Chipping for climbers

[MCF Dave]

Hi, I'm a newbie, wanted to get an opinion. I hope I've come to the right place..... I'm buying a chipper and dump trailer and want to know if you climbers think it would be worth while to contact local arborists (southern Indiana is local) and try to work out a deal where they climb and cut and I come in after to chip limbs and clean up. I'm an old fogey and don't want to climb, but need something to keep me out of the house. Any of you done a deal like this? Any good points/bad points?
Dave

 

[SRT-Tech]

first and most important is using the chipper safely and properly, as well as wear Personal Protective Equipment (earmuffs, hardhat, eye protection, steel toe boots etc).

not only could strike up a deal with a treeclimber, you could also charge homeowners for chipping yard cleanup (branches, shrubs etc)

Good Luck!

 

[OTG BOSTON]

I think you might do better with a small stump grinder. Think about it, there are not to many people doing tree work who don't own a chipper or have another means of getting rid of tree waste.

 

[begleytree]

My area is different from OTG boston's. there are 2 companies here doing tree care that have a chipper, (me and the other guy) the rest are pickup truck landscapers cutting wood and utility crews doing weekend buzz work.
If it were me, I'd throw some flyers/cards at the local rental shops for the DIY'ers and hit the parking lot of the local utility crews.
I despise cleaning up someone else's mess personally, and have stopped doing that myself, but the work is out there. If I were to start doing that, I'd make it very clear to the weekenders that the brush will be stacked straight and accessable and no wood/logs in it. add a clause in your contract to cover that and foreign (metal) debris.

It brings up the question (in this area anyway) of how much can a guy actually make? usually people wanting to DIY and those hiring weekend buzzers are not the customers whom are willing to pay much for work done. your machine size and dumper capacity will have a huge impact upon how much you make based on how long it takes you to chip a certian sized pile/stack and how many dump runs you will have to stop working to make.
is this one of those chipper dump trailer combos we've seen?

I disagree with the stumper idea, the tree company taking down the tree always gets first crack at stumps, and if they can't afford to have them done then....

IMO, you'd have less headache and more money if you just contracted a dozen lawns to mow weekly.
-Ralph

 

[Treeman587]

Almost any time you have to go in behind someone and clean up it is a nightmare. If the brush is not moving out while the tree is coming down it is going to stacked and tangled, etc. Plus most people when just getting them down and dont have to clean up usually arent too particular with where it alll ends up.

Around here we have a few companies that do just stump grinding. They do well too. I sub all my stumps to a guy who did tree work for 30 years and decided he was getting too old for it. Now he just does stumps. That and why buy another piece of equipment and stay behind for a few dollars when I can be on to the next removal or trim job or home for that matter.

 

[MCF Dave]

Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks guys. Nothing like the voice of experience to throw some light on an idea! I'll keep this in the back pocket for now as a 'probably not practical' idea. Sounds like a person would need to have a real good agreement with the person working ahead of them about where the tree parts were going to be, etc. It doesn't sound like something you could put in the Yellow Pages and expect to work out.
Thanks again,
MCF Dave

 

[Barry Stumps]

Dave, You pretty much are wanting to do what i do. I bought a grinder 1st then a chipper. I just recently added trees to the list but only easy drops and low climbs. I have 2 climbers that don't own either. Being in the market i get allot of calls for trees. If i don't think i can handle that part then i refer them and I get the stump, chipper or both. They in return bid on the entire job and pay me my cut. Many customers don't want to deal with separate contractors so they may lose the job. You scratch there back and there yours. Its a win win situation. I just got in the phone book for my area and asked if they had all the equipment and if not told them my deal. I stay busy this way. Is your chipper a new or older chuck and duck?

 

[MCF Dave]

Barry,
Nice to see another Hoosier on the forum! So far I don't have the chipper. After reading the replies and talking to a Brown Couty arborist, a really helpful guy named Rick Patrick, I'm leaning toward doing what you did --- get a stump grinder first and then look at a more serious chipper. In the meantime, I have a bunch of tops to clean up around my house and will probably buy a used 20 horse chipper shredder I looked at, a Baker Pro 20/20 that is built like a yard shredder, only bigger. I'm waiting to see if the price they quote is anywhere close to my budget. I'll chip the little stuff and sell firewood. After reading the prices some of the forum guys say they get in Boston I'm tempted to drive out there to sell it! Anyway, I'm in the planning stage, trying to make a good buy.
Dave

 

[Barry Stumps]

I bought an older 300 Ford Asplunda 12 inch (chuck and duck) chipper. I thought about buying a 25 hp chipper then thought down the road what would be better for me. If you can afford it you should buy the autofeed. They are much safer but a bit slower. By far my grinder was the best investment that i made. I bought it new and did it part time and paid for its self in the 2nd season and now starting my 7th. My chipper is picking up this year which is my 2nd season for that. I am all word of my with no advertising at all. I stay really busy pretty much all weekends. I do this for part time. I suggest you buy new as far as the grinder. They have good resale value if things don't work out but they will if you are patient and give high quaility work.

 

[PUclimber]

It's a shame you're not over here by me. I would loved to have a clean up guy around. I actually just bought a 6 inch vermeer for $1700 so I'm set to go now. How much are you looking to spend on a chipper? I know where there's an old asplund chipper that you might be able to get a hell of a deal on. The guy does farm machinery repair and sales up in Hagerstown and has one that he fixed up and it seems to run pretty well. I went and looked at it and was trying to get my finances squared away when the vermeer came available. The guy said he'd tak around $1400 if you're interested let me know and I can give you his name and number. As far as stump grinders I'm still waiting to find a decent deal on one. I am the dump truck and trailer guy who upgraded to the chipper and now looking for a grinder.

 

[clearance]

The old Asplundh with the 300 c.i.d. Ford engine is the most dependable, rugged chipper ever made. For $1400 you can't lose, I would get it in a snap and I don't need one, just because, kind of like getting a 288XP Husky for $100. Same type of thing.

 

[beowulf343]

So, your going to clean up other guys brush piles? A couple problems i can see that haven't been covered yet just from the perspective of my crew.

Are you going to chip during or just after the tree job is done. Alot of my takedowns are in very tight areas with no place to stack brush. We leave the chipper running to just keep a clear drop zone. No good if you only clean up after.

Make sure the guys you are going to be chipping for know how small of stuff to leave. For my crew-if we had to cut everthing small enough to fit in that tiny chipper, it wouldn't even be worth our time. And if you are going to take the wood for firewood, know what you are getting into. Trims leave a little wood, but takedowns can fill several 14 wheelers with wood. One takedown could take a week to cleanup for a guy like you if they left all the wood.

Do you want everything dragged out to the curb so you can just throw it through the chipper? That's the easiest part of the job. We've had drags of over 100 yards. Do you do any dragging or just chipping?

How long before you can get to the jobs-most people don't like mountains of brush in their yards for several days. Most crews chip the same day. I have a wood crew that follows behind me, but they are never more than a day later. You got to be able to keep up on the jobs.

Are you doing this year around? Nothing worse than having a huge pile of poorly stacked brush under 2 feet of snow.

Just some thoughts. Good luck man-hope it works out for you