KristofferNJ

Check this facebook page, they are really good and helpfull. Just reading through the posts will get you an impression

https://www.facebook.com/groups/381563435567753

On 15/07/2020 at 12:24, BunyipBen said:

 

I also have a Mazda BT-50, it is my daily drive and carries most of my equipment. I do a bit of contract climbing and work on an electricity vegetation management gig. There is not much storage boxes on the Unimog yet so it’s easy for someone to drive out in the Mazda otherwise if I am working on my own I just throw some gear in the back of the truck or the chipper tray.

 

 

 

I really like how you aussies are much better than us europeans to utilize the utes. Most people here just use them with a normal tray, but almost everyone in AU changes it for a flat one, or a box on like yours. Seems much more usable!
Those two vehivles are not a bad combo!

17 hours ago, Stubby said:

How does this work out when say , dragging a plough through the dirt . I thought it was all about the torque . Surely this would apply to hills ?

When dragging a plough you are moving at 4-8 mph , like the others said, its all about gearing. They will pull anything at low speeds

Thanks for your replies (Y)
We have a 25 mph limit on the way. You can register them for more, but then it becomes a lorry in the eyes of the law, which changes the economics alot

Im sorry to derail this thread a bit, but the speed you guys are talking about sounds crazy - how fast can a tractor go in the UK? Here in Denmark its 30 Kph!

11 hours ago, BunyipBen said:

I am towing my RaycoRC1824 chipper that weighs over 4t, the Mog pulls it fine a bit slow up hills. From what I can tell the U1300L can tow 10t as specified by Mercedes Benz, but I would need to upgrade the tow hitch which is only rated to 5t. The problem here in Australia is the road regulation only lets you tow a trailer weight equal to the weight of the truck pulling the load, so theoretically I can tow an 8t trailer if the Unimog is loaded to 8t. I have bought an 8t trailer hoping to tow my 6t excavator but I am waiting at the moment before trying this as I think I will need to upgrade the engine horsepower. I am guessing the truck is tuned at around 130-140 hp now and i would like to tune it up to 200hp+

 

200 HP sounds like a great idea for mowing 16 tonnes. 
I wasent aware of that Tow rule, but it sounds like a decent idea when thinking about braking and so on. Of course it is annoying when you have truck that changes weight multiple times during the day

Is the Mog the only vehicle you guys run?

Just saw this one in a Facebook group ?

On 18/12/2019 at 23:30, richy_B said:

I wondered if it was a European thing to cover vehicles like this? 3t tow vehicle and a 9t trailer/load combo.  These 'mini artics' would be great in urban environments. Not sure if they are legal in the UK though. 

 

 

Rich, I´m only seeing this now, but they are legal. There is a few here in Denmark, mainly old Ivecos. The wegith limit is 7 tonne - 3500 kilo vehicle, 3500 kilo trailer. That is, IF you want to stay one a BE license. In theory, if you have a CE, there is nothing stopping you in using a 7,5 truck for towing a bigger trailer. If the truck is rated for it, of course

This is a bit off topic, so excuse me, but:

Speaking of tipping overloaded trailers, across all brands, what is you guys experience? Does the hyraulics give up first, or does something break up first?
I am fairly concerned with overloading, we try our best to calculate loads, and i weigh as many loads as can make sense. But sometimes you get supriced. In short, I am looking for some peace of mind. If the hydraulics give up first, then we can just unload some manually, but if something breaks first, then i might be extra worried about overloads.
We have a 2700kg Henra, but any expereiences are welcome ?

2 hours ago, monkeybusiness said:

Nice looking setup! 
Out of interest what sort of price is a trailer like that new/used in Denmark? 

Thanks! Hopefully by the end of this summer, the Transit will have some sort of storage setup on the inside, right now its just an empty belly

The trailer was 27000DKK + VAT which equals to 3260 GBP + VAT. 
We saved 18600 DKK or 2246 GBP over buying it new. We did change the battery shortly after, but otherwise it has been running great. The rear tires have some scuffing, but i think we will swap them front and rear, and then buy new ones next year
Oh and we also added the plywood to the sides, but that was fairly cheap.

That Mog really looks awesome, especially with that winch on the front! Seems you can go anywhere with that! 
How can you tow with one of those?

25 minutes ago, Khriss said:

@KristofferNJ   I have a conifer hedgecutting job on Saturday in Chelmsford  , you available ?  ?  Nice truck tho mate, K

Sorry mate, I should probably update my location - I'm in Denmark, not the UK
Otherwise I would have loved too, our calender is a bit empty at the moment!

So, i finally have something to post in this thread!
For our first years, we have just been using our personal vehicles, with small trailers, to haul our gear. But, we wanted to upgrade to a tipper trailer, we wanted to store all our gear in one vehicle, and me and the missus needed a second vehicle anyway.
So, I´ve bought a 2014 MK8 Transit!
She´s done 186.000 gentle miles (sorta) had the engine replaced at 100k miles, and always been maintained by a Ford dealership (they are okay here in Denmark, in contrast to what you guys write about the UK dealers).
Its one owner, a blacksmith. The service interval is 20.000 miles, but he always changed the oil at 10.000. He is a friend of a friend, and generally takes very good care of his gear and cars, so i felt safe buying.
Buuuuuut, it was still a used car, so after a month, the cooler decided to die on me. Well, it needed and oil chance anyway, and i did the gearbox fluids while we were at it. All good, until March, when the clutch decided to die as well! So now that the van and my bank account have properly met each other, I will have to keep her for a while! Which is okay, because now she actually drives very well - i am thinking about a light remap though, there is absolutely no power under 2000 rpm.
We live in a very hilly area, and with 2800 kgs on the hook, you need to work to get up

As you can tell from the pictures, we also bought a used, 4 year old Henra 2700 kg tipper. The two have been a gamechanger for our little company. We can now clean up much more efficiently, and renting a MEWP is now cheaper because we can tow it ourselves.
I do wish the Transit could tow 3500 kg, but that will be for the next van
 

I will admit, i did not have it on a scale. But, the trailer can load 1620 kgs as is. I´ve had a 1700 kilo MEWP on it, and now i loaded it up with a bunch of freshly cut Oak. It felt about the same as the lift, so I suppose we were at the limit
The Transit needed some good gearbox work to haul it up our hills - and she´s the 155 bhp motor ?

The MAN TGE and VW Crafter are the same vehicle. They used to be a Merc Sprinter underneath, but the new gerenation is all VAG. 
We have MAN TGL for our roadservice department in Falck Denmark, MAN TGS for fire trucks and we have MAN TGE´s on the way, in the 5,5 tonne edition as a dedicated light tow truck. I havent been in the TGE yet, but the other are very nice and comfy. And all of our mechanics prefer them over the Ivecos. We havent had any of the new Ivecos though

5 hours ago, josharb87 said:

No problem at all, done it with my 1300kg Jensen and now my 1600kg Jensen (plus stumpgrinder when needed!) 

 

if you’re not doing any removal of chip, then a lighter plant trailer will be nicer, but for versatility you can’t beat the tipper! 
 

if going for a new Ifor, get the aluminum ramps, they’re half the weight of the steel ones, and well worth the extra pennies

 

 

Josh, i really like the placement of the Arbtrolley. Did you built a mount for it, or just strap it on?

Also, i like the placement of the lighter weight when loading chipper and grinder. Heavy stuff towards the middle of the road (Y)

I've never ran a husky, but I am hopelessly in love with my 462 - we had a 441 before, and this is a different animal indeed. Great balance, rips anything with a 20" bar, runs the 28" quite well too. 
Not to bad with the fuel either, i felled a 14 meter birch, 20" diameter, large crown. Did half the tree climbing, felled the rest, cut it all up, and as i came out of the last cut, it ran out. Perfect timing

On 04/10/2019 at 22:18, Ty Korrigan said:

In retrospect, we panicked a little over importing before Brexit (unknown tariffs) and rushed into buying this trailer from stock. 

I could have waited and ordered one with alloy sides and saved some serious €€€.

 Stuart

 

Really like that! It's very much like what i want from the Eduard (Y)

Still waiting for the van though......

Good things to know. I've only done hardwood so far (Beech, Ash and Oak) so i suppose just keep my rakers low?
You mean 0,65-0,75mm of height, right?

Roger that on Granberg. I have two Full Comp Oregon ripping chains right now, on a 48" bar, on an 880. It pulls fine, but im sick to death of sharpining all those teeth... by hand.
So soon, it'll be full skip and 12V grinder for me!

4 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

I use 0 degrees to give the cleanest cut.
It is a fraction slower than 5/10/15.

Oh no, i think its painfully slow already

On 23/09/2019 at 07:50, Rough Hewn said:

Great start mate

Thanks! Only did two slabs of the small one, as it started raining
Super stoked about that Ash - its part of a bigger tree that i was given, if i could cut it up and move it. Gave me 12 slabs with a bend in them, and 7 large 1x3m slabs at 3 inches. Cant wait for those to dry!!

There is alot of potential in this i think, specially for low rate production.

I think for high rate production, most people would go for at bandsaw? However it is a huuuuuge investment.

On 17/08/2019 at 14:06, Rob D said:

 

So to mill right your chain needs to be right - I can do a hand or free hand sharpen - but only badly. Every 3 or 4 sharpens I have to use a guide to get all the angles and teeth spot on. It's nothing to be ashamed about but seems people are.

 

Anyways hope that helps

Hey Rob!
Whats your take on 0 /5 /10 dregrees? My Stihl and Oregon ripping chains are 10 degrees from factory, and i have just been sharpening them like that. Are there any benefits from lower angles?

I've had 4 logs lying next to the firewood shed for 3 months and finally started them today. The first pic is Ash, the small one is Oak

On 16/09/2019 at 21:20, CubaPete said:

They do look nice. I know a couple of guys that have them, but they don't see too much hard work.

What's the general opinion on Auto Vs manual for towing? Is there a preference?

I find it's much easier to keep the speed up going up a hill, in an auto. Or maybe I'm just shit at changing gears in time

But for urban areas, the convenience of an auto is hard to ignore....