Carlton 2500-4 upgrades

rtsims · Aug 1, 2015

Another member on here got me thinking about my stump grinder. So I did a search and came up empty. Does anyone have any experience making upgrades on the 2500-4? Upgrades such as larger hp engine, hydraulics, etc..? I have the 27hp Koehler and run greenteath. Thanks for any input. And yes, I would love to have a larger machine but it's not in the budget.

BC WetCoast · Aug 1, 2015

You have to analyze your market and potential market. Would spending $10k on upgrades which will improve your overall productivity maybe 10% be worthwhile? Don't forget you have travel, unload/load, cleanup and estimating/sales time none of which will be improved by a faster machine.

Will improved machine productivity be matched with increased sales? No point increasing machine productivity if you are just going to be sitting around more (different if you have an employee operating the mahcine).

rtsims · Aug 1, 2015

BC WetCoast said:
You have to analyze your market and potential market. Would spending $10k on upgrades which will improve your overall productivity maybe 10% be worthwhile? Don't forget you have travel, unload/load, cleanup and estimating/sales time none of which will be improved by a faster machine.

Will improved machine productivity be matched with increased sales? No point increasing machine productivity if you are just going to be sitting around more (different if you have an employee operating the mahcine).

Yes I own a tree service and the grinder is ran by employees probably 4-6 stumps a week. We do a lot of removals, yet there's not much money in stump grinding around here, it's just part of the complete service we offer. 10k would be crazy to invest into a grinder that's only worth 10k. I could justify 2-3k. Would love a larger machine but it's 3rd in line. New larger chipper this year, add a chip truck to the fleet next year, then grinder. Perfect world scenario of course. So I need a little more outta my grinder for 2 years or so. We do a lot of large fir, maple, and oaks.

CalTreeEquip · Aug 2, 2015

You're probably better off buying a larger machine when the time is right. Upgrading the engine can work when you have to replace the original anyway.
What chipper are you looking for? I have a pretty good selection right now.

mckeetree · Aug 2, 2015

CalTreeEquip said:
You're probably better off buying a larger machine when the time is right. Upgrading the engine can work when you have to replace the original anyway.
What chipper are you looking for? I have a pretty good selection right now.

He is talking about a stump grinder, Mr. observant.