Acquiring equipment.

Nland

Treehouser
Joined
Jan 10, 2021
Messages
28
Location
Western NC
Hello all,
I am trying to acquire some iron this year. Im hung up on the order of things. I feel that for my area and seeing whats working for other crews that a truck and chipper and a dump trailer with a mini skid will get it done. The part I'm overthinking is whether to roll with a mini and dump trailer first and save for a chip truck and chipper or take the overhead and get the truck and chipper first. Is there any consensus amongst the forums on whats worked and whats not worth doing.
best,
Noah
 
Personally if material is fairly easy to get rid of I would go: truck, dump trailer, and mini first. A chipper is just that a chipper. A mini will feed a chipper, move wood, dig driveways, dig patios, dig sidewalks, load logs, lift heavy things that you can't, plow snow, plant trees, and clear lots. All of these things will help generate money while a chipper sits idle. Don't get me wrong a chipper will make you money but not as fast or easily as a mini can make money.
You can chip into a dump trailer, you can haul brush/logs, haul equipment, move your brother in law, haul dirt/rock/gravel, haul stump grindings, and a chipper just makes chips.
See what I'm talking about. Plus I see more and more large tree companies not running a chipper all together. They just stuff a large debris body grapple trucks and take that to a tub grinder for processing.
 
One thing I can speak to about saving up for the chipper is, that that seems like the way to go. I'm just wrapping up a 7 year-run building a tree company, and our first "upgrade" from a second-hand 12" to a new 15" felt like a misstep. It was when we got an AX-19 that we were truly processing material.

And definitely don't be afraid of loans - it might not all happen in one month, but it doesn't have be a clear cut either/or between chiptruck setup/mini & trailer setup - shop around and you could possibly make both work.

IDK about jamming a bunch of material in a trailer then chipping it elsewhere, it kind of breaks my "don't double handle stuff" rule. But we had a plethora of dumping opportunities even before Chipdrop made that easier, so chipping was the easiest route for us.

don't be afraid to ask to demo some equipment!
 
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Super helpful thanks. any one have an owners perspective on gas vs diesel for both trucks and chippers. I have run a few gas chippers but I never saw the numbers or did repairs besides general maintenance
 
Diesel engines last longer and use less fuel to do the same work. They usually cost more to work on, and they require learning about them so you can work on them. They also tolerate being not run better than gas engines, you can fire up a diesel engine that's been parked for a year and it will run like you parked it yesterday, so that's good for some stuff that might not be used all the time (say you upgraded your equipment but held onto it for a backup). I'm slowly wanting diesel more and more as i get older, to the point where I have actually looked into swapping engines for certain stuff.
 
I started w/a chip truck and chipper first (IH 4700 chip truck and Morbark 1621 chipper; both diesel), as disposing of chips is easier/cheaper around me. Plus, that chipper eats ~80% of most trees I do (I demo'd both gas and diesel, and all the diesels outperformed their corresponding gas models, both in capacity and fuel economy). I got the dump trailer next for hauling away wood chunks too big for the chipper. The mini came last once I had the income stream to finance it. YMMV.

Good luck on your end.
 
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I've always had diesel trucks and chipper. Keep the oil clean and they run forever.
 
A friend of mine fired up a Cat D7, after being parked for 17 years. First, though, it took a couple of hours work on the pony so it would run. But after that, and checking all the fluids, the diesel fired right up. They are amazing engines.
 
gas is easier to work on, easier to start when cold, cheaper more plentiful fuel, not restricted by expensive pollution devices. I have both and i think i would lean towards gas now.
 
Arguably as efficient, just not as much raw power. My new truck only gets 12 mpg, but it does it with 440 hp and close to 1k torque. An old school idi would likely get better mileage but wouldn't have the balls
 
I bought my f250 with the gas engine at I am not that familiar with diesel, but after a wild of hauling my chipper around, I want diesel. Our chipper is diesel, and I'm looking for a diesel mini skid. My chip truck is an 89 Ford f450 with the 461 gas engine, it's a beast, and a thirsty beast. It works, but I think my trucks will migrate toward diesel as I update them.
BTW, as for the original purpose of this thread - I started out hauling brush (it sucked) , then chipping into a box I build in my pickup bed (my dad invested in my company by buying a used brush bandit 200 xp), then added the f450 stake body dump (put panels on the stake sides to hold chips and a mesh tarp on top) . Last year I bought a dump trailer, now looking for a mini skid. After using one for the last week (somehow I didn't see the need to rent one in the past 6 years that I've been doing this part time) I can't believe I've waited this long and I'm looking for one and I'm willing to finance it. My wife and are all about buying with cash and not accumulating debt, I but 'm now willing to deal with some debt to have a mini skid on hand. My compact 25hp diesel tractor has been to its share of jobsites, but the quick attach grapple attachment and small footprint vs lifting ability makes a world of difference.
To sum that up, I recommend chipper & truck first, and a plywood chip box in a pickup truck counts, than get some sort of machinery to help move heavy crap. Just my opinion
 
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