LeeGray

Engage 4wd, or at least that what it does on my tractors

Use mine for work every day, they’ve coped better than the dewalt stuff I’ve had. Plus 2 year warranty so if it did die just take back and get another.

I’ve moved over to ryobi stuff, it looks like cheap tat but actually is really quite good to work with. I’ve moved my whole set up from dewalt and probably cost about the same price as the dewalt impact driver which last about 12 months for me. Little ryobi chainsaw works grand on 4 or 5ah battery, cost about £50, I chuck it in digger for knocking hawthorn back or tidying strainer tops but it points posts and cuts firewood no problem too. Try one if you can, for the cash and size you’ll be impressed. Grinder, jigsaw, impact driver, circular saw etc all good too but radio is shite for getting a signal and dodgy generic battaries last 2 minutes.

It does for us but we’ve developed a good customer base over past 15 years. It’s a hard sell saying it’s the season for x so here’s x rather than the have whatever you want whenever you want the supermarket way but there’s always a few people willing to pay for top quality fresh produce with some traceability.

Small organic farm growing veg and meat to sell direct to public, steel fabrication (gates, sheds, trailers etc) groundwork, fencing.

That’s what I do most of the time and works fine for me or cant up with the mini mill if needed but don’t do masses and wouldn’t want to be on like that a lot.

That’s the plan here, couldn’t get the money I thought it was worth on eBay so plan is galv rechassis and keep forever for high days and holidays (or at least if the Range Rover doesn’t start one morning) values pretty much guaranteed to go up more than inflation.

Put my old 90 on eBay at a similar price to other listings, sat back and planned early retirement....got masses of offers usual £5 and half bottle of wine, swap for my grans old Skoda, etc, loads of ‘interest’ but not one single person came to view it and I didn’t sell it. Plenty of dreamers but don’t think a lot are moving at the prices advertised, I’d list it starting at £500 and you’ll probably get some actual bids and get a good price.

Can you let me know how much you want please bill

Thought it was for your mini forwarder? If it’s 2t plus and you’ll be taking all tools, attachments etc I wouldnt save a few hundred quid to get a lower spec, if you get a 3.5t tow vehicle too you’ll just kick yourself every time you want to load up more. I’ve got a 3t 16’ and always wish it was heavier rated. Went down from a 3.5t and didn’t think I’d miss it but do, especially at that size. Got a smaller 3.5t but to be honest i struggle to get the weight onto it unless it’s the digger.

3.5t looks like it’s £2800+, they look nice but Ifor would be similar money, possibly cheaper?

Yep, if could make a step up from my 3ton I’d be looking at something like this if I wasn’t stuck to 3.5t trailer https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D-Fiat-Kobelco-SK55-5T-Excavator-31163378/112900505069?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49138%26meid%3De3bea1fe990346868616097b03b87d03%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D112900971968%26itm%3D112900505069&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Which model/size is that?

Great ta

I’d be interested in a price on the biggest femac you think would be worthwhile on a yanmar b25v Eddie. As above, bit of tidying up before fencing, ditching or drain work mostly but if I could take my time doing some of the hedges and possibly verges that the tractor flail mower can’t get too at home that would be a bonus. Double fenced 400m ditch last year and replanted hedge on one side, thought it was great till the strimmer had to come out! Strimming is bad enough on the flat ground but going along either in the water or lop sided is a killer.

Would want to be in a cabbed digger though, given old farmers round here propensity to staple barb onto hedge/tree/anything remotely solid and vertical I might even be tempted to get a bit of margard!

https://www.approvedhydraulics.co.uk/collections/flails-light-duty-mulchers/products/te-80-lt seams like a good option, they’ll knock off the hire charge £350 if you buy one. like you not expecting massive power but could make life easy in places potentially. Looking at getting a saw head for the heavier stuff, in hedge trees etc but can’t find any prices online. Slanetrac hs 55 looks viable but probably miles out on price.

In exactly the same situation here, does anyone actually run one commercially or is flow too low to do a good/quick enough job to make worthwhile. Mines a Yanmar B25v. Read lots of poo pooing but also occasional good feedback from smaller machines. Tempted to hire before buy from approved.

If the Germans are so much cheaper and better it seams like a no brainier to get two. Ifor are definitely going down hill while prices going up. Having said that just got a new trailer below list price within a week from Sheriffs at Coldstream, other quoting list plus £100 and 8 weeks lead time. It’s the depreciation of Ifor that helps, not many things you can run for 10 years, sell and lose £500.

Range Rover 4.4 always towing, mostly fully loaded 12-15mpg, lovely. citroen nemo stop/start 68mpg! Horrible. 30,000 in little van, 10,000 in the truck so average 54?

I know if I had a good, solid job and just got first mortgage I’d be staying put paye and letting the boss have all the hassle and unpredictability, get some money off the mortgage before taking the next step. Do bits and pieces on the weekend if need be or jump altogether and get on with it yourself charging what you like, if you’re working in the same area and know the pricing, have own gear, are good etc you’ll be alright. Trying to have a foot in both camps won’t work well.

You can have one if it’s of use, i milled it ages ago with the intention of making a table or something and it’s sat in a pile since! I’m north of Morpeth though so might be a hike? Christmas farm, Longframlington

Hi I haven’t got any ash, but think I’ve got some well seasoned oak about that size if that’s any use.

Like all things, you’ve got to be lucky and buy the right one too. When I was looking it seemed to be gearboxes go at about 100,000 so just get one that’s had a refurb box put it. The prop shaft on early ones, airbags or compressor go too apparently but they’re all easy fix and a couple of hundred quid then your good to go. We had a new double cab td5 ages ago which was unreliable, yes it was under warranty but still had to be recovered or back and forth to dealer and all the hassle/time that takes, same with nissans we’ve had and your losing at least £3000 year in depreciation and then the ridiculous service charge of dealers. Stopped buying new and prefer to buy when someone’s had all the crap sorted out. For 3-5k you’ll get one you can put 50,000 on probably without too much trouble, then rinse and repeat without losing much even if you scrap it or sell to a breaker. That’s my plan anyway, fingers crossed! I did look at land cruiser though, awesome vehicles, just too dear and not cheap and easy for bits

Go Range Rover l322 4.4. I bought one last year as a tow vehicle for moving steelwork, timber, aggregates around on 16’ trailer and 2.8t digger and it’s been amazing. I wouldn’t have anything different now. Last tow vehicle did 10,000/Year but I’ve done twice that in this as it’s so smooth, comfy, generally just a lovely place to be that I rarely use the car. Get odd looks when you put the shopping in the back on top of compressor, welder, etc though. Yes it chugs through juice at a serious rate of knots. I could kid myself it’s doing 25mpg because I get that on a long run with no gear in, no trailer on, and tickling along but in real life for me is fully loaded car and trailer, rural roads or off road or yard, heated seats on, etc driving for best traction not mpg it gets about 15mpg. This might sound horrendous but it’s not much worse than the 90 and only a bit worse than the Isuzu it replaced. With being bomb proof, cheap parts, easy home mechanics, and cheap purchase price it makes the mpg loads easier to swallow. If you do the maths with depreciation of a modern vehicle it certainly works out. You have to use cruise or set the speed limiter though or before you could be towing quite happily at excessive speed.