whadja do today?

[sgreanbeans]

Curious as to what you guy's opinions are on using a car to do estimates... I did one in my Cadillac this week but it was for a previous client that I know and lives in my area... When I dedicate a full day to just doing estimates I usually put on a nice shirt and Khakis when I go... I'd like to use my Cadillac but I wonder if it would be a little much. I tend to do better when I show up in the truck with saw dust coming out of my ears after I have been working all day...

Any of you run estimates in a car?

I have once, and it went bad. Had to take my wife's Lincoln (I can here AJ now,lol) one day, pulled up to a job, dude says right away, "I cant afford you, dont bother" Damn car is a 2002! WTF? Not like I had a brand new one. I have a bid truck 2004 F-150 4X4. It's real sharp and clean. I would rather run in my F-250, but it is usually dirty and has a trailer on the back. I wear Nice Jeans, boots, company shirt and my faithful I.S.A. hat (They always ask what it stands for, gives me the opp to explain what real tree work is supposed to be like and express my nerdiness) All my trucks have company name on them, not big, but classy, IMO anyway. When it is super hot, and I am just doing bids,I will wear khaki shorts and green hiking shoes. I always wear a belt, shirt tucked in. I do from time to time, go straight from the job to a bid, dirty, I ask them to excuse my appearance as I just left a job, they always seem to be ok with that. We have a guy here that everyone knows and loves,good ol Kevin, he is the ultimate hacker crackhead, used to be the big deal, rolling in the money and then he hit the crack pipe, no kidding here, he is crazy. He has been known to run bids on his Harley with a ol lady on the back, flashing young kids on the way. I have seen her flash, not nice, put those old saggy things away! Crack is whack. Still in biznaass tho?

 

[sgreanbeans]

Yeah, its just like the one in the pics, but i believe it has a winch. It is gonna have to speed up my production alot for it to be worth the price tag. I normally just have another guy and me out doing tree jobs. I have a 85 morkbark mobel 200. It feeds really well ( since i replaced the infeed roller teeth) and it keeps up to two of us feeding it. The only down fall is that it jams up sometimes, and you have to back the piece out and run it in again. Also on Big diameter wood (8"-12"), you have to stop the infeed sometimes to let the disc catch up. The best part is its paid off and i can work on it because its almost all mechanical vs the new everything electronic.

Dude, mine keeps over heating? Not sure what is going on. You ever changed a thermostat in yours, I was looking, looks to be a PITA. Going to power wash the radiator today, think maybe there is a build up of dust stuck to the fins, idunno. Runs fine otherwise.

 

[arborjockey]

That's what sells my bid the year, make, model, of car, and an I.S.A. hat.:hmm3grin2orange:. I drive a truck some lady gave me and Im at about 80% with sales. Show up with the same red flannel I've been wearing for a week, covered in saw dust, and smelling like gas. They said the last nerd had an I.S.A hat on. Of which I reply "much like beta max we trying to phase those guys out" then I explain what REAL arborist are:msp_razz:. Hell I sold a job on my skateboard while going to the beach last week.

Yeah my ears are burnin......1 guys in a caddy the other is in his wifes Lincoln. These aren't the same guys over on the W.C. forum crying about operating cost are they?:msp_ohmy:

You want sales. Show up to give the bid covered in saw dust and sweat. Even if its 7am. Smile your ass off and tell them the truth. " I cant do it for that price but if you find somebody good luck with them." If they under bid me they're cutting a corners and it'll show. $100,000- 500 tree hotel or a $75 crab apple prune you get me with a handshake.

 

[superjunior]

I humbly disagree, why a pickup? You hauling that many business cards and estimate sheets? Estimate vehicles don't sell jobs, salesman do. Coffee is for closers!

Just my opinion I guess.. I estimate in a chevy half ton. its new, clean and has the company logos on the side, also pretty good on gas. love it, like a 4wd corvette.. That truck is my mobile office. Scored a nice job last week just being stopped at a red light

 

[Pelorus]

You want sales. Show up to give the bid covered in saw dust and sweat. Even if its 7am. Smile your ass off and tell them the truth. QUOTE]

A bit of blood from battle wounds also helps. So do scars. Chicks dig scars. I always bring along a small photo album of deadly serious trees I have vanquished. (some from the Paleozoic era). This helps swing the skeptics in my direction. A toothy crocodilian smile is the clincher. You gotta be friendly somehow.

 

[tree md]

Dude, mine keeps over heating? Not sure what is going on. You ever changed a thermostat in yours, I was looking, looks to be a PITA. Going to power wash the radiator today, think maybe there is a build up of dust stuck to the fins, idunno. Runs fine otherwise.

When I bought my Bandit a few years back I was told to clean the grill every week or it would overheat.

 

[tree MDS]

Dude, mine keeps over heating? Not sure what is going on. You ever changed a thermostat in yours, I was looking, looks to be a PITA. Going to power wash the radiator today, think maybe there is a build up of dust stuck to the fins, idunno. Runs fine otherwise.

I take the screen off my radiator and use a blow gun to clean it (water just seems to make the crap stick in there more).

 

[jefflovstrom]

My 2005 Chevy Silverado 4x4, went down last week with a need for a new tranny at 251,000 miles.
The owner of the company came down from LA this morning with my new truck. I was kinda surprised.
2012 Toyota Tundra 4x4 with XM satellite and sync blue-tooth. I really like it.

 

[Grace Tree]

Just my opinion I guess.. I estimate in a chevy half ton. its new, clean and has the company logos on the side, also pretty good on gas. love it, like a 4wd corvette.. That truck is my mobile office. Scored a nice job last week just being stopped at a red light

I got 2 jobs because I had an Impeach Obama sticker in my back window. The only times that people actually used the vehicle phone number to call me. Had (requested) to remove it to do a job for a large business. Old tree guy came up to me once and told me never to go out on bids with my vehicle because it was too new. All depends where your driving and who your talking to. I try to be clean and neat when I go to bid but if I'm working and someone wants me to stop by I tell them I'll be coming scruffy. If I'm going to bid in Chesterland I dribble tobacco juice down the front of my shirt so I look like a native:tongue2:
Phil

 

[superjunior]

I got 2 jobs because I had an Impeach Obama sticker in my back window. The only times that people actually used the vehicle phone number to call me. Had (requested) to remove it to do a job for a large business. Old tree guy came up to me once and told me never to go out on bids with my vehicle because it was too new. All depends where your driving and who your talking to. I try to be clean and neat when I go to bid but if I'm working and someone wants me to stop by I tell them I'll be coming scruffy. If I'm going to bid in Chesterland I dribble tobacco juice down the front of my shirt so I look like a native:tongue2:
Phil

dang Phil not all of us in Chesterland chew, well.. most of the woman do I guess..:msp_ohmy:

 

[jefflovstrom]

I took a couple pic's when I got home.
Jeff
View attachment 240127
View attachment 240128

 

[jefflovstrom]

We changed our logo a little.
No more toll free ##### line!
Jeff

 

[H 2 H]

Moved 4 yards of top soil (with a #8 shade)

Seeded the top soil

Cut down a couple small Cotton Wood trees

Watching a fire proablly all night with those two trees

I'm finished for the night

 

[formationrx]

2day...

cut hedge all day.... easy work but 99 degrees made it hard.... id rather it be freezing then this brutal heat... at least the cold keeps me moving... this heat just zaps the hell out of my strength... i feel like im walking around on fire with a wet diaper... got home and my wife told me i look like a piece of bacon...

 

[tree md]

Got an emergency call this morning on a limb that had come down on a service drop. Went out and took care of that in an hour then went to my scheduled job, more pruning at my condo account. I saw clouds moving in as I got into my first tree to deadwood... As soon as I entered the tree it began to rain... I finished the tree then cleaned up and headed to the dump. Rained the rest of the afternoon.

 

[superjunior]

I took a couple pic's when I got home.
Jeff
View attachment 240127
View attachment 240128

nice. is that 4wd?

 

[superjunior]

Got an emergency call this morning on a limb that had come down on a service drop. Went out and took care of that in an hour then went to my scheduled job, more pruning at my condo account. I saw clouds moving in as I got into my first tree to deadwood... As soon as I entered the tree it began to rain... I finished the tree then cleaned up and headed to the dump. Rained the rest of the afternoon.

that weathers been moving up this way. did a few estimates and ground stumps in the rain all day..

 

[Nailsbeats]

Took the crane to the shop today to have all the maintenance gone through, then we threw down on this Elm over the shed, service and primary power. Got the grinder in on the action too. Otherwise did some estimates and nailed down a few more jobs, seems the list is getting long, but I'm not complaining. I finally got a new camera after my other one breaking quite a while back so now I can post some current pics. Going to buy a hand cart tommorow, have a morning of bull work lined up, can't get through the gate type of deal.

 

[beastmaster]

White Owl

I had a gravy job today, removed 3 easy pines and was suppose to remove a palm. I bidded the job just to get the trees down, no ground work, plus the homeowners pretty girlfriend made us pork sandwiches, and all the Gatorade we could drink. The pine were easy. Free felled one of them, the palm had fronds all the way to the ground. I had to take a top to drop it in the back yard. I made a couple attempts at getting a line up in the top so I could SRT up but couldn't get a good tie in. When I first tried to pull a rope throu I flushed a big ass white owl. It looked like it stood 3 1/2ft tall. I worried it may of had a nest up there. I have heard of people getting large fines for messing with nesting birds of pray. I also worried it might come back and attack me, if there was a nest in the tree. Luckily no nest, but I'm still happy I saw that bird, and in a urban area. I bet there has been cats missing in that neighborhood.
The palm after removing all the dead fronds, I called out the home owner and had him look at it and told him last chance to keep it. He decided to keep it. I didn't lower my price cause trimming all the frond off was the work, after that a top then the stick she'd of been down I explained to him, and he understood. Plus its 80.00 a ton to dump palm and there was maybe 2 tons

 

[sgreanbeans]

Cleaned out the radiator on the chipper, I have a pre-screen infront of the big screen, when I pulled that one off, I noticed a bunch of leaf debris down behind the main screen? About a inch of loose junk, how in the hell did that get in there? Thought I prevented that, used the Lint Lizard for dryers on it, worked pretty good, blew out the radiator real good and then power washed it, can tell a difference just by looking, could tell that there was a build up of small dust particle's on all the fins. Still trying to fig on how that got in there, had to have sucked it up from the bottom. Oh well, we will see. While doing that, I had the boys pull EVERYTHING out of the bucket, holy cow, can u stick alot of crap in one of those. 100lb crap 10lb bag.