Started a New Stump Grinding Business.... Sheeeesh!

[tree MDS]

How much for the 352 Kahn? I dont have a grinder yet and I pay a friend to do mine with his 352, then I cleanup with the tractor and topsoil and seed. I just did one of my full service jobs, complete with replacement planting (18' Sugar Maple) a few weeks back - I like playing in the dirt from time to time. Its been my expierience that the actual tree service that takes down the tree can charge a little more for the stumps - and then double that for cleanup+ topsoil and seed, wich aint so bad if I already have the tractor there to load wood etc. Sure makes a nice job I gotta say. I can see where I could pay for a good used 352 in a few years possibly. Stump grinding is like firewood, ya aint gonna get rich off it for sure. And if yer offering stump grinding as your only service there are probably alot of morons that do it at night after thier day job. Another thought: my friend takes his grinder with him to the estimate alot of times and does the stump right then if the people agree to it, wich they usually do sinse they get all worked up seeing the machine right there. They might be less inclined to keep looking for quotes and just have it done that way too.

 

[Treemann]

Your are right

Yes, that's the way it works. Do a good job, don't complain, keep your equipment up, and don't haggle with the clients. I used to haggle and I found myself being angry with my customers. I have a really good machine and sometimes I'll give them a free stump if there are a lot of them. It make them feel better and it only takes a min. to do. I think if you have a low powered machine is when you get frustrated. I used to have a 24 horse machine and had to do big maple stumps. It would take forever and I felt like crying at the end of the day!! I had a friend work for me awhile and he actually broke down and cryed when he came in!! I re-tip my own teeth and that saves so much money and keeps me sharp all the time. If you know anybody that needs their teeth re-tipped let me know. This business requires patience too. If you are in a hurry to make that buck, you can make yourself unhappy. I like it because "it's almost like stealing" The overhead is really low compared to doing trees. I can keep about 75% of the money compared to trees, which is only around 25%. I have a small radio in my head phones and I relax and do my job. Speaking of that I gotta go to work. Keep the Faith!!

You mainly need only 1 thing to make good money from stump grinding (or treework or anything for that matter)

The right quality and quantity of clients


You can have a super slick set up with all the gear and do a wonderful job but if the clients arent wanting to pay for it, your toast.

I think some guys on this site dont relise how good they have it where they are, and some are struggling to make it worth while, and some are just struggling to make it at all.

Im fortunate where I am, but I need to get a high % of quotes to keep busy, and dispite this I manage to do quite well........so far.

 

[treemandan]

Man does not live on stump grinding alone.

 

[echoman8]

Shangrila or something like it

Man does not live on stump grinding alone.

Hi,

I picked up on this thread and saw that it came from many parts of the world.

I know that when I finish a stump with my little grinder, I feel accomplishment.

Thanks for your posts and hope every highway has a stump in it (ha!)

echoman

 

[a_lopa]

Sometimes there too big to grind!!!

 

[Jlarnard]

(screech........)
I believe a stump grinding business can work. But selling a stump grinding machine with a man running it, is not going to make much money.
You need at least 2 stumpers, one for easy to get to work, and a backyard type. Backyard stump jobs pay higher than something you can just back up to. You'll learn how to bid jobs better with time.
One thing I noticed is a lack of communication between the company to customer. What I always used was grid paper, now the grid is built right into my contract. I would take the time to draw a rough diagram of the work to be performed, and unless you are an artist the grid helps a lot.

If a customer tells me "a guy said he'd grind it for $xx.) I look them in the eye and say, "why is it still there then?" As I point in the direction of job.
Best wishes for your new business,

 

[arhillbilly]

neighbor has tree service/ stump grinding bussiness advertises 1.00 a inch i can't see much money in that he has a large veemer grinder

 

[Treemann]

Dollar an Inch?

Wow, I wish he were here in Denver. I would let him do all my stumps and collect the profit!!! I can't for the life of me understand a "per inch" price. I tried that a long time ago and could never figure out where you start the measure. It caused a lot of misunderstanding between my clients and me. If the inch thing worked then I would be charging eight to fifteen dollars per inch. My rate system is based on value. My stump grinder is too fast to base it on time. I have a trip rate of 85 then it goes up depending on the quanity of stumps and size. How long would it take a guy to dig it out? A weekend? Then it's worth 250 to 300. People are glad to pay

 

[arhillbilly]

i know how much it cost to run my ford 1 ton diesil, so i haven't figured out how he makes any money at it oh well, not my problem, but it's like the firewood bus. theres always someone waaay cheaper than me

 

[jg55056]

Stump grinding is great........ if you have a big grinder. I started with a super jr (25hp) and sold it with-in a month of purchasing it. The time it takes to grind a stump just wasn't worth it. I then purchased an RG50 which was able to make relatively good money; I still wasn't satisfied with the productivity though. I kept that machine for 2 years and this spring I traded it off and bought an new RG90 and yes I love it. It has cut my labor down tremendously. Stumps are all about efficiency and quite frankly you'll never be able to grind big stumps and process big jobs efficiently with a grinder of that size. I ground a cottonwood the other day; roots measuring 10ft x 10ft, the wood measured 72". I was in and out in 1.5 hrs. I charged $300.00 (cheap). That same stump would have took over twice as long probably 4 hrs with the RG50 and probably a day, at least, with a little grinder.
With a large grinder, 70hp and up, dull teeth don't devastate you as they do on a smaller machine. I grind in rocky soil quite a bit and prefer slightly dull teeth because they don't shatter as easy when you hit something. Having said all this; it is going to take time and patience to build a reputation for your grinding business. The 352 isn't a bad grinder but I don't think I would rely on it as your sole source of income. Small grinders just aren't very productive. They'll do the job but that's about it. Also have your clients sign a contract with a damage clause in it. I have a clause that states an additional $20-$150 may be charged if hidden hazards; rocks, concrete, etc. are encountered. Put that in small print of course

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Stump grinding is great........ if you have a big grinder. I started with a super jr (25hp) and sold it with-in a month of purchasing it. The time it takes to grind a stump just wasn't worth it. I then purchased an RG50 which was able to make relatively good money; I still wasn't satisfied with the productivity though. I kept that machine for 2 years and this spring I traded it off and bought an new RG90 and yes I love it. It has cut my labor down tremendously. Stumps are all about efficiency and quite frankly you'll never be able to grind big stumps and process big jobs efficiently with a grinder of that size. I ground a cottonwood the other day; roots measuring 10ft x 10ft, the wood measured 72". I was in and out in 1.5 hrs. I charged $300.00 (cheap). That same stump would have took over twice as long probably 4 hrs with the RG50 and probably a day, at least, with a little grinder.
With a large grinder, 70hp and up, dull teeth don't devastate you as they do on a smaller machine. I grind in rocky soil quite a bit and prefer slightly dull teeth because they don't shatter as easy when you hit something. Having said all this; it is going to take time and patience to build a reputation for your grinding business. The 352 isn't a bad grinder but I don't think I would rely on it as your sole source of income. Small grinders just aren't very productive. They'll do the job but that's about it. Also have your clients sign a contract with a damage clause in it. I have a clause that states an additional $20-$150 may be charged if hidden hazards; rocks, concrete, etc. are encountered. Put that in small print of course

Its all contextual, where you are a big grinder works, for some others it would be a noose.
The last stump job I did on monday involved over 50 stairs and about 30 yards of narrow garden path and the stumps were on steep ground. Client was happy to pay by the hour (which is how I do 95% of my stumps) and I still have the mark from carrying it on my shoulder.
Youd just laugh at the fact my stumpmaster only has a chainsaw engine is carried on the drawbar of my 6 inch chipper. But I can think of only a few stumps in the last 3 years that would have been reachable by your awesome machine. It took me 40 stumps to pay off my little toy. But in the context of my work set up and working environment, its an ideal toy.

Horses for courses.

 

[Treemann]

dull teeth

Its all contextual, where you are a big grinder works, for some others it would be a noose.
The last stump job I did on monday involved over 50 stairs and about 30 yards of narrow garden path and the stumps were on steep ground. Client was happy to pay by the hour (which is how I do 95% of my stumps) and I still have the mark from carrying it on my shoulder.
Youd just laugh at the fact my stumpmaster only has a chainsaw engine is carried on the drawbar of my 6 inch chipper. But I can think of only a few stumps in the last 3 years that would have been reachable by your awesome machine. It took me 40 stumps to pay off my little toy. But in the context of my work set up and working environment, its an ideal toy.

Horses for courses.

Yes, all machine sizes have their place. I used to have an original Kan-Du machine that was 24 hp and I could adjust it to go through your front door. Dull teeth on any machine put a lot of side stress on the bearings and they cost 250 to 300 each on good big machines. That's for the parts. I've see those chain saw grinders pretty cool in the right situation.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Stump grinding is great........ if you have a big grinder. I started with a super jr (25hp) and sold it with-in a month of purchasing it. The time it takes to grind a stump just wasn't worth it. I then purchased an RG50 which was able to make relatively good money; I still wasn't satisfied with the productivity though. I kept that machine for 2 years and this spring I traded it off and bought an new RG90 and yes I love it. It has cut my labor down tremendously. Stumps are all about efficiency and quite frankly you'll never be able to grind big stumps and process big jobs efficiently with a grinder of that size. I ground a cottonwood the other day; roots measuring 10ft x 10ft, the wood measured 72". I was in and out in 1.5 hrs. I charged $300.00 (cheap). That same stump would have took over twice as long probably 4 hrs with the RG50 and probably a day, at least, with a little grinder.
With a large grinder, 70hp and up, dull teeth don't devastate you as they do on a smaller machine. I grind in rocky soil quite a bit and prefer slightly dull teeth because they don't shatter as easy when you hit something. Having said all this; it is going to take time and patience to build a reputation for your grinding business. The 352 isn't a bad grinder but I don't think I would rely on it as your sole source of income. Small grinders just aren't very productive. They'll do the job but that's about it. Also have your clients sign a contract with a damage clause in it. I have a clause that states an additional $20-$150 may be charged if hidden hazards; rocks, concrete, etc. are encountered. Put that in small print of course

I'm glad it works for you, however in my situation I would go broke. I have to be able to go through a 36" gate and maneuver around tight spots. The number of very large stumps I get like that are small, maybe 10% and jobs are only one or two stumps in a yard. So more time is spent driving and cleaning up than actually grinding. Judging by the time you spent on the cottonwood, you don't do cleanup.

Like any business you need to do some market research to see what size machine will optimize your earning potential. I only know my market, but except in hurricane areas, I haven't read on this site about areas where grinders are fully booked weeks at a time. So if your machine plows through a stump in half the time, it just means you will be sitting waiting for the next job sooner (not that that's a bad thing). Just a question on whether you need that size and productivity in the long run.

 

[jg55056]

I'm glad it works for you, however in my situation I would go broke. I have to be able to go through a 36" gate and maneuver around tight spots.

You do realize that an RG 90 fits through a 36" gate, and that the overall size is only a bit larger than that of a 352. Saving time=making more money. Grinding all your stumps in one day leaves you more time to process other jobs. Think about it, with a large grinder you can take 3 days of stumps (with a small machine) and have them done in 1/3 of the time......I do admit that the push-around type and others are very handy for certain sites. (correct, no clean up on the cottonwood)

 

[ropensaddle]

You do realize that an RG 90 fits through a 36" gate, and that the overall size is only a bit larger than that of a 352. Saving time=making more money. Grinding all your stumps in one day leaves you more time to process other jobs. Think about it, with a large grinder you can take 3 days of stumps (with a small machine) and have them done in 1/3 of the time......I do admit that the push-around type and others are very handy for certain sites. (correct, no clean up on the cottonwood)

+1 I can't stand wimpy machines I got a tow behind and it is much better than the 252 I had before. It is only 60 turbo horse power but it gets it done fast. I do a lot of golf courses and the tow behind smokes a walk behind in multi stump spread out my best day was 128 stumps 10"to 45"diameter, of coarse that was fourteen hours of skit it

 

[juststumps]

You do realize that an RG 90 fits through a 36" gate, and that the overall size is only a bit larger than that of a 352. Saving time=making more money. Grinding all your stumps in one day leaves you more time to process other jobs. Think about it, with a large grinder you can take 3 days of stumps (with a small machine) and have them done in 1/3 of the time......I do admit that the push-around type and others are very handy for certain sites. (correct, no clean up on the cottonwood)

i was wondering , for the extra 20K dollars, how did RAYCO get the RG90 thru a gate in 1/3 of the time ???

 

[ropensaddle]

i was wondering , for the extra 20K dollars, how did RAYCO get the RG90 thru a gate in 1/3 of the time ???

He means done with the stumps in one third the time a small unit will.
It all boils down to time and if you have plenty of it go small if your
finding two to three hours on a big stump is costing you tree work
then you will get a bigger unit.

 

[Treemann]

Nothing beats horsepower

Horsepower, size and weight yep, that's the answer. I hate grinding itself so I spend very little time acually grinding. Get it over with and go to the next job. What kind of diesel does the 90 have? I have a 50 and it is a beautifiul machine. How did they upgrade the engine?

 

[jg55056]

Check it out. http://www.raycomfg.com/rg90solo.htm

The outside wheels come off and go back on it under 10min. You simply lift the machine up with the cutter wheel to take them off.

 

[ropensaddle]

Check it out. http://www.raycomfg.com/rg90solo.htm

The outside wheels come off and go back on it under 10min. You simply lift the machine up with the cutter wheel to take them off.

I will be on the tenth stump by the time you take them off!