. We chuck all sorts of rubbish on the fire too (nappies being the main one) and it incinerates everything with no issues. Due to the size of the stove, it tends to always be burning on the hotter end of the safe range of operation, so I reckon the flue temp is high all the way to the top. It's a clay lined flue.