waterbuoy

Plenty of others are already doing the same kind of hires - you just need to know where to look. That means you need to be sure you can compete with them to make it worth your while as (a) they already have their own customer base, and (b) they usually have their own in-house engineers etc. I recently did a small job for my parents who live just north of Liverpool - I live in Scotland 350 miles away, and didn't want to have to tow anything down. Their local tool hire place,Hodgsons in Ainsdale, just 10 miles from where they live, had everything I needed - and more. Tracked stump grinders, chippers, Avant (with flail etc) etc etc.

As we run two Landrover Discos and do a lot of off-road work and towing, with combined annual mileage of over 50k, then breakdown cover is pretty much an essential requirement for us. We usually go with the AA because they offer a range of sensible options - we have included the replacement vehicle and also the mechanical repairs sections as well as the bog standard relay cover. This means that if they take your car to a garage to get it fixed they will, subject to approval, pay for the first £500 of any repair. Over the last three years we have claimed on this every year and got more than our premium back. They do try and ramp up the premiums each year but we just cancel our renewal and take out a fresh cover, alternating the policy holder between myself and my wife.

Ground anchord? Similar to this: Slackline Without Trees - How to Build an A-Frame WWW.INSTRUCTABLES.COM Slackline Without Trees - How to Build an A-Frame: I have a large yard but no two trees are close enough to set up a...

Preferably not from the local A&E dept!

The most signifivcant difference is in lifting capacity - but as others have said it has to do the job you are buying it for, which means getting there in the first place! What are you towing it with? A 2.5 tonner with suitable plant trailer should come in at under 3500kg even with an extra bucket etc.

We have an older Volvo EC15B (approx 1.7 tonnes with a grab) and have hired in a 2.5 tonne machine for various tasks - the difference in capacity is significant given the relatively small difference in mass. If a 1.9 tonne machine will do what you want then press on, but I really wish we had put our money into a Kubota KX61-3 or similar, even though it would have been a financial stretch at the time.

I regularly have the same dream - either jumping off something or on a bike/in a car and continuing onwards and upwards! Another recurring dream is being unable to find thunderbox in a house when desperate for a dump or, worse still, finding that the outlet goes straight through to the floor below. Go figure!

They look very similar to a couple of French restaurants I have seen where they repurpose retired cablecar cabins from some of the ski lifts

How old is 'old'? I have an elderly GM Chipmaster 150 sitting on the drive.....but it is chucking it down!

Alternatively, if you do have the appropriate skills then BAS (British Antarctic Survey) often look for guides to accompany the research teams down south

Far from it - you can pick up a well found steel boat around 36-40' for under £50k, do the trip and then sell it on your return. Overwintering really does dictate either steel or aluminium - and VERY large fuel tanks.

If you are serious aboiut this then you need to take a read of 'North to the Night' by Alvah Simon - a guy who overwintered up there in a 36' steel boat. He had intended to do the whole thing with his wife but she had to leave as her father was ill so he did the core winter bit on his own. It wasn't mainland Greenland, but Bylot Island which is on the west side of Baffin Bay well inside the Arctic Circle.

That looks more like the Makita 'special edition' cordless stuff they made a few years back than a Husky!

Like Hank I have the cheapo base unit from Makita which has been used/abused for about five years. I tend to use it just for changing wheels on the Land Rover (only 145-150Nm) and rope grips on cableways etc. It can save an hour or so when changing a set of four wheels, just remember to set them to the correct torque afterwards. IN other jobs I tend to use it more for undoing than tightening up - unless it is something really repetitive.