Are clam trucks still viable in this economy? (for a smaller mid-west residential co)

[prentice110]

With the days of burning outlawed. Giant eat it all chippers everywhere. All the good muni removal contracts takin by lowballing big timers, and mini-skids being able to not only get big wood out of tight area, but load it too, is it worth having that $2200 a year plate sticker renewal, insurance bill, fuel, tires 2much2list ? Thoughts, ideas, opinions? Keep in mind, this is a midwest sit, for a small co. Also, there is a pallet company in my area that will bring a clam on a semi for free if you can get it to the road.

 

[capecodtree]

grapple truck

I went through the same mental angst last year before I bought my rear mount grapple truck. It is a great investment. It changes the way you approach a tree job, we can drag butt logs within reach of the grapple, sometimes put the grapple on the butt log as it is cut! then all your wood can be stacked in uniform lengths for processing, resale in log length, etc. I also rent it out by the hour to sawmills municipalities, etc. It also reduces the potential for a workers comp. claim by eliminating lumping wood. Good luck, Jim

 

[prentice110]

If I had one, the world would hate me. I'd be at 9 when your at 12. But the work aint there now. I grew up with 2 in the back yard , been running em myself since age 10, so Im fully aware of what you can do with one. There was a day where I wouldnt apply at a co if they didnt have/use one.(before Minis) Got one sitting un-mounted in dang good shape, but cant decide. 2010 was way better than 09, but with fuel prices and this Japan thing, the crystal balls awfully foggy right now.

 

[Natewood]

if a pallet co will take ALL your logs if you forward them, why would you go through the hassle of your own? unless you like firewood and log sales a lot.
If i had that opportunity, i'd give the pallet co all my softwoods and bigger cumbersome wood and take all the firewood "tops" and then some with a mini and chip truck/dump trailer for personal sale

 

[Bigus Termitius]

If I had all the toys, but a clam, I'd want one in my sandbox.

Viable? I doubt it, but I can see where having one could be an advantage. My local fat cat comp has one, but I think he has everything shy of a crane.

 

[prentice110]

if a pallet co will take ALL your logs if you forward them, why would you go through the hassle of your own? unless you like firewood and log sales a lot.
If i had that opportunity, i'd give the pallet co all my softwoods and bigger cumbersome wood and take all the firewood "tops" and then some with a mini and chip truck/dump trailer for personal sale

Firewood. Theres the rub. Catch 2200!

 

[prentice110]

If I had all the toys, but a clam, I'd want one in my sandbox.

I never made it out of the sandbox.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[flushcut]

With the days of burning outlawed. Giant eat it all chippers everywhere. All the good muni removal contracts takin by lowballing big timers, and mini-skids being able to not only get big wood out of tight area, but load it too, is it worth having that $2200 a year plate sticker renewal, insurance bill, fuel, tires 2much2list ? Thoughts, ideas, opinions? Keep in mind, this is a midwest sit, for a small co. Also, there is a pallet company in my area that will bring a clam on a semi for free if you can get it to the road.

If you have the work to fill it. Then yes it would be worth it. Are you talking Northwest Wood Products? If you are they will only pick up when they can get a full load from the area at least that is what they told me when I was clearing a cemetery last year. To use them you also need a way to move wood with a min size of 8' x 8".

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It all depends on how you want to run your show, I know guys who would never have them, they would rather have a skid loader for the versatility. I know a couple guys with wheeled loaders and a knuckle-truck.

If you are fast and efficient, I bet dollars for doughnuts that you would be kicking yourself as soon as it was out the door. As long as you have the money to pay for carry it seems to be worth it.

Can you make enough off of guys like Dave to help pay for it in these slow times? Seems like you are a lot more rural then I am, Mid-West is a very relative thing. How close to Chicagoland would you want to get? I know a lot of small companies that would love to get rid of wood cheap.....

 

[conlan]

I also have been considering getting a clam grapple truck, but never having owned one or anything like it, I would like to know a few things. First, how important a consideration is reach? I found a nice looking unit, but it only has a reach of 16 feet, as opposed to 24 feet like some other types. Is 16 feet enough? Second, it is the type of set up where the operator stands under the arm and the hyraulic controls are on either side of the truck, as opposed to a top seat control. Is a top seat set up better than the other kind? Third, is a hiab with a winch and a long cable attached to the hook better than a grapple, since the winch can be used to drag the wood close to the truck? Fourth (finally), is a single rear axle big enough to handle a full load of wood in a 16 foot long box, or would it be better to get a truck with two rear axles? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these questions.

 

[jg55056]

Don't make your decision about your truck when it is slow. Wait until it picks up and then decide if its worth it. You will be glad you kept it. The same thought goes through my mind every spring.

To answer the previous post. Get a tandem truck with at least 22 feet of stick. You will overload a single axle truck unless you add an extra axle or two. Grapples are better than winches. I like the bypass style but that's a personal preferance based on what I need and use it for. Some like the trash style for debris etc. Get something with top seat controls. The whole stand under the boom thing blows. Poor visibility, usually unfriendly controls, brush in your face and much more.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I also have been considering getting a clam grapple truck, but never having owned one or anything like it, I would like to know a few things. First, how important a consideration is reach? I found a nice looking unit, but it only has a reach of 16 feet, as opposed to 24 feet like some other types. Is 16 feet enough?

It all depends on what you want to do with the truck. If you are moving a few logs to finish off a job, then the smaller truck might be for you. One of my clients has a non-cdl set up that works perfect for him. Others think it is too small, they want to jam as much on as possible, and reach as far out as they can. With your location, i would assume you would want the biggest truck you can afford, a bed with a dump ram and a pup to tow behind.

 

[ropensaddle]

Well I love mine but the work never materialized the way I planned. It did help my back and definitely speeds up big removals. Just remember many jobs are not enough brush and wood to make it's use pan out. I am selling mine but it will hurt me to watch it leave. If you live where there is enough work to use it often then yes it is a great investment. I have put my Mack in places most would think impossible. It always brightened my day knowing after sweating to get a nasty removal down clean-up would be smooth. I just don't have the work load no more and can't work as cheap as some of my competitors do so back to hand clean-up grrrrrrrrrrrrr lol Top load is a must imo also make sure it has a strong off road chassis and such.

 

[ducaticorse]

With the days of burning outlawed. Giant eat it all chippers everywhere. All the good muni removal contracts takin by lowballing big timers, and mini-skids being able to not only get big wood out of tight area, but load it too, is it worth having that $2200 a year plate sticker renewal, insurance bill, fuel, tires 2much2list ? Thoughts, ideas, opinions? Keep in mind, this is a midwest sit, for a small co. Also, there is a pallet company in my area that will bring a clam on a semi for free if you can get it to the road.

I bought one, than promptly sold it due to the exact reasons stated above. I call a local logging co who picks up my stuff for cheap.

 

[conlan]

Thanks for the feedback. The truck I am looking at is an F700 with air brakes, a GVW of 33,000 (11,500 front axle and 21,500 rear axle), the rear axle is a single axle, the boom length is 16 feet and the dump box bed is 16 feet long. I do a lot of removals. Often we will be taking down one or two big conifers (ie. Western red cedars or Douglas fir trees) around 100 feet tall and 3-4 feet Dbh. Since we do not do a lot of large land clearing or demolition jobs, I thought the smaller single axle truck may be big enough to do the job. It seems if I get a double axle with a larger box then it will be too big for most of my jobs. What do you guys think?

 

[ducaticorse]

Thanks for the feedback. The truck I am looking at is an F700 with air brakes, a GVW of 33,000 (11,500 front axle and 21,500 rear axle), the rear axle is a single axle, the boom length is 16 feet and the dump box bed is 16 feet long. I do a lot of removals. Often we will be taking down one or two big conifers (ie. Western red cedars or Douglas fir trees) around 100 feet tall and 3-4 feet Dbh. Since we do not do a lot of large land clearing or demolition jobs, I thought the smaller single axle truck may be big enough to do the job. It seems if I get a double axle with a larger box then it will be too big for most of my jobs. What do you guys think?

I think buying a stand alone clam truck rated at only 33K gvw is retarded if your concentration is removals..

 

[prentice110]

Not putting it on the road this year. Did a front yard of the driveway removal on Sunday with one chip truck taking the chips and the other behind the chipper facing oppisite direction. 90% of what went thru the chipper I used the mini-skid for, and the logs went in the other dump. It went so fast and so smooth all I could think about while looking at the load was, why do I need a clam? Oh yeah, cuz Ive been running em' since I was 10 and its fun. My buddy from another co I work with has a 4900 International that tipped over last year. It still runs but the frame got bent. He sells a lot of mulch and firewood and his Bobcat blew up. Point is were gonna put it on that truck for now as a 'yard truck', so I can go over there and orginze the log sit cuz the place is a mess and its too much fo a mini-skid to handle. and that way big daddy still gets to have his way in the sandbox

 

[ropensaddle]

Thanks for the feedback. The truck I am looking at is an F700 with air brakes, a GVW of 33,000 (11,500 front axle and 21,500 rear axle), the rear axle is a single axle, the boom length is 16 feet and the dump box bed is 16 feet long. I do a lot of removals. Often we will be taking down one or two big conifers (ie. Western red cedars or Douglas fir trees) around 100 feet tall and 3-4 feet Dbh. Since we do not do a lot of large land clearing or demolition jobs, I thought the smaller single axle truck may be big enough to do the job. It seems if I get a double axle with a larger box then it will be too big for most of my jobs. What do you guys think?

Well your going to find out that it is easy to overload! It depends on actual weight of truck my mack is 29k empty and two rear axles are not enough because the most I can tag it for is 44k unless I put on a tag axle! so around seven ton is all I can legally haul and I know I have been over several times!

 

[conlan]

Everybody seems to like larger grapple trucks because they can "load 'em up and off they go"; no problems because large trucks can handle the loads, whereas smaller single axles, with the controls on the side may require an extra trip and are slower. But let's consider that there are lots of tree guys out there that are either ripping the wood up and leaving it on site for others to take, or they are carting it away using old fahion labour, extra guys and a large dolley. It seems to me that even a single axle with controls on the side graplle truck would be a huge step up from having no grapple truck at all. So what if it's a little slower and can't be loaded to the hilt like the tandem axle trucks, it seems a heck of a lot better than no grapple truck at all, don't you think?

 

[ropensaddle]

Everybody seems to like larger grapple trucks because they can "load 'em up and off they go"; no problems because large trucks can handle the loads, whereas smaller single axles, with the controls on the side may require an extra trip and are slower. But let's consider that there are lots of tree guys out there that are either ripping the wood up and leaving it on site for others to take, or they are carting it away using old fahion labour, extra guys and a large dolley. It seems to me that even a single axle with controls on the side graplle truck would be a huge step up from having no grapple truck at all. So what if it's a little slower and can't be loaded to the hilt like the tandem axle trucks, it seems a heck of a lot better than no grapple truck at all, don't you think?

Well yes; I was merely pointing out something that will come up! You will probably want to add a tag axle if the truck is very heavy! The controls on the side well if your careful it could work its just if you blow a line the log is gonna fall ya know. I would end up running over load every time but that's me as I am thirty miles from everywhere It will still help you in many ways you don't even know yet. I dug my water lines and storm shelter put a motor in my bucket it is very nice having it around.