aspenarb

We anchored our chip box off the four balls on the original frame and made it a threeway tipper. Since then its only ever been used on side tip, better than unhooking trailers or dropping off pto gear. Bob

A 406 is a cracking tool. A lot less grief and a lot cheaper to maintain than the later offerings from Merc. I rate them. Bob

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Because I am late in its a Gravy Biscuit with bits sticking out of it. Bob

Someone has just been in the yard with one of these VW`s. I had a quick look at it and you are not getting much for £20k +. leaf sprung tinny thing with far to much plastic for our job. They are supplying these things as a trendy truck now with little regard for the guy that just needs it as a work horse. One of these would get smashed to bits inside six months with our guys. Bob

These are the boys and there is a depot just down the road from you in Romsey. Bob

Any thing with a land rover badge will come no where near a land cruiser for power or reliability. How many range rovers you see with 250000 miles on clock... Very very few... Look at price of an 02 plate range rover to same yr land cruiser.. We have a 99 and a 2007 amazon.. They will be going when same year land or range rover in scrap yard.. Quote I am not knocking the Amazon because I think they are a good truck but merely pointing out that they have issues the same as any vehicle. There are thousands of pre 50,60,70,80,90 and 2000 models of L/R vehicles still running in fact 70% of what was made is still on the road which is more than you can say about any 4X4 out there. I have got a few and dont particularly like them but they do bash on and are very cheap to keep on the road. I dont see how anyone can say that they are expensive to maintain because they are not. As for mileage 200.000 is quite normal for a landrover. One in the yard here right now that has only had one clutch fitted in all the time we have had it with over 200.000 miles on it, its no where near finished with yet. 002.jpg (32.9 KB)

Unless you are stacking timber on a trailer its not often you can get the load positioned correctly, an example of this is picking up a three ton dumper on an plant trailer. All the weight ends up on the drawbar or if you spin it round it tries to pick up the back of the truck. Either are dangerous but you just do the best you can. For this reason alone we now use our ten ton beavertail to tow the heavier trailers, its far less critical on how its loaded. Exactly as above. My old Blazer 4x4 with its v8 6.2 diesel was a gem for towing and as work motor. No worse on squirt than any of the other 4X4`s we have but with a hell of a lot more grunt. Brake parts ,filters and general service items are all here in the uk and are lot cheaper than transit parts. On the odd occasion I have needed a part from the states a phone call and order 3pm our time which is 9am over there will have the parts on your doorstep at 8am the following day. I cant get stuff mainland uk that quickly. Bob

I can see that being popular on large estates,golf courses and with game keepers. Not everyone wants or needs a massive high hp tractor. Bob

Steady on there chap. good yes the best not really. A friend of mine who works for Toyota could confirm they had dozens of issues with engines, diffs gearboxes etc on the amazon. They were very close to having to recall them to fix many of the problems but most were dealt with unbeknown to customer when they came in for service. Toyota have lost a fortune repairing the amazon under warranty which is very noble of them. On the fuel consumption side of things a fencing contractor I know bought a new amazon to replace a v8 RR, it was sold within six months because it used more diesel than the range rover did in petrol. When towing he reckoned to get between 15/18 mpg out of the Toyota vs 18/20 from the petrol Rangie. Bob The Toyota Landcruiser 200 "Oh What a Lemon..."

I think the true answer to this question is when you have had enough of running overloaded under the weight trucks. I reckon some of the transits I see on a daily basis if put on a weighbridge would need a class 2 license. Bob

TP are a well made machine, the only problem with the one we have is its chute is pointing to the off side of the mog so you have to have the vehicle facing the traffic if you are doing roadside work, that is a bit of a ballache on the motorway work. Bob

I am economical with lots of things:) Carrying the wood then wont be an issue as its going to be put through the chipper isn`t it , the chip is to go back through as well. I would not have a problem with vosa at the side of the road or before a judge on this as its not in my eyes clear enough. Also if you are to contact vosa on these issues the response is as vague with the usual get out at the bottom stating that this is their view and you need to get your own legal clarification on the subject. You would have a lot more on your plate if you had a mog/ chipper and you were using it for Arb not forestry work. At least the truck would be taxed ,tested and road legal for its intended use. Its all just food for thought. bob

I am not so sure. Its open to interpretation and does not mention hire or reward, merely that the goods carried are in connection with the machine, chip or wood as far as I am concerned are exactly that. Bob 15. A vehicle fitted with a machin e, appliance, apparatus or other contrivance which is a permanent or essentially permanent fixture, provided that the only goods carried on the vehicle are— (a) required for use in connect ion with the machine, appliance, apparatus or contrivance or the running of the vehicle;

A restricted O license is all you need unless you are delivering goods for hire or reward.Its also a lot easier to get providing you are running out of a yard. The 6 weekly checks can be done in house if you have a concrete pad to work off, the time intervals can be stretched if you dont do loads of miles. The paperwork is not to be scared of and it wont take up half an hour of your time a week. There are some interesting exemptions to the "need" of an O license. I reckon a 7.5 ton truck with a pto driven chipper fitted on the back and a threeway tipping body would qualify under section 15 of the exemptions as it cant be used for anything else. A decent fitter could probably fit this lot up in a couple of days, food for thought. http://www.genquip.co.uk/downloads/Vehicles_Exempt_From_Operator_Licensing_Requirements.pdf Bob

Another stupid thing with this trailer malarky is that even if you sit your class 2 hgv which a young lad I know has just done you still cant tow a heavy trailer. He can drive a 20ton truck but needs to sit another test to put a decent trailer behind his car. He said that he might as well sit his class1 hgv rather than spend money on the car trailer test. Bob

Proper job Bob

Going back to the original post of what 4X4 . The **** fest that ensued was based around personal preference of the said vehicles. I am not going to side here because most of the trucks have their virtues but below I will list the 4x4`s and the problems we have had along with a note about what I personally like about that truck. We still run the stuff below. 1.Mitzi L200 double cab. Its had two engines, 1 clutch and one new cylinder head in 200,000 km. Great towing truck, very comfy and quiet but I find it undergeared for long motorway driving, its revving quite hard at 70mph and is heavy on fuel .Load space to far behind the axle to be a weight carrier. 2. Isuzu trooper commercial. Its had an engine, alternator and gearbox replaced inside 150,000 miles. Fantastic tow truck and reliable, decent cruising speed . Downside is off road mud gets into stuff and wrecks mechanical components. Example of this is the rear handbrake system which is brake shoes operating inside of the rear discs, one dose of mud plugging and its stuffed along with all the other tin plates underneath that act as a plough. 3. Ford ranger double cab. Its had a gearbox and will be on its second clutch inside 120,000 miles, also seems to need constant attention to front suspension bushes. Great engine but its all a bit soft on the front , tows well and is good on fuel. 4. Vauxhall Brava. No mechanical failures whatsoever . Gutless engine so hopeless at towing but very good on fuel ( best of the lot). Very hard sprung on the back but soft on the front. Eats tyres and spares like rear lenses and other body parts are expensive. Same as Mitzi in that it revs to high at motorway speeds. Good tough truck which is really a re badged Isuzu. 5. Freelander commercial td4. one of them has had a clutch and thats about it, good cheap to run 4x4 van, Against is the amount of plastic bits that get ripped off and the lack of ground clearance when on site. Will only tow a light trailer. 6 .90 and 110 both been reasonable, both had clutches and one has had a transfer box. The doors are shite as is the driving position, uncomfy and I would only use them locally. Good tow barge and good on fuel, excellent off road, there is a tendency for the nippers to give them undue amounts of abuse when working in the woods. 7. Disco commercial. One has had a gearbox and the other has done an engine. The things are to high geared to move a heavy trailer on a hill start but do make a good 4x4 to cart fuel and tools to the jobs. Fast quiet,good on fuel and comfy. ( I rate these , the dead one is in the workshop getting a big foot makeover ) 8. Hilux tipper. one clutch and thats it. Gutless uncomfy boney old ride but ultra reliable and good on fuel. 9. Iveco 4X4 , dont know because its not been used yet. 10. RR sport , the nuts Bob

Come on this must tick a few boxes. It tows it tips it goes like stink and its drivetrain is good for a million miles. Bob ram.jpg (62.3 KB)

Just get the model thats rated at towing 5 ton and not the one rated at over 15tons then the 3.5ton trailer will be a breeze. If you need to tow more there are brake packages for all vehicles not just yanks that give you air over hydraulics on the brake lines. These things are no more expensive than a jap truck with all the toys. There are dealers in the uk that will get you one from auz in right hand drive. As for running costs the cummins drive train is rated at a guaranteed staggering 1 million miles. So as you can see they are something to consider. The straight no frills cab looks more workmanlike and is probably a lot cheaper. Nothing Japanese or otherwise could hold a candle to one of these beasts. Bob

The dodge ram with the cummins engine is available in 4X4, goes like stink,good on fuel, can tow like a lorry, can be had as single chassis cab or dual and it can pull a serious trailer . Click on the heavy duty versions for very serious tow capacity. 2013 RAM Trucks | Towing & Payload Specifications | RAM Trucks Bob

There are a few 4x4s that can tow 3,5ton but the only ones that do it really well ( but you dont want one )are the yanks. They come with a decent sized engine, huge brakes and a very stable chassis. We have got most of the 4x4`s mentioned in these whats best threads and none are happy towing a 3.5 ton trailer. Unless they are loaded perfectly which imho is rarely ,as soon as you hit the brakes the front of the truck will go light and the wheels lock up or the thing will be snaking down the road on overrun. If everybody on here is being honest we have all had a dodgy moment towing heavy trailers. I reckon a 3.5ton trailer behind a two ton truck is like the tail wagging the dog. I think you may be better off with a truck. Bob

Our mulcher driver is 74 years young. He is the most reliable bloke on the firm and no matter where we work he will be in that machine at 7am and wont leave site till 4pm. He has done this job for over 30 years and reckons he will carry on till he drops, if you look at him you would think he was 50. Another old boy still on the cards used to be a climber but same thing he still turns up every day and does all the hedges ,strimming and virtually anything you throw at him. What they dont know about this game is not worth talking about and by keeping them on they pass on a wealth of information to the nippers. Bob

The problem you have with with boundary disputes is the scale of the o/s maps. Its virtually impossible to determine exactly where any boundary line actually is. The thickness of a line can represent 1 meter which is why judges in court cases regarding boundary disputes ask the parties to go away and try to resolve these matters themselves. Bob

This is the landrover that was not built for production because they thought no one would want it. Imagine this with a decent tipper body , 4x4 perfect arb truck. Pillocks. It was called the Llama Bob http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=135524&stc=1&d=1379887041