Thinking about getting a chipper truck setup...

You just summed up the Internet...except that nobody told me to kill myself, or that my question gave them Cancer haha!

I asked a similar question over on the arborist site, and almost across the board the responses were negative...which raises the question why any of them are in the business at all?

 

I honestly cannot say too much, I often talk my way out of doing something too. It is called Paralysis by Analysis, and in farming...where EVERYTHING has to be a science it seems...nothing gets done, when heck we have been eating for the last 9000 years or so.

My answer generally is: Do the Math, but sadly in this case I was off by a lot, but in my favor in regards to my argument. 35 Hours...

In my wee little world, I break everything down by Lambs, dollars do not matter. Since the profit on a lamb is $100, in this case the Chipper and truck equates to 70 Lambs. Would I be willing to raise 70 lambs and have them slaughtered for that truck and chipper? See what I mean, it is real world terms. (I am in no way competing with you regarding that particular truck and chipper, I was just using it as an example of how I would justify a cost using lamb as a basis).

I could equally do it by cords of wood.

A purchase is a little different, but on a project I have found that starting is the hardest part. Once the commital has been done to start a project, energy just keeps it plodding along. The halfway point gets kind of in the doldrums as a person thinks about how much work is ahead of them, and how much work had to be done to just get to that point, BUT if a person can soldier on, the project gets done.

I remember being on a project one time; clearing land on the side of a mountain and the other guys with me said that it would take 5 years to clean up the side of the mountain: 5 weeks later we were done. Sometimes you just have to start!

 

What I say is all biblical: a Study of Nehemiah on the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall in Chapter 10 will show that. People grow weary midway through...

10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

Knowing this has really enabled me to get some projects done. Strength WILL fail halfway through, but do not despair keep going right. So I try to be positive.

But that does not mean being foolish. people have some really good points and they must be taken into consideration. In getting back to your situation: I don't know. People hate bulldozers because they can really be a money-dump, BUT I can get more done with my bulldozer in 20 minutes then I can with my Kubota tractor all day. It has worked out well for me. For a hundred others, they would pass on it. To each their own.

 

That tells me there are a lot of small business owners that wish they weren't...but maybe they feel trapped by a good income or flexible schedule that would be hard to replace with their "limited" qualifications in the job market...they would want to get out but are told by potential employers they are under or over qualified...that kind of thing...

 

In my experience AS is about the last place on the interwebz I'd go for this type of advice. Whack a troll sure. Arborist advice...
Try a place where actual arborists hang out. Like Treehouse or Treebuzz.

As for the chipper and truck its probably an alright deal as long as all the important parts check out. The chipper engine, the dump mechanism, tranny, etc.

I'd probably say I had a 6k check with his name on it, and walk if he didn't take it. But that's just me.

Any 1 ton dump set up will work for a chip truck. Or even cheaper a used dump trailer will work too. And you can rent a 6" chipper for a day for anywhere between 150-250. Be sure to account for the equip. rental in your job bid.

Contact your local electrical utility and ask them where they sell their retired equipment. It's usually an auction house. I've seen beat down whisper chippers go for as low as 1500 at this type of auction.

And don't forget to set up an actual business and insurance to limit your personal liability.

Someone else brought up a good point about DOT. Keep in mind most places you have to stay under 26k gvw or it's a automatic cdl A requirement. Yep you're big rigging at that point.

My point is I'm definitely not telling you to give up on tree work before you start. But there are definitely cheaper ways to get started, and other things your going to need to spend money on. Good luck and keep us posted

 

Look into the disposal end of it too and factor that in. It probably won't be free and if you dump it on your property someone might decide that you are a wood processing facility and you need permits and there are regulations. You don't want the DEP up your butt after you have a 1000 yards of chips composting on your back lot. Bad things can happen if you have a big mountain of chips, partially decomposed and then get hit with a heavy rain that washes out the tannin and etc and turns your backyard creek orange. And then someone downstream complains.

 

Boy, that's a good point. We have a Scotts plant locally that makes potting soil and more, they have a mountain of a mulch pile. A few years back they got popped by the EPA for polluting the little stream that ran nearby, so they had to make a retention pond to catch the runoff from the mulch mountain. Then every time it rained they had to pay to have pumper trucks come in and haul it to a nearby city sewer manhole...and I'm sure the city charged a dumping fee for this too. They eventually built a pump station and installed sewer line to pump directly to the fore mentioned city sewer...about 1/2 mile away...non of this came cheap I'm sure!

 

Good point about chip disposal. You don't want that to pile up at your home. Fortunately it's easier than ever to get rid of chips:

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This map is showing a couple dozen places in the tristate area to drop chips 15 yards at a time. Also hit up landscape supply companies. Some may let you dump for free. A little leg work and you should be able to line up some go too locations.

 

Marysville???? we cleaned out their holding ponds way back, what a mess. Oh and expensive no one knew what was actually in it. Around 98-99 IIRC

 

Also take into account the things you do know for "fun" pocket money lose their "fun" when they become a business and you have to cover bills necessary to run it.
Luckily I have found that what I love to do, restore homes, not flip, is profitable to me and I have not "worked" in a long time because I do truly enjoy what I do.
Give it a try and see if it is for you, if it works and you make money and enjoy yourself in the process, you have succeeded. If it does not you have not failed you tried which as you see by asking the question most would not even try.
The most successful people I know have many many failures before succeeding.
I work by myself, I used to run a crew and that changes the whole dynamic, probably why you got so many negative responses from "companies".
If you can do what you want with one helper it will keep your stress level down.

 

This is the one that I'm familiar with. Who Pays For Tuxedo’s Mulch Pile? Of all things it was the municipality's pile.

 

No, Orrville...around 2012 IIRC...

 

The suggestion of buying a 1 ton dump is probably a far better idea than that ol Asplundah truck. Put up big sides like they do for leaves to contain the chips.

A 99ish F-550, or an OBS F-Superduty dump can be had for not a whole lot of money, then you're not in CDL territory either. You can hang a plow off em and subcontract with someone for snow removal too.

 

Well if you look at the replies on here about this equipment, it sounds as if its a slippery slope for anyone and if it did fail, he’s likely to use any profits for repairs if this notion isn’t taken with a LOT of caution. Money into equipment like this is more often to fail than succeed because set ups like this range in the tens of thousands in good shape but by the seller it looks as if that would probably match a scrap metal price or close to it that is. I just hope the best for Rangerbait and hope its actually a freaking bargain for him.

 

I don't think that is the case as a general rule. Around here anyway, equipment typically is replaced when it hits a certain amount of hours, or is a certain amount of years old. Big Companies like Asplund base their equipment purchases on expected downtime, not found problems. They can write off equipment purchases or repairs, but they cannot write off downtime, and that affects the bottom line.

For instance, I was looking at a 7 cubic yard truck with plow to push snow up my logging roads (versus my bulldozer). A friend works at a municipality and told me they just dumped a ton of money into the truck and plow gear, but he asked why; halfway through the plow season it was scheduled to go to auction. They had no good answer except they it had to be in good running order and no "getting by until it is sold."

Whether I get that truck or someone else, it will be a great deal. BUT I know the mechanic so I know the history of the truck which is a huge difference.

 

That's ok, the correct math only underscores your point all the more.

 

What is a decent used chipper worth? If the truck is good but the chipper is questionable, get what you can for the wood chipper/bone mauler and put it towards a good used chipper.
Backwoods Savage suggested that used commercial equipment has had its life squeezed out of it already but what about utility companies that get rid of good chippers that are sold off at a certain time point regardless of condition? Or utility companies that lease and then sell the equipment when the lease runs out? Utility Co's usually have a good track record of maintenance and repair. Or rental companies that release their chippers after a certain time period.

 

I have seen both sides of the equation when a question like this is asked online. I honestly think Rangerbait is really looking for advice, but for some they have their mind made up and really are just looking for affirmation on an already made decision. That can get frustrating when you can see some deficiencies with the plan and they are blinded by emotion to go forward anyway, almost to the point of getting argumentative about it.

But at the same time, as I said previously, 1 out of 15 people tend to only see the negative sides and will tell you why it cannot be done. I have beat that to death, so my ast previous post stands, but I don't think anyone on here was just being negative for negative's sake. It was all sound advice.

On this site I really only see honest remarks. Now on TractorbyNet...wow...I have seen some humdinger of replies! I need to stay off there I guess.

 

I’m leaning more toward this direction:

Aluminum Dump Inserts - EZ-Dumper

I already have an F-350 diesel, and they make a pretty slick side/tarp setup that’ll work great with a chipper. I’ve got a lead on a chipper, so that will round out my starter kit. In addition to whatever side jobs I might pick up, these components will come in quite handy clearing my dad’s wooded property.