# Why don't more tree co's have grapple trucks?



## chucknduck (Jan 29, 2008)

I am considering buying a grapple truck for my tree company. I can't think of any tree co's that have one around here. What would you guys recommend as far as grapple trucks go? Are they worth it, or would I be better off just loading the big stuff onto a trailer? I do a lot of large removals of elms, cottonwoods, etc


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## hornett22 (Jan 29, 2008)

*many reasons.*

mostly cost of vehicle,cost of operation,and weight of vehicle.they are nice if you can justify it.


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## teamtree (Jan 29, 2008)

I do a bunch of removals but it still only makes up 60% of my total revenue. So 2 days a week my loader and stump grinder are sitting in the shop. Of the removals I do, my tractor works great more than 50% of the time (and a grapple truck would not). My question with grapple trucks is how do you get the material close enough to the truck? I would love to have one and will probably acquire one in the near future. 

I have a small company and a small crew so I try to limit the number of vehicles going to a job site. If I need my tractor/loader to load stump grindings why bring a grapple along as well when the tractor works fine. 

While a grapple would be more efficient in many cases I would struggle to find more work to fill up the void may by that efficiency. So I would be cutting into my labor hours in which I struggle to get the guys their 40 per week.


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## clearance (Jan 29, 2008)

Sweetest set up I ever saw was a Peterbuilt semi pulling a tri-axle 45 yard dumping bin trailer. It was a self loading logging truck that also had a fifth wheel. We cut down two big (100', 30"+ at the butt, big branches) Douglas firs, he stuffed it all into the bin asap, bucked to length logs on top, under an hour. Would have taken a long time to chip, thats for sure.

Must be cost, otherwise everyone who does removals who have that, or something like it.


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## teamtree (Jan 29, 2008)

check out Gaston's Tree Service pic in the latest TCIA magazine. They have a picture of all their equipment but not one chipper. I think they are in Gainesville Florida.

I can get rid of chips pretty easy. I would have a tough time getting rid of the brush. Unless I buy a tub grinder.

The size of a semi rig with a 45 yard trailer would be prohibitive in many urban settings. Not to mention it puts you in the CDL class which many small operators try to avoid.

Was the tree on the ground when he started?


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## clearance (Jan 29, 2008)

teamtree said:


> check out Gaston's Tree Service pic in the latest TCIA magazine. They have a picture of all their equipment but not one chipper. I think they are in Gainesville Florida.
> 
> I can get rid of chips pretty easy. I would have a tough time getting rid of the brush. Unless I buy a tub grinder.
> 
> ...



Uhh no, he just started ripping the branches off with his grapple........Yes, both of them were down, limbed and bucked to length.


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## pavement99 (Jan 29, 2008)

There are certain jobs (5 or 10%) that are a just a huge pain without one. I know guys that use one on every single job. That may be overkill, but I'd definitely recommend one if your company is growing.


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## teamtree (Jan 29, 2008)

Seems like there is not the ultimate set up for any one tree removal crew. I struggle with it all the time. What do I need to be more efficient yet cost effective. 

Larger companies with multiple crews can utilize more equipment more effectively.


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## chucknduck (Jan 29, 2008)

Yeah, i would like one because I can have fewer employees? I have the work, but not the labor! They aren't cheap, yall are right about that one. But I'm thinking of getting an older model with some milage on it, then replacing anything that needs it.


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## teamtree (Jan 29, 2008)

I have been thinking that way myself if I lose another guy.


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## beowulf343 (Jan 29, 2008)

chucknduck said:


> I am considering buying a grapple truck for my tree company. I can't think of any tree co's that have one around here. What would you guys recommend as far as grapple trucks go? Are they worth it, or would I be better off just loading the big stuff onto a trailer? I do a lot of large removals of elms, cottonwoods, etc



Strange, several of the tree companies around here have them. We've got a 14 wheel kenworth with a prentice. Works great. It does all the big cleanup behind three different takedown crews.


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## teamtree (Jan 29, 2008)

thats how it makes sense to me...have one truck supporting multiple crews


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## fireman (Jan 29, 2008)

*grapple truck*

the problem is insurance and the biggest cost cdl and to plate it because of weight.its over $2000 a year just to plate it then safety stickers.the cost has to justify the amount of work you do and type of work you do.


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## treeman82 (Jan 29, 2008)

I heard a few guys talking about using a small knuckleboom truck. Chip into it, and then when the job is finished pop the top off and load the logs. Top goes back on and off you go. One guy over here has a VERY nice one, got it used from Royal about 10 years ago for ~40K


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## John464 (Jan 29, 2008)

If you can get your bucket truck to the trees , figure thats nearly the same percentage you will be able to get a grapple truck to In my area that is about 30% of the trees(with using alturnamats).

With my skid loader with grapple I can get to 95% of where the wood lays. Grapple truck is no good for me. I will load more wood, with less expense, and I don't need to lay any mats down.


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## mckeetree (Jan 29, 2008)

I buy and sell auction stuff a little and have had grapple/knuckle boom trucks before. I never considered them a really fundamental piece of equipment as far as tree work goes. One thing I can tell anybody that does not already know it is that if you don't get in a hurry you can find them way cheaper than dealers ask. Just shop hurricane areas about the time the clean up is winding down.


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## chucknduck (Jan 29, 2008)

John464 said:


> If you can get your bucket truck to the trees , figure thats nearly the same percentage you will be able to get a grapple truck to In my area that is about 30% of the trees(with using alturnamats).
> 
> With my skid loader with grapple I can get to 95% of where the wood lays. Grapple truck is no good for me. I will load more wood, with less expense, and I don't need to lay any mats down.



Thats probably why. I live in a spread out area of new mexico. I can get my bucket in 95% of the time, so I think I might just have to get it. Time to talk to the bank! lol


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## STLfirewood (Jan 29, 2008)

I have thought about buying one. I have thought about trying to just sell pick up service to a bunch of different tree companys. I would just charge to pick up the wood. I wonder if I could keep a truck busy offering this service? 

Scott


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## chucknduck (Jan 30, 2008)

I bet you could in a town that size. Just charge a fair price, like $75-100/hr. But, then the competition might decide to buy their own!


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## ROLLACOSTA (Jan 30, 2008)

hornett22 said:


> mostly cost of vehicle,cost of operation,and weight of vehicle.they are nice if you can justify it.




Dead right!


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## NYCHA FORESTER (Jan 30, 2008)

*Sounds like a niche!*

Think about it.... there may be 3,4,5,... tree co's (even landscrapers for that matter) in your area whom, at one time or another, would benefit from a loader. 

Back in the old days when I worked in the private sector we would get calls from other tree co's that had their own loader (but was down for repairs); we would also pay for their service when our loader was down or we had too much work for the one we had.

We would also load and move Railroad ties for the railroad for the same reason.


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## mckeetree (Jan 30, 2008)

STLfirewood said:


> I have thought about buying one. I have thought about trying to just sell pick up service to a bunch of different tree companys. I would just charge to pick up the wood. I wonder if I could keep a truck busy offering this service?
> 
> Scott



Now that might work.


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## hammerlogging (Jan 30, 2008)

Loader trucks with debris bins seemed to have been huge for Katrina related pickup- I'd look around south MS for a good deal. I'm temporarily working in the area, taking a break from cutting timber (bad idea for me personally), I'll keep my out but the local paper is the Sun herald from Biloxi. they're online.


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## Scots Climber (Jan 30, 2008)

We just use a tractor fitted with a crane towing a 25' logging trailer and or the Unimog Skidder with high sided silage tipper for the chips the other Unimog can't take.


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## daveyclimber (Feb 1, 2008)

We would love to have one as we are a 2-3 man operation and it would help us keep up with our demand right now. Problem is we have too much overhead as it is, just bought our new 7015 trx 3 weeks ago. This will be a future purchase in a couple of years. I see nice units for about 60k regularly. Several tree co's in my area have these.


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## tree md (Feb 1, 2008)

I would love to have one myself but I'm not a big enough outfit fit justify it now. Only the larger tree services I have worked for in the past have utilized them. I have worked with two outfits in the past that kept a knuckle boom working and the guy that ran the knuckle boom also did the stump grinding. Both companies had 5 crews out in front of the knuckle boom. We would chip all the fluff and leave the logs for the grapple truck. I think a truck crane would be a better investment. That way you could use it to do the removals as well as load the logs.


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## Magnum783 (Feb 9, 2008)

There is an outfit in NC where I lived before Cheyenne that didn't have a single chipper and he had two of grapples. He did though own a tub grinder and ground all the brush and then sold it as mulch. I think if I was going to get one or the other I would have to look at what I could get disposed of easier. If you have someplace that will take brush that is the way to go IMHO.
Jared


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## Duffer (Feb 9, 2008)

I have a Grapple trailer and could not live with out it, Max load is 9.500 lbs(the only down fall) I use my 2500 ram to pull it. We have a skid steer with Grapple to pick up the heavy pieces. and when we do not want to bring the skid steer we have a great dolly to do the job. Two 5 ton trucks and two Bandit chipper 12 inch. carton 7015 for stumps, 
Duffer


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## ropensaddle (Feb 9, 2008)

chucknduck said:


> Yeah, i would like one because I can have fewer employees? I have the work, but not the labor! They aren't cheap, yall are right about that one. But I'm thinking of getting an older model with some milage on it, then replacing anything that needs it.



here is my old mack not much to look at but I just got home
a few min ago and hauled 6 trees today and to uprooted
stumps! The first tree of the day was a large brushy pine
40 dbh got everything in one load but it was a load for sure!
Very few trees will i need to come back a second time for!
Fuel wise the 81 mack twin stick gets as good as my 07
dodge dulley pulling a trailer the tree would have been 5
trailer loads. I could not live without me mack.


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## lees trees (Feb 9, 2008)

I got my old Prentice in 91 and it did allot for me by getting out of the firewood business and in the sawmill business my saws lasted for years instead just one and production went up too I don't it run on the road any more the tractor loads me now and the Prentice unloads hard to get the beast some places.


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## chucknduck (Feb 10, 2008)

*I got a grapple*

Well, I bought one. Its a 97' Volvo wg64 with cummins L11 330 hp, 200k miles, with a barko loader. 35 grand. I bought it sight unseen, other than lots of pictures and time on the phone with the salesman, which I hate to do, but i think I bought it from a reputable outfit in Florida, that sells lots of them. i will see when I fly out in a few weeks to pick it up. They are a dealer for the loaders, so at least I know where to get parts for it. Does anybody have any insight about this truck or loader, any experience with them?


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## irish93stang (Feb 10, 2008)

The Company that I work for relies heavily on log loaders with 60+ yard debris boxes. We have a fleet of 7 mostly rear mounted and 1 tractor trailer unit with a slideable brush box. The reasons most small companies don't have them is they don't have enough work to keep the truck running. Very expensive start up cost.. expensive to maintain and keep road worthy.. inspection ,taxes, fuel ,cdl driver,hydraulics licenses, experienced operators, overweight permits, bridge height limitations, backyard access, and lawn damage just to name a few.


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