Stein Arbor Trolley Reviews

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I love the idea of fewer trips with the brush. Most of the pictures are with logs. I am wondering how much time you have to spend making brush narrower so it fits on the trolley?

I am pretty sure that brush dragging is were I 'lose' the most money. Either pay more help or get better equipment...so this is intriguing. $700 seems a little steep, but if it really saves 80% of brush dragging time (or even if that is exaggerated by 100% and it only saves 40%), it wouldn't take many jobs for it to pay for itself. I REALLY want an articulated loader (a Gehl or Avant), but I am a couple of years from paying cash for one of those...so maybe this is the next step?
 
Have you ever considered the Little Helper Cart. Me and my Dad and brother have a tree service, and after years of wheelbarrows and log dollies, we made this.
Echo%20with%20Sycamore%20chunk%20005.jpg
 
ATH said:
I love the idea of fewer trips with the brush. Most of the pictures are with logs. I am wondering how much time you have to spend making brush narrower so it fits on the trolley?

I am pretty sure that brush dragging is were I 'lose' the most money. Either pay more help or get better equipment...so this is intriguing. $700 seems a little steep, but if it really saves 80% of brush dragging time (or even if that is exaggerated by 100% and it only saves 40%), it wouldn't take many jobs for it to pay for itself. I REALLY want an articulated loader (a Gehl or Avant), but I am a couple of years from paying cash for one of those...so maybe this is the next step?
Click to expand...

Probably is the next step if you follow the "stepping stones" ideology like myself. I just watched the demo of the "microarb truck" -

You can load wider stacks onto it however to me it appears a "clunkier" version of the stein... imo
 
Getting through gates / narrow walkways is less of a concern where we work.
Wider flotation tires, and maybe a slightly wider stance on the Stein (for more stability on uneven ground) would appeal to me more. I toy with the idea of making something, perhaps more along the lines of that self propelled Little Helper Cart. Would be ideal for those jobs where the miniskid is too much machine and the donkey(s) is/are tired.
 
If you are on the fence about the stein AT, buy it.
I have been wanting to buy a mini loader for a few years or more. I bought the Arbor trolley about six months ago and noticed I have thought very little about a mini since.
Sometimes I consider hiding it. Not because someone may steal it, because it is like our secret weapon.
 
Levenhagen said:
If you are on the fence about the stein AT, buy it.
I have been wanting to buy a mini loader for a few years or more. I bought the Arbor trolley about six months ago and noticed I have thought very little about a mini since.
Sometimes I consider hiding it. Not because someone may steal it, because it is like our secret weapon.
Click to expand...
That is kinda how we felt about our LittleHelperCart when we first made it
 
Digging up an old thread to reiterate that this is a great tool! It really shines when you have to drag brush long distances.

But I am posting now to give props to Stein for their support... I bent mine: obviously did a poor job attaching to the trailer tongue and when it came loose and I turned, it got smashed between the truck tailgate and trailer.

The good news is:
*I have been thinking I wanted to replace the truck bed with a flat bed anyhow...the smashed tailgate is now enough motivation to make that happen!
*More relevant to the topic at hand, it only bent the square tube that holds the handle and inserts into the body...NO other damage on the Trolley. It is built beefy for that to be the case.

IMG_20160606_175822_401.jpg

The even BETTER news: I called TreeStuff to ask if that part is available for purchase. Yes...it is a simple square tube with 8 holes in it...I can handle that fabrication. But as busy as I am, if they want to sell it to me for a non-to-crazy price, it is worth my time. I sent them a picture at the end of the day...not a stock item so they needed to look into it. They replied the next day to let me know Stein would be shipping me the part at no charge!

Thanks Stein and TreeStuff!

(Warm fuzzy feelings towards Stein combined with TreeStuff's sale a week or two ago forced me to buy their MK3 Modular Guard System...but I haven't put that together yet)
 
mine is arriving in a few days. can't wait! St. Louis summer days are brutal for my brush-dragging groundies. They'll love me for that.
 
2nd time using the AT now. I hate to be the black sheep but I have to say it. Among the thousands of reviews I read there is not one negative. That's just amazing and that's why I jumped on it. However there are things about it not seem to be that positive to me.

For example, how does one person load a large (only 200 Lb maybe, not large at all compared to its capacity)? Looks like a side ramp formed by the 2 side bars like that of the Microarb will be nice. I'm seriously thinking about fabricating it. My question is: why isn't it already there for the $700?

2nd, it's not helping at all for short distance without a gate (200 feet like my last job). It takes a lot of extra time to cut a big branch into pieces small enough to fit in it, then you stack it up, then you upload it at the street. So, for short distance jobs, I rather drag. If it uphill, the AT wont help anyway.

The only I see to make it work I to use it as an equivalent of log arch for brushes. You tire the woody end of lots of large branches on top of it and pull it with an ATV. most jobs with a long dragging distance tend not to have a small gate.

Anyway, just my two cents, still trying to figure out.
 
For large logs, tip it up and load them like a dolly - then tip it down onto its wheels and roll like you normally wood. You could use a dolly. I think this is a little better balanced, but that is not where it is most useful. There are some videos showing that.

I agree, not useful for short drags. I'd use it for 200'... You do have to make a few cuts to fit it all on there, but here is how I see it: It takes maybe 30-60 seconds to cut a few branches (lets say 5) down to size and another 2-3 minutes to pile those on there - so that is 4-5 minutes to get those 5 branches to the truck. Without the AT, that is 5 trips. Not only did I save a minute or two per trip (so, I just save 4 minutes), but I also just walked 800' less. Seems insignificant for 5 branches. For 15 branches, that is 2400' feet less - that's almost half a mile (and +/- 12-15 minutes) saved. Do that 4 times a day...

Also really shines once you get to that 6-8-10" (or bigger) diameter stuff where you can carry one 5-'6' long bolt at a time. Pile 10+ on the AT as long as you are not pulling up hill, it will be no problem.

Powered equipment is certainly better...but to me the AT is better than not.
 
HA you didn't think I could stack all that brush on one load? Remembering the old days stacking brush on a trailer......

It really is a handy tool, especially for a two man crew
 
Yes. I assume that Bedford pear, evergreens like pine or spruce are perfect the it since all branches are long and skinny with very few side branches. Oak is probably the worst since you need to make so many more cuts to fit it on there. Like the last person mentioned, it's makes more sense for a small crew like 2 with a 6 inch chipper. The more cutting upfront makes it easier for loading to the chipper.
 

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