Local independent Agri Engineers

ACEngineering · May 22, 2018

Getting fed up with turning good work down here. Now seems a regular occurrence.

Any other local engineers i know are the same! So if your independent agri engineer covering oxfordshire and or nearby counties and roughly know your way round manitous let me know!

Or maybe we could have a section in the classified directory thing on here for man in van or man with workshop searchable by location?
(Might be already i not looked?)

icanshootwell · May 23, 2018

A good man working out the van is like hard to find around here, my local fitter is always busy, has more work he can cope with, The thing is, you can,t trust the big dealerships, they are far to greedy 2 or even 3 times the hourly rate.

Steevo · May 23, 2018

ACEngineering said:
Getting fed up with turning good work down here. Now seems a regular occurrence.

Any other local engineers i know are the same! So if your independent agri engineer covering oxfordshire and or nearby counties and roughly know your way round manitous let me know!

Or maybe we could have a section in the classified directory thing on here for man in van or man with workshop searchable by location?
(Might be already i not looked?)

Good idea! Or just turn this thread into a list of them?

ACEngineering · May 23, 2018

icanshootwell said:
A good man working out the van is like hard to find around here, my local fitter is always busy, has more work he can cope with, The thing is, you can,t trust the big dealerships, they are far to greedy 2 or even 3 times the hourly rate.

Been sorting out another main dealers

today

Drilling out 2 broken bolts in engine block which they wanted to remove engine to do.

I just bought a £20, 90deg drill attachment from screwfix and done it without moving engine.

Was really cursing them when i figured out why the modification bracket kit for intercooler pipes wouldnt fit, nob heads had had turbo off and stripped it but not got the 2 halves lined back up anywhere near so the new bracket kit wouldnt fit

ACEngineering · May 23, 2018

Steevo said:
Good idea! Or just turn this thread into a list of them?

List away

Maybe ask them first just in case? Probably be breaking some gdpr crap rule or something :scratchhead:

Steevo · May 23, 2018

@Phil P probably doesn't need the promotion or extra work....but he's gotta go top of the list for the quality standard of work. If he was my local engineer I'd most certainly swap to running green tractors.

Phil P · May 23, 2018

Steevo said:
@Phil P probably doesn't need the promotion or extra work....but he's gotta go top of the list for the quality standard of work. If he was my local engineer I'd most certainly swap to running green tractors.

Thanks, I always look at it as your only as good as your last job so do it right and do it once and customers will keep coming back

.
As @ACEngineering says, it’s frustrating having to turn work away

and it’s usually the decent jobs you turn down as your up to your eyes in s#*t at the time!
I made the decision last year not to expand my customer base any further on the engineering side of thing as I couldn’t cope with the increased workload and offer the support to the customers and standards I like. I just look after my regulars but like to think I offer them a premium service.

If I could find the right man (or woman) to take on some of the engineering workload l wouldn’t hesitate to start taking on more work. Trouble is there’s a real shortage of (good) engineers, as we already know.

ACEngineering · May 23, 2018

Phil P said:
Thanks, I always look at it as your only as good as your last job so do it right and do it once and customers will keep coming back.
As @ACEngineering says, it’s frustrating having to turn work away and it’s usually the decent jobs you turn down as your up to your eyes in s#*t at the time!
I made the decision last year not to expand my customer base any further on the engineering side of thing as I couldn’t cope with the increased workload and offer the support to the customers and standards I like. I just look after my regulars but like to think I offer them a premium service.

If I could find the right man (or woman) to take on some of the engineering workload l wouldn’t hesitate to start taking on more work. Trouble is there’s a real shortage of (good) engineers, as we already know.

Top man around me for green machines (JD) is Clive Hanley

another good ones are Geoff Wilks & Colins Engineering, plus Peter Booth for general repairs and all things fabrication couple of others I wont mention as mixed reports on them.

Phil P · May 23, 2018

ACEngineering said:
Top man around me for green machines (JD) is Clive Hanley

another good ones are Geoff Wilks & Colins Engineering, plus Peter Booth for general repairs and all things fabrication couple of others I wont mention as mixed reports on them.

To be honest it’s getting to the stage round here where there’s very few independent agricultural engineers. There’s one chap who used to be very good but seems to have lost interest and now has a reputation for stripping stuff then disappearing!
There’s a youngish lad in a van who was popping up at various yards but now has a reputation for sub standard work and there’s a lad and dad operation just up the road from me who seem to be doing ok but stick to older stuff (pre laptop), they’ve put some work my way and like wise ive sent them stuff.

Steevo · May 23, 2018

Yes. Very few younger people around doing it now. Easier to get more money for less hassle/skill by working on other things. Dealers don’t seem to keep younger staff long either.

Magnificent Earwig · May 23, 2018

ACEngineering said:
Top man around me for green machines (JD) is Clive Hanley

another good ones are Geoff Wilks & Colins Engineering, plus Peter Booth for general repairs and all things fabrication couple of others I wont mention as mixed reports on them.

Clive is very good, was highly praised when he worked for Bruce Hopkins. We use Robbie Dickins for most of our MF work, I rate him very highly.

Magnificent Earwig · May 23, 2018

Steevo said:
Yes. Very few younger people around doing it now. Easier to get more money for less hassle/skill by working on other things. Dealers don’t seem to keep younger staff long either.

I could name you a dealer who would only let young staff do servicing and then he’d often moan when the youngsters buggered off to do something else. I’ve seen this first hand whilst working in the parts department at said dealers. And these lads didn’t lack any skill.

TripleSix · May 23, 2018

I'm a man and Van setup.

I try and stick to lawnmowers, chainsaws, classic tractors, ATVs, conveyors, potato equipment and light fabrication.

I just don't know enough about tractors etc.

The problem with working on unfamiliar gear is it takes far too long and you end up losing on the job.

Dave W · May 23, 2018

The repair job is a bit of a headscratch for me.
I could take in loads of work and do it full time but I’ve all on doing what I do now which is service and repair my own stock for retail.

My trouble is I regularly fall in to the trap of helping charity cases out. Local sports clubs that have never had the mower serviced so all the filters are bunged up. 3 hours out of my day and I’ll feel guilty taking £40 off them.
Or 95 yr old Fred down the road who still wants to make an acre of hay but won’t go to local dealers and spend £40 on a new UJ for his pto so comes to me instead and I’ll root about and find him a used one to get going and take nowt off him cos you can’t charge a 95yr old.

Why do I do it???

TripleSix · May 23, 2018

Dave W said:
The repair job is a bit of a headscratch for me.
I could take in loads of work and do it full time but I’ve all on doing what I do now which is service and repair my own stock for retail.

My trouble is I regularly fall in to the trap of helping charity cases out. Local sports clubs that have never had the mower serviced so all the filters are bunged up. 3 hours out of my day and I’ll feel guilty taking £40 off them.
Or 95 yr old Fred down the road who still wants to make an acre of hay but won’t go to local dealers and spend £40 on a new UJ for his pto so comes to me instead and I’ll root about and find him a used one to get going and take nowt off him cos you can’t charge a 95yr old.

Why do I do it???

Oh God yeah...

I was on with a cricket clubs gear, antique gear, the bloke using it didn't have a clue, getting called out to adjust a chain or a clutch cable...

Stuff that you couldn't charge enough for to cover your costs.

Dave W · May 23, 2018

TripleSix said:
Oh God yeah...

I was on with a cricket clubs gear, antique gear, the bloke using it didn't have a clue, getting called out to adjust a chain or a clutch cable...

Stuff that you couldn't charge enough for to cover your costs.

Not just me then thank god

kiwi pom · May 23, 2018

Phil P said:
To be honest it’s getting to the stage round here where there’s very few independent agricultural engineers. There’s one chap who used to be very good but seems to have lost interest and now has a reputation for stripping stuff then disappearing!
There’s a youngish lad in a van who was popping up at various yards but now has a reputation for sub standard work and there’s a lad and dad operation just up the road from me who seem to be doing ok but stick to older stuff (pre laptop), they’ve put some work my way and like wise ive sent them stuff.

How do you get on these days with the newer tractors that need plugging in to a lap top? Can you buy what's needed from the manufacturer or is it dealer only?
There's a guy in the states with a you tube channel I watch (because I lead a sad life) who can do some things with his lap top but some things, particularly CAT stuff need the dealer.
He's keen to tackle most things mind.

DeeGee · May 23, 2018

Dave W said:
The repair job is a bit of a headscratch for me.
I could take in loads of work and do it full time but I’ve all on doing what I do now which is service and repair my own stock for retail.

My trouble is I regularly fall in to the trap of helping charity cases out. Local sports clubs that have never had the mower serviced so all the filters are bunged up. 3 hours out of my day and I’ll feel guilty taking £40 off them.
Or 95 yr old Fred down the road who still wants to make an acre of hay but won’t go to local dealers and spend £40 on a new UJ for his pto so comes to me instead and I’ll root about and find him a used one to get going and take nowt off him cos you can’t charge a 95yr old.

Why do I do it???

Probably because you are a decent bloke who is willing to help others, and to whom money, while important to us all, is not your god.

ACEngineering · May 23, 2018

Magnificent Earwig said:
Clive is very good, was highly praised when he worked for Bruce Hopkins. We use Robbie Dickins for most of our MF work, I rate him very highly.

clive still does some work for bruce

ACEngineering · May 23, 2018

kiwi pom said:
How do you get on these days with the newer tractors that need plugging in to a lap top? Can you buy what's needed from the manufacturer or is it dealer only?
There's a guy in the states with a you tube channel I watch (because I lead a sad life) who can do some things with his lap top but some things, particularly CAT stuff need the dealer.
He's keen to tackle most things mind.

Sure there is an EU law that says all manufactures have to make diagnostic info available?

I can buy the gear £1k from manitou and then pay a subscription each month (£80 per month) for the basic entry level which lets you see and do general stuff but so far I manage perfectly fine with out it. Would need to be using it a lot to justify it.

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