Why is this a bad idea?

Treeaddict

Treeaddict

Treehouser
Joined
Aug 16, 2021
Messages
2,650
Location
Harford county MD
Could this be a reasonable piece of equipment for the guy doing 3 jobs a month? Downside is manual loading. Possibly looking to add a piece of lighter machinery within the next 2 years.
 

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Tree debris isn't usually needing to be dumped, rather lifted and loaded into a truck/ trailer.




Someone fitted a remote-control electric motor to an Arbor-trolley (limited traction but cool).


A power wheel barrow is another, cheaper idea.

A brush cart and Honda- powered capstan might be versatile.


So much depends on the crew and terrain/ market.

Do you want to stay at that level of jobs per month?




Finance a mini/ grapple and get way more done, easy faster.
A $500 payment split between 3 jobs per month might pencil out.

I tow/push a trailer/ chipper and chip trailer into places that I could never get a dump trailer or chip truck. I have the mini to unload the brush trailer at my shop (and my neighbor can simply lift my trailer off the ground with his commercial log loader). I have space and a greenwaste grapple truck service available to me, as well as being able to burn.
 
IMO a mini skid will make you money easier and faster. And can be used for other jobs than just tree work. Buy new, cry once, and make money. You can plant trees, dig driveways/sidewalks, landscape, plow snow, move trailers, load logs, move brush, move dirt/rocks/gravel, and push cars around. A mini is so versatile.
 
That seems cheap. It looks like an interesting tool. I think it's competition would be a used mini. Not sure what they go for used, but that's what I'd look at for comparison. Just sitting on it's own, I don't think it would be hard getting $5k of work out of it as long as the build quality was good.
 
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  • #8
lxskllr said:
That seems cheap. It looks like an interesting tool. I think it's competition would be a used mini. Not sure what they go for used, but that's what I'd look at for comparison. Just sitting on it's own, I don't think it would be hard getting $5k of work out of it as long as the build quality was good.
Click to expand...
So far, used minis are 20k plus. Haven’t delved too deeply though.
 
And don't get me wrong. I've wanted one of those since I first saw one. Hell, could have really used it yesterday while I was burning. Fact is, I burned some good firewood down in the creek draw that could have easily brought it up in one of those. Have it carry the gear down. Bring up the wood while the fire cooks. Probably a months worth of oak I did not even have to split.
Every tool like that has it's place.
Mini won't go down there. I have to winch stuff out of there normally. But that tracked unit would have got close enough to load up with out much trouble.
 
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  • #14
Stephen’s dictator (governor) will make everyone purchase these in the next couple years. You’ll have to charge in an adjacent state without brown outs though.
 

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I do think a mini skid would be awesome but the price points for used units this far is pretty intense. I really can’t do more than 3 decent jobs a month due to work schedules and family life. Logistics (internal) are another consideration as is storage. I don’t know……. Maybe just suck up the hard work …… Gears are turning……..
 
They've, and most all used equipment, has gone so high up in price, it has about gotten down right ridiculous. But the really high prices of new and availability of parts and units new, and inflation, has made used prices go up quite a bit.
 
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  • #18
CurSedVoyce said:
This one is not terrible. But you used to be able to pick up a 525 diesel for around 10k or less with a trailer.
www.ebay.com

2017 Toro Dingo TX427 25HP Mini Loader Skid Steer Gasoline Tracks- 931 Hours | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2017 Toro Dingo TX427 25HP Mini Loader Skid Steer Gasoline Tracks- 931 Hours at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
That’s a nice unit. I’d have to budget for the trailer as well. A lot to think about.

I was looking at equipment trader type sales. Maybe eBay is a little better. Marketplace or Craigslist may not suck too bad either. It’s definitely a “in the future” item but good to learn about now.
 
I used a similar machine for trail work...we called it a Toter, but I'm not sure if that was a brand name or not. It did a great job, but it was slow. But since you walked behind it to operate, that wasn't much of an issue on trails. Might be frustrating on open ground where the operator might be comfortable with a faster pace.
 
I thought of the tracked carrier since my beginnings. But I didn't got one for mainly one reason : it's awfully slow. Fine to bring first and back all your gear at once for example, but if you have some distance to cover and a good bunch of debris to move, I bet you will steaming all day against this slug. By a slow pace, I mean even for a pedestrian. Though it may appear fast enough (relatively) in very rough /step ground.
 
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