Gardenequipment

16 hours ago, Stihl123 said:

Have a 2018 3.2 and really like it

Awesome for towing 

Again, prefer it to tow and drive than the disco 4 

 

The roller shutter on mine has been waterproof for 3 years without an issue 

Only time it's gets a little water in is if I pressure washer it and a bit of water gets in between the shitter and the tailgate 

If they leak then they aren't fitted 100% correctly 

Mine did go to the garage once and they didn't connect the drains properly and it leaked

I plugged them back and absolutely perfect again 

 

If u want a pickup or a 4x4, you aren't going to get good mpg... Get over it 

I get around 21 but is remapped and runs 32" all terrains 

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.

21 hours ago, JaySmith said:

I had a 2016 Wildtrak 3.2 manual on long term hire when my l200 was in the garage. Although the engine was bigger than the 2.5 in my l200 I didn’t notice too much of a difference in mpg. For me it had more grunt than my l200 and felt more refined. From what I’ve read the newer 2.0l is better on fuel with the 10 speed auto than the outgoing 3.2l 6 speed. Although we don’t normally by pick ups for their great mpg. I only used it to tow small trailers and get my saws and kits to site.

I had the roller shutter which was handy to store saws and climbing kits on the way to site but I wouldn’t leave anything in there overnight as it’s asking to be lifted. The load bay remained dry in the time I had it but again I would leave anything other than tools and kit on there an expect it to be bone dry. I like the roller shutters as it stops people putting their paws in there when you stop at a petrol station or traffic lights.

I would like a newer l200 but I’m concerned that I’d have issues with after sales as they are pulling out of the UK. I’m currently looking at a Limited version in the 2.0 version and from what I’ve read there is little to separate the engines. I think either one would be suitable for what you’ve outlined.

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.

21 hours ago, marne said:

Two of my collegues have one. 

Both Auto and 3.2 around 2017-2018.

While only towing occasionly, one fried it's gearbox around 90.000km. The other one blew it's engine last week around 110.000km, daily towing. 

Enough for me to steer away from them. 

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

I appreciate your input.

21 hours ago, Lowestoft Firewood said:

I have a 2018 wildtrack and it's been brilliant.

 

Ordered another one but with canopy this time as the roller shutter is terrible. May as well not have it the gear gets so wet. 

 

Couple of mates have the latest 2.2l biturbo and are getting almost 10% better fuel economy compared to my 3l and that's with all terrains too whereas I have standard tyres. 

 

I tow most weeks, cattle trailer, timber, digger and it tows very well. 

 

I actually prefer driving the ranger to the discovery 4. Yes doesn't have the same poke but rides nicer imo. 

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.

21 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I have the (2015) older 145 hp Ranger, regularly tow 3.5 tonnes, no problems.

My new 213hp Limited one arrives next month if that answers your question, auto as well but you can change manually with a button for towing.

I didn’t want the Wildtrack because of the plastic stuff round the roll bar makes carrying ladders/polesaw etc problematic.

Dunno about the roller shutter.

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.

5 hours ago, dan blocker said:

BUMP🤔 so what was the outcome with this🤔

I run one and just wondered if there’s any improvements that could be made. 

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.

On 27/11/2020 at 21:47, herco said:

cant speak for the 56, but the 50 vs 75 is a world of diffirence! almost 2 times as fast.

not happy with the track gear though, it is the same as the 50 , its is seriously underpowerd.

one of these days will put other base below it , lager assymetrical tracs ,longer tracs, stronger drivetrain motors and 10 cm more groundclaerence.

also engine is not rated to work on steep slopes

 

when the machine is worn out ill look into a lighter mahine for the smaller jobs and for larger jobs id go with a system that enables working on slopes, fast swappeble attachements ( stumpgrinder, smal forestry mulcher, winch)

something like the pfanzelt moritz but with more HP.

Moritz price is outrageous though.

 

bernard

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

17 hours ago, herco said:

Also never sheared a bolt of, Just use 8.8 one's. On predator 75.

Its all in the proper mounting and torquing.

Well a lot of broken of tips and execcisive waer on some teeth.

Last 3 changes welded some abrasive site on Them winch seems tot help.

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

On 27/10/2020 at 08:08, openspaceman said:

It's not hardness you need but rather toughness and tensile strength.

 

Normal bolts tend to be 8.8, the next common stronger ones are 10.9 and the highest tensile strength is 12.9, countersunk ones seem to be limited to 10.9 although some sellers do claim 12.9.

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

13 hours ago, openspaceman said:

The only solution was to cut the old pockets off the rotor and weld on new ones, it was a poor designe compared with the Awhi.

 

@Will C seems to have a handle on it, making sure the wheel is cleaned of any debris so the cutter seats well.

 

Also if they are allen bolts 12.9 are the strongest.

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.

22 hours ago, Will C said:

I’ve not sheared one of them in over 5 years, multi tip are a good set up, I’ve smashed the odd tooth but never had a bolt go.

there are two things I can think of.

1- are you knocking the teeth and the holder the bolt goes through back hard to the wheel? Tighten them up then hit them back again with a hammer and punch, they will move a few mm but this gives you another 3/4 turn on the bolt and they don’t come lose. your wheel doesn’t look worn, they normally wear a semi circle on the corner under the tooth as it starts to wear

 

2- Check the threaded pocket Is flush with the flywheel when you tighten it up and it’s not that getting hit from the side that’s effecting the bolts.

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.



 

8 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Looking at your photo of the snapped bolt there is what appears to be a fatigue crack developed from the thread root which then causes the bolt to fail in tension. Can you get a bolt with a longer none threaded shank?

 

I had a similar but not frequent problem with the Plaisance mulcher where the bolt would snap and the bolt head then fly off, followed by the tooth if I didn't notice the problem. It was caused by the pocket being worn and the cutter could rock very slightly fore and aft flexing the bolt head and  eventually snapping. The Plaisance bolts did not directly hold the tooth in as yours do.

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!

8 minutes ago, Nick Connell said:

Maybe a dodgy batch. We only seem to break a bolt when the tooth is loose.

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. 

1 hour ago, lux said:

I have the same grinder. Have you tried buying bolts from elsewhere or even had some produced. Looks like the bolts are made from the wrong steel for impact work.

Thank you for your reply, it is appreciated. I purchased the bolts from the dealer, so I'm assuming that they are the correct bolts. I may try sourcing bolts from somewhere else, just to make sure though. They have 10.9 stamped on the top which I believe is the hardest bolt.

For the last few years I have been using a Predator stump grinder. My present stump grinder is a 38 RX fitted with a Kohler EFI engine, a big improvement on the petrol carburettor version and the Lombardini diesel engine.

The cutting head is really my only gripe. I've always been very satisfied how well the Multi-Tip cutting head performs and how easy it is to change the teeth. However, an issue that always seems to arise is the shearing off of the bolt holding the cutter teeth in place.

According to Predator a few years ago there were a few soft steel cutting wheels around which were causing issues. They actually gave me a free replacement cutting wheel. After approximately 15 hours work with my latest Predator, I sheared my first bolt. I can break sometimes three or four bolts in a days grinding and sometimes I won't break a single bolt for several days. I'm not quite sure why this is, however, I do believe that the cutting wheel steel is not particularly hard, therefore the pockets become slightly stretched.

I'm thinking about possibly changing to a Green Teeth cutting wheel, I would be interested to hear about other people's experience with the above cutting wheels.

You can read more and see a short video on a post that I wrote a few days ago.

Thank you for reading.

Roy

I recently had a Predator 38 radio remote petrol stump grinder on loan while my Predator 28 radio remote was having the main cutter head bearings replaced. I used the Predator 38 for around 100 hours and it gave me no problems whatsoever, which is a little different to my Predator 28 machine that I purchased in October 2016. How do you find your stump grinder, is it problem free or does it need constant attention?

I really like the cutting efficiency of the Predator and the ability to narrow down to 26 inches, which is a great feature.

I have written and made a short video review of my experience with the Predator 38 and 28 stump grinders, I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Here is the link to the Predator 38 and 28 review.

I have a radio remote Predator 28 stump grinder, it has an issue where I'm assuming it loses signal and stops functioning. It used to shut the engine down, but I've overridden this as when it happens 15 times in a day sometimes it's annoying having to keep restarting the engine.

The issue seems to happen when I am more to the front of the machine near the cutting head in awkward places. Sometimes the machine can cut out 15 times a day, another time it won't happen at all. Other times, it will happen three or four times within five minutes and then be absolutely fine for the rest of the day. I don't know enough about radio technology to comment too much about this, I do wonder if sometimes other radio waves may interfere, but for example, if I'm on a golf course or somewhere similar you tend to think that there should not be much interference around.

I just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything similar?

Thank you for reading. 

 

On 20/12/2018 at 09:05, Khriss said:

I have a 52 yr old Landrover - with an oil bath air cleaner - yup, still going strong . Challanger tanks in Gulf war II , paper air filters, blocked in 24 hours use. Lombardini deisel are pretty good, maybe not as good as kubota but you should Definately get 3000 to 4000 hours out of it, before overhaul. Is yr oil change up to scratch?  K

That's interesting Khriss, apparently, the engineers tell me that they regularly see 10,000 hours plus on Lombardini engines, which is good. 

On 19/12/2018 at 14:48, Con said:

I think you have had bad luck. I have a chipper runs on the same engine, and had various dealings with air cooled lombardini in the past. Always found them very reliable. I change the oil bath every 30 hrs. Not sure what the frequency should be, but it always looks like it needs doing.

Would the fact it's a grinder and the engine isn't always level have anything to do with it?

I hear you, I believe Lombardini engines are probably a bit like Briggs & Stratton engines, quite basic and simple and yet run for a long time if they are looked after. The service schedule for the oil bath is every eight hours which is quite frequent, this is why I'm surprised that dirt has got into the engine as I do clean the air filter regularly. Having said this it has been particularly dry this year, so there may be more soil dust which is probably more abrasive than wood dust has caused added wear and tear.

I understand what you're saying about the grinder not always being level, however on a previous Carlton stump grinder the engine operated at quite an angle which apparently it is designed to do.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas holiday.

On 20/12/2018 at 09:06, monkeybusiness said:

What is Predator’s servicing intervals/schedule for the air filter, and have you followed it? And did they fit the new engines? If so I’d try speaking to them personally. 

Predator's service schedule for the air filter is every eight hours and for the oil change, every 200 hours, I have carried out these service schedules on a regular basis. I have to say when I clean the air filter, in general, it never looks particularly dirty. From what I understand, the engineers who supply the Lombardini engine quite often have machines in that are not serviced properly and end up putting a replacement engine in these particular machines. I am aware that many people aren't particularly good maintenance. However, over the past 30 years plus I have owned many different horticulture machines and never actually wore an engine out.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, I do appreciate it. 

On 19/12/2018 at 13:22, openspaceman said:

The problem with an oil bath filter is that it fails unsafe, once overloaded with dust it allows more through, which is why most modern engines have  paper element filters which gradually block as they become contaminated. Ideally you should place a paper element filter after the oil bath but this of course hinders the air intake somewhat.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, I do appreciate it.

I probably don't really know enough to comment about air filters, but I know on this particular air filter, there is an oil bath at the bottom, which I regularly clean. And then above the oil bath,  a wire mesh gauze and then above that a foam filter, so in theory, it appears that there are several ways to stop the dust entering the engine, however in my experience, not enough! I will be cleaning daily now, however many hours machine has done as a precaution.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas holidays

On 19/12/2018 at 10:07, Khriss said:

600 Hrs is  nothing. Definately need to look at either a new filter system or different engine. K

I hear you Khriss, 600 hours is nothing at all, apparently, the engineers tell me that they regularly see Lombardini engines with 10,000 hours plus, which is a huge improvement on 600 hours! I will definitely be checking the filter even more regularly! The problem with changing to a different engine is the fact that the machine fits through narrow areas, so realistically this is the only engine that fits in a practical way.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas holiday and thank you for commenting. 

19 hours ago, doobin said:

There's definately something wrong with the air intake system somewhere. I'd get an independant report. A machine should stop running (first at high revs) due to lack of air when an air filter cloggs. There has to have been another route in for the dirty air.

 

My money would be upon a bad union in the pipework. If the same company who fitted the new engine are the ones telling you you have to pay for a third, it's likely they discovered the cause of the problem whilst investigating, and fixed the leak to avoid liability for not fitting it correctly 600 hours ago, sorry to say.

 

How long did it take for you to rack up 600 hours?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. It's interesting that I've never had this sort of problem before, I have owned many different machines over the years. There was actually no lack of performance with the engine, just a lot of smoke! When the engine was taken apart you can see dirt in the manifold, so it does appear that the dirt entered in through the air intake. This summer was particularly dry, however, I regularly clean the air filter and in general, the oil doesn't look particularly dirty in the air cleaner.

I have to say that I don't think Lombardini engines are the strongest when I think about an agricultural tractor and the dust they go through, it's far worse than a stump grinder I would have thought? I guess they need lots of care compared to maybe something like a German or US engine.

The machine is two years old, so 600 hours in two years.

Roy