Matthew Storrs

Nothing stopping you anymore than me moving to southern France or somwhere:thumbup1:

Different people, different approaches dependingly ultimately what your long term goal is. There is and will always be an elemant of risk with expanding a buisness (eg your need currently to upgrade to a larger chipper/ taking on staff etc). I would say if you can make do with your current setup and see how it goes for the time being- I have brought big kit 'for a job' in the past with the hope of it generating more work- the right work never came along and the machine sat in the yard whilst i was ticking along with the old setup- for which there is a lot to be said- less stress being the main thing, perhaps being able to pick and choose work a bit more as you don't have the same financial burden. Iv been running my fencing buisness for 7 years now and have been lucky that i have had regular work and customers- all my spare cash has been piled back to by new kit etc, i'm not a pushy type and I don't have much desire to be much bigger (in terms of investments/kit) than i am now and personally i am quite happy with that.

Well done Paul, A big move no doubt but how exciting- Out of interest do you speak Swedish and if not do you think that will hinder you getting work? Is your girlfriend Swedish I ask as my wife is from Norrkopping, 1.5 hours west of Stockholm or so, we would like to move back to Sweden, and I'd love to but do worry about getting work as i don't speak a word of Swedish really. Anyway, best of luck with it all.

Just moving off the moors would be a start- so often its pishing down and misty up in Princetown but drive 7 miles away in any direction off the moor and its a different world, we often consider moving to the south hams, kingsbridge/totnes or somewhere, better weather, better terrain and for me fencing no doubt more profitable

The thing is- i wouldn't mind sitting out Nov/Dec/Jan and just doing enough to keep ticking over if i knew we would be in for a good spring/summer where there was lengths of decent weather bathing in warm sunshine and the ground dried but even that thought is an unknown quantity and we could easily face ongoing rains well into summer. Iv got to agree- you can be as positive as you like and no doubt thats good for your mental health if anything but it doesn't help with the practicalities of earning a living, I'd like to emigrate but likely the grass is always greener springs to mind. Quite honestly i don't even mind ongoing bad weather too much if it didn't effect my work/living- so don't know what folk in offices have to moan about- not that i'd swap places with them:laugh1:

Good idea Jon- perhaps we should start a hovercraft hiring buisness:thumbup1: the future i reckon lookingg at the forecast

Starting to get a bit fed up with the weather too- can just about get into fields to do fencing jobs but usually by the time the job is done its looking like a quagmire:thumbdown: Not only that but everything takes so much longer when your working in welly deep mud most of the time. Always thinking of other ways to earn money with out having to rely on te weather.....

Don't compete with them then, you are not a handyman are you?? I think a professional laid out invoice with payment details and a basic set of T&Cs does wonders to make your buisness like a decent going concern:thumbup1: I invoice (via email) usually within a week of job completion, usually get paid within a week from domestic- commercial up to 6 weeks.

It the end of an era for sure and i for one am sad about it. I speak as i find and my Landrover (300tdi hicap) has been like my rock for the past 7 years having seen other machines and vehicles come and go. How many Jap vehicles are still tugging a 3 ton digger around regularly at nearly 20 years of age with minimal downtime.

yes, impressive on a small tractor.

:001_tongue:chap felling it missed the tyres!!

Sounds good, keep us updated when you get it- i would be intersted to hear how they perform on this size machine.

Iv no doubt that proper creosote is the best option for sheer durability, however im a fencing contractor and given the choice i will not go near the stuff, dirty stinking stuff it is, IMO there are good alternatives out there- chestnut/oak (for fencing) which are much nicer to deal with and no nasties. I hate cutting into sleepers- no matter how much i try to avoid it i still reckon i inhale fine particles of dust:thumbdown: not doing that again if i can help it.

Did mine with Prodrive in Barnstaple- they cover exeter and taunton area alot too- did my test in Taunton- good bunch!

Agreed, all my Haixs have fallen apart prematurely. on year 4 of my Pfanner air tirrols- proper tough boot.

I would tend to agree that if people are allowed to home school there children, then what is the difference taking them on an 'eductional' holiday. However i sympaphise with teachers, both my sister and brother inlaw are teachers and are flat out with lesson planning/marking etc out of hours as it is- i think it is unfair on them to expect them to increase their workload further by them having to play catch up with the children when they return from holiday.

Echoing others its a great idea- possibly jack of all trades much like a jcb 3cx. i expect it would make a great site machine for construction etc but i doubt it would excel in real world tree work terrain.

Yes, nice machines indeed but i always feel the kubotas have too much plastic on them compared to the Taks, depends what your doing i guess and how carefull you are but i find sneaking through woodlands etc theres always a branch ready to spring back on you! these two brands fefiniatly hold their value the best and for good reason so can't go wrong with either. I really haven't liked the few Jcb minis iv tried.

Id go for the expanding tracks if the option is there, almost a must on 1.5t machines working on slopes. Id also second going for a Takeuchi TB016, mine i had was a belter even comparing it to a 3 ton JCB!

6 years ago i nearly brought myself a 3120 as i used to use one with my old boss, anyhow ended up getting a 395 with a 36" bar and that has done everything i have asked for it as well as being able to do smaller stuff which a 3120 is just too bliming heavy and clumsy for.

I live on Dartmoor, always have done and probably always will- Ive been to pretty much all the national parks/scotland etc and they are all beutifull in their different ways but home is where the heart is for me.

Could it be a case of picking and choosing where the GTW lies, ie you could tow the full 3.5 ton but your vehicles payload would have to come down to meet the 6550 limit. Iv never heard of a defender not plated to tow 3.5t

I,m not overly familiar with the legislation required to own a gun in the uk, but I can't see any good coming froming anyone wanting to own a gun that isn't directly involved in game hunting/shooting/stalking etc. Given the apparent regularity of 'shootouts' in schools/public places in the US, I personally think ownership of a gun should not be easy and certainly not a given right. censorship definiatly required.

Definialtly the toughest boots iv come accross- mine are on their 4th year now and they are still looking in good shape. Quite expensive and took a while to get them comfy but great for ground tree work.