Recent content by Diwali

I can only reiterate what some have said; use a brush cutter or flail mower. Bramble etc. will give up if they cannot synthesise but it takes 2 - 3 years in my experience to eradicate them completely. I would avoid chemicals due to the potential damage to wildlife. Another suggestion was goats...

CaseIH 285 with FEL for the heavy stuff but the one I use the most is the Craftsman LT2000 lawn tractor that I’ve had for 15 years. It’s my go to tractor for any jobs around the house and yard - hauling, towing (even my biggest trailer) and it cuts grass and scrub. Oh, I also have a new JD...

It doesn’t require thinking; you DO need a tractor! The main considerations are: a. engine size? b. cab or no cab? c. fel or no fel? There are plenty of responses for a. And I would agree with the 40-50hp range. I’ll get to b. in a moment. For c. yes, a FEL is a must preferably with grapple...

My garage has aluminium roller shutter doors that make a good seal when closed. They are Gliderol brand(UK) and were installed by their engineer. They need about 15” headroom for the roll which, along with the motor and mechanism, are enclosed in a metal box. I’m very pleased with the result...

By far the loudest comment (and most important: ‘Practice’ My own experiences: A small trailer that can’t be seen in the wing mirrors will ALWAYS jackknife when reversing. A longish trailer is easier to handle forwards and backwards. In awkward situations select low range for reversing a...

Interesting comment. In my part of the UK there are a number of used tractor dealers indicating a thriving market and presumably competitive prices. New tractors are expensive and can’t be justified for a ‘hobby farmer’ like myself. In 2015 I bought an old Case IH for £3500 (UK) with a FEL and...

A fascinating topic! And the vast majority said ‘yes’ you need a tractor (as I do!). For my 5 acres I have a 50hp Case IH with FEL that I bought 7 years ago for less than $4000 and never once regretted it (although a backhoe would have been the icing on the cake). It won’t cut lawns but I have...

It looks fairly standard for old equipment (trailers etc.) and would easily hook up to my ‘ancient’ Case IH 485 hitch. Not sure what type of hitches modern tractors have as I don’t have one!

Here in UK and I believe in Europe the rule is that a trailer with a GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) of 750kg or lower, is not required to have brakes. This is why I opted for a single axle on my 8 x 5. A twin axle would increase the trailer weight thus reducing the load capacity.

If you have to tow remember the power steering won’t be working. A Cat 2 tractor or bigger can be a ‘gorilla arm’ job to steer without power.

Interesting topic but living on an island off the Welsh coast in the UK means snow is fairly rare and can be cleared with a child’s beach spade. But good luck with your search.

Never happened to me with anything on wheels but my 2 stroke chainsaw would run backwards on starting and you don’t really notice until you try cutting.... that’s when it got a little dangerous!

My 5ft brush cutter never had a tail wheel from new. It has substantial runners on either side and runs quite happily even on rough ground. It is 6 years old and still going strong cutting mostly hay but occasionally gorse bushes and reed beds.

Interesting comments. I have a 13 year old Craftsman LT2000 17.5 hp bought new with 48” deck and mulcher that has done serious work clearing bramble, fern and tall grasses as well as doing the lawn around the house. I’m seriously impressed with it and when/if it fails I would be considering...