chip truck and chipper VS a clam truck

[DK_stihl]

Debris

This is misleading. A cubic yard of brush is not even close to the same amount of debris as a cubic yard of chips. Good luck with your decision.

This is a very good point. The tree service where I ran grapple trucks also had a tub grinder and sold mulch, so they made money on both ends. If you have to pay to dump brush it will cost a lot more, as it is less dense. Also, it should be netioned that a chipper makes for a cleaner jobsite on takedowns.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

I have had alot of people pay for chips. I have never had anyone pay for brush.

good luck with your decision.

 

[MillerTreeMN]

thanks for all the tips so far.


i am losing a little bit of sleep over this, trying to figure out what will be the most cost efficient, beneficial, etc etc...................

basically being a one man band, bringing in the help when i need it. i do about 60-70K per year of work with this....

the skid steer you can see on the right of the top picture is NOT mine.

i have since added some sides to my dump trailer. it is an 8' wide x 14' long, 14,000 GVW.



heres what i might consider now.......

this F350 has been a very good truck, and the stump grinder is payed off in April.

i am considering getting a new, longer dump trailer. like a 8 foot wide, 16' or 20' and selling this one.

i would then purchase a Dingo, Toro, or Boxer "mini loader"




so now, i would have a LONGER dump trailer with slightly more cubic yards capacity, which i THEN could fit my stump grinder AND a mini loader in there.

the mini loader would be a life saver when doing stump cleanup and loading logs. if it lifts high enough, and had forks or a grapple i could use it for loading brush.


so i will still be loading some brush by hand, and having to go through the trouble of "bucking it down" with the chainsaw to save room,



but i would be saving time on the jobs ( when we can get the mini loader in there ) and doing alot less wheel barreling. my back is killing me right now from that the last couple days!

so again, new trailer with more cubic yard capacity, mini- loader ( the payed off stump grinder payment will just move onto the mini loader payment )

and down the line another pickup and a chipper to chip into the back of the pickup or dump trailer.

 

[capetrees]

Used chipper, 12" minimum, and a used one ton with a chip body. Add to the collection a mini skid steer w/ grapple and you're on your way. Costs? Guestimate of 12K for the one ton, 12K for the chipper and 8K for the mini, total 30-32K. You could even trade the truck in the picture toward a new or used one ton and then buy a used pickup to get around. The choice is of course yours to make.

As mentioned, there is a lot more brush in a yard of chips than in a yard of brush.(?) sounds crazy but I mean the chips are more condensed. Chip a full load of brush and your truck will be half full with chips. get the picture?

From what i've seen around me, chippers are in more than the brush trucks. There is only so much the dumps can take as far as brush. Last hurricane forced all municipal dumps to refuse brush. It all now has to go to private yards. Chips can be re-sold by you or sold off to someone else like landscape yard. Don't pay to dump your chips. Thats crazy!

Good luck

 

[MillerTreeMN]

capetrees-

for what its worth, i take my big saw and buck down the brush that is in the trailer.

ive fit 50-60 foot pine trees or 45-50 foot tall maple trees in that one trailer.... 24-32 bucks to dump....




i do think that a larger trailer and mini loader might be the most effective right now, and a few months later a 1/2 ton pickup and a small chipper, to chip into the dump trailer.... of course then i need a 2nd driver

 

[briggstwiggs]

capetrees-

for what its worth, i take my big saw and buck down the brush that is in the trailer.

ive fit 50-60 foot pine trees or 45-50 foot tall maple trees in that one trailer.... 24-32 bucks to dump....




i do think that a larger trailer and mini loader might be the most effective right now, and a few months later a 1/2 ton pickup and a small chipper, to chip into the dump trailer.... of course then i need a 2nd driver

miller I am 22 years old and cant afford much equipment my father was in logging business up north for 20 years learned the ropes from him. I have been running my tree business for 3 years on my own with no help from banks or anything cause of my age well the bank helped me with one thing a 2008 ford f450 with 16ft bed on it I then puchased a grapple loader a small one but it will lift 2600 lbs. then I bought a stump grinder then waited on the chipper you need to save your back first. price on truck with 3000 miles on it $25,000 loader $6,000 so you could get a brand new grapple truck for around 36,000 mounted and hydraulic power pack. remeber you can always chip into the grapple truck when you get the chipper. If you want I will figure out how to post pics and show you mine I love it. I trailer loaded it seemed like for ever. you cant get alot of brush in the truck but you can pull a trailer to and load it. I have put 6 tons of brush in the back of it if you cut the brush right long and slinder. the dump is cheap were your at it is 27 dollars a ton for brush and wood chips are the same amount here.

 

[treemandan]

Dragging brush to the chipper is part of the fun, please don't kill it for me.

Nah, clammy sounds nice but you will need one heck of hole to dump it. I think in some areas brush piles cause fires. I really haven't seen to much of that, most of what goes on those truck are logs though the grapple can do other things. I would say it really would depend on how much brush you have and how much rocks you move and to be able to find proper dumpsites. How much tree can you get in one of those trucks?

 

[treemandan]

Used chipper, 12" minimum, and a used one ton with a chip body. Add to the collection a mini skid steer w/ grapple and you're on your way. Costs? Guestimate of 12K for the one ton, 12K for the chipper and 8K for the mini, total 30-32K. You could even trade the truck in the picture toward a new or used one ton and then buy a used pickup to get around. The choice is of course yours to make.

As mentioned, there is a lot more brush in a yard of chips than in a yard of brush.(?) sounds crazy but I mean the chips are more condensed. Chip a full load of brush and your truck will be half full with chips. get the picture?

From what i've seen around me, chippers are in more than the brush trucks. There is only so much the dumps can take as far as brush. Last hurricane forced all municipal dumps to refuse brush. It all now has to go to private yards. Chips can be re-sold by you or sold off to someone else like landscape yard. Don't pay to dump your chips. Thats crazy!

Good luck

Yeah they had to refuse brush cause their chipper was down.

 

[pdqdl]

I would go chipper before I went with a grapple.

The real decision is based more on your business model. Do you trim more than remove? Go chipper. If most of your revenue is based on removals, and you have a list of jobs held up because you are not getting done with the work? Go grapple.

I suspect that something different is at work here. You see all the other tree companies with all the big fancy toys, and you are on a job humping huge logs into a trailer for not much money per day. The bigger equipment seems like an ideal thing to have.

Figure out what will increase your business income and job satisfaction the most. Then ignore everybody else's opinion.

I suspect that a heavy duty grapple trailer and a chipper truck (with an aerial device) would be the best combination for a small company. Then you can pick what you want to use that day, hook it up, and go. Not much can beat a bucket truck for getting those dead trees down safely. Except a crane...crap! The list wish never quits, does it?

Insurance and expenses on a grapple truck are pretty big; you need to do a lot of tree removals to pay for that. In these really hard economy times, I would only go with what I could pay cash for.

 

[MillerTreeMN]

I would go chipper before I went with a grapple.

The real decision is based more on your business model. Do you trim more than remove? Go chipper. If most of your revenue is based on removals, and you have a list of jobs held up because you are not getting done with the work? Go grapple.

I suspect that something different is at work here. You see all the other tree companies with all the big fancy toys, and you are on a job humping huge logs into a trailer for not much money per day. The bigger equipment seems like an ideal thing to have.

Figure out what will increase your business income and job satisfaction the most. Then ignore everybody else's opinion.

I suspect that a heavy duty grapple trailer and a chipper truck (with an aerial device) would be the best combination for a small company. Then you can pick what you want to use that day, hook it up, and go. Not much can beat a bucket truck for getting those dead trees down safely. Except a crane...crap! The list wish never quits, does it?

Insurance and expenses on a grapple truck are pretty big; you need to do a lot of tree removals to pay for that. In these really hard economy times, I would only go with what I could pay cash for.

i really dont care what other companies have-

what i do care about is getting the mess cleaned up and hauling the mess out in as few of trips as possible.

the insurance on the clam truck according to my insurace agent was only going to be about $230 a month, i can handle that.

for now though i bought my JD tractor to get the brush / logs out of the yard, and to load it into the dump trailer. its already proven its worth so far.

i *might* consider another pickup and a small chipper in 2010. just need another driver.

then ill have almost everything-
F350 with tools / gear,
Dump trailer with stump grinder, and John Deere loader,
other pickup towing chipper that we can chip into the dump trailer and load logs on top of the chips.


we will have everything we would need minus a bucket, i can call one in, or climb.

so for now, im holding off on the clam truck.

 

[pdqdl]

$230 per month is a pretty big hit unless that truck is doing a lot of work, especially when it would come on top of truck payments, maintenance, and fuel bills.

 

[MillerTreeMN]

$230 per month is a pretty big hit unless that truck is doing a lot of work, especially when it would come on top of truck payments, maintenance, and fuel bills.

still doesnt scare me. getting more done in less time, subbing out to other companies to pick up their brush piles,

id be trading my F350 towards it so im just going slightly up in payment / insurance.



but like i said on the last page, i just bought the John Deere tractor so any ideas of a clam truck are on hold.