Angry

[TreeAce]

Tree Ace. Thats cool. ! Did you spur+flipline your way up it or climb your rope.
I did not know maples got that tall. Are those power lines in the bottom of the pics. ?

Thank you. I did spur up. Setting a line and going up srt could be quicker for some but for me its just faster to spur up. A wraptor woulda been nice. There were some wires to work around.

I posted the pictures yesterday morning from my phone,signed in this morning and saw 9 likes (thank you!) but the pictures seem to be gone? Just wondering why?

 

[tramp bushler]

No, their still there.

 

[limbwalker71]

I still climb everything , unless its falling down dead !

 

[arborealbuffoon]

I have really changed my perspective about the whole equipment issue as I've gotten older. I will never forget the first time I realized what an awesome tool a good crane and operator can be.

Given unlimited economic resources, I would certainly own all the great toys. People are way too expensive to fix once they get destroyed by too much manual labor, and hydraulics are a wonderful thing!

In this market, there are far too many low-ballers and hacks. I am 100 percent certain that I couldn't even pay for the insurance and operating costs for a crane, bucket, and loader. It would be tough to do here even if one did every single tree job in the area. Far too often I see tree guys driving around on bald tires leaving giant oil slicks. If the bottom line won't allow for good well maintained equipment then I honestly see no reason to be in the industry.

We have a young guy here who has acquired a ton of equipment over the last several years. He does a fine job IMO, although he does spend a fair amount of time telling everyone what a super stud he is cuz he is a "professional climber". I would love to hear what he has to say 20 years from now after his body is completely shot from being Mr. SuperStud Climber......

The same guy ends up dealing with giant turds for low dollars on city contracts. There is a reason why our municipality won't even ask their own fully equipped crews to mess with those. And, when you are struggling to keep up with the overhead of your 3 ring circus, you end up with much of the work that no one else wants.

I definitely agree that having the right tools for the job is peachy. However, I sure don't need the financial pressure that comes with it all. I am more than happy to pass on nasty jobs. I have nothing to prove, and am only willing to do a limited amount of suffering when it comes to tree work. If the job requires machinery, I simply let the customer pay for the rental. Works out pretty well for me, and there are no pesky payments and upkeep.

 

[tree MDS]

Good post AB!!

It sounds like your market is similar to mine. I have managed to aquire a decent amount of equipment (could use a crane and stumper, but I'm not suffering too bad) that represents itself well. Everything always needs something, but that's just the nature of the animal. It wasn't easy to get it, but I couldn't (or wouldn't want to) do this without it at this point (and thankfully it's mostly payed off). I realized a long time ago that I didn't wanna become that guy, you know, the old climber, with no equipment, who's all worn out now, that used to be "the man" back in the day. Just my 2 cents.

 

[bomar]

i was always taught to work smarter not harder and hell if you have the funds to get a better tool for the job you would be dumb not to utilize a bucket,crane,skid steer,etc. Sometimes you got to put pride aside and look at the big picture to make work safer and easier just my 2 cents.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I guess 2 cents is more than 1 cent.
Jeff

 

[sgreanbeans]

I love the toys, but I always use the "old school" ways. I have all the gadgets for climbing, but I still hip thrust. Sometimes I could use my bucket, but the tree is easy so I just climb it and keep the thing there as a chip truck. BUT! If I can use my skid loader.........for anything. I WILL! Cause, any way u cut it, humping material sucks! Did back then, does now! I will occasionally, not take my chipper, if its a real small job, that I can toss in a trailer and bring it home to chip, avoiding driving the BT across town, saves gas and time, can buzz around town a lot easier with my 250 and dump trailer. We have Crane Co's here, but most of them suck. They have horrible reps for jackin **** up, so I won't use them. I rig everything. 3 times now in my whole career, have I used a crane, on a job. Have taken many a tree that others said could not be done without one, they just don't have the skill or knowledge on how to do it. I would have loved to get one, I was close to getting one as they are a awesome tool, little late for that now!

 

[treemandan]

we do sometimes, when we do land clearing the cheapest option is for us to burn the stumps. man do like 400 stumps make one hell of a bon fire. and i mean like 400 20+inch stumps with all the root balls still attached. we usually put a few hundred gallons of diesel on it and let it burn for about a month. usually does the trick. 60 truck loads down to 1 of ashes.

I am calling the EPA right now!

 

[treeclimber101]

I am calling the EPA right now!

It just sounds like a lot of diesel being burned

 

[treemandan]

I hear ya Old Dude. In my twenty years I have been in a bucket maybe 6 times and half of them was to top hedges. You have a Sidekick? yer an elitist then huh?

 

[mattfr12]

I am calling the EPA right now!

Thats who you get a permit from so i guess they can just verify it for you? around here its the DEP. we follow rules and regulations for it so have at it.

 

[bomar]

Did this maple yesterday. No practical way to get a hook or a bucket on it. It was a nice climb. I double crotched my 200 foot line n there wasn't much rope on the ground. Had some neighbors on lawn chairs for this one.

looks pretty close to the powerlines or is it a optical illusion i kno the rule here is you cant go within 10 feet which is the minimum approach distance for anyone thats not line clearance certified i was just wonderin if that law is the same there

 

[bomar]

Save a step and just lite the tree on fire. Then turn around and ask the HO for $1000.

did you learn this tactic from the aerial arborist lol sounds like something he would have done

 

[jefflovstrom]

line clearance certified

Sorry to keep harping on this, it is not 'Certified', it is 'Qualified'.
Jeff,

 

[Pelorus]

Sorry to keep harping on this, it is not 'Certified', it is 'Qualified'.
Jeff,

You're not certified unless you're qualified?

 

[pdqdl]

You're not certified unless you're qualified?

I think the suggestion is that "qualified" is real, and certification doesn't really count for anything.

 

[KenJax Tree]

I know guys that are "certified" that shouldn't even be allowed to run a chain saw.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I think the suggestion is that "qualified" is real, and certification doesn't really count for anything.

Ah,
Jeff

 

[Pelorus]

I know guys that are "certified" that shouldn't even be allowed to run a chain saw.

Some of them take Train the Trainer courses and become instructors somehow.