tommytopsoil

Do you know the pipe diameter?

They do a direct mounting kit for the bigger ones, but the kind of tractor you would hang a 16000kg winch off would be good for it anyway. What kind of forces do you think that modern agricultural draft equipment induces? Not quite sure what you mean here? Are you on about the folding butt plate option? Tiger would snap it clean in two.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the above statement, they do start to become a little more time consuming when you get over the 40 tonne mark though...

2680 is a good, solid, strong, basic tractor. Well worth a look. What will move a lot will move a little...

Tiger is the one. Strongest and most advanced on the market. You get what you pay for...

+1

7840 is based around Ford 5000 rear end castings. Bear that in mind next time there is a heroic situation going on at 40k with 14 tonne on the back. I have seen 10, 40 and TM series brakes (amongst other marques and colours) in horrific condition, generally heat derived from constant overload (too much weight, trailer brakes below par/non-existent and too much speed) as well as reduced to their component parts and beyond, along with the rest of the drivetrain through panic induced both-feet-on-the-brakes type action, once again through too much weight, inefficient trailer braking and too much speed. Remember that whilst you often think you have 'four wheel braking' you only actually have two relatively small brake pistons and a micro-switch behind the pedal that throws the machine into 4wd. Not good for anything, especially on black-top. It only takes one of those components to fail to leave you with greatly reduced - or zero - braking ability.

And you my friend, have never stripped down a Ford back-end after some rive arse has been charging round with a trailer that has nackered/no brakes and is too big for his little tractor. Commercial axles can stand the pain without accidents and air-brakes fail to SAFE. Tractor brakes fail to BROKEN. What Ford do you have? You would probably be surprised at how little there is in there doing the work.

Good on ya, well done

I know this is a little different from the huge cemetery's and acres of headstones, but we used to do a huge amount of work in the south of the country. One day I decided to park up the low loader and go to the Battle of Britain Memorial. I remember staying for hours, slightly overwhelmed with the sudden reality that hits you when you visit a memorial type site. That realisation about the magnitude of the sacrifices which have been made before us - and that there is much more than the sheltered little worlds that many of us exist in every day... I was particularly hit by the words on the wall. Apologies for pic quality... Worth a visit if you have never been - I am sure our silent respects and gratitude will never be lost on those whose names adorn the walls and monuments in any memorial.

Good shot sir

Had another look, no so easy to tell on the 'already-dead' leaves, but on the youngest tree there is slight orange staining on a couple of leaves, almost like large blotches. This young tree is looking very off-colour with some of it having a real pale yellow tint. There is another slightly older one that seems to be very green yet the whole tree seems to be turning the edges of it's leaves up slightly. There are dead leaves present on every tree now. Any ideas?

Try A.C. Woodhouse or Colin W Parker, both of the Kendal area, both frequenting that area with mixed machinery loads down and straw etc back.

It would be great if you could Andy, and advice appreciated. I noticed it on one of the younger trees too last night. Hi David, I am not sure to be honest where to differentiate between what I assumed was a dying leaf to what may be classed as staining - I could do with seeing one partway through the cycle I suppose so will look again later. The orange colour you see in a couple of the close-ups didn't stand out as staining, but I was not looking for it so will come back to you. Thanks

Hi all, we have a few young Rowans and a couple seem to have what looks like fireblight. This is the eldest tree and the worst affected. On a slight gradient with a good amount of soil, not too dry or wet. Can anyone with a little more arb knowledge confirm what this is please and if so, how it may be treated? I understand that pruning back well past the affected part helps with firelight? I wanted to get a photo first. Also, this one is obviously growing at quite a rate and becoming tangled with its neighbour - worth pollarding in the future and turning into more of a bush? They do provide a good mount of screening so would like to avoid losing it altogether. Also, I would like to prevent the younger trees becoming infected too. Apologies for the quality of the photographs - the sun was right behind the trees. I look forward to some opinions! Tommy

Truest thing I have heard all day and something that many people often forget...

A friend has a Bilke - strong, simple and devastatingly effective. He puts all sorts of rubbish through from normal cord to crooked wiggly stuff to heavy boards, posts, whatever. Some are complete with nails and all - it just chews them up and spits them out, no bother. Can't fault it for robustness, high conveyor speed seems a bit odd at first but you get used to it. Takes next to no driving either and no 'control system' to man. Shove it in one end, it comes out the other in bits. Repeat until timber-less. Just a shame it won't take the bigger stuff.

We used to have a 390 that had 112 ponies at the shaft... Sounded like an F15 when she was dragging hard... Never missed a beat. Although we did melt an early 399 that was heading for 140... Both good tractors though. Also had a late 390T with 18-Speedshift box on big tyres that happily did 50k. Needed a fair twist of the old screw to keep her there though - too many hills around here. Those Moffet MFTs were a good tool difflock. Never owned one but serviced/worked on plenty. Not sure which I preferred - the MF or the Ford deriviant! Both decent tools.

If the powers that be are really interested in making the industry safer then more profit needs to filter through to the contractors. A contractor making good money is less likely to cut corners and more likely to comply with legislation/spend where necessary on whatever is necessary. So long as the FC/Th/SW etc along with all the big mills continue to want something for nothing then there will be no voluntary improvement across the board. As long as 'Arb' contractors keep running round in unimogs and tractors and taking shelter under the Forestry banner with its ties to Agriculture then everyone will be branded the same. It is a simple case of being one or the other - otherwise they will see simply that everyone p*sses in the same pot and compliance will be mandatory irrespective of opinion. A likely answer will be 'Prove you are not involved with Forestry' and as soon as you prove it to FISA, I am sure that HMRC/VOSA/local council/etc etc will be rather more interested in this 'proof'. Head down, do the refresher. It is safety after all...

Thanks, interesting to know. What a peach... :thumbup1:

That's a lovely little thing - complete with five-gallon overhaul!

Does he do much motorway work? If so, how are they on tyres/drivetrain? Cheers

This is because JCB change the spec of their machines every fifteen minutes to try and counter whichever reliability issue they are currently having, hence you will often see in parts books etc the old phrase: "after serial no. ******8849955****..." Even with the serial number, part for yellow machines can still be a lottery.

+1 but with a Kronos 8020L

^^ +1