Matthew Storrs

I believe the reason why Vector may be unwilling to give a price is because it depends on the condition/value of the base tracked dumper which the post knocker mounts to. Fenland- I'm like you, I prefer to have a machine that can do other things too like a tractor/digger/skidsteer but then perhaps its a case of jack of all master of none. Even though by tractor has ample weight to knock strainers in, if I was forced to only have one machine it would be my mini digger any day despite having a smaller weight the sheer versatility of it makes it worth its weight in gold, so many of my fencing jobs involve some sort of grading/ditching so to be able to turn up with one machine behind the landy that can do all the works in one go makes it a real money earner. I spent quite a lot of money buying my new tractor knocker back in the summer but I'm not really convinced that it was worth it aside from the fact that its good with strainers. An average fencing job for me will be fencing alongside a Devon hedgebank , this involves cutting back the hedge/scrub for which I use the grapple on the digger to clear it, I then do grading works ie casting up the earth bank or ditching and then put the post driver on the digger and anyway I go with the fencing.

Did you get rid of your tracked dumper then, not working out for you?

I love my digger one much more then my tractor knocker. its far quicker at knocking in intermediate stakes and we've done some really rare jobs with it where normally you would have to do it my hand, over walls,ditches, sneaking through woodlands ,it is spot on apart from being a bit slow on the big strainers posts if its difficult ground. Although I do have an digger mounted auger to pre drill a pilot hole if neccesary but not ideal if you have loads of strainers to do like that- soon starts to knock the profit out of the job. In an ideal world I would have a 3 ton digger with a 200kg hammer weight but I can't tow that with the landrover.

Haha no worries- they look quite small in videos but I saw one at the APF show last year and it was quite a lump.

Great to hear first hand experiance of it. Out of interest what did you tow it with to the job? They're quite heavy aren't they. I know its ground dependant but on average how many stake 3-4" could a bloke knock in per hour with that machine? Assuming average ground conditions.

1 tonner? The one in the video is exactly what I have in mind, I think that weighs 2.7 tons. Wouldn't want it to wiegh much more than that else it becomes a pain to transport.

I would be quite happy with a boxer mounted knocker the only problem being you have to twist and turn for each post as its not side mounted, also I need at least a 200kg hammer weight like on my tractor otherwise I'll be struggling with strainers- not sure a boxer could handle a post driver with that weight. I have one on my mini digger which I love but again with only a 120kg hammer weight it struggles with strainers sometimes. Keep the ideas coming, the main points being- it needs to be side mounted- tow behind landrover and able to support a biggish hammer weight.

A tracked post knocker is something I'm seriously looking into at the moment, I prefer to do most of my fencing alone and am finding the logistics of tractor mounted ones rather awkward. Ie in and out of the cab every time to move in from post to post, and also means on big jobs I either need to get someone to pick me up so I can leave the tractor on the jobs or go home in the tractor every night which is madness if your working any distance away. So, I can tow the potential tracked knocker to the job with the landrover and leave it on site leaving me to go home in the landrover every night and I don't have to pay someone to sit in the tractor cab to move it from post to post or jumping in and out if I do it myself. Sorry- I'll get to the point. If never used a tracked post driver what are they like working accross steepish ground and do you find lack of ground clearance to be a problem when working in rough country/tracks coming off etc? Cheers

Not meaning to derail the thread, but what's the limit a subbie can work for you before they have to go on the books?

The first 3 years of my business was utterly hopeless. The main reason being I'd get asked to do a job and think oh I better buy this bit of kit in order to do it. That bit of kit then would sit around for the next 6 months until the next time it was needed. Consequently any money my business made went straight on half arsed compromising bits of kit, half the problem being that I was taking jobs on that I didn't do regularly and so there was no fluidity in the job and usually ended up making no money, but I would convince myself that it was a loss leader. My new tact is focus on what your best at, get the right decent kit for it and just focus on that. Been working well ever since converting to this method!

Ah, I see, that makes sense, there's a depth guage to control how far the staples go? Its certainly a tool I would be interested in investing but I wouldn't want it to be driving the staple home on stock netting. For now I will keep on with hammer and pouch until I can try one/or the price drops a bit!

I can't see how it can work, how can it fire it with just the right amount of pressure so the staple doesn't bite the wire whilst still being in far enough to hold and prevent the wire rattling in the wind. For example some wood is denser than others so how can it guage the power required?

Only a baby tp200 8", so that's me out:thumbdown:

Yep I think you'd struggle to change direction too! Less control using your feet to track and I imagine when hedge trimming - precision tracking would be the key?

Yes 24" on my 576, it would run bigger but I'd prefer a bigger saw to run it, which is why I have a 395:thumbup1: I'd get the 390 if I were him- no limitations then!

Is that possible to do tho? Track whilst trimming a hedge. I think you'd need a third hand as you will need both feet to track, both hands to operate the boom- I suppose you just jam a stick in the auxiliary pedal to control the flail flow. Have you considered an augertorque finger cutter for hedgetrimming?

Dexter, Alan partridge, Luther

Good gracious, that's a hell of a weight. Still I expect the strainers don't hang around for long. Does it pull wheelies a bit if your going up a steep field- mine does:laugh1:

I looked into flails for 1.5t but the flow isn't quite enough so slewing and flailing at the same time isn't possible. Also on that size machine they say that it can only cut 10mm- so not really worth the expense.

Very nice! One day! Is that a 4230 its on?

Does the Bryce overhang sideways when in the travel position on a small tractor? Don't think my zetor could handle a Bryce!

Hmm knocker only swings one way - into the middle of the road, looks like I will have to go everywhere in reverse from now on:thumbup1:

Yes tractor isn't big but then neither are the local lanes so its all relative. Something hanging out sideways by a foot or so may be all the difference between being able to pass someone in the lanes or not. So I guess really I'm more bothered about that then actual legality of it but would be interested to know where I stand should a collision occur- hence the original question. Don't think there's any quadtraks on dartmoor:laugh1:

Tractor doesn't seem to mind it- digger and thumper and trailer collectively weigh 3.8ton so not too much. I don't do it very often its mainly tractor and knocker on its own.

Yes, I asked them to put the hitch on for the very purpose of pulling materials/mini digger to the job so I would hope its road legal. Jon, I can make the wheels go out an extra 3 inches on each side if needed, I will do this anyway to help on steep ground:thumbup1: