Matthew Storrs

There’s a few F250s knocking around on eBay at the mo in relatively tidy condition. id say if parts- or backup if you don’t do your own mechanics are easily found then probably a serious consideration?

Thanks for the suggestions. yes, when I turn on the ignition there is a steady 12v. If I turn n the ignition first and then connect the solenoid wire- I can’t feel or hear the solenoid working at all. in all honesty the spade connector isn’t terribly convincing though as it feels a loose when connected. I’m going to try putting on a new connector and see if that helps. It’s all such a basic system so can’t be anything too funky I’d have thought.

Gary, if you put a live feed straight to the solenoid, I assume the solenoid acts as the earth? Most solenoid help videos I’ve seen on you tube have a negative connector on the solenoid but on my Landy it’s just the one wire. cheers

This sounds very similar- often when it fails it is because it is warm and I crank it over without waiting for any heat. iv replaced it 3x as I thought the first 2 might have been faulty- it always restarted when I put the new one in. But the latest only lasted a week before I couldn’t start it again. Tried a better quality one, it’s not starting still but there is a small amount of spluttering whilst it’s turning as if the solenoid plunger is marginally retracting but not enough to kick it over.

Yeah- can’t beat telegraph poles. I love them and use them for just about everything. I use Dorset Fencing Supplies who also do alit of Chestnut posts. Only problem I have with Chestnut is it can be a pain driving them in with a heavy tractor hammer, as they have a tendency to split open.

Havnt really got the answer because all the decent old school stuff seems to be getting a bit long in the tooth for my liking. Disco 2 TD5 are going for not a lot and £5k would buy you a very good condition one. Can tow 3.5t, comfortable and generally seems like the TD5 is a good yoke. Easily available parts- which is almost the sole reason why I’d not look into something American. id not bother with any of the modern 3.5t trucks myself, but plenty seem happy enough with them.

Perhaps some kind soul can put me out of my misery? baiscally Landrover won’t start- turns over but no magic. Now if I take the fuel stop solenoid out and remove the spring and plunger then it starts straight away (but obviously have to stall it to stop the engine) so iv replaces the fuel stop solenoid (3x I’ve done this over the last year) works for a bit possibly months but then suddenly it won’t start again. The single wire to the solenoid is reading 12v so am now stuck for any further solutions. Not sure if there is an earth fault somewhere which is causing the problem. Either way it’s definitely something to do with the stop solenoid because it works without it. if someone has the answer I will forever be in your debt! thanks, Matt

I did a fence last summer- 6ft featheredge where I knocked in 6-7” telegraph poles 3ft in to the ground. It was a rural setting so did not matter how it looked (although actually I really liked the look of it!) it’s still rock solid and I’d be confident it will last considerably longer than had I concreted 4x4 posts in as I normally do- concreting wood always seems to speed up the rot. but yeah if I’m confident there is no utilities I will use the auger on my digger- always seem to find a water pipe or something- worse was a gas pipe!

This is exactly the same knocker I have on my digger, if has a 180kg weight and has put many strainers an 10” gateposts in. looks to work well on this Avant.

Got a job coming up, where Iv got to get some pretty hefty sycamore stumps out. They are too big for my 3 tonner as it stands really, but thinking a root ripper with the serated edge on the back so you can saw through the roots might make it possible for my machine.

Yes, that is a point- but I think anything between 100-120hp would do me. The Same Dorado I have now is a fairly light tractor and only 85hp, it does what I ask of it but i don’t like putting stress on any of my machines- would prefer something that could comfortably handle towing (mainly around 8 ton) and cope with a postdriver weighing approx 1.6t on the back. havnt Fords got a name for the blocks going porrous or something?

Yes, I like the valmets, only thing is finding one at a reasonable price- the equivalent Case or Ford goes for considerably less money. Definitely has to be a 6 pot. Iv got a 4 cylinder 85hp at the moment which is a fantastic tractor, but just bogs down to much on the hills if you have over 5 ton in the trailer.

I’m looking to get upgrade my tractor for more power as I’m starting to do a lot more roadwork and heavy off-road towing, and I will be upgrading my post banger to a heavier one too so need a solid tractor to be the boss of it on hills. I like my tractors to be basic but still with good brakes, 40k and in this case I want a non electrickery 6 cylinder. 90s era tractors I’m keen on as they seem to be a good mix of old school basic ness and build quality yet with more modern transmissions/hydraulics/brakes etc. Looking at a Case 5130 as an option as one is for sale fairly near. Anyone have any other reccomendations.

Really? I’m literally about to put an order in for a tilting bucket but dithering over choice- could you possibly PM me with the make,cost and general condition (if it’s not new) itd be for a Takeuchi TB125. cheers Matt

Good point- id better check that.

Hiring can work out well because it’s generally pretty cheap to hire- particularly if you save the jobs up a bit and get the machine in for a week. but the problem I always have with hiring machines is its generally not to hand when you need it, also to get the best out of a mini you invariably end up with a portfolio of attachments to increase its versatility which isn’t easy if you having to hire in with the different hitches/pipework etc. Diggers hold their value like crazy which works both ways. One digger I had ended up costing me something like 80p an hour used in depreciation! I think for the occasional/landowner digger owner- something older with relatively low hours works out the best value. Newer machines with high ex contract rental hours put on them still seem to command a staggering amount of money to buy. Current digger is 10 years old when I bought it last year, it had a mere 1000hrs on it and was in pretty much ex demo condition- had sat in a barn doing very little for the last decade- Very very hard to find stuff like this to be honest.

I take it you hop the digger on and off that trailer! Bent back end lip etc.

Iv done a fair bit of river bank revetment work in the past using alder trunks (which last well in water) I drove down timber poles a good 5ft into the riverbed and then secured the Alder trunks behind. I then used HI tensile wire to bind the trunks to the poles so they didn’t float away come high water. Worked well and backfilled behind with soil and willow so the willow would grow in and take binding the bank together.

Plus if you encounter any drifting the ifor will soon bog you down with little chance of backing out due to auto reverse brakes etc.

Cheers! That one went straight over my head!

? Sorry not sure what you mean!

word spreads fast! Yeah nearly had to abandon Landy going up from Dousland cos of the drifts. Got to go back in the morning with my tractor to pull a freelancer out of the ditch! some serious drifting on the open moor!

It will never be temporary ownership Beau- once you have one you’ll find yourself creating jobs for it. Circa 3 tonner will handle most stuff and still get into tight working areas- but generally hold their value as very desirable because they can be towed, you’ll get more machine for you money the bigger you go. if you want any help looking at any give me a ring-

Basically the auxiliary (hammer) lines on my digger are operated on buttons on the left hand joystick- there is no proportional control. The boom swing control is operated by a pedal which I also find a little awkward- I find myself using the boom swing a lot and find the pedal clumsy. Can I just swap the hoses over on the main valve block so that the boom swing is controlled by the buttons on the joystick and auxiliaries are on the pedal? Or is it not as simple as this... different flow rates etc? i run a post knocker of the digger and am about to buy a tilting bucket which I’d prefer to have proportional control over- hence pedal.