Good miniskid for $5-7k?

Ha no doubt. I taught her to drive the tractor this year now she uses that for just about everything. My girl is pretty sweet we joke with each other but she lives with a treeman, she knows where the score is at.

Treemen kick ass.
 
This popped up at TB. It might be worth the money, $3500?



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protreecare
Dabbler in the Buzz


Reged: 07/27/03
Posts: 20
Loc: Edmond, OK
Jonsered Ironhorse
#303641 - 12/15/11 07:12 PM
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Bought it with big intentions but have not used much. It's in pretty good shape with the dump box and manuals. Honda 5.5 horse, runs good, biggest issue is steering needs to be adjusted and have not got around to it. Call me at
405-204-2258

--------------------
ISA Certified Arborist
OSU Graduate Forester

Post Extras:
 
Skip the Iron Horse, get a mini, and join the side of the crowd that knows.

Look at Adrian, the mini was a relatively painless intro to the equipment world, and now he has a Gehl and gooseneck dump.

Look at Treesmith, minis, Gehl, gooseneck dump (tandem singles), F250, etc.
 
What Carl said, once you make the leap, it's really not that bad. Using the mini two times a month will be enough to pay for itself in a short time. The amount of time and labor it saves is amazing. Once you get it you'll be asking yourself how you lived so long without it.

Dad would never take the plunge on one, he was afraid of the debt. So I worked a deal with Carl, took a weekend road trip, and surprised Dad with a mini. He was shocked to say the least, and excited to fix it up. Once we got it ship shape and working, he loved it. After that, I haven't had a problem getting him to invest in other pieces of iron. Hell, he hates any job we can't get my loader too now haha.
 
What do you think your hourly production rate is compared to without a mini on prunes and on removals? 50% more, 25% more...

How much more energy do you think you have at the end of the day?

I hate doing bids when dog tired, like the end of a big day, but that is when the neighbors most often have had time to see you work, start to finish especially.


I can't give the bid my proper attention at a time when I'm tired. Not as accurate on predicting the future.
 
What do you think your hourly production rate is compared to without a mini on prunes and on removals? 50% more, 25% more...

How much more energy do you think you have at the end of the day?

I hate doing bids when dog tired, like the end of a big day, but that is when the neighbors most often have had time to see you work, start to finish especially.




I've gotten by 6 years starting with nothing on a CC advance to buy my truck and first $300 folding fred meyer/ harbor freight trailer (which I still use). More debt has been a hard thing to taking on, but with the idea of financing a new machine that should't break down, and paying it off over time with reasonable interest, I'm considering going with a new Vermeer and grapple and dump trailer.

I didn't want to get too much debt without the customer base initially, and didn't have the business records for financing, I didn't think at least. I realize that one extra insurance work storm job would knock the price tag down in a hurry, and if it gets paid off $400 at a time otherwise, it seems reasonable.

Its hard to have to upsize many things at once though. A dump trailer and mini and larger tow vehicle adds up a lot fast, but they are all sell-able if I choose.


Erik, does your partner read here, generally, or this thread?
I can't give the bid my proper attention at a time when I'm tired. Not as accurate on predicting the future.
 
I figure a mini saves me two employees worth of time each job we can work it ....... Let alone my back and Rob's which ups our personal production. Then I come home and be a dad for 3 kids in a much better mood with less pain making me grumpy. Fix them dinner, clean house, do dishes, get them bathed and in bed.. Then do paper work and catch up the books.
Priceless.
 
I've been back to working solo the last few days, since my son-in-law was "hi-jacked" by a certain someone for a certain dirt job :/:....I climbed, rigged, and folded a ~60' sweet gum yesterday, trimmed and stacked the brush in grab piles, and had it all loaded in under 45 minutes by myself, thanks to the Gehl. It definitely makes one-man work a lot simpler!
 
Listen to the guys who own one! Before you have it, the mini appears to be a "luxury" something you can have as a toy for fun. When you own one, it seems more necessary than any other piece of equipment. I honestly can't think of a machine that has made me more money, faster and with less heart and back ache than the mini skid.

I got an older kanga diesel mini with 550lb rated capacity (will lift close to 750), for $4500. There are deals out there; that being said if I was to buy another one after realizing how much of a game changer they are, I would fork over a lot more and get one with a lot more capacity. If I was to buy another machine today in the mini class (not including the AL's) I would look for a slightly new to brand new ditch witch sk650 with tracks, a diesel engine, and low hours and just figure out how to come up with the dough. And then of course the BMG + the rake + the ramps + the scoops. Sounds like a lot but you'll laugh how fast you'll be making $!

jp:D
 
For what it's worth, I got my first one for $6100...Ramrod 900T. Then a certain Rutherford called me one day to tell me of one he saw for sale at a small motor shop, so I went and bought it as a spare ($2350, another Ramrod 900T). Two weeks later, the hydraulic pump on my first one went out, so it came in handy. I've had several jobs where I used them both...grapple on one for brush/small wood, and the forks on the other for the bigger trunk wood. Handy not to have to swap out several times a day.

I was actually having Carl look into a new Boxer 532 (I think it was) when I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Gehl. I have not regretted it one bit. It weighs 3 times what a mini weighs (roughly), will lift at least twice as much, quite a bit higher, and carry it much faster, and over much rougher terrain.
 
The iron horse was great in the last century.
It is TOTALLY outdated today, slow, cumbersome and can't do anything that an ATV can't except if you do low impact work on very soggy ground.
 
I'm the one that brought back the Ironhorse thread. I was looking at it for logging this winter. I work with a big forwarder but we wanted to get something smaller to just skid logs back to the main trail or work in denser areas and not have to open a huge road. Also we wanted something quicker that I could have access to if I need to winch a hung up tree and not have to wait for the big machine.

At first we were thinking about a small tractor but then the Ironhorse came up. Would an ATV be better?
 
http://equipment.vermeerused.com/eDetails.aspx?eqID=1032327&close=Y&lang=na-en

6 hours drive, 600 km (I'm in Canada at the moment, eh).


Print Close
Vermeer Sales & Service, Inc. (Iowa)

Don Slycord
Contact
PO Box 168
661 Hwy T14
Pella, Iowa, 50219
USA
OFFICE +1 641 628-2000 FAX +1 641-628-4283
TOLL FREE 866-483-7633
LANGUAGES SPOKEN English

Compact Loader-Stand On
VERMEER S600
Contact Dealer Send to a Friend Show All Pics (11)
AVAILABILITY AND PRICE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND/OR PRIOR SALE. SPECIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE CONSULT A SALES PROFESSIONAL TO ENSURE THAT WEBSITE INFORMATION IS CORRECT AND UP-TO-DATE.
EQUIP. LOCATION
Pella, Iowa, USA
STOCK # S600/0105 SERIAL# 105 AVAILABLE Immediately
MAKE Vermeer CATEGORY For Sale EST HOURS 444
MODEL S600 STATUS On Yard OVERALL CONDITION Good
YEAR 2003 CLASS Used PRICE
8000 USD
8000

NOTES
RUBBER TIRE UNIT NO ATTACHMENTS
 
http://equipment.vermeerused.com/eDetails.aspx?eqID=1032327&close=Y&lang=na-en

6 hours drive, 600 km (I'm in Canada at the moment, eh).


Print Close
Vermeer Sales & Service, Inc. (Iowa)

Don Slycord
Contact
PO Box 168
661 Hwy T14
Pella, Iowa, 50219
USA
OFFICE +1 641 628-2000 FAX +1 641-628-4283
TOLL FREE 866-483-7633
LANGUAGES SPOKEN English

Compact Loader-Stand On
VERMEER S600
Contact Dealer Send to a Friend Show All Pics (11)
AVAILABILITY AND PRICE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND/OR PRIOR SALE. SPECIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE CONSULT A SALES PROFESSIONAL TO ENSURE THAT WEBSITE INFORMATION IS CORRECT AND UP-TO-DATE.
EQUIP. LOCATION
Pella, Iowa, USA
STOCK # S600/0105 SERIAL# 105 AVAILABLE Immediately
MAKE Vermeer CATEGORY For Sale EST HOURS 444
MODEL S600 STATUS On Yard OVERALL CONDITION Good
YEAR 2003 CLASS Used PRICE
8000 USD
8000

NOTES
RUBBER TIRE UNIT NO ATTACHMENTS

Those pics were taken in Marcus Ia thats the dealer by me. I know the manager pretty good, if your really interested PM me and I can check it out for ya and can probably get you a better deal on it. They move stuff to different dealers around here and if its not here I can have it brought over. If anyone is interested there are a couple things to look at on those older models that I can let you know about. Pm me and I can give my contact info.
 
I would pass on a 2003 vermeer. After we had some electrical issues and the $6000 hydraulic pump go out on ours, the dealer flat out said the early machines were guinea pigs. They were learning on the go and we consumers get to pay for their mistakes. Mine is an 06, so I would hate to see what kind of problems an 03 has.
 
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