Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
We waited for the end of the year for the sales like my truck was 53k book is 65k, a WT 1 ton crew cab long box singles were down in the high 30's with a diesel.
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You might be a logger if...
- Thread starter northmanlogging
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Investment tax credits, writing off operating expenses, and the write-off from setting up a depreciation schedule will go a long way toward making that new pickup easier to afford.
Plus, once you start off with a new rig your trade-in value will be higher when you get it's replacement. Once you get that ball rolling it's easy to get and keep a new rig.
I didn't discover any of that on my own. I have a guy that's been doing my taxes and investments for years. He does financial counciling for my family and several logging outfits and ranches. The only thing I ever did was listen to what he told me and follow his advice. Worked for me.
depreciation here adds up to 50%, over 3 yr. then ya gotta watch what ya sell it for. I f'd up, got nailed for a gain, which I was taxed on.
lease is 100% write off here.
ymmv in us, tho.
lease is 100% write off here.
ymmv in us, tho.
30k fer a new rig isn't horrible... but 4500 for an extended cab with lowish miles sounds better.
To get back on track...
Dropped the Essavator off at a little dirt project today, only to realize that A: the truck would not be able to turn around anywhere near the site. and B: I was still wearing calks from falling this morning...
Ya ever walk a mile or so on gravel and pavement in calked boots? With what appears to either be the Flu, a horrid cold or the Plague?
To get back on track...
Dropped the Essavator off at a little dirt project today, only to realize that A: the truck would not be able to turn around anywhere near the site. and B: I was still wearing calks from falling this morning...
Ya ever walk a mile or so on gravel and pavement in calked boots? With what appears to either be the Flu, a horrid cold or the Plague?
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
What we are saying you're not getting we either spend the money on something for the company in my case with three different businesses the one couldn't buy equipment, but a pickup is possible. To your other part no the first time anyone wears caulks in our rigs they're instantly canned same with a tape left on it'll tear up a seat quick .
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You'd really fire a guy for that? Good help must be easier to find up there.
We used to throw old mudflaps on the pickup or crummy floor. If the rig had to be moved the floor was protected and it was quicker than a guy having to take off his boots, move the rig, and put his boots back on. Too much wasted time.
To and from the job? No calks.
But sometimes on the job you gotta make allowances.
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeah we've got rid of guys before for it, not many fallers are working left up here. Most of the time one of the guys is running shovel or cat so they can move a rig if it's just me I'll walk out a good distance if we're on a private job and block the road with the pickup as well as have the cutting sign on the rig.
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To put the calks and driving thing in perspective.
I got the call that the truck was on its way while standing on a log I hadn't bucked yet.
Dropped said saw, ran to check the gate was open, fired up the essavator, grabbed muh grading beam, and the truck pulled up ready to load.
Ran back into the woods grabbed saw, loaded up crummy with about a minute left to tell the driver where we're going.
I don't mind driving with calks on, my truck my rules, I doubt it will ever have any sort of trade in value, so resale isn't an issue. Too many miles, many of them off the beaten path.
Hel even if i did buy an new truck I'd probably drive it home with calks on just to get that out of the way.
Every thing I own gets used like it should be, I maintain as well as can be, but dent's dings and scratches are going to happen. Spend so much time worrying about how things look and folks forget what is important.
If ya think the truck is a horrible example... I have a handful of Gibson guitars from my time as a wanna be rock star... IF I hadn't played them the way I did they would be worth several thousand a piece... But IF I hadn't played them the way I did, we would have been forgotten like all the other bands with the shiny shiny guitars and amps...(a 12" is in the works...) In other words, my truck is dirty because I rarely have time to clean it, my equipment is dirty because I rarely have time to clean em. But they all work and they all get the job done... Though that Hitachi orange really shows the dirt... (also I was plucking away at one of my guitars, and realized that A: the neck had all its paint when I bought it, and B: there was still blood on it from the last show I played like 10 years ago...)
I got the call that the truck was on its way while standing on a log I hadn't bucked yet.
Dropped said saw, ran to check the gate was open, fired up the essavator, grabbed muh grading beam, and the truck pulled up ready to load.
Ran back into the woods grabbed saw, loaded up crummy with about a minute left to tell the driver where we're going.
I don't mind driving with calks on, my truck my rules, I doubt it will ever have any sort of trade in value, so resale isn't an issue. Too many miles, many of them off the beaten path.
Hel even if i did buy an new truck I'd probably drive it home with calks on just to get that out of the way.
Every thing I own gets used like it should be, I maintain as well as can be, but dent's dings and scratches are going to happen. Spend so much time worrying about how things look and folks forget what is important.
If ya think the truck is a horrible example... I have a handful of Gibson guitars from my time as a wanna be rock star... IF I hadn't played them the way I did they would be worth several thousand a piece... But IF I hadn't played them the way I did, we would have been forgotten like all the other bands with the shiny shiny guitars and amps...(a 12" is in the works...) In other words, my truck is dirty because I rarely have time to clean it, my equipment is dirty because I rarely have time to clean em. But they all work and they all get the job done... Though that Hitachi orange really shows the dirt... (also I was plucking away at one of my guitars, and realized that A: the neck had all its paint when I bought it, and B: there was still blood on it from the last show I played like 10 years ago...)
I like this mud flap idear... but why are mud flaps so hard to come by?
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
One other thing is if they aren't willing to treat a pickup decent what are they going to do to my equipment that's 10x the price or more then that pickup.
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to be fair, logging equipment is generally guarded and prepared for logging, and logging is tough on anything.
Pick up trucks, at least modern versions are mostly used for commuting, so it makes sense that they won't be up to the rigors of logging, and trying to protect them from it is probably wise and stuff.
But **** happens, loading a skidder tire in a pickup truck will likely bend ****, driving around with the tail gate down in the woods will probable get it bent or tore off, chucking a 42" bar and 066 saw in the back will likely scratch something, tossing same saw and 2 others in the front seat cause yer worried about em getting stolen, is probably not real good on the luxury pleather seats.
there's mud, rocks, saw dust, large sharp bits of steel, loose cable, falling branches, swinging logs, unseen holes in the road, no road, new holes in a road, many an obstacle for a pick up truck to avoid... worrying about the floor mats seems arbitrary.
Pick up trucks, at least modern versions are mostly used for commuting, so it makes sense that they won't be up to the rigors of logging, and trying to protect them from it is probably wise and stuff.
But **** happens, loading a skidder tire in a pickup truck will likely bend ****, driving around with the tail gate down in the woods will probable get it bent or tore off, chucking a 42" bar and 066 saw in the back will likely scratch something, tossing same saw and 2 others in the front seat cause yer worried about em getting stolen, is probably not real good on the luxury pleather seats.
there's mud, rocks, saw dust, large sharp bits of steel, loose cable, falling branches, swinging logs, unseen holes in the road, no road, new holes in a road, many an obstacle for a pick up truck to avoid... worrying about the floor mats seems arbitrary.
!! WELL DONE !! lol
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've got equipment that has hours on it almost 20k on a harvester if we had thrown just any jockey on it, it'd be tore all to hell I know guys that do that a harvester last them 10k if they're lucky.
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SliverPicker
ArboristSite Guru
I have a friend with a JD640 with over 36k hours on it. The transmission has never been apart except to replace seals.
His brother has a loader that he bought new in 1978. It's only on its second engine. The machine has exactly one dent in the body.
Both of these machines have worked full seasons every year since they were new.
His brother has a loader that he bought new in 1978. It's only on its second engine. The machine has exactly one dent in the body.
Both of these machines have worked full seasons every year since they were new.
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
Truck or track mount loader that makes a big difference a shovel logger is hard on a machine.
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As usual I am trespassing.
Discounting non-operator accidents and lack of maintenance, the operator plays a great role in machine longevity. From how long your brakes last to major components. A little over ten years ago I was on an environmental remediation site. An old fellow was running a backhoe. The engineer looks at me and asks, "Hear that?" Me: "No, I don't hear anything" The engineer: "That's my point. I been doing this job for 25 years and that old man has to be the smoothest operator I have ever seen." I started paying attention - engine running at a reasonable steady rpm and none of the typical clanging and banging - none. I was later to learn that the operator also had a reputation of moving more dirt in a day than many on much larger machines.
Ron
Discounting non-operator accidents and lack of maintenance, the operator plays a great role in machine longevity. From how long your brakes last to major components. A little over ten years ago I was on an environmental remediation site. An old fellow was running a backhoe. The engineer looks at me and asks, "Hear that?" Me: "No, I don't hear anything" The engineer: "That's my point. I been doing this job for 25 years and that old man has to be the smoothest operator I have ever seen." I started paying attention - engine running at a reasonable steady rpm and none of the typical clanging and banging - none. I was later to learn that the operator also had a reputation of moving more dirt in a day than many on much larger machines.
Ron
Exactly right. The best log loader I ever saw was a guy who started in the old steam days. He was in his sixties when I came to the woods.
Watching him you'd think first that a guy who didn't move any faster than he did wouldn't get much done. But if you watched him long enough you'd see that he was getting more loads out than anyone. He moved at the same speed all day long.
He was easy on his chaser and I never heard the truck drivers say a bad word about him.
If he moved out of a deck to a new landing and there were still loads where he'd been his sort was always easy for a new guy to figure out.
No wasted motion, no abuse to the machine, no busted scale pads or bent stakes on the trucks, everything smooth and easy.
He always got the newest shovel and when he passed it on down it was still like new.
Watching him was like going to school.
Edit...I can't speak for everyone but as far as I'm concerned you're not "trespassing".
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
These are the type of operators we'd all love to have on our crews that's for sure it's hard to find a guy like that too.
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ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Ran out of 3/8" chain the other day. The supplier we use is went out of stock a few weeks ago when I went to order (hurricane people bought it all).
I dug around a box of short pieces. I patched together a 24" loop with a piece of semi skip round chisel, full comp square ground and a short piece of rusty half siezed up "safety" chain.
Somehow cuts just fine.
As far as hours, the 648 G3 has over 20k hrs on the engine. Runs fine, though it can be a pain to start in the cold (like -20 or colder). Usually takes heaters and ether.
I dug around a box of short pieces. I patched together a 24" loop with a piece of semi skip round chisel, full comp square ground and a short piece of rusty half siezed up "safety" chain.
Somehow cuts just fine.
As far as hours, the 648 G3 has over 20k hrs on the engine. Runs fine, though it can be a pain to start in the cold (like -20 or colder). Usually takes heaters and ether.
SliverPicker
ArboristSite Guru
It's a truck mount.
