Thread: Roll off chipper box

I am looking at starting a roll off business and I am trying to see if anyone thinks that roll off chipper boxes would be a good idea. How much would you be willing to pay? Any advice is welcomed.

You mean something like a 40 yard dumpster...that you get through the trash company, but made into a chip box???

I dont think it would be a big hit...

Maybe homeowners might like the idea??? Personally I just bid on a job where I am going to need 2 chip trucks. Once one fills up the other takes over... switching out until the tree is down. BIG sucker. Not sure that the 40 yard box would really work for such a situation. Either you'd have overkill on capacity... or you'd be short. Either way, once the box is on the ground it's staying there until the truck comes back to get it.

Ya i agree...to big or to small..

i have used 40 yard dumpsters...in the past for logs and stuff...its too easy to rent them when you need...

not enough of a demand full time to own one....

best of luck though with business.

10 or 20 yd box. I am just thinking about having 1 or 2 bins set up for the tree companies. $160 for a 10 yard box $210 for 20 yd.

Does that include dumping fees? Also, are you limitted to just chips, or can people put wood in there too? At those rates things change a bit. I know that for $210 I'd get a container and load it as much as I could with junk wood.

wow ya...heck ya it...does.

If you can work at those rates i am sure you can get every tree service business in town..

but tree man does make a valid point...what can go in the bin..

and how long can it be at a site???

Delievery?

That would be just for wood chips. That would inculde dump fees. It could sit on site for a couple of days for that price.

One of the problems I see with bins for wood chips is the labor need to drag the brush to the chipper....and the chipper needs to blow directly into the bin. A big advantage of a chipper truck is getting close to the work and cutting down on labor.

Even if you placed a bin and took the chips for free in a lot of cases the extra labor to drag the brush to the bin may cost the tree company more than the bin saves them.

For big lot clearing jobs with heavy equipment on site the bin idea may work out well. You may get a lot of chips and hopefully you have a market for them so you can profit on both ends.

I would be concerned about accepting loads of chips that may include wood debris, trash and other undesireable materials. The comments about "loading it up with junk wood" reflect how many of us think on-site. We tend to do what gets the job done most efficiently on our end.

Maybe a possible variation to the idea of leaving boxes onsite is to invest in a grapple loader truck and a tub grinder. Then your service goes to the site, picks up the piles of brush and hauls them offsite to chip. Yeah... I know it's a bigger investment, but many small operators could get a lot more work done without having to deal with chipping / dumping. Also, you would know what you are hauling away. That way you don't think you're getting clean chips and end up with a load of chip covered dirty stumps. This service is provided in many municipalities to homeowners, but will not pick up commercially cut debris.

All we use is hook lift trucks (dumpster rigs) and we chip into them on the truck or on the ground you do not need to mod them to chip in to them when on the ground . the best part about useing them is you can pile the brush in the drive way and put the wood in with the box on the ground and then pick it up and do your chipping

Nice..i like the two for one type set up...you have going there.

How much weight can you put into a roll off bed in your set up there???

Canyon

A co. in NE.IL has been doing this for years Half the Drivers,trucks ,Dump time,maintenance, Fuel & Insurance. 1 truck and driver can work up to 3 maybe 4 different jobs or crews. Bring out a chip box and chipper come back later and pick up a full box of chips,drop an empty. load it with logs. Pick it up later and go dump. 12 to 17 Yards is the same on the ground or on a truck. Why pay for a truck that sits most. Probably costs more to get started 2 trucks & 4 or 6 Boxs, after that just buy new boxs as needed. open top for logs topped ones for chipes

Originally Posted by Canyonbc

Nice..i like the two for one type set up...you have going there.

How much weight can you put into a roll off bed in your set up there???

Canyon

are small trucks will hall a a 6 ton load and our big truck will do 14 ton

"Job Corps Tree" has it right though it will cost a little more to get set up the first time but from their out all you do is get more boxes. we have boxes from 10yds to 40 yds + flat beds