Matthew Storrs

You are spot on, I have been doing it for 3 years now with my defender, full 3.5t on trailer plus 300kg of buckets and attachments in the pickup bed, every journey is done with a grimace and the worst is on the Devon lanes, going up a steep single track lane praying your not going to meet someone and go through the wheel spinning and cloud of black smoke trying to get it going again! Going uphill is worse than downhill I find safety wise because overrun brakes on the trailer don't work when you have to stop going up a hill- you just have a dead 3.5t trying to pull you back down the hill again. 7.5t truck and the like are just non starters for my work, I am nearly always somewhat off road so need the ability to get next to the job site. With the pickup setup you can unload machine on hard standing and you still have the 4x4 ability to get around site.

3.5t towing is pretty much it's main activity so yes definitely essential, it's to tow my 3 tonner around. New isn't essential but my logic was I have an 1998 defender which is currently doing the job but possibly starting to get a bit long in the tooth, resale of defenders is pretty good at the mo so was thinking of using to my advantage and getting something new with warranty etc. However I live in the sticks so even a warranty is still going to be a hassle if the truck is having to go back to dealers on a regular basis. A lot of the threads like Beaus Dmax put me off but sooner or later I am going to have to replace Landy. or just get one of those mini 7t low loaders for putting behind my tractor- tow digger,attachments and materials in one go and stop faffing about unloading digger on the road cos truck can't pull it across a wet field!

would they though? Generally the countries that they are popular in are dry hot countries, what to say it won't rust as quick as a Landy or any other truck- and rust is the killer of vehicle longevity IMO... 30k isn't too bad, I assume that's plus VAT. But my head says 30k buys a lot of unimog too which can do far more that any pickup. I only generally travel 15 miles each way a day max. So speed and comfort isn't ultra important. Just don't want a vehicle that's being beasted to its limits most days.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=toyota+79lc+uk&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=smivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ96mC0MzQAhVfOMAKHbmWC2EQ_AUICSgD&biw=320&bih=460#imgrc=tmXWXbRqyMQdlM%3A Stop looking at them Matt! Honestly though why is this not available to buy over here. Proper work truck.

79LC would absolutely be weapon of choice, but not really mainstream in this country so finding one and then parts would be the issue, and if I did find one I doubt it'd be in my budget as the ones I have seen have been hovering around 40k new.😅 Yeah shame about the Dmax Beau, it had a good size bed and everything and if I thought they'd genuinely stick by their 5 year warranty id propably take a chance but seems not so much? New Hilux is 3500kg, a little more £ than the dmaz (can't make head or tail of Fords website on my iPhone so not sure about Ranger) The last Landies made had 6 speed gear box with 1st being a nice low gear for pulling away, I wondered if it was the same box in the Ranger... coupled with their 3.2 I'd have thought would be just right.... Got to be pickup really as always need to carry digger buckets in the bed to keep trailer weight vaguely legal!

I guess I might be toying with the idea of getting a new pickup, I'm not fussed about features or comfort so much as I only do relatively short journeys. What's best for towing though, Ranger with the 3.2 would seem obvious choice but they don't do the single cab with the 3.2. Iv heard a lot of theses trucks are quite high geared in 1st, I do alot of hill towing so got to be a factor for me

Another thing is that food is cheap now, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the average family spends 15% of income on food now whereas in the sixties it was nearer 40%. This is a topic that interests me at the mo because having recently had our first child and with my wife also doing a degree we are tending to rely on 1 wage. I can't say it's too bad because we live within our means and arnt fussed about expensive holidays or going out all the time. Everyone seems to have everything now regardless of whether they can afford it and then they go out for meals regularly, several holidays a year and they have to do 'exciting' stuff else what are they going to post on facebook!

Killjoy!

Yes, I can see loading height being an issue if it was just sat on the pick up bed, but I bet it someone thought it was worth it, it could be done. My initial thought was remove rear tub of a hi cap Landy, reposition the fuel tank and sit a timber wolf in between the chassis rails, with the hopper pretty much sitting on the rear crossmember, could have the chipper mounted on a pivot with a ram up the front to tilt the hopper bed towards the floor abut more. Problem with this is you'd have to unhitched the trailer to chip in to it...

Don't think there is any circumstance where you can a Landy on red? But the chipper on the Landy would have its own engine which could run on red as normal...

Well, about 2.5t of chip carrying capacity to start with. Jobs where you can chip on site you'd just need to take the Landy, and off-road jobs would be a lot easier if you don't have to tow a chipper being easier to manoeuvre etc. Landy would have the payload to carry a chipper (mounted to the bed) plus spare payload and space for lockable tool boxes etc. Not ideal for everything for sure, but could be good setup for those based in more rural environments?

Does anyone have a chipper mounted on the Landy and then tow a 3.5t tipping trailer. I know it would be awkward if you do a lot of tight driveway jobs. But Plenty of benefits to this setup too??

I don't really have a solution but in Miltary training often the team takes the blame not the individual, no one likes letting teammates down (and if they do sack em!) so therefore, why not allow a sum each month (from the breakages/replacement budget) Whatever is left over is divided between the team. less breakages, mishaps and losing tools = more bonus spread between the team. There is both the incentive of a bonus and fear of letting teammates down...

I assume then that the starter motor is at the back, pretty much behind the seat? My Takeuchis both had a panel behind the seat that you could remove to access the rear of the engine.....

I had the most get up and go for tree work when I worked for someone else, then 8 years ago when I setup on my own I began gradually losing interest in it (certainly climbing anyway). I'm not really sure why but just couldn't really enthuse about it, I got a digger nearly 7 years ago and started doing more and more agricultural fencing and dry stone walling and work has never stopped coming in and still pretty enthusiastic about jobs etc. Perhaps just try something different, if you yearn to go back to tree work then you know that is where your heart is, on the other hand the thought of scrabbling about up ivy clad trees and handballing a few ton of heavy oak rings onto the back of a truck fills you with dread you know you did the right thing trying summit else!

Nothing wrong with taking pride in your machine! To me the Volvo ec27 (not sure about the ECR26)look like they have far too many welds on the boom that go across as if it's just 2 parts welded together unlike the Kubota design, I'm sure they have engineered it right but just looks like a weak point.

The only thing I don't like with the yammer is that it has 250mm tracks as most of its competition has 300mm. Eddie what are your thoughts on the kubota kx61-3? It's becoming quite an old model now so perhaps lacking in features compared with the rest? Not sure if they are plans to upgrade? Apparently according to my local dealer Takeuchi are bringing out a new 2.5t model next year, but I think I fancy a change TBH. Floating blade sounds like a great idea, surprised it's not more commonplace

Here she is- in black, sexy or what? http://r1.oemoffhighway.com/files/base/OOH/image/2016/05/16x9/640x360/Yanmar_SV26_black_2.57274f0813d0d.jpg

Cat minis are made by wacker neuson so look at WNs 2.6t model which is standard tail swing too (getting increasingly rare in this size class it seems) I'm going to chop my 2.8t Takeuchi for a new machine this Christmas. I want 2.6t as it allows more leeway for attachments on trailer. The new yanmar sv26 is probably my fave option at the mo, it has 2x auxiliary circuits so you could run a rotator grab without having to plumb into the crowd ram. Looks like a really nice machine but yet to try one out cos there's no dealers near.

Absolutely, nothing wrong with the cold, nice cold frosty winter would be great, it's the constant lashing rain I hate.

Yup- after a glorious summer and autumn I'd rather forgotten how miserable life became when it gets like this! Oh well, here's to Spring.

Probably a bit too much of a 'Frankenstein' for my liking-great till you need parts and one thing will be compatible with the engine but not the RR gearbox for example. I like a Frankenstein approach to a Landy but in this case I'd want to be Mary Shelley!

Horsey folk generally don't like barb wire- it rips their coats to shreds. IMO barb wire is pretty overrated stuff and farmers use it mainly becAuse they think they should. I have seen cows push straight through a barb wire fence snapping the wire in the process. It doesn't stop them pushing on the fence. I have succefully put up 1000s meters of stock netting with plain wire on top and it contains all sorts of livestock just as well without the danger it poses to them(and deer for that matter) I hate barb wire!

I used to house share whilst at college and first job etc, actually i had a right laugh with some of the house mates, then a theiving crackhead moved in (and all his mates) and i moved to the next house where i met my wife- so not all bad!

Im a fencing contractor- I like using Chestnut cos its a 'clean' product to deal with and i think it blends in to the enviroment alot better than uniform products. The only thing about it i find slightly irksome is that it can split down the post when your knocking them in- particulaly with a machine knocker- Iv had strainers split right down the middle if the grounds hard. If you get Chestnut then the peeled ones are generally more durable- SC sapwood doesnt last two minutes so getting as much heartwood into the post is key. Supply has never been as issue for me and i buy by the artic load, but i think contractors can be put off for smaller jobs as buying by the artic is usually the only way to get it else transport kills it- unless you are lucky enough to live near a local coppice... Not a fan of creosote myself- i regularly use ex telegraph pole strainers and no doubt nothing beats them for durability but dont like handling it or the dust it creates if you have to cut into them. As for horses, I put a chestnut horse fence up last year and i pass regularly- they have nibbled a bit on the bark but have not really gone for the timber so must taste funny or something!