Matthew Storrs
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Everything posted by Matthew Storrs
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Spot on- doing a lot of river improvement works for the rivers trust and part of the project is to leave the large fallen beeches right accross the river for the habitat/shelter they provide, also they create pooling in what is other wise a shallow stretch of river.
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And another thing- permanent 4wd would be my choice if I'm hauling heavy trailers around, makes for much safer engine braking. I only have experiance of 3 Japanese trucks, namely the l200, Nissan navara and ford ranger (not the new one and yes I know they're not Japanese) and they all were very poor at towing/handling heavy trailer compared to a 110, their clutches would stink with any manouvering and trailer loading had to be spot on to reduce 'snaking'. Not trying to run them down or start a landy/jap debate, they're are very good at what they are designed for, but I woudn't say towing 3.5t trailers is one of them.
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Yes, this is a serious flaw in these Japanese type trucks which are allowed to tow 3.5kg, their gross weight dictates that if they are towing the full 3.5kg there is not enough capacity to have weight in the pickup bed too. The defender is one of the few that can tow 3.5ton whilst still being loaded up to gross weight in the pickup bed. I really think towing 3.5ton in an unloaded pickup is downright dangerous. They have very little weight on the back end and you'd better make sure your trailer brakes are spot on else it'll boss your back end around no bother. Its all very well on the flat, but if had some scary moments in the past being pulled backwards when towing my 2.8t digger. The I for brakes don't work if your going up a steep hill and have to come to a stop, it'll just pull the vehicle backwards if not enough weight in it.
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I do B+E trailer test, it allows me to tow up to 3.5 ton (depending on vehicles plate). I drive a landrover defender which legally has a train weight of 6550kg I'm allowed 3.5ton trailer behind it and the gross weight of the landrover is 3050kg. Not sure there is any other trailer license? If your lad passed his B+E then he can tow whatever the vehicle is plated to (maximum 7000kg train weight)
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Yeah, trouble is 35k dollars puts it at nearly twice what you'll pay for dmax/ranger etc. Can't really see it being a success particularly if they use words like nostalgic . That instantly puts it in the landrover/series camp. No, it needs to be marketed as the truck for proper work. Still, don't see many mums dropping their kids off to school in one of those and no doubt that is where the high sales are. I don t reckon these new generation Japanese pickups (excluding land cruiser) are designed with work in mind, other wise they'd all be designed for maximum payload and towing capacity. Instead they are all marketing a one truck fits all- jack of all trades master of none type of thing.
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Christ, that was quick! Took me about a month:laugh1:
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I'd think that the Toyota land cruiser 79 would be a really good seller in this country- particularly now the defender is no longer. It seems to combine the best of all pickups, except fuel and I doubt parts are cheap either. The rangers seem to have such small pickup beds. Particularly the new 'uprated' one. Not sure what of do in your position, the new pickups all seem far too glamorous to be used for proper work, and more so with each model which comes out, where are all the tough pickups for people who actually want to work them?
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If cats could just stick to rats and rabbits then everyone would be happy!
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I like a cat if its curled up purring in front of the fire, but they are fickle creatures and I hate what they do to wildlife. Unfortunately the bell on the collar does not work as well as some people thing. Cats often sit and wait for 'prey' so the collar is not effective. My parents used to have a nice ginger cat but since he died I don't think they are keen to get another as he was forever trying to get the nesting swallows.
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Digging a trench with the grab, fair play:laugh1: got some scrub clearance/burn up and fencing to do with my digger tomorrow- looking forwards to a day in the cab! Iv been moving some ridiculous sized bits of granite recently with my grab- to look at them you'd never think a three toner would shift them!
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That sounds well unfair if the van was speeding, I always think that when I get to a junction which says think bike, yes sure look out for them but if a bike comes flying over the brow of the hill at 90mph then it really is his problem to think bike.
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Anyone know rough value of 2005 Isuzu Rodeo single cab?
Matthew Storrs replied to adowning7's topic in Arb-Trucks
Would think about £7-8k for that spec, low mileage on your side. -
So true. And then you get the ones who don't overtake no matter how nice a stretch of road there is, which in turn causes more traffic to build up. Its all about good judgement but there seems to be a lot of extremes in both cases which no doubt is the cause of accidents far more than the tractor itself.
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Well it wouldn't, but it may improve the safety of other road users given that most tractors tend to do 40mph regardless of speed limit. I don't think an increase from 20-25 will do much to reduce frustration of other motorists, I think a slower tractor is easier to overtake anyway then one doing 30-40 MPH.
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If got the bolle tracker ones, they are pretty good but in the wet they seem to steam up a bit- but on the inside/ not the outside. Certainly feel a lot safer wearing them on certain jobs.
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Every one breaks the limit anyway, so I'd think such a small increase is pretty much pointless. I should think some form of MOT for tractors would be a more worthwhile point.
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Another I enjoyed is ' the man who broke into Auschwitz' . Although there has been some speculation recently about how true his account is. Still a good read though!
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I read another you recommended, the rifleman, on another thread a few years back, fantastic book, I'll try the downfall too.
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Have you considered the 395xp, I find it an excellant all rounder for bigger stuff, I run between a 20" to 36" on mine and don't find the weight too bad for smaller stuff. I used to have a 576xp which was a lovely saw too but perhaps not as good power to weight.
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Blimey some of these tales are a bit dark! 'Stihl are better than husky' was one I heard:lol:
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what would you do? new chassis or new Landy?
Matthew Storrs replied to Matthew Storrs's topic in Arb-Trucks
that's exactly the same as mine, going round the corner and the drivers door suddenly flys open, it happened on the M5 the other day:laugh1: Have you worked out why it does it yet? -
what would you do? new chassis or new Landy?
Matthew Storrs replied to Matthew Storrs's topic in Arb-Trucks
How decieving a photo can be, its like the vehicles you see on eBay etc which look really tidy but as soon as you turn up to look at them they are rough as rats. I assume the logsplitter is running off the PTO? -
what would you do? new chassis or new Landy?
Matthew Storrs replied to Matthew Storrs's topic in Arb-Trucks
Lovely old girl- your bodywork looks tidy too so she'll be mint with a galvanised chassis. Well, I'd say that's definite unanimous vote:laugh1: I think I sort of knew the answer but when your quite fond of a vehicle its easy to get sidetracked by what you'd like to do and what actually makes business sense. I would reckon on getting someone to do it for me as it'd take me 3 times as long and perhaps more lost money in workless days. I took the front diff apart the other day and I was amazed at how good it was for a 160k mile truck- you could still see the machining lines on the gears. I hear richards chassis are good being made out of thicker steel. Can't be bad in a truck that does a lot of towing/loaded. Cheers for all your inputs:thumbup: -
I have a 300tdi landrover 'hi cap' which I use exclusively for work. I wouldn't want any other vehicle for my line of work, however inevitably the rust in the chassis is starting to get the better of it. Now its been a cracking very reliable vehicle over the last 6 years used daily off road and pulling heavy 3.5t trailers, but not sure which makes more business/financial sense, spending probably 4-6k+ to have a new galvanised chassis and other bit-clutch/brakes bushes etc overhauled in the process or sell it now and buy another landy which is only a few years old? I think I'm swaying for the new chassis route given that everything else is replacable anyway whereas a new land is only going to start rusting again as soon as I get it. Anyone else faced a similar dilemma. I would post this on Landyzone but being a landy enthusiasts site they will no doubt be pro chassis swap whereas this is purely a financial/business desicion for me.
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It is madness, but if your towing as part of your profession I can't see why it shouldn't be a problem to do your trailer test. I did mine in 3 days and it cost £650 not to mention 3 days lost work. but I can happily cruise down the motorway now with a full trailer without looking over my shoulders worrying about plod/vosa.
