whadja do today?

[dbl612]

more examples for others to emulate

But most of you don't get it and that's just your loss. I've found that when needing to get major wood out without any turf damage the eight wheel Steiner can't be beat. Here is a video of my wife driving the tractor and cart across a quarter mile of backyards to a loading point for the dump truck. You guys going to lay down that much plywood for your skid steers?

[video=youtube;gkdze25oxU8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkdze25oxU8[/video]

My customers love it and it sells jobs.

aa doesn't care about his wife getting hurt, his hitch consists of a chain wrapped around the ball. excellant!

 

[mattfr12]

That trailer is a bit more than a garden trailer it has a one ton capacity. But yes I have looked at the grapple trailers at Baileys and one of those would be great because I could also unload it right into my dump truck with the grapple. At about $12k they are pretty pricey but one sure would make a lot of sense for my operation. One with road wheels would be even better, but they are almost twice as much.

look at how much they want to put a grapple on a truck it would be hard to get one for 12k installed and you get a trailer.

a one ton grapple new without instalation meaning will pick up one 2000# at around 24 feet is over 20g's for just the loader.

that setup you had thier did work out tho.

what alot of guys arnt getting is hes working within his budget hes doing the best he can with what he has. i started out throwing branches on a trailer taking a week to take down one tree and haul it out.

so for his operation a stiener probably is the cats ass at the moment and as he grows it will be something better.

are thier other options yes but it is his money? and no AA dont get the ditch witch go to the ritchey bothers auction thier having one less than 20 min from your house here in the next month i think thier will be 10+ mini skids steers thier some of them go for around 5'gs

i personally dont see much use for a grapple trailer because you cant chip into it and your gonna only gonna be able to haul logs on it. get a mini skid and a dump trailer now your on the road with it and can probably get both in decent condition for 10-15g's

ill catch up with you as soon as i get some free time we are just super busy and my boy is only 10 days old so its kida hectic at the moment.

 

[tree MDS]

Working within his budget?? Didn't he pay well over 20k for that piece (not to mention the ramps, etc.)? Working within the confines of his hard headed ignorance, might be more a more realistic description! could have bought a sweet track machine (or tractor) for that kind of dough.. granted they might be used, but so what. Whatever though..

 

[lxt]

Yeah, working a lawn mower into a tree service is fine if you`re switching over to lawn care.......AA, Ill try to get some pic`s up of my mini crawler.............the non-marking shoes work pretty well, did a job the other day along black top drive, not a mark!!!

dont get me wrong.....I put the grouser shoes on & yes it will damage a lawn, But..... when you are hauling out 600lb rounds & then are asked to put in the brick paver patio after you grind the stumps........Ill take my crawler!!!!! Not to mention, I can get into some really tight areas & this time of year................its wet out, tracks make the difference.

Ive used, mini skids, bobcats, new hollands, gehl`s & machines with rubber tracks, etc... they all have their place............but a lawn mower with a slip scoop just makes no sense!!! its not just about saving a lawn its about saving your back too, I just dont see how it pays for itself...........hell two guys coulda dragged out that brush your wife drove out & wheel barrowed the wood.......the lawn was level & even had a down hill slope to where she was going!!! for what you paid & what Ive seen it just makes no business sense.............hell this is the machine I watched you drag a stump through a lawn with, where is the bragging about saving the lawn there? I think there are many much better choices....you just didnt know!



LXT.............

 

[Blakesmaster]

Gecko's are boxed and ready to be shipped back. Sherrill was very good about the return. They will match these up against some other pairs in stock and see if mine is just a singular goof. Either case, my money's still mine and I'll either get a correct pair of Gecko's or I'll upgrade to the carbon fiber ones.

 

[teamtree]

talked to my morons this morning, the guy that cut the maple didnt like the fact he was getting a week off and paying for the damages and tried to ague with me about it that was the iceing on the cake, i grabbed him up by the collar and showed him the door to the shop for the last time. Kinda ashame that a guy with six years of experiance would be such a fool. As for my other guy that was there he i dont believe was to blame, he is primarily one of my truck drivers with minimal cutting experiance and was at the truck unchaining the loader when sam dropped the tree. Decided not to fire him but had a long talk about teamwork and although he is a drive there is no reason why he cant be out spotting a cutter in those situations.

Got my insurance guys quote this morning too, no structural damage on barn or boat, only cosmetic, total cost: 2159 bucks, not as bad as i thought but if anything like this happens again i'll prob go postal. Not only did it take off my bottom line for the quarter it put a blemish on my flawless reccord and i cant fix that

If you mentioned teamwork, then I don't see why you would not have the cutter's back. If you are in business and one of your employees makes a mistake it ultimately comes back on you. I have struggled with this myself but I just don't see how I can ask an employee to pay for his mistakes. I would never have any decent employees. I am the owner because I want the risk and reward. My employees are not owners because they do not want to take on the risk. In my opinion I would have to ask what did you fail to do to allow your employee to make this mistake? Did you train him properly? What is his history? Have you ever made a mistake? I have and I learn from all most all of them and when i make a mistake and I analyze the situation, it is usually human error that is the problem. On the other hand....if you touched the employee you are asking for a boat load of problems for yourself and company.....not to mention the possibility of getting laid out....at least I know if someone grabs me....they are going to have problems...lol

 

[teamtree]

pics of the boys screw up on the maple last week.....

look at the stumpage pic, its pathetic

If I were you, I would have a training sessions on how to fell a tree. It is a common mistake and I constantly tell my guys to make sure they leave some holding wood...once you cut through it you are at the mercy of the tree.

 

[lxt]

I gotta agree about the employee paying for it..........! first off you should have a written training & safety program, if you are a legit operation then you know what you are wanting cant be had "legally" a few years back one of my guys kept breaking rake handles, couldnt figure it out? well I happen to stumble upon him using the rake as a shovel for wood........so I dock his pay for stupidity.......beings he cost me over $100 in handles, I dock him for 1 handle @ $15 bucks, he no like this & turns me in, well lets just say I ended up paying more than $15

you can fire, give time off, demote them & write warnings...........but you cant dock em (at least in Pa) & to touch him is a big no no! I can only wonder if you are an above board biz? provide training, drug test, cpr & First aid, provid PPE, etc...? sure didnt look like it & sure doesnt sound like it????



LXT..............

 

[the Aerialist]

How observant Magoo...

aa doesn't care about his wife getting hurt, his hitch consists of a chain wrapped around the ball. excellant!

It's backed up by a 30Kn steel locking carabiner linked through a steel plate under the ball.

 

[treemandan]

I gotta agree about the employee paying for it..........! first off you should have a written training & safety program, if you are a legit operation then you know what you are wanting cant be had "legally" a few years back one of my guys kept breaking rake handles, couldnt figure it out? well I happen to stumble upon him using the rake as a shovel for wood........so I dock his pay for stupidity.......beings he cost me over $100 in handles, I dock him for 1 handle @ $15 bucks, he no like this & turns me in, well lets just say I ended up paying more than $15

you can fire, give time off, demote them & write warnings...........but you cant dock em (at least in Pa) & to touch him is a big no no! I can only wonder if you are an above board biz? provide training, drug test, cpr & First aid, provid PPE, etc...? sure didnt look like it & sure doesnt sound like it????



LXT..............

Oh but don't that make you wanna go Capin Bligh on a guy. Shame there ain't no place to carry a mast so you could tie him to it a beat him good... right in front of everybody else.... even the HO... it don't matter now, its on, a tree guy likes his rakes, better than that, he knows how to use it. I tell ya, you all know, this whole rake thing gonna be the death of us all. I know how I get when I see one of my rakes in the wrong hands. If there was a rake thread I'd be all over it.



I started this season dropping a small tree on a cheap fence. It was completely my fault; What happened was I thought to put a second side line on a thing to keep the hinge on this little vined up sumac from cracked out towards its lean. I knew I should have, I was thinking " little tree, big man" and didn't feel like breaking out another line and tromping through brambles to set it. If I did it in front of you guys I'd be up all night pulling boots outta my butt.

I don't know who sent who to do what with that maple but I have many ideas about who was doing what when what was getting done was done.

 

[lxt]

How about some photos of that? I have my doubts about a tracked vehicle of any kind not doing any damage to manicured lawns, especially when loaded to capacity, but you can prove me wrong with some actual photos or videos.

The Steiner has worked out very well for my small residential tree services and the videos prove it. In the one I just posted you can see that even after multiple trips, the grass is not even bent.

I think Flushcut answered your question about track vehicles, Lawns & damage! Yes that is how I handled the Golf Course job.....worked wonderfully!


LXT............

 

[the Aerialist]

How about a dump trailer w/grapple?

look at how much they want to put a grapple on a truck it would be hard to get one for 12k installed and you get a trailer... i personally dont see much use for a grapple trailer because you cant chip into it and your gonna only gonna be able to haul logs on it. get a mini skid and a dump trailer now your on the road with it and can probably get both in decent condition for 10-15g's...

I think a dump trailer with a grapple would be great, I could haul the tractor out to the job in it.

 

[ducaticorse]

I think a dump trailer with a grapple would be great, I could haul the tractor out to the job in it.

Did you get the link I sent you regarding the Zahn for sale?

I have been wanting a log grapple trailer for a while. There is a PIMP one for sale in NH, but it's WAY too much money. Log ox for 35K

 

[lxt]

I think a dump trailer with a grapple would be great, I could haul the tractor out to the job in it.

Other than when you fill up the trailer.........where do you put your tractor? Ah.. hell just throw some neon green on the wife & send er down the expressway driving the lawn mower!!!



LXT............

 

[ducaticorse]

Got bill for chip truck repairs today, immediately decided to take that bobcat demo and hauling job this weekend as a result. :censored:

 

[treevet]

Other than when you fill up the trailer.........where do you put your tractor? Ah.. hell just throw some neon green on the wife & send er down the expressway driving the lawn mower!!!
LXT............

I have been picturing Steiner making a dump attachment for the back of the POS that you can attach a cardboard box to, say an old box you bought a microwave or something in, and that'd be Aenalist's chip box towing the 5 hp chipper/ leaf vac.

Could run 2 crews then with Johnboy as foreman of that one.

That'd be the "lawn friendly" crew.

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

Gecko's are boxed and ready to be shipped back. Sherrill was very good about the return. They will match these up against some other pairs in stock and see if mine is just a singular goof. Either case, my money's still mine and I'll either get a correct pair of Gecko's or I'll upgrade to the carbon fiber ones.

Good, sounds like sherrill is pulling through.
If you do get the carbon fiber one's, let me know how you like em, heck, I bought the spider jack 2, why should I not go all out with the cabon fibers...lol

Sherrill had the carbon fibers on sale for $490.45, but ended in Aug, 15th...I should have pulled the trigger then..:msp_sad:

 

[treevet]

Dear Diary......Just finished 2 solid weeks of studying the ISA Cert Hazard Risk Tree Assessor study material every night for couple three hours after work (got the material later than anyone else), then yesterday and today full day seminar followed by 2 1/2 hour test. Pretty confident I passed but guy I finished at same time with said in the hall, no way he passed and this was the hardest test he'd ever taken. Really good learning experience and great group of professional guys (20) and great personable instructor. Few hours out in Ky. cemetary rating risk on some of the gnarly trees they had there in pouring rain, heavy winds and general uncomfortable conditions. Cemetaries never have any bucks for tree care. All in all great experience, little costly but worth it and didn't really miss any work as it rained like hell both days. Big td lined up for tomorrow up rooted and stuck in another tree, completely encased in PI but leaves fell off last week and it cold enough to cover up real good. Prob get a little on face is all I hope.

 

[BlackOakTreeServ]

I have been picturing Steiner making a dump attachment for the back of the POS that you can attach a cardboard box to, say an old box you bought a microwave or something in, and that'd be Aenalist's chip box towing the 5 hp chipper/ leaf vac.

Could run 2 crews then with Johnboy as foreman of that one.

That'd be the "lawn friendly" crew.

Vet, did you mean to say "Lawn Fairy" crew...lol

 

[stihl.logger]

I can only wonder if you are an above board biz? provide training, drug test, cpr & First aid, provid PPE, etc...? sure didnt look like it & sure doesnt sound like it????



LXT..............

gee ya caught me there.... i only have an LLC, carry insurance, hold an account with the occupational health clinic down the road, train my employee's and pay for them to have qualified and certified training and have two first responders on the payroll for my own amusement....

furthermore, if you were to have been standing there when i talked to him, i doubt you would have handled it any different.

lastly i have fired a few people that costantly screw stuff up and they turn around and poin the finger at me....... are you sure you havent worked for me be for?