wicklamulla

Kev thas pish poor on a new veeeehickle. Timon yer fancy speakers and some Naim audio equipment would be a noice combination, yew'd need deep pockets though.

thas great news indeed. Youngster to the rescue! You still in yer 50's Bob? if so it's gonna be ideal fer ya to tinker in the workshop. we will be watching and waiting to see yer progress with the toys!

yep them trees gasping ferra drink whilst in full leaf, major and minor lateral limbs having it easy (weight wise) during a calm dry spell, then suddenly heavy rain and it soaks it all up along with a breeze and i guess this adds to the likelihood of limbs being shed?

It is a good unit as that 3.1 blats along nicely. I paid £4k (no VAT) ferret 10 years ago so it's been cheap motoring. It's stihl on the original clutch, it had a new starter motor this year, a rear diff pinion bearing about 5 years ago, new discs (£20 each brand new LOL!). I fitted manual front free wheeling hubs as i prefer them, and apart from basic servicing that's been it really. They were so much better value for money compared to a Ranger or Hilux. Incidentally, Isuzu UK have some new old stock chassis' for Daihatsu Fourtracks sat there gathering dust.

how ya Bill, she be on 130k now, oil and filter change about every 4k, uprated leaf springs and shocks, gearbox, transfer case and diff oils replaced every 3 years. Non tipping alloy chip box on the back with barn doors. It is pissible to get one fabricated and i know a man who can, i have yet to approach him though. Ironically, Isuzu UK rang me back today in a bid to check some more part numbers and try and help me out, the chap said he looked thru their records and they sold off 2 of the chassis' for £140 each about 4 yeas ago. He doesn't know if they were sold to a scrap man or a dealer!

well she'll be 19 years old this year. In my paws for the last 10 years. I shudda had it rust proofed / waxoyled when i bought it in near mint condition with 52k on the odometer. Me mechanic / fitter chap said to me a few times over the last few years that she was getting scabby around the rear end and i shud take action to halt or slow down the rust, but i didn't! The rest of the chassis from the back window right up to the front number plate is solid. I recently remembered Isuzu UK were selling off some new old stock TF chassis' which originally retailed at about £2000 plus VAT some 4/5 years ago. I contacted them today and lo and behold they said to me they stihl had them sat there! So they checked the part numbers and sent me some pics. and seeing as they were just sat there gathering dust i cud have one for £200 plus vat! Alas they got the part number wrong and the chassis' they have are actually for a 2003 onwards Isuzu Rodeo. Seeing as i only required the rear part of the chassis i inquired to see if they had any of old Isuzu / Vauxhall Brava chassis' that had the smaller 2.5 or 2.8 engines fitted as i could cut off the 'new' usable section then cut my existing original chassis at the same location and swap the fuel tank and running gear over and hey presto i'd have a solid back end again. The answer was NO. I reckon she may go thru 1 more MOT but that'll be it then and oil hafta sell it for export or weigh it in. May eventually look at buying a used Isuzu Rodeo.

@aspenarb I spotted a Foden Speedstar (i tink thas what it's called) on Facebook earlier today and it reminded me of yer 6be6 Iveco, has the project come to a temporary standstihl ?

yep thats exactly what i did. The yard manager used to see me fishing them out of the skip and moan at me for taking them! I repaired some by shortening them and using a dremel to cut out the locating slots. I was given a silky saw head, parrot nose pruners (loppers) and a hook by a chap i am friendly with that used to work for WPD. I never use a throw line, i simply use the poles and hook to set my rope in the tree.

I find if you have slept and eaten well before a climb that's a big help in dealing with the potential worry/stress of it all. 9 times out of 10 it's 'not as bad as it looks' once ya get up there and start making progress.

I got at least 2 groups of New age type Travellers that live near to my abode, they were living in this area before i turned up. Both groups are associated with wood / timber; 1 is a chainsaw carver, new age type chap with great skills (and a noice lookin missus so keep away from here Eggs!) he seems sound as a pound (he's a mate of yours @john p ) The udder group are more Hippy like and live deep down in the woods, they have a share in a forestry forwarding machine and one chap in particular is a very clued up Forester and has worked i think in Norway. They also make eco friendly loos for Glastonbury Festival, again they are fine and i see them up the pub quite a bit. I know of at least 2 English Roma families that live in the same area and they are generally aok (apart from 1 or 2 family members) They seem to feel the 'new age / hippy lot' are taking the pish by claiming 'travellers rights' etc and i often here them referring to them as 'pseudo or wannabe Gypsys'. When i moved into the area they all incorrectly assumed i was an Irish Traveller/Tinker and treated me with a degree of friendly suspicion! Generally speaking everyone rubs along just fine. Someone made mention several comments back about the Irish travellers being the worst, i tend to agree as they can be pure, nasty assed trouble. I have met and worked with quite a few tree surgeons who travel about the UK in a van and stop in an area for while, work and earn a bit then move on again. I don't see them as 'travellers or gypsies'.

wow that is some saving!

i'm looking into sickness and accident cover too at the moment as my wife needs the reassurance!

I recently sold my 1994 non tipping Ifor (10' X 5'6'') It was the 2000kg gross model which weighed in at about 650kg empty with ply high sides fitted. Nice size and easy enough to push about. I may have overloaded it once or twice in the time i owned it!

Highway To Hell

Sad and bad news indeed. He gave me some good advice when it came to buying a chipper recently. I liked him and his business model, he looked happy and successful. I think Terry's Father is in the tree game too. RIP Terry Holland, 'Gone alas like our youth too soon'.

Transits for me as parts are very cheap seeing as they are as common as muck.

@AHPP Hello, if you send me yer mobile number via PM i can WhatsApp you pics of a Bearcat Diesel chipper i bought last year and no longer need. It's sat in the yard laughing at me.

Mick Dempsey hit the nail on the head there (and again if he went to bed a bit earlier with his burd ?❤️) When i'm mad busy i may do 5 days per week but generally i do 3 or 4 and suit meself. It's only cutting trees/hedges and most of it is unimportant and non urgent. I jumped off the sofa last friday and did an urgent job for a local parish that had a chestnut pollard fail, udder than that i ain't stressing for nobody. I have literally just had 7 weeks off due to a combination of a holiday, her having surgery (twice) and me having a shoulder injury. I'm happy enuf plodding along steady loike. I enjoy what i do ferra living but it's not something i rave on about down the pub and as i get older i wanna ride me motorbikes more instead and do a degree in Cake-Ology.

Luckily i have reasonable secure space at home to safely keep my chipper, van etc. I do not get involved with selling logs or wood chip so i usually give the timber away to my farmer friends and commercial customers and the chip to local allotments and a local 'glamping' site. I bring home enough timber to process enough fire wood for the coming autumn / winter for ourselves and no more, as i hate the whole fire wood thing really. If i get some 'decent' Yew etc i pass it onto to wood turners, chainsaw carvers etc. There is one particular chainsaw carving chap i want to give some decent timber to as he's keen to assist me on some jobs plus he has a gert big Bedford 4x4 lorry with a HiAb on it which could be useful! I am lucky in that one of the farming families i pass timber onto also happens to be my fitter/mechanic and there is nothing he cannot fix/fettle. I asked him to tug over a nearby ash tree for me with his tractor or JCB and he didn't charge me a single penny as it used up less than 90 minutes of his morning, but he was given a brown envelope regardless as i had factored in his potential fee. My Wife wants me to stockpile timber and start processing more to sell and has suggested me renting a yard or buying a nice sized plot in the parish but i can't be boddered with all of that. All i know is that if i sniffed around some i could more than likely obtain space for not a lot of money and possibly free if i really tried but i would keep the place in good order as i have seen some of the mess left behind by tree teams at farms. If yer busy then the rental costs will not really be felt but if yer trickling along it will be a different story. Good luck.

i assume ya need to empty the hydraulic tank afore that can be weld repaired ?

@David Dobedoe Well you've seen my setup, long main line and a prussic, short'ish positioning rope (bout 7m long) with a prussic, all basic drt stuf. Tink i need to consider the alternatives though.

i was wondering that too (but i would have done the very same as i'm a criminal!) not sure what the towing limit is on those cabstars with single rear wheels, but it's quite impressive i believe. decent rig that.

Empty Stout Bottles.

i tink it's less well balanced. if i was to buy one (i have borrowed and tried one out) i would fit a 10'' b&c or even an 8'' if it was available as i see the 12'' and 14'' versions as too unwieldy, saps power and in reality these Li saws cannot deal well with limbs thicker than 6''.

i keep getting calls from marketing companies claiming they are from Devon County Council, i ask them for their names and employee numbers and they then falter and admit they are working in conjunction with Devon CC. So they start off their spiel by lying to me! I simply tell them they are being disingenuous and i don't want to avail of their advertising services.