doobin

Not as shit value as Etesia, but still pretty naff. Had one when they were Viking, lots of problems in the first year. Neither the Viking nor the Etesia could cope with just two days a week use during the season, despite being 'commercial' mowers. Both were shot within a year. This would be probably 6-7 years ago, and the Etesia was £1k back then! I should have gone for the Lawnflite 533 Pro, but I needed one in a hurry and the Etesia dealer was local (and useless- Richmonds Groundcare in Haslemere. Don't use them either) And believe it or not, despite my pics in the digger and loader threads, £1k was a lot of money to me back then! I wouldn't recommend either brand, especially not Etesia. In the end, a pair of Screwfix special offer Mountfield mowers with Honda engines for £350 each stood the course for two /three years until we packed up the gardening rounds. They're still going strong in semi retirement- a postage stamp garden each, one in my garden shed and the other on permanent loan to my employee.

Even if it was, there's no place for that in this country.

Etesia were shit for me. The Kaaz/Honda/Lawnflite design is pretty good- fan assisted collection and a blade brake clutch. If I were to go back to pedestrian mowing I'd have a wheeled version as my main mower.

Holmbury flat face couplings simply can’t be beat. Flowfits are the worst.

Stack up a few bales underneath to replicate the greenhouse and shed. Use some cattle hurdles and a couple of bulk bags to make a three foot wide gravel drag 30m long to the chipper with a 90 degree bend halfway along it. Tell the local busybody what day it’s happening and that the trees are home to great crested bats. Finally, locate your nearest council dog waste bin and empty the contents liberally around the base of the trees. It’ll be the most realistic practice ever! I reckon you’re on to a winner.

You just made it a thing with your post saying shame on the industry.

Typical attitude of babes spending other people’s money.

Pretty much. ‘Goodwill’ is a term used by small business owners to try to convince others and themselves that their business is worth more than just the tools despite the absence of long term contracts and management who run the business.

Tesco’s have shops on every corner, and a marketing budget others can only dream of to get shoppers through the door. They also sell things that everyone in Britain needs every single week of your life. The two are not comparable. As others have said, if the business stops trading, competitors get a bite of the market share for free. Even if someone buys the ‘goodwill’, then a decent percentage of customers will probably still switch to using another company. So therefore the ‘goodwill’ value is low or non existent.

You don’t need a tree man to cut a hedge…

The hire company is probably out with their 0.9t estimate also. A grapple puts the weight out further, and it probably won’t lift it too high if at all. If you’re going to hire, hire a compact loader with pallet forks. My multione will pick up lumps my 2.8t digger can only roll.

OK, so I was in my local dealer today and I sat in one of these. Didn't get to test it properly, but I can see how it would be a very handy back saver. Lift height not great but any lift is better than none.

Well, I've completed the survey. Here's the link: Changes to HGV and bus driving tests and allowing car drivers to tow a trailer without an extra test - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK Have a read of Appendix A- the full list of questions, so you know what you're in for. The B+E questions are at the end, so don't shoot your load until then 🤪 Also be aware than answers are limited to 250 words so keep them concise and to the point. I made the following points: • Towing a trailer is far safer than overloading a 3.5t vehicle- weight down low, two extra axles etc. • It is almost impossible to find staff with B+E. One man doing all the trailer driving is unsafe- leads to being tired on the road. • It is expensive to train staff for B+E, tests are unavailable, and if you do train them, they just get poached. • Removing the test removes a barrier to youth unemployment • A trailer is a great way of minimising fuel expense and emmissions. Far less polluting to use a trailer only when required behind a modern fuel efficient truck, than to run a polluting old lorry. I'd urge you all to respond. Does anyone have any suggestions of more benefits?

You end up with tyre that doesn't respond well to offroad work and tends to wear quicker on concrete. Instead, why not use a decent sealant? We have 25 litre drums of OKO blue for road and green for offroad. Does the foam add that much weight? In order for it to perform as advertised (and it doesn't in my experience) a lot of it would have to be air.

Found the consultation on the gov website. Here’s the bit we are interested in. “ Another option that would help free up DVSAexaminer resource to conduct vocational tests would be to consider removing the requirement for car drivers to take a B+E test (car and trailer) if they want to tow a trailer. DVSA currently conducts 30,000 B+E (car and trailer) tests a year. We have seen a steady increase in volumes during the pandemic as the public has adopted caravanning as an alternative to holidays abroad. However, we recognise that for some trainers, their business model relies solely or significantly on training and preparing drivers for B+E tests. This would have a significant impact on those businesses, some of whom only provide B+E training. If the test requirement were to be removed, we would continue to encourage drivers to obtain professional training before first towing a car and trailer combination. However, we recognise we would not be able to mandate that requirement so it would not necessarily ensure road safety standards were maintained or that there would be an economically viable level of work for some trainers. This option would offer savings for individuals who would not need to take a test. There may also be some benefits for some businesses who use a car or van and trailer combination – such as gardening services or horse transportation. The government has recently published the trailer safety report, and together with the #towsafe4freddie campaign they both highlight the risks from improperly secured trailers. The need to ensure road safety is important to the government and we understand that the public may have road safety concerns from this proposal. We would be interested to hear the views from the insurance industry on how this might affect their ability to offer cover and any implications for costs for policies. Are insurers likely to refuse cover if a driver has not passed at test? This proposal does mean divergence from the current driving licence arrangements which were introduced when the UK was a member of the EUand which the UK continues to be aligned to. Drivers will continue to be able to drive abroad under the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968. However, there may be an impact on the mutual recognition and exchange of driving licences arrangements currently negotiated.” Sounds like you would no longer need a separate test, and current B holders would gain trailer entitlement. I’m all for it and will be responding to the consultation soon. We’ve left the EU- and we can make our own rules! I’m not shedding any tears for ‘trainers’- they can find another thing to parasitise as far as I’m concerned. I’d urge you all to respond. Let’s brainstorm points in favour. The first that comes to mind is using a trailer only when the load requires it means you can use a more fuel efficient vehicle most of the time, so good for the environment! 😜 Changes to HGV and bus driving tests and allowing car drivers to tow a trailer without an extra test - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK

Yup, did it on my old loader tractor. Puts the weight right where you need it. Highly recommended.

Hell, I paid £28k for a multione 8.4sk and that didn’t come with a cup holder! So you’d be one up on me already!

My bad. I meant the combination of all posts, including the one about looking for rope/suitable tree. Do I have the details as regards changes to car tests correct?

So you're saying you'll have the option to do a car test towing a trailer straight off, rather than car test first then trailer? Have I got that right? The first post reads like OP is reeling from the death of a close relative, all over the shop and incoherent. Bring it on. If you can handle both for your first test then you are a much better driver than the average horsey bint with grandmother rights. Who got their license in a ceral packet again? As for OP- stop whinging. At least you didn't run a nightclub or suchlike during the p]andemic, haemorrhaging cash and not knowing if you'll ever trade again. It's about time we had some 'can do' attitude in this country, rather than the endless training, testing and refreshing gravy train. Next stop- CSCS!

Generally yes from my research, but the point is if you have a set of those wheels you have the option! The best one I found was the Giant SK252D- they manage to squeeze their larger diesel model down to 76cm with the right tyres. This baby is on my wish list! Products WWW.TOBROCO-GIANT.UK Is this small Avant the one at CFM? If so then you can't be far from me and you're welcome to come have a play with my larger machine before you make the call.

1m wide for access is a bit of a naff size really. Not many garden gates are that wide, and you can get much more lift capacity with a larger loader and still not sacrifice many jobs due to access considerations. My loader is 1.3m wide but will lift 1.2 ton. If I was going 'small' mini loader route, I'd be looking at something that with the right wheels could slim down to 750mm- micro digger access widths. I agree that any loader is better than no loader. I don't neccesarily agree that finance is the devil's work. I've put 40 hours on my Multione 8.4 in the first month! It's paying it's way. I would have regretted going any smaller (even 6.3 size), so I'd say consider carefully whether you will be buying the right machine for your type of work. Now is an OK time to buy in my book- finance rates are stupidly cheap, whilst asset prices are shooting up. The 2.5% flat rate I pay is more than covered by inflation. There's apparently not been a price rise for two/three years on MultiOne or Avant, and any second hand ones sell for nearly new price.

I've just had a quick and nostalgic skim through the thread (not all of it mind!), and it's amazing just how far we've all come!

Good, cause it’ll be useless on such a small machine. They’re not much use on a 2.7t, never mind a 1.5

Have you bought the flail yet?

What I tend to do at the moment is to have the splitter and powerpack on the deck of the tipper, and load the rounds with the micro and grab. There's a lot to be said for working at a comfortable height! For breaking down BIG rounds (that won't fit onto the splitter deck without falling off), I think I might try locking the spool on the splitter on, and a headstock plate on the back to pick it up with the digger and place it over the round. Or I might chance a JB equipment cone splitter. Not a lot of money compared to the black splitter, and the pecker and wacker I had off them have been OK so far. Hydraulic Excavator Cone Splitters – JB Equipment Ltd WWW.JBEQUIPMENT.CO.UK An ideal, compact solution for splitting timber, roots and firewood quickly and effectively. Available to fit excavators...