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Bobcat loader for Rother Valley Tree Services

Rother Valley Tree Services Ltd, based in Doncaster in South Yorkshire in the UK, has purchased a new top-of-the-range Bobcat T86 compact track loader and several Bobcat attachments including the new Bobcat FRC200XT high flow forestry mulcher from AMS Bobcat, the local Authorised Bobcat Dealer. 

Rother Valley Tree Services is a family run business that as well as Doncaster, also covers Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield, Leeds, Wakefield and all the surrounding areas. The company offers high quality work in every aspect of arboriculture, from small private clients to large commercial and local authority contracts. Customers also include Prison Services, Waterways, Railways, Utility Companies, Private estates/woodlands and many private home and land owners. Utility arboriculture alone represents an estimated £150 million of arboricultural work in the UK each year, adjacent to electricity supplies, plus work close to rail, waterways and telecommunications networks.

Bobcat T86 Compact Track Loader
Delivering a higher engine and hydraulic output, the Bobcat T86 is the most powerful compact track loader the company has ever built. The T86 uses a well-proven Stage 5-compliant, 3.4-litre Bobcat engine producing 78kW (105hp) at 2,600rpm. Just like all of Bobcat’s R-Series loaders, the engine is mounted in-line with direct drive, which improves the cooling capacity of the engine and hydraulic components. This change increases reliability in high-intensity applications such as the forestry work carried out by Rother Valley Tree Services.

One of the most exciting aspects of the T86 is that for the first time there is a choice of three different auxiliary flow outputs. There is a standard flow configuration providing 87 l/min for applications such as load and carry, or where low hydraulic flow attachments are used. Bobcat also offers two additional hydraulic performance functions using the new Electronic Displacement Control (EDC) Pump on the T86: a High Flow function giving 138L/min and a new optional, industry unique Super Flow function taking auxiliary flow to 159L/min.

As well as the Super Flow, the T86 purchased by Rother Valley Tree Services features an enclosed cab with HVAC, an air-suspension seat, 7-inch Touch panel display, Two Speed, Power Bob-Tach attachment system, a Reversing Fan, premium LED Lights, keyless Ignition and Joystick Controls. AMS Bobcat has equipped the T86 with a forestry application kit, which is required when using the machine with a forestry mulcher. As part of the order, Rother Valley Tree Services also purchased Bobcat 82-inch root grapple and pallet fork attachments from AMS Bobcat.

Steve Smith, Managing Director of Rother Valley Tree Services commented, “I was intending to purchase the T770 model from Bobcat, but AMS Bobcat introduced us to the idea of the new T86 and its Super Flow output and the more powerful attachments it can power, such as the new FRC200XT forestry cutter. Now part of our fleet, the T86 has more than matched what we were promised!"

Carl Chadburn, Plant Manager of Rother Valley Tree Services added, “The many jobs we are able to do are specialist, with only a few companies being able to offer these services in the UK. The T86, the new forestry cutter and the other Bobcat attachments we’ve purchased from AMS complement the rest of the vehicles and machinery in our fleet, giving us access to an even larger array of solutions to help complete even the most difficult of jobs. Rother Valley Tree Services cares for all our customers, large and small on a personal and individual basis.”

Advantages of Track Loaders
In a host of applications in construction, landscaping, forestry, agriculture, disaster relief and many other areas, there are no other machines that offer the combination of versatility and productivity that can be provided by compact track loaders such as the T86. This is due to their unique characteristics as tool carriers and the wide array of attachments that they can work with, from trenchers, augers, graders, soil conditioners, scarifiers and dozer blades to more specialist attachments such as forestry cutters and stump grinders. As tool carriers, compact track loaders offer many advantages over the comparable wheeled machines. They can provide increased productivity in many conditions with a lifting capacity approximately 25% more than the equivalently sized wheeled loaders.

Carl Chadburn continued, “Combined with the low centre of gravity of the T86, the traction delivered by the tracked undercarriage gives us advantages for climbing and working on steep slopes in diverse applications such as scrub clearance on motorway verges, which would be difficult to carry out with the other machines in our fleet. Approximately three times less than a wheeled machine, the low ground disturbance of the T86 allows it to work on delicate surfaces, such as established lawns or asphalt, minimising damage and reducing the need for tidying up after the job is complete. As well as being perfectly suited for working anywhere on uneven terrain, the T86 can also work well on snow extending work into the winter, due to its superior traction and flotation.” 

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