chips and dump trucks

[Stumper]

Nice rigs guys!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The two strategies seem to be to try and have one truck do it all, like TM's rig, or have a big dump and then a chase truck to haul tools. The line clearance guys use a big dump with a bucket and tool boxes which is really a do it all.
Less than a third of the work we do involves a bucket truck, so we have a dedicated bucket, then a big dump, and a chase truck with tools.
Having a tool truck is great. If you need to leave the site for some reason you don't have to haul the big stuff. If you get the dump stuck, you can pull it out. If you need a stumper the tool truck can haul it, if you don't finish, you can leave the truck and chipper on site, and on and on.
It is another vehicle, so you have the additional costs, and you need another driver, but it sure is nice.

 

[priest]

Those are some classy and creative rigs, boys. How does that conveyor work, TreeMachine?
Here's the bucket truck I bought this spring. Don't know if I'll keep it or not. Back in February work was a little slow, so I passed out 250 flyers (sticking them in door handles), in one of our nicer neighborhoods with lots of trees. Had a surprisingly large number of calls, and rounded up about a dozen jobs all within a half mile of each other. That's when a big rig is super efficient.

 

[murphy4trees]

Around here the big boys keep getting bigger and bigger ship trucks
16' beds, 9' tall etc... those trucks can hold a mountain of ships.
I think that your truck should be able to handle a good days worth of chips, whatever that is for you. I've always found good equipment to be a good investment. You'll find a way to use it, and make $$$.

 

[Xtra]

Here's the truck I use for logs & tools, hooked up to a dump trailer I use to haul my grinder.
I just bought the truck from a landscape guy who was downsizing due to a nasty divorce (word of caution, be nice to your wife if she's handling your books). I still need to remove his info off the truck.

The other pic is my F-350 and the dump trailer.
I was hired to clear 50+ trees from a horse farm. The previous owner had goats and they had eaten the lower bark off of most of the trees.
The Isuzu's are horrible off road (their front ends sink). So I just loaded up the trailer connect my Ford and carried the loads across the pastures to a drop off site.

 

[Tree Machine]

Murph's got it right.

your truck should be able to handle a good days worth of chips, whatever that is for you.

My approach was velocity over quantity. I truly wanted a small system. I just don't have land or space for anything bigger, unless I rented a place somewhere remote, and then costs and convenience would suffer.

I wanted to be able to off chips quickly, conveniently and just about anywhere. The thought of the conveyor appealed to me. Since I couldn't find anything out there in the industry, sorta had to start with a piece of paper.

Where was I going with this???

 

[Tree Machine]

Oh, yea, Priest had a question about how the conveyor works. Works great! Oh, mebbe you meant how does it work?

Right now the floor is a length of belt that is pulled off with a hand-winch. I had intended to have a powered system, with a manual backup winch-off. I started with the manual setup (plan B) and ran out of time and money and had to take the new rig out and get back to business. Plan B worked out so well that I never upgraded to the powered system. These pics show how it's being done now.

 

[Tree Machine]

Next week, it'll be way different. I have sourced a 27 RPM high-torque 12V gearmotor, and have sourced and priced the continuous belt. I'm woirking on the drive and tension rollers right now, and if all goes well, I'll be able to off a load without even stopping the truck.

 

[Xtra]

TM,
I like your idea of the overhead pulley.
I could use something like that for large stump cuts (hmm, maybe with a detachable A-frame to work with my truck or trailer . . .)

That's great creativity making the sliding floor.

 

[Tree Machine]

Thanks, Bob. From the top, the armature is interfaced to the truck top with a swivel, like the kind on seats for fishin boats. This allows the arm to be swung 90 degrees to the left side of the truck for lifting logs or whatever.

I used to use a Petzl ProTraxion, like in the pic. These days I use a 2:1 Z-rig with a GriGri in the midst. allows you to lower things with precision.

I don't use it as much as I thought I would, but when it comes in handy, it REALLY comes in handy, mostly for lifting that last 100 kg of sawdust and crap at the end of the job. Use a sling to choker the tarp, lift er up and into the back. Right now, the conveyor hand winch is very much in the way, but once the powered conveyor floor is in, that winch gets stowed, and brought out only if needed, freeing up clearance in the back area. I'm getting quite excited about the whole thing. Wifey sees another $800 being spent and a couple more days off work, but the payoffs for the treeguy will be instant.

 

[Xtra]

Wow, a swivel. I would have never thought of that.
I use a lawn tractor wheel barrow for the chips and we hand load them into the truck or roll them onto the trailer. With an overhead pulley I could just hoist it into the truck. I think I see a new project for my next rainy day.

 

[R Schra]

This is a Dutch style chiptruck (not mine

A dutch trailer manufacturer makes this. Its a Iveco light truck with a chip-trailer build on the back. The second axle is a trailor axle. The capacity of the trailor is 5.5 tons, netto 3.6 tons. You can drive this with a regular car and trailor driving license.

an other, This is a 7.5 tons, 5.1 ton load capacity truck.

This is a 7.5 tons, 5.1 ton load capacity truck.

here a example how the trailor is hooked up

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Holy Cow !!!!!!!

 

[iain]

is there a www. address for this co

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

I'd see all that fabrication on a German or Japanese truck ,i'm trying to figure out how you get the chips out the truck it doesn't look like a 3-way tipper

just looked again ,i take it the chipper comes of the back,looks like a type of 5th wheel ..looks like engineering for engineering sake

 

[R Schra]

www adres;

veldhuizen trailor building

And those chip bunks are tippable to the side, most to right side. And yes they are indeed a FIFTH wheel system!

They pick up with a king pin and the 'trailor' can sligthly move left/right for easier cornering. For our driving license its a great solution. We can with a car license drive to 3500kg gross weigth (including trailor we may not exceed that 3500kg), with extra trailor license we can drive 3500kg gross weight the base vehicle and extend with trailor weigth to base vehicle specs of towing capacity. So in case of this ITALIAN Iveco truck we can drive up to 7500kg with 'normal' car + trailor license. This sytem can be build on to every base vehicle thats available as cab/chassis. So on a mercedes LT, Volkswagen LT, Renault LT, Japanese LT, Korean LT and even USA trucks...( and yeah also on that brittisch LDV truck or landrover chassis if wanted ...)

Also those chippers hung at the back must be seen as LOAD, that weight has to be reduced on effective chip load capacity. They mount chippers self sustaned with a own engine OR with a PTO from the base vehicle connected to a extra build in gearbox in the driveshaft to rear axle.

Let me give some prices from the site,

trailor: ± 5,40 x 1,99 mtr. (size 8,50 x 1,99 mtr.)
(incl. kist) € 26.400,=

extra cost: - top 1,60 mtr. from bunk removable(with forklift ± 0,5 hr) € 800,=

- box behind cab 1,96x2,42x0,48 mtr. coated, shelfes and rolling hatches € 3.740,=

- Iveco 40C17 with A.B.S. and difflock conversion to pullvehicle € 7.340,=

- gearbox between driveshaft Iveco € 4.200,=

- Huzman H8 chipper (1000 kg) € 18.875,=

- chipper removable(with forklift ± 1 hr) € 1.100,=

prices are in euro's. the base car is NOT included.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I have driven chippers off truck pto's before, unless its a big gearbox its a bad idea. chippers by there nature have high shock loading on the drive, on a small ZF box like the iveco, its going to be shagged pretty quick.
its a nice idea, well put together, but for us its a none starter as uk licencing laws would mean you'd need a full class 1 (c+e) to drive that.

 

[R Schra]

I have driven chippers off truck pto's before, unless its a big gearbox its a bad idea. chippers by there nature have high shock loading on the drive, on a small ZF box like the iveco, its going to be shagged pretty quick.
its a nice idea, well put together, but for us its a none starter as uk licencing laws would mean you'd need a full class 1 (c+e) to drive that.

I am aware of the limited strength of standard gearboxes. In this case they mount a extra pto-gearbox in the driveshaft as i believe. I think a 'normal' PTO on a van of this type can give 30Hp at max. Maybe they can increase output by using the gears and an extra fitted gearbox in that driveshaft. Biggerst problem will be heating up the tranny, running the gears at stand will heat that up quick.

Strange that we can drive it with B+E and you guys need a C+E for it... european 'standard' my A$$.

 

[Tree Machine]

Just spent a couple days working on my rig. I added 6 additional rollers to the floor and sourced the gearmotor drive. I put together a mock-up with plastic pipe, front and rear, so I could take a direct measurement and order the continuous conveyor belt.

I'm designing the mount (front end) for the gearmotor and drive rollers, and am half way through the fabrication of the adjustable belt tensioner off the back end.

Wish me luck. I spend 10-20 minutes right now. Stop the truck, hand crank off a part of the load, pull forward, repeat 4 or 5 more times, unhook the belt from the hand-crank and muscle the flat belt back into place.

When I'm finished with this project, I'll be able to off the load without even stopping (chip driveways). For putting down a pile, I'll be able to push a button and at 27 RPM and a 6" diameter drive roller, we'll just have to see how quick that'll be. Also, I'll be able to off partial loads, like if I have a full load, and the person only wants half. Before, there was no way to retract the belt with a partial load on, so they either got it all, or nothing (just like a dump-truck). Soon, there is no more 'retracting' the belt after a dump. It's a continuous conveyor, and it can go forward or reverse. When it's off, it's done

I am all excited about this. It's been a vision for quite a number of years that I haven't gotten around to fulfilling. I'll keep you in the loop as the elements are created.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Next week, it'll be way different. I have sourced a 27 RPM high-torque 12V gearmotor, and have sourced and priced the continuous belt. I'm woirking on the drive and tension rollers right now, and if all goes well, I'll be able to off a load without even stopping the truck.

Then will she get a deserved lick of paint ??