Gunners
Well-known member
I had the pleasure of using an Avant the other day. The landscaper I was working for has one with plenty of attachments - says its the best bit of kit he's bought, and I can agree with him they are surprisingly good.
This one was a 700 series so one of the larger ones but still fits on a plant trailer and is under 1.5m wide. Lifted these packs of blocks about no trouble. I'd actually say it has more to give but it physically doesn't have enough weight to keep the rear on the ground. And I believe this one has the extra counterweight fitted. Its a bit weird to steer as you are sat behind the pivot point but you soon get the hang of it and visibility is very good. Also kept going for the non existent shuttle leaver - it runs a two pedal system where one goes forward and the other backwards. Let go of pedal and it stops. Really odd
Bad points I'd say are the thin plastic body panels which had seen some abuse from his lads and wernt in great shape. Also its really awkward to get on and off as the foot well is so far forward. You have to kind of roll yourself out of it
But dead handy, decent sized bucket and with the rotovator attachment it makes prepping for turf a doddle.
I also had a go on a Ditch Witch SK1550 during the Hampton Court show breakdown. Its like a mini stand behind skid steer and can infact run skid steer attachments. I had a play and it was dead easy to get the hang of and dont half get some speed nipping around, you have to be really careful not to throw yourself off the back!
Wanted a lot of money for it though, in the region of £30k if I remember rightly without any attachments. This is the biggest one they do but you can buy an Avant or Multione with change for attachments for that money and whilst it would pick up a bulk bag, it didn't handle it as well as the Avant I used. I also thought the track rollers and idlers looked really weak and for something thats going to constantly be tracking about, it didn't look man enough to me. I should of got some pics of it, its really well designed (apart from the track idlers) in my opinion but for the money it wants to be!
Whichever way you look at it, the mini loader is starting to make its mark on the UK as contractors realise their labour saving abilities and theres more and more choice if you're in the market for one.
This one was a 700 series so one of the larger ones but still fits on a plant trailer and is under 1.5m wide. Lifted these packs of blocks about no trouble. I'd actually say it has more to give but it physically doesn't have enough weight to keep the rear on the ground. And I believe this one has the extra counterweight fitted. Its a bit weird to steer as you are sat behind the pivot point but you soon get the hang of it and visibility is very good. Also kept going for the non existent shuttle leaver - it runs a two pedal system where one goes forward and the other backwards. Let go of pedal and it stops. Really odd
Bad points I'd say are the thin plastic body panels which had seen some abuse from his lads and wernt in great shape. Also its really awkward to get on and off as the foot well is so far forward. You have to kind of roll yourself out of it
But dead handy, decent sized bucket and with the rotovator attachment it makes prepping for turf a doddle.
I also had a go on a Ditch Witch SK1550 during the Hampton Court show breakdown. Its like a mini stand behind skid steer and can infact run skid steer attachments. I had a play and it was dead easy to get the hang of and dont half get some speed nipping around, you have to be really careful not to throw yourself off the back!
Wanted a lot of money for it though, in the region of £30k if I remember rightly without any attachments. This is the biggest one they do but you can buy an Avant or Multione with change for attachments for that money and whilst it would pick up a bulk bag, it didn't handle it as well as the Avant I used. I also thought the track rollers and idlers looked really weak and for something thats going to constantly be tracking about, it didn't look man enough to me. I should of got some pics of it, its really well designed (apart from the track idlers) in my opinion but for the money it wants to be!
Whichever way you look at it, the mini loader is starting to make its mark on the UK as contractors realise their labour saving abilities and theres more and more choice if you're in the market for one.
