Hi Everyone,
I will need a power barrow (or a micro dumper. whichever you prefer...)for my next landscaping project and I was researching the deepest depths of the internet for reviews on power barrows. There are not many....
There is a lot of hype about this muck truck, but personally I cannot put my head around them. For me the tracked version is just looks that it works so much better. I am based in Scotland where sometimes is NOT raining (very rarely happens) and I just have issues with the idea of that middle wheel which provides the 4x4 drive. Is it not slipping all the time in wet? The price for the muck truck however is very tempting as if the claims are true than it is much cheaper than a decent tracked barrow.
Does any one have any experience (I have found an old review on landscapjuice, but apart from that) using them? Are they really that good how the manufacturer claims to be? Sometimes it feels their marketing people are constantly scanning the internet and remove any independent reviews...
I would need a compact machine which can cope with rough terrain, possibly deep(ish) mud and it is very uneven. I also have tight corners to navigate. It is a path at the back of a row of miner`s cottages, wedged between the back-gardens and the farmer`s fence. I have maximum of a meter width (sometimes less than that) and I have to turn 90 degrees to drive trough the back door. There is no other access available. Manual barrow is not an option as the distance is too great and I have to move about 10 tonnes of aggregate.
Any builds appreciated.
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Replies
Hi Andras,
They are very capable pieces of equipment.
I have had both Muck trucks and Load Runner power barrows on our equipment fleet for 15+ years now, they both have a time and place where they out perform much larger pieces of kit.
There advantages are that they are nibble, you can turn them on the front axle by taking the weight off the rear wheel and turning them like a normal barrow.
The muck truck is slower than the load runner which allows you to hop on the back and get a ride for longer straight run projects.
The muck truck wins over it on manoeuvrability as it is quite a bit shorter and turn in the space of a normal wheelbarrow.
They both make a lot less mess to the clients property than a tracked machine.
They are both much faster than tracked machines and you tip them just like a normal barrow.
The load runner carries a greater load than the muck truck.
I would suggest maybe finding a hire business and trying them out before you buy to see which one would best suit your site ergonomically or at least try them out in there yard and see how they perform.
The skip loading ramps that come as an option with them are very good aswell for getting you safely over footings etc aswell as for loading skips.
if you have any more questions just ask away.
all the best,
Peter
Personally Peter I'd go for a tracked Powerbarrow. An excellent machine which gave us many years of faithful service.
I put Saxon trailer body on mine; For some reason when we bought our Powerbarrow, the tipping body was either not available of it was an expensive extra. Mine came with a manual tip flatbed).
The trailer body was wider than the width of the actual machine so it caused us a few access problems. Nowadays the Powerbarrow comes with an in-line body.
I have to admit I didn't use the Mucktruck much. The design may have improved (we are talking over 20 years ago). I found the operation of the Mucktruck quite an aggressive exercise.
I prefer a belle power barrow over the muck truck, 300kg load and adjustable middle wheel, re- fuelling and draining the oil are a bit messy and the tip release needs regular lubrication, it is a little aggressive as Phil says but faster and more manoeuvrable than a tracked barrow and cheaper.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.They were very useful.
I will definitely hire one just now. I have to say, that I love the idea of a tracked barrow (probably it is more of a big boy`s toy affection. tracks are cooler than wheels...) but I really would want to test the Muck Truck and it`s off road capabilities. I am sure that the tracked barrow could cope with it so see what the MT can do. It costs £60 for a week so it won`t brake the bank. (Having said that, the tracked one costs £90 which also not too bad, but if the MT is really good than I have saved £30. yeeeha...)