Dingos and such

[woodchux]

These battery powered carts look pretty sweet...

Northern tool sells em for around $1900...

I also like the look of the Jonesred Iorn Horse..

Spec page says 2.5 psi ground pressure with 1000# load.

 

[Plasmech]

Wat do you guys suppose the smallest tractor that has 4 wheel drive is? Something like a Kubota or a Deer or the like (?)

 

[JTinaTree]

Ive seen some pretty small little Kubotas with a bucket but they are $$$.
You can find a decent Mini skid for what you pay for the little tractors+ the Mini will fit through a 36" gate..

 

[rarefish383]

I just skimmed the thread looking at pics of cool equipment. Dingo, DR, Bobcat. I picked up an old John Deere Gator for $75. It's kind high to lift onto, but it makes lifting the rest of the way up to the truck easier. 40 years ago we ran 2 pro crews with only hand power. Allmost all of our work was residential and there was really no smallish equipment to use in manicured yards in the DC area. You just couldn't tear peoples lawns up and repair after the work was done. There were times we bought bails of burlap to cover yards to keep from getting saw dust in the grass.

I'm retired now, so all of the big trucks and chippers are gone. I have one 1/2 ton Dodge and a single axle 5,000lb gvw dump trailer. I can stack brush 10' high and people at the dump just grin when I come in and dump. Works for me playing around. I would never suggest it for pro work. Get a used chipper. Stay away from the little 6 inchers. I've rented a little Morbark 10" with an air cooled diesel (25 hp?), worked great.

Time is money, and what ever you can find to cut down on handling, is a bonus. Keep up the hard work and good luck, Joe.

 

[rarefish383]

I just went back and read most of the thread. I read the part that says your an engineer by trade doing tree work on the side. I was 4th generation in the trade and have loved the work all of my life. I know why people get hooked on this work. It's good honest WORK. It's hard, healthy, and you can make a lot of money. Here's the point where I might PO a lot of guys.

Are you LICENSED? Are you INSURED? I know everyone must get started somewhere, but doing pro tree work is not the right place to start. Since you said you were doing an apt complex I assumed you were a legal company, they usually check. If not licensed and insured, don't worry about equipment, stop now, untill you are. One screw up on your part will ruin your life forever, not to mention the lives of the people you're working for. If you're on the up and up, sorry for the lecture. When I took my MD Tree Expert exam in 1999 you had to have a 4 year degree in an arborculter related field or 8 years in the industry. I don't see where you can have the time and education to have met minimal requirements. Home improvement and business license's don't count. If you're not ISA licensed, you're not legal.

My lecture is over, now we can get back to all of the neat equipment, Joe.

 

[danieltree]

Wat do you guys suppose the smallest tractor that has 4 wheel drive is? Something like a Kubota or a Deer or the like (?)

The tractor I have is a john deere . Its 4 wheel drive and is 24 hp. It is hydrostatic so the hydralics are strong. I have skid 28 inch pine logs 18ft long with it. It is not small enough to fit through most gates but can go between houses in a cramped subdivision its 50 inches wide. The cost is up there but the machines versatility allows for more ways it can pay for itself.


I would like to say something about the need for equipment. I leave the machines at home on a lot of jobs, the labor to load is easier and cheaper than making an extra trip to retrieve the tractor or use another truck and trailer. I have had guys come on the job and freak out over the amount of wood that needed to be moved by hand but once you show them how to attack it and they get some rhythm it goes quick. A piece of equipment is surely a back saver just remember that you cant lay a peice of machinery off when times are slow that note is there rain or shine. There are also all the support pieces that go with it. Gotta have a truck to pull it, need a trailer to load it on , there is maintenance and breakdowns. I think that its good advice to tackle all jobs without the crutch of hydraulics first, learn how to move the wood then get the helper. Getting brush and rounds out efficiently is a science in itself and is very rewarding.


I would also like to add that if you are not running the equipment there will be stuff that gets destroyed, I have never had a helper that was as careful as me on the job and without fail if you are not on the machine they will either tear it up or run over great great grandmas rose bush.​

 

[outofmytree]

I just went back and read most of the thread. I read the part that says your an engineer by trade doing tree work on the side. I was 4th generation in the trade and have loved the work all of my life. I know why people get hooked on this work. It's good honest WORK. It's hard, healthy, and you can make a lot of money. Here's the point where I might PO a lot of guys.

Are you LICENSED? Are you INSURED? I know everyone must get started somewhere, but doing pro tree work is not the right place to start. Since you said you were doing an apt complex I assumed you were a legal company, they usually check. If not licensed and insured, don't worry about equipment, stop now, untill you are. One screw up on your part will ruin your life forever, not to mention the lives of the people you're working for. If you're on the up and up, sorry for the lecture. When I took my MD Tree Expert exam in 1999 you had to have a 4 year degree in an arborculter related field or 8 years in the industry. I don't see where you can have the time and education to have met minimal requirements. Home improvement and business license's don't count. If you're not ISA licensed, you're not legal.

My lecture is over, now we can get back to all of the neat equipment, Joe.

You are a rare fish indeed.

I love talking shop but am 100% behind rarefish in saying do the work for which you are qualified and insured only. Plas you are as keen as mustard and I do not want you to lose the thrill of the work due to the pain of the lawsuit!!!!!

 

[DeAvilaTree]

We use a kubota copact trator, I have a set forks on it that are about 3' long. We just cut the logs that it can handle and it will put it right in the back of my 350 or trailer.

 

[Walt41]

Just rent a mini-skid. They rent around here for $130 a day, get the forks on it or a grapple if they have one and you can move alot of wood quickly.

+1...AND if you use the same rental place alot, they will give discounts and even throw you some work here and there.

 

[Plasmech]

You are a rare fish indeed.

I love talking shop but am 100% behind rarefish in saying do the work for which you are qualified and insured only. Plas you are as keen as mustard and I do not want you to lose the thrill of the work due to the pain of the lawsuit!!!!!

Why does every thread turn into a bashing of me? This forum is just no fun for me anymore. The title of the thread is Dingos and Such. It it not "Liability and Such". If I wanted to talk liability, I would have opened such a thread. It really is that simple.

 

[Grace Tree]

I'm not bashing you. I think you want legitimate answers to your questions. Ask away. I think folks just have too much time on their hands right now and things are taking a nasty turn. I'm signing out for a couple of months. I'll be back in March.
Phil

 

[rarefish383]

I did answer that I picked up an old John Deere Gator cheap and it works great for moving a pretty good jag of wood at one time. Beats a wheel barrow, or rolling the rounds up hill.

Also, I'm not bashing you. I assume you enjoy this work as much as I did. You might not believe me, but your best interests are mine also. I've seen good young men that have had to work the rest of their lives to pay for something insurance would have covered.

Like I said above, let's get back to the cool equipment, Joe.

 

[Plasmech]

I did answer that I picked up an old John Deere Gator cheap and it works great for moving a pretty good jag of wood at one time. Beats a wheel barrow, or rolling the rounds up hill.

Also, I'm not bashing you. I assume you enjoy this work as much as I did. You might not believe me, but your best interests are mine also. I've seen good young men that have had to work the rest of their lives to pay for something insurance would have covered.

Like I said above, let's get back to the cool equipment, Joe.

I am all for insurance, believe me. That's currently in the works. As far as licensing goes...nowhere in the US Constitution, which is the ONLY form of gov't as far as I am concerned, does it give the gov't the power to control who climbs a tree and who doesn't. It is NONE of their business. So, unless I absolutely 100% HAVE to get a license, I will not. And even then I may not. Crock of #### as far as I am concerned. I'm sure there are plenty on here who agree with me.

 

[danieltree]

Really, that is your view, I guess as a hobbyist perhaps one would feel that way. This is how I feed the beast and being licensed is required in my state. So is workers comp. So is GL. If that is your view then as far as I am concerned you are the enemy. Your the guy that sees a quick buck and has no concern for the profession or his customers. I have read a lot of your posts and kinda liked you but now I see your true colors.​

 

[treeslayer]

I am all for insurance, believe me. That's currently in the works. As far as licensing goes...nowhere in the US Constitution, which is the ONLY form of gov't as far as I am concerned, does it give the gov't the power to control who climbs a tree and who doesn't. It is NONE of their business. So, unless I absolutely 100% HAVE to get a license, I will not. And even then I may not. Crock of #### as far as I am concerned. I'm sure there are plenty on here who agree with me.

local govt's issue licenses in order to regulate taxation for the most part, and to protect society at large from unscrupulous contractors by registering them.

watch where ya go with this one plas. you got a future here, Mr. Mayor.
you ain't in it for the money, I'm guessing, but the love of treework.

buy a skidsteer, leave tractors in landscaping where they belong.

 

[rarefish383]

Plas, I'd like to apologize, you were right, this was not the place to address this issue. Instead of backing you into a corner in front of your peers, I should have tried a better way to help you get what you need to get licensed.

As for the rant above, I say that's what I get for backing you into that corner. Enough said about that.

There are ways to get started legally. My Dad took a landscaper he met in DC under his wing. After working with him a few times they became friends. Dad got his license in DC and listed Lou as our DC branch office. We have allways been licensed in MD. If your a half decent climber hook up with someone who is licensed till you have the time and expertese to pass your test. You've made a lot of friends here. The thing is you do have to get that stuff ot opperate. As much as you and I dissagree with our gov they cn still push us around. Good luck, Joe.

 

[mr. holden wood]

So I've got several jobs lines up that require moving a lot of wood around on the ground some considerable distances. So far, what my helper and I have been doing is bucking everything into firewood sized pieces and either backing a pickup in as close as we can or if we're less fortunate with access using a wheel barrow and in some extreme cases carrying wood out by hand. As one can imagine, this gets old real quick and is very limiting.

A Dingo would be great, but I am nowhere near ready to make that kind of investment. My question is, what type of device or machine bridges the gap between moving stuff by hand or in a wheel barrow/pickup and having a Dingo? Is there some sort of inexpensive motorized pulling device to be had? I've been pondering this quite a bit. I even thought of a quad however I don't see that being very practical and certainly far from professional.

The easiest way to move wood is the free section of craigslist. Buck rounds into 16 inch sections and people line up for it.
Whats unprofessional is portraying yourself as a legal and experienced tree service.

 

[treeclimber101]

So I've got several jobs lines up that require moving a lot of wood around on the ground some considerable distances. So far, what my helper and I have been doing is bucking everything into firewood sized pieces and either backing a pickup in as close as we can or if we're less fortunate with access using a wheel barrow and in some extreme cases carrying wood out by hand. As one can imagine, this gets old real quick and is very limiting.

A Dingo would be great, but I am nowhere near ready to make that kind of investment. My question is, what type of device or machine bridges the gap between moving stuff by hand or in a wheel barrow/pickup and having a Dingo? Is there some sort of inexpensive motorized pulling device to be had? I've been pondering this quite a bit. I even thought of a quad however I don't see that being very practical and certainly far from professional.

Buy mine for cheap before they come and repossess it it's a Ramrod 900t it's real nice :smoking:

 

[Saw Dust Smoken]

Equipment to do the job. Equipment to fit in truck bed or on trailer. Not having to drive two trucks or two trailers to get equipment to job. One to two people with good machinery can do as much work of 5-8 man crew!
If your goal is to go big. Purchase machinery to fit your best interest.
I have not interest in getting big. But do use the right machinery to make life easier. Mini skid steer and smaller stump grinder with one or two man crew makes life good.

 

[outofmytree]

Why does every thread turn into a bashing of me? This forum is just no fun for me anymore. The title of the thread is Dingos and Such. It it not "Liability and Such". If I wanted to talk liability, I would have opened such a thread. It really is that simple.

I read and reread what I posted Plas. I think you are overly sensitive. I have not "bashed" you before nor now. I simply added my support to the concept of being careful as to what work you take on. If apartment complexes in the States are run anything like they are over here, you have 50 masters to answer to not one. And as they say over here "any man who rides 2 horses needs a lot of arse". (arse loosely translates to luck)