"Roger" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Piers Finlayson" contains these words:

I too am interested in this topic.

I have a couple of comments:

- I recently seriously toyed with the idea of getting an old JCB (one
was
going cheap nearby), but decided against it, as the thought of a JCB with
wheels on my muddy fields was a bit of a nightmare. (SWMBO's hysterical
laughter at the suggestion follow by a "oh, you were serious" didn't
help).
I decided in the end that if I do get something it will
- be small (not blumming enormous like a JCB)
- have tracks.

I have also wondered what would happen with something as heavy as a full
size JCB on soft ground. I don't know for sure how much they weigh but
one advert claimed 7 tons which must be at least twice the weight of my
neighbours tractor.

- If you're lending the digger out to neighbours, could you expect the
neighbours to sort out the travel arrangements? (And if you're just
going
1/2 mile down the road do you really care about having a _decent_
transport
solution?)

Not thinking about going on the road at all. That was half a mile across
the fields and it would be me doing the driving, not my elderly
neighbour who won't even drive his own tractor. What I am concerned
about is wearing out the tracks unnecessarily and dying of boredom
getting to the other side of his farm and back again. I have only ever
seen mini diggers move at a snails pace. Being retired myself I have
plenty of time to help out but life is too short to spend half a day
travelling half a mile. :-)


A friend of mine a few years ago bought a rusty old JCB (cheaply) from a
seaside town, drove it 90 miles (Oban to Glasgow!) that was hairy!! used it
to dig foundations for an extension, while welding up the cab! sold it and
with the profit bought a mini digger which 20 years or so later he still
uses.

Des