Gardenequipment

Thank you for responding to my question. That’s great that the Ranger is good for towing. Someone else mentioned they prefer it to the Discovery 4, I’m surprised. I guess it’s newer technology. It is interesting about the roller shutter, I have heard of people having leaks, which is annoying. I have no idea how easy they are to fit. I can understand water entering in after power washing. The main thing is that the area stays dry. Have a good day.

Good morning Jay, It’s interesting that you were able to carry out a comparison between the two trucks. I much prefer the idea of a 3 L as I feel that some of these 2 L engines may not last that long. However, I would probably only keep the truck for a couple of years. I’m hoping that with a 10-speed gearbox, the fuel economy will be reasonable. Although, as you mention, we don’t normally buy pickups for MPG. I like the idea of the roller shutter for hiding things up. I don’t have vast amounts of tools to carry around, I can remove the tools at night. It’s always good to have a good dealer network, it may be better to go for a truck with a good dealer network. Thank you for your feedback.

That’s not good, I would probably only keep the vehicle for a couple of years to avoid any problems. I appreciate your input.

It's great that your Wildtrack has been brilliant, I have heard of a few issues, but I guess nothing is perfect. I thought about ordering the canopy; however, I would prefer a roller shutter. However, that's no good if it's not watertight. I guess the correct fitting may make a difference. I believe the 3 L was quite heavy on fuel; 10% is an improvement; I'm hoping that the 2 L will be even better. The Discovery four is a good vehicle, I'm surprised that you prefer driving the Ranger. I guess it's newer technology, which is great. I wouldn't have minded trying the Land Rover Defender from a point of view of holding its value. However, I believe that there is about a year's waiting list! I've had Defenders before, and their resale value has been fantastic. Thank you for your input.

Thank you Mick for answering my question. It sounds like your experience has been generally good, I guess the extra horsepower will be useful. The manual button for towing sounds useful, I guess my trailer and stump grinder weighs around 1.8 times, so it should be fine with that sort of weight.

I'm thinking of purchasing or leasing a Ford Ranger pickup truck to tow a stump grinder. I'm looking at the double cab Ford Wildtrack automatic with the eco-213 hp diesel engine. In the past, I have used hardtop Land Rovers and then went on to Discoveries. Can you believe that I've currently been using a Skoda Octavia with 278,000 miles on the clock, I need to replace it with a four-wheel-drive of some sort. The Skoda was originally used as a temporary measure, but proved to be so reliable that I kept using it! A few questions regarding the Ford Wildtrack; I believe the economy isn't brilliant although with a 10 speed automatic box I'm guessing that should help economy. How secure is the roller shutter and is it waterproof. How do you find Ranger as a tow vehicle? Any thoughts or experience appreciated.

Hello Dan, Thankfully, I traded my Predator 28 in for a petrol 38 RX. I actually came to a point where I refused to use the Predator 28, as it was so unreliable and costing huge amounts of money. I ended up trying the petrol 38 RX which was a carburettor version, but much more reliable than the diesel engine version. I waited until the fuel injection model became available, for a purchase. The Predator 38 RX is a huge improvement than my old Predator 28, much smoother, quieter, more power and doesn't shake the machine to bits. The petrol fuel injection model is also considerably more economical and responsive than the petrol carburettor model. So far the Predator 38 RX is going well, no real problems, apart from a new set of cutter bearings at 450 hours. I managed 850 hours out of my Predator 28 before I changed the bearings. Also, dealing with Ben Burgess has been an excellent experience.

Thank you for your reply Bernard. I've always liked the idea of a hydraulic driven cutting head, no belts to tighten! An extra 25 hp is quite a bit more horsepower. I had a Predator 56 on demonstration about a year ago, I felt there wasn't a huge amount of difference between the petrol 38 and the 56 model. I would have thought Predator would have been better off making a more powerful machine to justify the extra cost. I know that to drive a hydraulic motor you do lose a bit of horsepower which to me makes the difference between the two machines even smaller, especially for the extra and considerable cost involved. Can you have the hydraulic pump turned up to increase the track power, or is this not possible? Have a great week. Roy

Thank you for your reply, it's appreciated. That's amazing as I thought on a Predator 75, having the extra power, I thought you might break more bolts. I've often wondered if a soft bolts may not be so brittle and less likely to break, just a thought. Out of interest how do you find your Predator 75, I don't think you can buy this machine you any more, just the 56 hp model? Have a good weekend. Roy

Thank you for all your comments and thoughts, they are all appreciated. Just for your interest, when I replace a set of teeth I am now taking extra care to thoroughly clean out the pockets etc. I did this before, however, this time I'm taking extra care. I'm also using a centre punch to push the teeth in slightly further once I have tighten the bolt. (As suggested in this thread.) This seems to enable me to tighten the bolt a bit more, which so far seems to be working, which is great news! So far I haven't broken a bolt for two weeks which is great, in fact, it's exceptionally good going for me! I hope this carries on. Once again thank you for your help. Roy

I'm pretty sure the bolts that I use say 12.9 on them, I will check though.

It's a shame when manufacturers design something poorly, it can cause a lot of frustration and aggravation. I hear you regarding the cutter wheel being clean, this could make the difference between shearing a bolt and not shearing a bolt! I hear you regarding the 10.9 bolts, they are the hardest. Although a few people have mentioned to me in the past that a softer bolt may be more flexible, just a thought.

Thank you for your reply Will, it's appreciated. That's amazing that you haven't sheared a bolt in five years, I'm amazed that I haven't sheared a bolt in seven days, that's almost a record for me! I really like the Multi-Tip set up, I have used finger teeth and green teeth in the past, however, Multi Tip is my preferred setup. It's just frustrating with the bolts shearing. I like your idea of driving the teeth and the holder right home, this sounds like a good idea. I'm aware that dirt can also become embedded in the pockets and cause the teeth to to not tighten fully. I will give your idea a try, thank you. I hear you regarding your second point, I will check this out. I actually used the torque wrench to tighten up the bolts that came with my original machine. I still wonder if my cutting head has been hardened properly as it almost appears that the wheel is slightly stretched. In other words, when the wheel is new, the teeth and pocket seem to fit nice and snugly, as time goes on the slots on the wheel seem to open up fractionally causing a fractional bit of play.

Thank you for your reply, it's appreciated. That's a good thought regarding the threaded bolt, I will find out. I believe the problem may be caused by the cutting wheel, almost stretching and making the teeth fractionally loose. I'm guessing if the cutting wheel isn't hardened properly it will enable the teeth and the holders to move. It's a time-consuming issue, especially if it happens several times in a day. Were you able to cure the issue you had with your mulcher? That doesn't sound good with lumps of metal flying around in a flail!

Thank you for your reply Nick, it's appreciated. It's strange how sometimes I can break three of four bolts a day and then go for several days without any issues. It does make me wonder if the bolts aren't up to spec. I do find that the pockets do become more slack with wear and tear, which makes me wonder if the wheel isn't hardened correctly.