Which equipment to get first?

[Tree Sharks]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice on which piece of equipment I should get first for my tree service. I'm going back and forth between a compact loader or bucket truck. I have all the climbing gear I need most of the rigging gear (missing a GRCS), a dump trailer and a pickup. The debate with myself if that the loader will move a lot of wood quickly and save my back, but the bucket truck will save me time and it really makes the business look like a tree service which could get me more customers. I have a friend/mentor that is a certified arborist that has taught me a lot and has great advice but I would like to get some opinions from some other people and their experience. Thanks in advance

 

[thetoolnut]

A hoist/bucket is a luxury i.m.o, have you got a decent chipper? A good chipper will make you and a bad one will break you!

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[Ryan'smilling]

If I were you I'd go for the mini. You can haul it in the dump and it makes cleanup a LOT faster. Around here, lots of tree services skip the chipper and just load brush into a dump trailer or a knuckle boom truck. A mini and a dump is a pretty versatile combo.

 

[thetoolnut]

If I were you I'd go for the mini. You can haul it in the dump and it makes cleanup a LOT faster. Around here, lots of tree services skip the chipper and just load brush into a dump trailer or a knuckle boom truck. A mini and a dump is a pretty versatile combo.

That wouldn't be a runner for the hard access jobs that are my bread and butter plus equipment like that is big and expensive to buy and maintain. A 5-6 tonne chip truck with a six to nine inch chipper is what most companies have. A boxer or a dingo is a luxury. Brash is mostly dragged by hand to the chipper, sometimes through a house!

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[Ryan'smilling]

That wouldn't be a runner for the hard access jobs that are my bread and butter plus equipment like that is big and expensive to buy and maintain. A 5-6 tonne chip truck with a six to nine inch chipper is what most companies have. A boxer or a dingo is a luxury. Brash is mostly dragged by hand to the chipper, sometimes through a house!

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Yeah, it's funny how things are different in different areas. I worked for a couple tree services in western Washington and everyone there used chippers. Big ones. Never saw a chipper under 12". They'd pull that behind a dedicated chip truck or one with a chip box and a lift. Brush was dragged by hand on both of the crews I was on. My buddy worked for a guy who had a Vermeer mini though.

Around here every the service has a big knuckle boom truck. There's chippers around too, but not like out there. Seems like around here they try to move brush with a full size skid steer whenever possible, and then load it with the knuckle boom. I'd think it'd be hard to find places to dump brush, but they obviously manage it. Those trucks definitely look expensive to maintain, but chippers are too. A newer mini shouldn't be too bad for maintenance I wouldn't think. I've never owned one though.

 

[thetoolnut]

Agreed, horses for courses. Every area is different. In an ideal world i'd have a 6 tonne chip truck with a tail lift pulling a tracked 9" chipper with built in turn table on it's own dedicated trailer along with a 4 by 4 pulling an 10' by 8' tipper trailer with a Bobcat/Vermeer/Dingo or Boxer mini skidder. Also the trailer would have a built in winch for loading logs. Someday!

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[Tree Sharks]

Most companies around here are going to grapple trucks and just doing away with chippers. There's a lot palms down here and they don't chip very well. Dumping brush isn't a problem here either. I've been working a full time job and doing trees saving for the last year to get something nice but I want make sure that I spend it wisely. Budget is 20k but I don't like buying cheap things or projects so it kind of narrows it down one decent piece of equipment that will last. The reason I say compact loader instead of full size skid is to be able to get into the tight spaces/backyards. The bucket would be a big time saver with about half of my work but the other half I wouldn't be able to get it to and I enjoy climbing.

 

[Tree Sharks]

No I don't have a chipper, my buddy that does own a fairly large tree service has said its not a good idea for me right now mainly because I don't have a chip truck and they can be expensive to maintain.

 

[BC WetCoast]

You have to analyze your market and what niche of that market you want to be in. If your niche is big hazardous take downs, then your equipment needs will be different than if you want to concentrate on fine show garden type pruning. Chipper vs no chipper/grapple truck will depend on the disposal situation in your area for brush vs chips.

People on here can give you opinions, but they are based on their own situation, which will no doubt vary from yours. You need to do your own research and analysis.

 

[Tree Sharks]

Thanks for the advice everyone, will most likely go with the loader for now. The bucket trucks seems like it may add quite a bit more overhead that I'm not ready to take on at this point. One more question, does anyone have experience with morbark boxer loaders? pros/cons, common issues or just get different brand all together

 

[Ben84]

Lean more towards the brand that has the best dealer service in your area.

 

[ATH]

$20K down or $20K total? Total kinda eliminates a reliable bucket...or a decent sized chipper and chip truck. Nothing wrong with that. Only buy that which will make you MORE than it costs! A loader is a good place to start with that. As was mentioned: think about where you want to be/what kind of work you want to do and focus on that. Probably half (or more) of my equipment is plant health care related because I focus on that. I regularly turn down big removals because that would be a distraction from what I do best and takes a whole different set of equipment to do efficiently.

 

[BC WetCoast]

And Plant Health Care is WAAAAY more profitable.