Matthew Storrs

Yes good to hear, but recently a theiving family of scum got nicked for collectively stealing £280k worth of farm machinery and the like- a few of my customers were victims. Anyhow, convicted they were and sentenced to a grand total of 4 years (max) each. After which point they will of course be let out to carry on where they left off no doubt. They ruined many a business and livelihood and the punishment doesn’t begin to fit the crime. Im sure we could all think of far more fitting punishments!

Yes I agree, I’m tempted myself, but also a little concerned that it’s a bit bulky- but perhaps fine if it’s with a grading bucket. Just thinking about working around obstacles and the like it...

To add to point 6) you can buy the thing in my link for less than a tilting grader and it will work with any bucket....

1) digbits will do pins and bushes for any machine 2) To follow on from Richie, yes you need double acting, does your machine have 2 hammer lines? If so there will be a lever somewhere on you machine to make it either a single acting circuit or double acting- you want the latter. 3) There is usually a valve on the aux hoses just where you couple the attachments too- in mine it’s a bolt you turn to shut aux fluid off- make sure they are fully open. When you are using the log splitter- can you hear the engine bogging down/pump straining? Also could be a pressure relief valve on the actual log splitter? 4) that’s a little worrying- does the digging functions still perform as normal, ie just tracking a problem? Does it track in a straight line?. Make sure your track motors have enough oil in them. 5) This is one o the reasons I like Takeuchis- they have actually sat down at worked out the buckets - blade geometry. It baffles me why so many manufacturers fall short in this area on 1.5t machines. If you extend your blade just be aware that consequently it will lift higher- make sure it can’t fowl on any slewing operations when it’s lifted?? Otherwise I’d say go for it- it makes life so much easier really. 6) powertilts are about £3k plus I believe. Would one of these suffice- certainly a lot cheaper but obviously it’s a less compact unit at the end.https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/excavator-bucket-tilt-attachment-to-fit-diggers-from-1-5t-2-7t-inc-VAT-and-pins-/181592362122

Nothing new though Kev. I know of several companies local to me (not just tree companies) who employ the same people week on and week out on a self employed basis.

What about a wheeled digger? You could have a grab on the digging arm for timber, and a winch up front, they weigh 10 ton or so and the loaders are generally heavier duty than standard farm tractor loaders. a combination of the jack legs down and the digging arm ground/dug in, can't see it shifting. purely speculative as iv never seen a 3cx used for tree work really

That does look ace. I bet it's a good tool for brash bonfires too!

I don't really work in gardens, but just in terms of usability- I have a 3ton digger/grab and also a 85hp tractor with forks. The efficiency of a digger IMO is far greater than the loader and is always my weapon of choice when clearing scrub, brash and stacking timber but where it really falls short is is distance is involved and only then do I begrudgingly get into my tractor! I know my example is bigger kit then you are envisaging but basically the same principle.

Another advantage of wheeled machines is when working on undulating ground the wheels can easily adjust to dips in the ground- a small track machine is rigid and any undulation makes the whole machine rock which can be a little off putting when carrying a heavy lump! i can Defo see a few advantages of a boxer but I think these advantages are mainly confined (pardon the pun) to small spaces.

Maybe, but for the uses he wants it for, namely tree work and a house build. I could see both a digger and a wheeled loader could be ideal for both tasks, my gut tells me a boxer might be a disappointment in comparison. The thing about lawns is. A tracked machine going in straight lines isn't a problem and with a digger you can keep turning to a bare minimum (turn on a board if necessary) but a tracked skid steer is going to have to a lot of turning to do the same work. i think if it was me I'd toss it up between the wheeled loader and the digger as I can't see what benefit the boxer would really have over either? Perhaps in very confined spaces it might have the edge as can spin on the spot...

Heater on, radio on, open can of Stella tucked nicely in the cup holder, all whilst achieving maximum productivity with the smallest wrist movements - you'll be living the dream mate.

He's never going to live that one down poor chap!

Exactly what tasks do you have in mind for the boxer- I haven't used one myself but I think they look a little numb for timber work and the amount of skewing/rotating and travelling you'd have to do on tracks will undoubtedly make a considerable mess in the wrong sites. if it's mainly timber handling and brash work a mini digger 1.5-3t will be far better suited as long as there isn't distance to be covered, the 360 aspect means you can do a lot from sitting in one place and you have far better degree of accuracy placing timber and sorting brash than a loader, plus you can tidy sites up once your finished, sort out chip piles. pluck out smaller stumps and like any machine is always there to pull those back learners over. On top of that it opens doors to all kinds or other work- if that interests you!

I'm certain those trailer brakes were not up to scratch, good trailer brakes should pretty much pull a tractor to a stop never mind itself. Well done though Kev, your quick thinking certainly saved your truck if not yourself. Appropriate reaction too.enough to make the lad think but not get yourself into bother as a result!

Crown lift it taking branches off the bottom of the canopy not the top hence the 'lift'. Perhaps it should be called a canopy lift actually as a crown indicates the top???

Trangia is a great tool as everything pots and all fold down neatly and includes kettle, but also it's probably the most effective cooking option in the wind as the flame is totally shrouded. i would add if you get a trangia for heavens sakes get the ones that run on gas- the meths is slow- runs out every 20 mins and is just generally a faff to sort out. i have thought about having my Genny in the truck before to power things like sandwich press etc. But as with all these things you have to clean all the pots or whatever out everyday after work and frankly I just stick to sandwiches for convenience sometimes if I have a bonfire on site il stick some spuds and beans on it.

6 years probably, I'm on my 9th year now and works seems to come in without too much effort. However I work mainly on my own with suBbies as and when, probably harder for bigger outfits with lots of blokes to keep in work.

Just roughly, 70% of my work is regular customers with the odd new/one off customer here and there .website and local parish mag enticed them to begin but mainly word of mouth now which is great as my advertising costs are very low- perhaps £200 a year.

Nice one! Love the hiab bit, for when you've left the digger on site and decide you need some attachment left back at the yard. You still got that 3cx?

Iv got a set of the newer design anvil blades and I think they leave a beautifully clean cut, I'd also say they can handle 'abuse'better than bypass types which can be handy when topping laurel hedges and the like as you can force them through 40mm stuff. Obviously sharp blades are key to clean cuts with both designs.

Surely you can read round the punctuation errors to see what he really meant?!

I agree on this, don't get me wrong there is nothing sophisticated in the slightest about a Landy on the motorway- but I get a much worse back in my wife's Golf than in my defender- I like the upright position and find it has good visibility compared to other pickups

Don't listen to all the Landy negativity- they are built to do a job and not much will touch them for off road capability- and running gear is built for heavy towing, I can't say the same for many (not all) of the Jap equivalents) Iv never had reliability issues either in 8 years of owning mine- but it was a good-un. Id go for a 130 if I was you- you get 3500kg gvw and should have enough room for a storage box between cab and tipper- plus perhaps a roof box? 130s are no longer than most Jap pickups.

id be using it to camp in myself superb opportunity for someone though.

MJs song 'beat it' as in that vid- the solo was recorded by Eddie Van Halen who happened to be recording next door- he just made the solo up on the spot.