Downsizing equipement?

[canadianclimber]

Hey,

Not sure if this is a biz or equipment type post.

Any of you ever downsized from a chip truck and chipper to just a truck and dump trailer? If so, why did you? Any regrets.

Basically my chip truck is aging and requires lots of maintenance. I don't want to replace it. I've thought about ditching it for awhile.

Another option was to try and run a dump trailer then bring the chipper with another truck but that just seems like a pain.

I'm slowly taking on less work. Still enjoy climbing and a solid work session but the biz side is starting to run me down(this could be a whole other topic).

 

[SeanKroll]

If your market is open to chip mulch, look into

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott.

I rarely haul chips in my close- to- home market.

I've considered getting a dump trailer instead of keeping/ upgrading my chip truck. Better for logs, no insurance, no engine/ tranny. Less depreciation.

 

[Patrick A]

@SeanKroll Thanks a lot for the link.

 

[flushcut]

Personally there is no way I am going back to the dark ages of brush hauling. A small chipper filling the back of a pickup with a Load Handler is about as small as I would go. Brush will fill a dump site quickly then you either burn or call in a tub grinder.

I hear ya about the business end killing the joy in tree work.

 

[canadianclimber]

Unfortunately there aren't many opportunities to chip on site. But something I will start exploring more.

I have a local dump that never fills up and dump fees are relatively cheap whether its chipped or not.

@SeanKroll "I've considered getting a dump trailer instead of keeping/ upgrading my chip truck. Better for logs, no insurance, no engine/ tranny. Less depreciation."

I totally agree.

 

[SeanKroll]

I will haul brush on some specific jobs, like small, annual pruning jobs, but will always have a chipper and some sort of dump truck or dump trailer.

Sometimes, chipping into a trailer allows me to get the chipper and trailer into places I can't get a dump truck. I can get chip-receipients to offload their chips. Also, I can move the chip trailer to places I want chips on my property that I can't drive a truck.

I can load with the mini/ my neighbor can dump my chip/ debris trailer with a chain on the frame, and a pull of some levers...

This is my "mama bear" trailer. 5 yard capacity. His log loader doesn't even notice.
This is stump grinding debris/ dirty rakings. I never would have gotten this trailer up or down the steep hill without Alturnamats, and definitely couldn't have gotten a dump trailer or truck in or out. He pushed it all into his burn pile.

 

[lumberjack]

Going backwards on productivity, assuming it affects profitability, is a tough sale.

I downsized out of my Treemek in 2017 for a profit. I don’t regret that.

I went from a chip truck/chipper to hauling debris and eventually a grapple truck… I don’t regret that. If anything that increased production and profitability.