bonner1040
Nick from Ohio
For me it was the Arbor Trolley. We didn't have all the iron so it made a huge difference. Of course I fully endorse the rear mount grapple choice. IF you can dump unprocessed material.
Piece of equipment that changed your game
- Thread starter Tucker943
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lumberjack
Young man on the go
One of my first "big" purchases was a man lift, which was nice, but it wasn't a game changer. It allowed me to do aerial work more easily, could do some light duty craning with it's 500lb capacity, and return to the ground whenever... but it didn't make a huge difference. The chipper was much the same way, it helped, but it wasn't huge.
The first huge thing was the mini. We had the lift, but now we could handle tree debris without sweating! It didn't matter how big the trees were, we could move them much easier, faster, and farther (albeit with some cutting!).
The next big thing was a tandem single axle, tag dump trailer I got from Arborworks... simple thing really. Now we could load with the mini and dump at any site without the mini or sweat. Also we could haul dirt, gravel, logs, chips, brush, concrete etc.
The next big thing was upgrading to a tandem dual gooseneck dump Skwerl turned me on to and clean diesel F550 I found in Ohio. The gooseneck offers far more maneuverability, and the F550 was easily double the truck of the Chevy 1 ton gasser I had been using. Hell the replacement engine and the rebuilt transmission in it cost less than the F550!
Then we had the Gehl AL340 then AL540. They could load over the side of the dump trailer, could dig, handle full size logs, travel ~4x faster than the mini skid all while not damaging turf. Basically a ideal forwarder for doing tree work.
From there I've bought a 100hp track loader, cab/air 13klb excavator... I hope to buy a cab/air AL540 sometime this year. The track loader is a bit much and expensive to run on some jobs. Also the visibility of the AL540 is far above and beyond the track loader. However the track loader can just about out push 2 AL540's, but it burns 3-7x more fuel on tracks that cost over $5k. In fact, list price on replaceable parts of the track loader's undercarriage is ~$24k! But now I can whoop ass at tree work, small scale dirt work, clearing, demolition, etc etc.
The hope is I stay busy enough with my diversticity (new word!) that it's a positive gain by far. 2013 worked out that way, hopefully 2014 will be on par or better! My area is fairly low in population, I don't believe it's practical to stay busy doing tree related work alone.
The first huge thing was the mini. We had the lift, but now we could handle tree debris without sweating! It didn't matter how big the trees were, we could move them much easier, faster, and farther (albeit with some cutting!).
The next big thing was a tandem single axle, tag dump trailer I got from Arborworks... simple thing really. Now we could load with the mini and dump at any site without the mini or sweat. Also we could haul dirt, gravel, logs, chips, brush, concrete etc.
The next big thing was upgrading to a tandem dual gooseneck dump Skwerl turned me on to and clean diesel F550 I found in Ohio. The gooseneck offers far more maneuverability, and the F550 was easily double the truck of the Chevy 1 ton gasser I had been using. Hell the replacement engine and the rebuilt transmission in it cost less than the F550!
Then we had the Gehl AL340 then AL540. They could load over the side of the dump trailer, could dig, handle full size logs, travel ~4x faster than the mini skid all while not damaging turf. Basically a ideal forwarder for doing tree work.
From there I've bought a 100hp track loader, cab/air 13klb excavator... I hope to buy a cab/air AL540 sometime this year. The track loader is a bit much and expensive to run on some jobs. Also the visibility of the AL540 is far above and beyond the track loader. However the track loader can just about out push 2 AL540's, but it burns 3-7x more fuel on tracks that cost over $5k. In fact, list price on replaceable parts of the track loader's undercarriage is ~$24k! But now I can whoop ass at tree work, small scale dirt work, clearing, demolition, etc etc.
The hope is I stay busy enough with my diversticity (new word!) that it's a positive gain by far. 2013 worked out that way, hopefully 2014 will be on par or better! My area is fairly low in population, I don't believe it's practical to stay busy doing tree related work alone.
bonner1040
Nick from Ohio
A bucket and big chipper is good iron, no??
I meant forwarders. I definitely took having a 18" chipper for granted. Processing capacity is just as important. If you can't get it off the driveway, whether you are chipping it or loading it...getting it there doesn't do you much good. We chipped all but the largest wood and used lift gates for everything else, unless we had the crane then we just rolled mad trucks and smashed.
If you aren't going to to go the grapple truck way then I think a huge chipper is key, you can always rent a truck or even a mini but a big, well running chipper doesn't come as easily. Working with an 18" chipper w/ winch vs a 12" is chipper, or smaller, is night and day.
I would take a grapple truck over anything though.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Our plan has to evolve as well. Mini really speeds up the volume. Now since we still burn, for the most part, the mini is a serious labour saver. Pick up hundreds of pounds and move to burn pile. No matter the drag... it does not matter. Never breaks a sweat.
Our little chipper used to run mostly during late spring and into early fall. Hard to justify anything larger for our small jobs. So the jobs are getting bigger now. The chipper is damn near running all year. Time for a chipper that is a tad larger and with feed wheel.
Burning regulation is whittling our burning down to minimal and nada is on the horizon... So now we will probably work on getting a bigger truck after the chipper that will handle even more weight. I see a tracked chipper being more necessary in the not so far future.
I market the jobs on how I want to expand. I wanted the mini... I marketed the work and stopped working the large amount of jobs we could not run one on. Market the chipping and the chipper works more.
A dumping situation would only go so far here. I have a lot of land I can burn on... But not enough for the amount of material we handle in a year. I am not going to start paying 55 per ton to dump organics.. I won't support that kind of stupidity in government. So more chipping.
Minimise hauling and burning...
Always staying with lower maintenance, low overhead, lean and mean approach has worked for us while the other guys struggle.
Our little chipper used to run mostly during late spring and into early fall. Hard to justify anything larger for our small jobs. So the jobs are getting bigger now. The chipper is damn near running all year. Time for a chipper that is a tad larger and with feed wheel.
Burning regulation is whittling our burning down to minimal and nada is on the horizon... So now we will probably work on getting a bigger truck after the chipper that will handle even more weight. I see a tracked chipper being more necessary in the not so far future.
I market the jobs on how I want to expand. I wanted the mini... I marketed the work and stopped working the large amount of jobs we could not run one on. Market the chipping and the chipper works more.
A dumping situation would only go so far here. I have a lot of land I can burn on... But not enough for the amount of material we handle in a year. I am not going to start paying 55 per ton to dump organics.. I won't support that kind of stupidity in government. So more chipping.
Minimise hauling and burning...
Always staying with lower maintenance, low overhead, lean and mean approach has worked for us while the other guys struggle.
lumberjack
Young man on the go
My theory is use the mini ex to load out dump trailer(s) with the long term goal being a hook lift with nesting 40 yard boxes. If it's a small job the forwarder can load directly.
For handling tree debris, the ex is tough to beat until you're doing enough work to keep a monster grab busy.
For handling tree debris, the ex is tough to beat until you're doing enough work to keep a monster grab busy.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
I see a mini ex in our future........ Just not quite yet.
lumberjack
Young man on the go
Remember me telling you there was no way you couldn't afford a mini skid? 
That first step is a huge one. From there, everything seems to just line up. I'm a bit apprehensive as 2013 was so good largely due to a single customer, but thus far, since I bought my mini on Feb 14, 2007, I've never had trouble making payments. Since then, my credit score has gone up dramatically, financing isn't such a mysterious thing now that I've learned some ins and outs of it (showing verifiable income).
That first step is a huge one. From there, everything seems to just line up. I'm a bit apprehensive as 2013 was so good largely due to a single customer, but thus far, since I bought my mini on Feb 14, 2007, I've never had trouble making payments. Since then, my credit score has gone up dramatically, financing isn't such a mysterious thing now that I've learned some ins and outs of it (showing verifiable income).
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Remember me telling you there was no way you couldn't afford a mini skid?
I remember as well. It took some careful steps and planning to put us into the right jobs to work it. Once you can work it, you can afford it
I do learn from you Carl... I just need to take careful steps in the right direction to create the advantage of implementation... If that makes sense.
lumberjack
Young man on the go
Oh yeah, taking the step can be nerve wrecking. I am hopeful that I've taken the right steps thus far!
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
I have confidence in your decisions Carl. You think things through well with that noggin of yours.
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