Dingo Mini Digger

Weight 'IS' the huge factor...........Dingos are useless levelling unless you got nice clean (rock free) soil...As for post holes,ditto, not enough weight to push the auger into the ground unless it's nice clean soil. From experience in my backyard i'll only use a large bobcat cause the small ones take too long cause they dont have the weight... I would definitely check out the demand before I buy......At $50hr for a dingo versus $80hr for a bobcat.......Go the bobcat it'll only cost half as much in the longrun.....

Back to what you should buy for it.definitely a trencher and post hole borer.that'll be 3/4 of the demand. Thats why I'll be hiring one, $270 for a weekend to do post holes for a new fence in a tight area. half an hour on the back and anyone can effectively operate one.....All you need to have is common sense...

Oh just thought,,,,,,,can you get a stump grinder attachment, that would be a fair size market as well.......

The newer dingo is a bit heavier than the old one it's up around 950kg which at least improves it's lifting ability, still a light machine though I know.

Interesting that you mention a stump grinder, they do one and I had it on my original list. But I haven't been able to judge the demand for it so its has fallen off the list for now.

You reckon there would be a need, most of the services in the Yellowpages seem to offer tree pruning etc too, thats not something I want to do (not too good with heights).

Cheers Dave

[QUOTE=As for post holes,ditto, not enough weight to push the auger into the ground unless it's nice clean soil. [/QUOTE]

odds are the dingo will push down an auger where the bobbie won't. I've seen it with my own eyes and done it. I've been onsite when a dingo has been called in to drill holes that nothing else could. Bobbie operators don't like it happening on their site either. A dingo don't have any trouble drilling large augers either. This all comes done to hydraulic power as opposed to weight & the dingo from my knowledge outpowers the bobbie in hydraulics.
This whole Dingo vs Bobcat debate could rage for ever. Everyone that has predominantly used a bobbie will favor the bobbie, those that have predominantly used a dingo will favor the dingo. If the operator is good, either machine will perform well. And yeah they both have their advantages.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by davo453

........most of the services in the Yellowpages seem to offer tree pruning etc too, thats not something I want to do (not too good with heights).

Cheers Dave

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Dave,
you obviously haven't got the right tree pruning technique:
Stand at base of tree with comfortable wide stance.
Fire up your Stihl Magnum Pro chainsaw :eek:
Do a hinge cut at a comfortable height
Do another cut from the back of the trunk down at an angle to meet the hinge cut
Lop the resulting fallen tree into sizes suitable to mill/chip/dump :eek:
See, you don't need to get to any height if you've got the right technique. ;)

Shane,
sorry, I can't see how operator skill or hydraulic power can overcome the problem of an auger simply skittering around on top of rocky ground while the machine that's trying to push it down into the ground lifts its tracks or wheels off the ground and still hasn't enough weight to drive it in. :confused: Similarly for lifting loads, all the hydraulic power in the world is of no use if the machine hasn't enough weight to counter the load. I'm not saying any one machine is better than another, they all have their place, but in my experience the best machine for the job is the heaviest, most powerful machine that can be safely used and maneuvered in the space allowed. sometimes that's a track loader, other times it's a couple of labourers with pick, shovel and wheelbarrow :( . I'll use whatever can safely get the job done in as little time as possible with the least chance of damaging the site. I also wasn't suggesting to Dave that he should get a bobcat, I believe that the smaller machines are a better proposition regarding return on capital investment, ease of transport and maintenance costs :) .

Mick

Mick, your tree lopping/felling advice was spot on except for one thing.

The back cut should be straight across and about 2/3 of the way up the hinge.
If possible I would always attach a rope to the top of the tree and pull SLIGHTLY with a car. Not too much or it can split the tree as you are cutting it. When the tree is just about ready to fall have somebody drive the car away, pulling th etree with them. Do not do a wheelie, 10k an hour is heaps. Make sure that the length of the rope attached to the tree and the car, is longer than the height of the tree. :) This method overcomes any tendency of the tree to follow its own weight as it falls, as it will always follow the rope.
I was a tree lopper in suburban Brisbane for about 10 years so I know a bit on this subject. :)

Mick mate I can't argue with a lot of what you say & infact agree whole heartadly with some of what your saying :eek:
But fact remains I know what i've done on a dingo and seen what they can do. And weight has never been an issue in drilling an auger even through rocky ground. :o
If you maintain your cutting tips on the augers its the auger that ulitmately pulls itself down. Too much weight on the cutting tip can reduce its efficiency & life.
Just like drilling through metal with a drill bit, you place too much pressure on the drill and the drill bit will not cut effectively and will most likly burn your bit (especially if your not using a coolant). :cool:
The lifting power of a dingo is also up there, I've lifted full pallets of logs and rails round onsite without worry. :cool:
Being around dingos for over 14yrs I have a fair indication of what they can and can't do, But your right, they ain't always the best tool for the job and I also subscribe to that theory. ;)

Cheers!! :D

Ah yes Mick I've used your technique many times, having lived on a property badly affected by die back and a drop in the water table :( I have in fact sadly done it hundreds of times and also used a front end loader to just push them down from the top (much quicker).

It's the restricted space problem were you need a cherry picker to get off the ground and working around power lines that doesn't fill me with enthusiasm.

The guy from Dingo is bring his machine (K9-4) to my place on Tuesday to try a post hole or two and dig a trench, the ground here is very rocky and has defeated my mates bobcat and hole digger several times so I'll report back then :D

Cheers Dave

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Originally Posted by Bob Willson

Mick, your tree lopping/felling advice was spot on except for one thing.

The back cut should be straight across and about 2/3 of the way up the hinge.
If possible I would always attach a rope to the top of the tree and pull SLIGHTLY with a car. Not too much or it can split the tree as you are cutting it. When the tree is just about ready to fall have somebody drive the car away, pulling th etree with them. Do not do a wheelie, 10k an hour is heaps. Make sure that the length of the rope attached to the tree and the car, is longer than the height of the tree. :) This method overcomes any tendency of the tree to follow its own weight as it falls, as it will always follow the rope.
I was a tree lopper in suburban Brisbane for about 10 years so I know a bit on this subject. :)

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Plus also dont forget the video camera, so we can all see the results on Funniest Home Vids' :D

Al

Bob,
I've dropped some trees, but not lots. Most of my chainsaw work has been in fencing and pole construction.
Dave,
Sad about the dieback and falling water table. Know what you mean about dropping trees in confined areas. I'll do the easy stuff but anything tricky I'll leave to an expert. I've got a cousin that's an arborist and some of the stuff he does is amazing. He came round to our place when we first moved in as there was a spindly red stringy bark about 20M high leaning over the house. He climbed up and managed to drop it by taking about 1.5 - 2M off at a time and lowering the log down on a rope. I had another rope on the log and had to pull it out clear of the house. The log would whizz past him after he cut it (until his rope would stop it) and looking at it you'd think it was going to brain him :eek: . When my wife saw what he was doing she rang his wife and told her she was crazy for letting him go out and do that kind of work. If anyone ever gets a quote for tree lopping work and thinks it's a bit steep they need to consider the dangers involved (and the insurance premiums :mad: )

Mick, the chainsaw wielding greenie :D

Worst (scariest) job I ever did was on the top of Mount Tamborine. Tree about 100 metres tall on the edge of a 200m cliff and they just wanted the top half cut off. Wore the dark brown pants for that one. :)

Some NT colleagues showed a film at a conference a few years ago about some of their construction & destruction jobs. In one case, they attempted to drop a BIG dead tree by boring a hole in it and exploding a stick of dynamite or some such.

The tree took off like a caber, end over end towards the camera - pity it didn't have a sound track, I reckon it would have expanded our vocabulary.

I owe you a greenie when it lets me do it. http://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/contrib/geno/rofl.gif

Al

Dave, saw this while I was out today. In the photo you can just see two augers, bucket and ditch digger attachment. Looks like a great setup.

Cheers

Looks good Squizzy

Whereabouts was it? wonder if he would be my competition :)

I can see the augers and the trencher and it looks like the bucket is fitted to the machine but what?s the thing on the back of the trailer.

Also what's the legal weight limit for a single axle trailer with brakes, anyone know?

Cheers Dave

Dave, Photo taken in the Swan Valley. I couldn't figure out what the hydraulic controls where at the back of the trailer, it was only a drive by shooting.

As for trailers and legal weights, well thats a whole big bunch a cans of wriggly things. The rating for the trailer is essentially an engineering assessment of the construction, axle capacity and wheel/tyre combination. After that the State and Federal laws kick-in. However, the predominat limitation is the Manufacturer's limitation for the trailer and the towing vehicle. All the ADR regs changed a couple of years back and I don't prefess to know them all. Contact DOPI (just love that) Dept Planning & Infrastructure or old DOT.

Whilst the government regulates the speeds and the maximum limits the individual manufacturer's limits may precede this. For example my Subaru, and its tow bar, are limited to 500 kg un-braked and 900 kgs braked. In some states all loads over 750 kg must be braked and so on...The Dept should have a leaflet on it.

Cheers