? for the stumpers

[RayRich]

Background:Thank you to all for your help along the way. You have been very helpful in getting my business going. I run a part-time local business to help people with the outdoor maintenance of their homes. Most of my clients are elderly and need help with things like cleaning gutters, power washing, painting sheds, and all sorts of odd jobs. I do not run this to get rich, but to keep some excess cash coming in. With the help of this site, I also started doing stumps because I realized there was a need for it. I need your guidance on a question now that I get at least one stump job a week.

Question: Should I continue to rent a machine, or should I buy one? I am sure you have all had the same dilemma I had below.

Renting: I currently rent a vermeer stx60. I like that I am not on the hook if anything breaks, the machine has tracks and plenty of power for what I do. What I have not been liking is that I have to wait until I have enough business to profit (after the rental fee) and then I have to run around like a madman to get everything done in the 8 hour time that I have with the machine.

Buying: I can only afford a tow behind like an old carlton 3500 or vermeer 630b. I live in a very rural where access is not really a problem, but it may not be as convenient. What I like about this method is that I can spread out the work, not make my customers wait, and can keep the revenue stream from this service more consistent while not having to pay the rental fee. There are also the concerns of an unexpected expensive repair and the reduction in horsepower since I would be going form 60 to 35 hp.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Renting is for the one shot deal. Get what ever equipment that you can and own it. Many times I would dig around a stump wash it well cut it 6'' below grade and call it a day. Most customers never cared or asked if the stump was chipped or not as long as they could not see it. Thanks

 

[rarefish383]

When I retired I sold all of the big equipment, and bought a 630A. I had a little 98 GMC Sonoma, put my John Deere 265 on the back, took the mower deck off, and pulled the 630. I also put a 3000 LB winch on it that ran off the grinder. I could unload the tractor and pull the grinder all over most yards. When you do it enough you get good at it. If a yard had hills the tractor could not get up, I’d drop the grinder and put the guide wheel I made for it on the tongue, and winch it almost anywhere. I would not rent.

 

[RayRich]

Thank you guys. I am currently looking at a 96 630B with 440 hours on it. The price seems good and it was well cared for, but I need to accept that you never know when a major repair will come in this business. It's just hard when your stretching yourself on the initial capital investment before you even made a dollar lol.

I looked at a carlton 3500 with the same wisconsin motor and 600 hours. I like the setup and the corded remote, but they did not make this model long and carlton themselves told me they cannot help with much with it. It was also much heavier.