Matthew Storrs

Sorry Paul, didn't realise you had mentioned this setup already:laugh1:

another though i have had was to buy an old 1.5 ton digger, remove the arm and fix a mast to the kingpost instead, all the hydraulic pipework is available for mast tilt etc, and you have the 360 slew for poking into awkward corners etc. With the digger arm removed it should be quite stable as you have the mast in close to the machine and the diggers counterweight would always be opposite the mast. Reckon you could get the whole machine to weigh around 2 ton with a 200kg weight.... so easily towable.

I started my buisness with a post knocker on a 1.5 ton digger, it was fantastic, i had and auger with it too and if i knew the ground was going to be hard i would pilot drill all the strainer with a 4" auger prior to knocking them in. It was a great set up really as i could tow the whole lot on the trailer behind my land rover, and on smaller jobs i could take enough materials for 200 meters of fencing in the pickup whilst taking the machine too. I could sneak it in through woodlands, reach over ditches walls etc and go up footpaths etc. 3 years later i decided to buy a tractor and postdriver- a pretty decent knocker with a rockspike and telescopic sideshift etc. I now have a 3 ton digger with a Protech on too. I miss my 1.5ton setup so much that i have now decided to sell the tractor and postdriver and get a new digger with all the fencing attachments. I can nip around and do all the small jobs with it and i will keep the 3 tonner for bigger/long term jobs (mainly because i have to transport the digger and postknocker seperately due to legal weight issues behind the truck. Also another pro for diggers, you have all the buckets with you for pre grading/pulling out old fences and i always get asked to do over jobs with the digger "whilst its there" like ditching etc. If i was doing 100% fencing day in day out pretty much, id get a tracked knocker, but they are heavy to tow around, and a definite one trick pony with no ability to load materials or prepare gound etc. I have also be told by people who have the 3 ton dumper converted one that they are not that stable if you have to fence sideways with the weight downhill, they don't have much of a counter balance as standard. I did like the idea of this little machine for small jobs http://www.wrag.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/gallery/IMG_20150703_121930.jpg

IMO, there isn't really a 'going rate', I recently installed 1200meters all in a bang straight line with good ground and access, I charged this at £1.80 per meter for installation cost, on the other hand a 50 meter length with a few turns and general awkwardness could be more like £5 per meter to install. So its a bit like the question whats the going rate to fell a tree? I tend to just charge small fencing jobs as a job rather than giving them a meter rate.

Can't help thinking i'd feel a little hard done by receiving this form of currency in return for a loan:laugh1:

Does this include professional doleies, that'll bring the averages up:laugh1:

Yes thats what i was thinking.

Tragic accident. I can't beleive that a tractor is actually allowed to tow travel at 31 tons GTW without some sort of fail safe brakes- crazy IMO, particularly given that they are not currentlu subjected to road worthiness tests either. Can't really see from the photos how its physically possible to fit a second digger on that trailer, media have a tendancy to distort stories so....

Maybe, but that statement is as generalizing as me saying all Japanese trucks (in this country at least) are designed purely for hairdressers and the like who are more concerened with Image, comfort and style than just an out an out purpose designed workhorse like the defender is. I have an 18 year old 110 180k on the clock and is used daily for towing my digger and trailer 3.5t plus tools round hilly Dartmoor. In the last 7 years, NO major parts have been replaced, it has not once let me down to the point that i couldn't go to work in it and in those 7 years have spent no more than 2k on repairs- which included the clutch/labour for at 130k. I could sell it now for the same i purchased it for 7 years ago- THATS cheap motoring. Landrover il admit have shocking comfort and fit and finish, however their reputation for lack of reliabilty- usually comes down to over abuse and the number of cheap after market parts fitted by DIY mechanics and other meddling and chopping and changing that goes on due to their modular design. I,ve fairly looked at other trucks- I can see their appeal as general all rounders/ doubling up as family wagons- but in my job they'd look banged up in no time at all- Defenders seem to absorb knocks and scapes much better- lack of plastic and the timeless aluminium just takes it better than steel panels.

My 2 bobs worth- for multi purpose a fixed grab (as opposed to rotating) is fine for general timber handling/scrub clearance, . I use mine for all sorts of things (grubbing out gorse bushes by the roots etc and piling up for burning and for the outlay its probably once of my most used bits of kit. RSL make well built grabs and thumbs- definiately reccomend

I have a tree motion i got at the APF a couple years ago- its been sat in my shed and have only used it a handful of times. I don't climb any more so its for sale if you want it. PM me for details if your interested. i went from a willans to this and it was a breath of fresh air

All relevant- someone working on their own- no staff is doing well to be near the Vat limit, even if you have a load of machinery etc- its staff thats the killer:laugh1:

This is topical for me at the moment as i'm tetering around on the Vat limit at the mo- I think i prefer the idea of going on holiday more and earning less to save myself the hassle:laugh1: Do you think that being Not VAT regeistered really prevents commercial work?- I seem to get a fair bit of council/national park and the like and don't think that not being registered prevents this, They are more one off jobs though rather than a long term contract though...

I couldn't agree more- even '30 year guarantee' softwood timber is questionable considering how far the treatment goes in. Creosote is great but nasty to deal with. I use almost exclusively Chestnut now for fencing stakes. And would be interested in other options for naturally durable (and easily accesible) timbers too.

at least its flatish!!- my current job is stock fencing on hellish steep clay hillside- slighest drizzle and its game over in that landrover/tractor will just slide all the way down and your lucky not to turn over in ther process- even my digger slides happily sideways down the hill. All good fun though.

We had a string of sizeable river clearance jobs a few years ago to improve salmon spawning grounds for Westcountry rivers trust- to date they ahve been amongst my favourite jobs iv ever done- nice big bonfire, digger and grab to pull it all out of the water and load the fire- we just had one of us down in a river with a saw and another in the digger up on the bank in the field- simple setup but got loads done in a day- then had to fence all along, couple of km in some cases:thumbup1: Seems to have gone quiet though on that front- think funding dried up a bit.

Was on bbc4, called engineering giants, they basically stripped down a boeing 747 which had to be done as a service for british airways- quite interesting actually, the diggers were breaking an ex service one.

Also, was looking at the new Hanixs the other day- seemed well built machines at good value. similar build to the Takeuchis in that they were made up of steel rather than plastic casings, can only be a good thing in tree work.

Anyone see those 2 big CATs dismantling the Boeing 747 last night on TV. dream job surely.

Interesting that many are using secondary personal accounts for their buisness- The bank pretty much told me 5 years ago that they would not allow me to use a personal account for buisness use (on reflection not sure how they can enforce this) so have been paying £20 or so a month to HSBC for the pleasure, doesn't sound alot but id prefer £240 a year to be in my account than theirs!

Yes, its catch 22 though, getting in customers is one thing- being able to hold onto them when you treble your rate over the first few years is another. generally most will start to look elsewhere if there is such a big increase.

Seems some people confuse a wage and actual buisness running cost. £12p/h might just be ok if it was all money in your pocket, but to run a buisness at that rate can't possibly be profitable. I get the attraction of luring in customers who only want a cheap rate just to get the work in, i'm sure most of us probably started in this way, but eventually when the work is flooding in, it will be very stressfull working for such a low rate. Don't forget how much 'behind the scenes' work goes on with running any buisness- if your working per hour you will be working for free an awful lot

Thanks. Bucket warehouses scandinavian bucket appears to be the same width as the normal style for a 3 tonner, perhaps it gets narrower as they get onto bigger sizes. Also I would have thought the conventional one is going to be better for ditch cleaning, that said- I,m quite happy with just a non tilting one for ditch cleaning as the blade provides sufficient adjustment in most cases, so perhaps Id be better getting the scandinavian one- I hate desicions.

A work of art- i,d prefer a picture of that hanging on my wall than Monet! Okay, I'm going to buy myself a tilter on Monday (before the tax year ends:thumbup1:). Couple of questions if you mind- Eddie or anyone else wh uses them. 1) Its to go on a 3 ton machine- Is it preferable to have one with the twin rams over a single ram. I will probably just go for the conventional style as i think that will suit my needs fine- I didn't realise the scandinavian ones were narrower- thats kind of put me off a bit. Any makes in preferance/ orto avoid- I realise Geith always get good press but don't want to wait ages for it either... Cheers.

looks good, I notice some places are selling the 'scandinavian' style tilting grader. Are these better than the standard for general landscaping tasks and are you still able to ditch with them due to the different profile overv a standard ditching bucket?