stump grinder vs brush chipper

[arbor pro]

I would suggest a chipper before a dump trailer. Wood can be hauled in a pick up truck. A good chipper will more than pay for itself in saved labor. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of time packing brush in a pickup truck or dump trailer. I have to chuckle when I see some fly by night operation hauling brush down the road because I know those guys are not working very efficiently.

A pickup truck and a six inch chipper can handle way more brush than a pickup truck and a dump trailer and take less time doing it.

It's an essential piece of gear for almost all tree companies, big or small.

No dispute from me that a good chipper is an essential piece of gear for MOST tree companies IF they do not have a close-by location to dump/burn debris. But I can tell you from experience having been in both situations; 1) having a dump site where I could take brush/logs and burn it and 2) having no such site nearby and I can heartily tell you that a chipper is not ALWAYS the most profitable way to dispose of debris.

Having a chippper works for most tree guys but, it costs more than dumping for some others. Let's agree to disagree on this one. You make some good points about having a chippper but, I will tell you from experience, it is not an essential piece of equipment for a tree care company.

Using a dump trailer to haul debris does NOT make one a 'fly by night' arborist. However, listening to someone else tell you what equipment to buy and allowing them to make all your decisions for you does, IMO, make you a 'fly by night' businessman. Each businessman has to think for himself and not just imitate the mainstream companies if he wants to keep his head afloat in today's competitive market. There are many good reasons to justify the purchase of equipment. There are as many or more good reasons to keep things simple with low overhead. What works for one may not be the profitable solution for another...

 

[Mikecutstrees]

The thing that bothers me about burning brush is thats it's dirty and looks unproffessional. Dumping a bunch of fuel on green branches and limbs and then burning it in my opinion is environmentally irresponsible. Your polluting the air we breath and probably the ground with the fuel your dumping. I know this won't make me popular by saying this but a chipper pollutes far less than a burn pile and the byproduct is useful. Just something to think about. ....
Mike

P.S. I have burned brush in situations where it was the only choice, Once when I had to prune some pines at the bottom of a huge hill where I was unable to get the chipper to. So in some situations I can understand it....

 

[geofore]

burn vs chipper

Burning robs all the fungi and bugs of a food source. Some of the animals would miss the gym and house they use the pile for but weigh that against the money you make/save on clean up or selling chips/mulch. No trips to the dump if the HO wants to mulch the trees and flowers around the house. I've got an older 1220 with the perkins deisel and it chips just fine. The auto feed means no more chuck and duck and the perkins has enough hp(96) to eat anything you can get past the 12"x17" opening. With all the HO's deep into volcano mulching around their trees no more trips to the dump. Ever since they mulched the trees over at the golf course like 3'-4' volcanos erupting trees you can't pile the mulch on high enough to make the homeowners happy unless they have a volcano too. You can tell all you want about how that's not good for the tree, they still want the volcano look like at the golf course, the bigger the better. I'd go with the chipper then the stump grinder.

 

[arbor pro]

If you let green debris sit for a little while, it becomes brown debris. Brown debris burns without dumping fuel on it.

If you are able to give the chips away, it does make having a chipper an environmentally responsible way to dispose of debris. Cost of operating the chipper does, however, have to be considered if one wants to stay in business.

Like I said before, chippers are a great tool for many many tree care, landscaping, construction, etc companies. However, they aren't essential for everybody - especially the part-timers or one-man operations.

One of my local 'competitors' (if you can call him that) runs a one-man full-time tree removal business. He has WAY more equipent than he has manpower to operate or even transport from site to site. He spends more time trying to get his bucket truck, chip truck, whole-tree chipper, gooseneck trailer, bobcat, stump grinder and whatever else he can think of from one site to the next. It takes him 4 times as long to do a job with all of his equipment than I can do it in with half as much stuff. He's the perfect example of someone having too much equipment and not being an efficient operation.

If we get back to the original post, you may recall that the fellow who posed the debate between chipper or grinder currently has only an s-10 pickup and small trailer. That s-10 isn't going to make much of a chip truck. If he buys a chipper, he's also going to have to buy a bigger truck to chip into. So, first he has to commit to buying a bigger truck - whether he simply hauls the debris in it or whether he then commits to buying a chipper and chips into the truck. The chipper debate is moot for him IMO unless he commits to getting a bigger truck. A 6" chipper and s-10 will be much less efficient than simply hauling debris in a dump trailer as far as I see it. I'm all about efficiency and that just doesn't sound efficient at all for a commercial tree service.

 

[pdqdl]

Yep. Y'er right again Arbor-pro.

That's why I told him to get a bigger truck first, then worry about getting more tree toys.

An s-10 would be about my last choice for a tree truck.

 

[appalachianarbo]

Using a dump trailer to haul debris does NOT make one a 'fly by night' arborist.

Thank you!

I've struggled with the decision to either get a chipper and dump truck, or get a new pickup and continue using my dump trailer. Right now, I can't justify the chipper and dump truck, no matter how much owning them would make me feel more like a "tree guy." I'm currently doing a lot of insect control, plant health care, consultations, and no-cleanup pruning and removals. For my pruning and removals that require cleanup, I either pack it all into the trailer (which can hold quite a bit, by the way - I can fit a whole day's worth of debris in it), or rent a chipper and blow into the dump trailer (which requires two trips). I've also thought about continuing to rent the chipper and getting a small dump truck (dodge 3500 quad cab).

 

[Rftreeman]

if all I had was a pickup and trailer I'd probably buy the stump grinder, you can haul brush on the truck and trailer then go back and get the grinder and do the stump.

right now I have a P.O.S old (early 70's) wood chuck 12" drum chipper with a 4 cylinder that has lost it ump long ago but I got a deal on it and the 1 ton chip truck but if I could trade them for a grapple they'd be gone in a flash.

edit: I think the way you handle your business says more about you than your equipment, you can have all the equipment in the world and not be a "pro" and remember, "pro" is an abbreviation for PROFESSIONAL, I think a lot of people have forgotten the meaning of PRO.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Burning robs all the fungi and bugs of a food source. Some of the animals would miss the gym and house they use the pile for but weigh that against the money you make/save on clean up or selling chips/mulch. No trips to the dump if the HO wants to mulch the trees and flowers around the house. I've got an older 1220 with the perkins deisel and it chips just fine. The auto feed means no more chuck and duck and the perkins has enough hp(96) to eat anything you can get past the 12"x17" opening. With all the HO's deep into volcano mulching around their trees no more trips to the dump. Ever since they mulched the trees over at the golf course like 3'-4' volcanos erupting trees you can't pile the mulch on high enough to make the homeowners happy unless they have a volcano too. You can tell all you want about how that's not good for the tree, they still want the volcano look like at the golf course, the bigger the better. I'd go with the chipper then the stump grinder.

Hijacking the thread a bit, but I think it's time for you to go and talk to the golf course superintendent about his poor practices.

 

[chucknduck]

progression

my order: Ford pickup, trailer, stumper, chipper, sides on the trailer, bucket, grapple. Did the pickup with a trailer and a stump grinder thing for a while before I bought the chipper, but now I wont do trees without it or the grapple truck

 

[ropensaddle]

You might be high on your trimming because you are stuck on that taunt-line!

I was thinking of you when I wrote my post. For removals like you are doing a knuckle boom and a big box is hard to beat.

I like the knuckle boom trucks with large boxes with removable tops that are designed to be used as a chipper box.

Lol fair enough on the pun I have chipped into mine
but it does not have the fancy top The main advantage
is the log especially on fifty inch dbh! It has saved my back
for several more years god willing! On the trims I do get, my
pickup and chipper will easily and economically handle and really
the silky has kept the taught line untied

 

[Treetom]

I suggest that you invest in the brush chipper. It's a nice machine for compacting a bulky load of branches into a compact package. I've got a 4 yard dump box on my 1-ton that will hold all the brush from most of the larger trees I remove, when chipped up, including the stump grinding clean up. Hauling the same brush in unprocessed form would take a heck of a big truck or a lot of trips to the dump with a smaller set up. There are also many more diposal options with wood chips. I've had good luck offering them free to local nurseries and greenhouses as a mulch. (Line up a greenhouse/nursery in each community you service) And some clients will keep them for their gardens and landscaping, saving you the time and expense of transporting them to a dump site. My 2-cents.

 

[gr8scott72]

I suggest that you invest in the brush chipper. It's a nice machine for compacting a bulky load of branches into a compact package. I've got a 4 yard dump box on my 1-ton that will hold all the brush from most of the larger trees I remove, when chipped up,

He has a S-10 not a 1 ton.

 

[gr8scott72]

Lots of times he could just aim the chipper right were the customer wants the chips and chip a pile. A S-10 can easily pull a Bandit 65xl six inch capacity chipper and get it in some pretty tight spots. It weighs less than a ton.


The S-10 in almost a moot point anyway. You can not do the main hauling for a tree service with an S-10.

I agree. It just seems people on here giving him advice are putting the cart before the horse. Need a good truck first.

 

[pdqdl]

Didn't I say that a while back ?

(http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?p=1135029#post1135029)

I'm starting to think you guys don't read my posts.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

building the business

I built my business for a year with my ford ranger, a wooden box on the back and a 6" chipper. I raked out the chips with a metal rake. Efficient .... no. Low overhead..... yes. And I was building a customer base without being up to my eyeballs in debt. And later you appreciate that dump truck SOOOO much more. Best of luck.... do neat, quality work and people will spread the word. ... Mike

 

[BewtifulTreeMan]

get a stump grinder

The vermeer 252 is good machine. You can make as much by your self with a 252 and your S10 as a two man tree crew with a dump truck and good chipper. Sounds to me like you should focus on stumps to get the cash flowing and later on think about getting more into tree service. Stump grinding is boring but it pays well. Just don't hit a gas line or other utility. In colorado all you have to do is dial 811 to have the utilities marked with flags and spray paint - and it doesn't cost you a penny. I know guys who make bank doing nothing but stumps and operate uninsured. Insurance is still a good idea though. Good luck!