Rayco C100

[cbturf]

V-man I would not got that far since I have not gotten it in any real woods but I must say that I am a little skeptical since it has almost 1/3 less horsepower. I will have a better opinion after I run it out west. It runs good and if it runs good consistently and saves fuel it can ba a value.

My theory is:

According to the Rayco website it holds 46 gallons of fuel and it has to burn less than my 140 so if it can at least keep up or stay close to the 140 then I can justify a smaller machine. Where I am working now it takes about 45 minutes to "commute" in the machine to where we are mulching because the roads are to rough for our trucks. I have lost almost an hours worth of fuel already without grinding the firs twig and I have to save fuel for the drive back to the truck leaving about 6-6.5 hours on the grinding site. If the 100 can buy ma an extra hour or two a day over the course of a week and month that could be a substantial gain in production with a drop in cost. I think that it may ba able to keep up for a couple of reasons the FAE is a faster cutting head than the Fecon on the 140 and the two speed motor helps keep the head in the wood more. I do not see any way that a 100hp could cut with 140hp on pure brawn because grinding takes power and there is no way to avoid that. But the other features of the 100 may boost production making it a very good complimentary machine.

 

[vegman]

CB could you "pack in" some extra fuel and supplies? Maybe you could lift a small fuel tank with the head and take it with you. How about an inexpensive service Jeep or Polaris Ranger. I bet the 6x6 Ranger would work out well. You could put a fuel tank in the back and then a leaf blower to clean up with. Not having easy access to my truck would bother me a little. What if you got off the machine to take a leak; stepped on a snake and got bit; then you have to crawl the machine back; on the way back a hose busts and machine want move; now your walking. Just a theory, it would be safer to have access to your truck.

 

[C.G.S.]

Must be some part of murphy's Law Futher away the service truck the more likely stuff is to break. And no matter how much you take with you there is allows something you did'nt bring that you are going to need.

 

[cbturf]

I have thought about getting a Polaris Ranger or Kubota RTV but have not done anything yet. Most of my work right now is on top of a ridgeline that gives the crawler a few problems getting up. The problem with taking a small vehicle up to the machine would be all of the things that I need every single day. The service buggy must be able to carry a minimum of 50 gallons of fuel, I need an air compressor and all of the tools that are used for the daily chores. Not to mention that it is so dry and dusty in New Mexico that I have to pressure wash all of the coolers twice a week. It is not practical to have a small service truck like the Ranger. I have looked at building a big off road service truck. Someday soon I hope to get my hands on a single rear wheel heavy duty truck that will haul 100 gallons of fuel, 100 gallons of water for the pressure washer, all of the tools and the air compressor. My main goal right now though is to get two machines that will consistantly get me 9-10 hour days without any issues.

 

[Eagleview]

Why not tow a service/fuel trailer with floatation tyres behind the machine ?

 

[john_bud]

Why not tow a service/fuel trailer with floatation tyres behind the machine ?

He would still need to tow it back out to refill the trailer, but he could do that 2x a week and not every day?

 

[Eagleview]

That's what i meant , 1000 litres of Diesel would only weigh a ton and should keep him working all week . The trailer i am going to build will have a Diesel tank , a water tank , a used oil tank , a welder/generator , oxy set , a compressor , a small pressure washer , vice , grinder , drill , chainsaw , handtools small pull out cooker and sink for meals , UHF radio and even my emergency beacon in case of an accident or snake bite . I'll also make a rack for my trailbike on the drawbar . I'd say 2.5 -3 ton all up and will satisfy all my needs .

 

[cbturf]

You guys seem to be forgetting that I do not sleep in the machine!! If I take a bunch of fuel up the mountian I am still a couple of miles from my truck and I aint walkin in and out. At an elevation of 8500 feet it takes a long time to climb those hills. Also we have a few critters up there that would love to stock up for winter in a little lard. If it takes me 45 minutes to drive the machine it would take an hour and a half to walk it in the mountians before daylight and after dark...no thanks. I don't know about you fellas but I am plum scared of 160 pound cats that can see in the dark. Check out the mountian lion track that I found about 25 feet away from where I park the truck every day. It is hard to tell how big it is but his feet are about 4 inches across. I am even a little scared of the huge bull elk the are on the job every day, they stay close to the machine (about 100 yards) they have no fear of the mulcher.

 

[Eagleview]

That's what the motor bike is for .

 

[cbturf]

Stop spending my money dude, controlling cost is the whole point of this exercise.