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Until recently, I've been using a vermeer 252 exclusively for stump grinding. I would haul the 252 alongside a bobcat mt50 mini skid on a 14' flatbed trailer pulled by an f350 with a 12' dumpbox. I'd grind a stump with the 252 then unloaded the mini skid to clean up the debris (if the stump was big enough to warrant using it) and dump the debris in the truck. I would make a return trip to fill the stump with dirt using the same truck but pulling a 14' dump trailer filled with about 5 tons of topsoil. This has worked pretty efficiently because I would usually grind and cleanup multiple stumps, then return later with dirt to fill all the stumps at once.
My problem is, now that I've acquired a larger pull-behind stumper which grinds the stumps out much faster than my 252, the efficiency of my cleanup and filling of the stumps is getting screwed up. I usually don't pull the large stumper with my f350 anymore because the truck is too long and blocks too much of the street when I grind boulevard stumps. I instead pull it with a SUV which has a very short wheel base and works just fine to pull the big machine.
However, I must now make a seperate trip to clean up the stumps if I want to use my mini skid. I don't like hauling the mini in the bed of my dump trailer along with the dirt so, I've talked to machine shops about building a heavy-duty removable carry rack on the back. We've decided that it's too much weight sticking out the back and have scrapped that idea. It's also too much tongue weight on my F350 to put a carrier for the mini skid across the front of the trailer so, I'm now considering selling the dump trailer and just buying a flatbed that I can load the mini on the front of and carry dirt on the back.
I'm doing this part time and don't have the option of having a second person follow me around and clean up after me. I'm also not getting any younger and the days of shoveling dirt out of trailers to fill stumps is taking its toll on my back. I've thought about a dump trailer with a clam loader but don't know if that's the ticket either. What are you guys doing to be as efficient as you can be when you have to grind, cleanup and fill a lot of stumps that range between 24-60" diameter? Is a larger self-propelled grinder the answer so I can still haul it alongside my mini skid on the same trailer?
My problem is, now that I've acquired a larger pull-behind stumper which grinds the stumps out much faster than my 252, the efficiency of my cleanup and filling of the stumps is getting screwed up. I usually don't pull the large stumper with my f350 anymore because the truck is too long and blocks too much of the street when I grind boulevard stumps. I instead pull it with a SUV which has a very short wheel base and works just fine to pull the big machine.
However, I must now make a seperate trip to clean up the stumps if I want to use my mini skid. I don't like hauling the mini in the bed of my dump trailer along with the dirt so, I've talked to machine shops about building a heavy-duty removable carry rack on the back. We've decided that it's too much weight sticking out the back and have scrapped that idea. It's also too much tongue weight on my F350 to put a carrier for the mini skid across the front of the trailer so, I'm now considering selling the dump trailer and just buying a flatbed that I can load the mini on the front of and carry dirt on the back.
I'm doing this part time and don't have the option of having a second person follow me around and clean up after me. I'm also not getting any younger and the days of shoveling dirt out of trailers to fill stumps is taking its toll on my back. I've thought about a dump trailer with a clam loader but don't know if that's the ticket either. What are you guys doing to be as efficient as you can be when you have to grind, cleanup and fill a lot of stumps that range between 24-60" diameter? Is a larger self-propelled grinder the answer so I can still haul it alongside my mini skid on the same trailer?
