HELP! Now what?!?!

[lone wolf]

Howdy Everyone,

I'll try to make this short, however, I want you to understand where I'm coming from. I am currently a high school biology teacher. I can't stand it. My passion for teaching and coaching has been decreasing for the last few years. There are many reasons why, I don't want to bore you with that. I've been running saws and splitting, stacking, and burning firewood my whole life. My passion has always been felling trees, the firewood process, and I've recently done some milling with my saws. I've worked some days in the summer with a tree service guy to learn and see the overall operation.

I purchased climbing equipment and have done a bunch of solo work. I have 2 rear handle saws (032 & 291) and a climbing saw (201t). I sold my car and did some tree work for pickup truck. The truck is getting tuned up now. My plan is to start my own tree service business soon! And when it's time, I'll leave education. So, my current equipment is: A pickup truck, climbing equipment, 3 saws, a pole saw, rakes, blower, and hand trucks.

What should be my next purchase? Thank you!

Dump truck and chipper no doubt!

 

[jefflovstrom]

What Mark said,,,
Jeff

 

[kcurbanloggers]

Chippers are huge labor savers. I waited a long time before I bought one though. We started out with a pick up, large dump trailer, and eventually a mini skid. There were very few trees we ran into that required more than 1-2 loads to the dump of brush. Buying a skid instead of the chipper made loading logs and brush a breeze. Since you've already bought the pickup, maybe adding a trailer and skid is more worthwhile than another truck and a chipper.
As others have said, don't try to grow too fast. Adding one piece of equipment every year and seeing how things go will keep you from getting in over your head.
Stay safe and good luck!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[JeffTheTreeGuy]

Thank you everyone for contributing your value. As much as this has helped me, I hope this thread gives others value as well. Let's stay positive and keep this thing going!!!

Stay safe.

 

[joshi123]

I can value the craving to strike out all alone and go into business, yet since your genuine encounter is restricted, and since your funds appear to be restricted (instructors don't rake in tons of cash and you notice selling your vehicle and exchanging tree work for a pickup truck) consider going to work for the best tree administration you can discover. As an educator, you without a doubt value the estimation of instruction, and working for a decent manager on an expert team could give extraordinary training. Prior to spreading out the dollars, or taking out huge credits, to get the gear to run an effective activity, be certain this is something you truly need to do on a full time, all year premise. Doing "a lot of solo work" is path unique in relation to what you would get yourself into. You would prefer not to discover in a couple of years that you are taking care of costly gear yet your enthusiasm for tree work blurs similarly as your "energy for educating and instructing" has.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

It has been said that trees are best viewed as Bio-Mechanical Devices, i think that is most true.
>>Really, ALL life is biological, and also as physical items subject to mechanical rules as well.
But trees larger than other life, just presents biologies and mechanix in larger, more magnified proportions!
>>so, the 'Bio-Mechanical Devices' is most true, as most magnified.
>>and allowed longest life , as most in tune to Natural clock and flow of all else!
.
Leveraging from the educator side of what can present, would read up on Doc Shigo adventures, CODIT, target pruning etc.
Staying to educated base, would also become friends with sine/cosine, leverage and friction.
Would get experience under someone else's wing, more than internet, to develop 'feel' for the mechanix.
.
Give polished look to tree service, showing faults of misInformation right from tree planting(don't bury the king's crown etc.) and on to include mychorhizae in the sea of soil as base.
>>Absorbing/soft roots about match leaf proportion, woody roots and stems portions about match, remaining 60% is more trunk/branch hardwood i think.
Still have to pay the price of gruntwork, to 'Touch Trees' in this way too, and this can position to where can offer/exercise own biological background at some points, biology and mechanical enlightenment.
>>good truck, willing to work, sober etc. could make it easier to find work; might even lead to some sales at some point with background.
.
treedictionary.com
isatexas.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-Appel-OWQ-CODIT.pdf
fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/jrnl/1985/ne_1985_shigo_001.pdf
dnr.wa.gov/publications/rp_urban_wksp_biologypruning.pdf
cityofvancouver.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/public_works/page/1438/tree_biology_and_pruning.pdf
.
s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2061/2018/02/2018-Planting-PruningMG.pdf
arborsculpture.blogspot.com/2009/11/modern-tree-planting-by-dr-alex-shigo.html
livingnatureweb.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/modern-arboriculture-according-to-alex-i-shigo/
.
historictreecare.com/author/guymeilleur/
.
What would this planet be like w/o trees?
w/o their using some of and shading from some of the ultraviolent radiation that batters the planet, or the amount of carbon conversion to usable for all known life as also gives oxygen, from CO2 byproduct!

 

[MacAttack]

My neighbor actually has a bucket truck with a enclosed dump bed and tows a slow-feed chipper. If you could find one, maybe a used unit from Asplundh? Then you could also do bucket work.

After years working at a tree service... I think you need to get your head checked.

 

[JeffTheTreeGuy]

My neighbor actually has a bucket truck with a enclosed dump bed and tows a slow-feed chipper. If you could find one, maybe a used unit from Asplundh? Then you could also do bucket work.

After years working at a tree service... I think you need to get your head checked.

Haha. Well said.

 

[hiran123]

A lot of new costly hardware directly off will require you working constantly, ie a decent client base, employing help and so on. In the event that you don't have the stir arranged you won't have the option to pay for the gear. Difficult tasks need large hardware, and huge gear has huge sticker prices. Like most different organizations its presumably great to begin little and perceive how it goes. You will require some hardware at any rate regardless however. Possibly a little shredder truck like the service organizations use, under 26k GVW so no CDL required, or something like a bricklayer dump with a crate on it. In the event that its fair you and an assistant, no compelling reason to get stuck between a rock and a hard place with work. When you get built up you can begin developing.

 

[JeffTheTreeGuy]

A lot of new costly hardware directly off will require you working constantly, ie a decent client base, employing help and so on. In the event that you don't have the stir arranged you won't have the option to pay for the gear. Difficult tasks need large hardware, and huge gear has huge sticker prices. Like most different organizations its presumably great to begin little and perceive how it goes. You will require some hardware at any rate regardless however. Possibly a little shredder truck like the service organizations use, under 26k GVW so no CDL required, or something like a bricklayer dump with a crate on it. In the event that its fair you and an assistant, no compelling reason to get stuck between a rock and a hard place with work. When you get built up you can begin developing.

Thank you for sharing! I appreciate it. It will definately be a tough road ahead. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I love the process or in other words, "the thrill of the chase".

 

[arathol]

A lot of new costly hardware directly off will require you working constantly, ie a decent client base, employing help and so on. In the event that you don't have the stir arranged you won't have the option to pay for the gear. Difficult tasks need large hardware, and huge gear has huge sticker prices. Like most different organizations its presumably great to begin little and perceive how it goes. You will require some hardware at any rate regardless however. Possibly a little shredder truck like the service organizations use, under 26k GVW so no CDL required, or something like a bricklayer dump with a crate on it. In the event that its fair you and an assistant, no compelling reason to get stuck between a rock and a hard place with work. When you get built up you can begin developing.

Is there an echo in here?
Nice rewrite of my posts above.....almost line for line in fact.....

 

[benjo75]

Once you do a few jobs you'll know what you need next in your list of essentials. Your area will dictate your equipment. Lots of people use chippers. There's not many in my area. Everyone around here uses tractors with brush grappels on the front and dump trailers behind one tons. So much faster than a chipper and way less work but you have to be able to dispose of the wood.