Dumpster vs. Chipper

[MasonGrey]

Has anyone out there used roll-off dumpsters for brush instead of chippers? I guess this is geared more toward the small/new guys who can't afford the big equipment yet.
I have done a few small removals and have found that it has been more economical to rent a 20-30yd roll off than to rent a chipper to do small to medium jobs. The dumpster goes for $225 -$250 and they drop it off and pick it up when you are ready. I have priced the rental on chippers around here and a 10" chipper rents for about $180-$220 per day and I have to pick it up and then make sure it is back on time. I don't have a chipper truck either. So far this seems to be working. Was planning on getting a good lawn tractor and a log dolly before the chipper and truck. Any suggestions?

 

[Menchhofer]

Your dumpster idea has some merit but seems impractical in some situations.

Seems to me as if it would increase your handling of brush due to the fact the dumpster could not always be placed in a convenient location.

Perhaps your first investment should be a truck and chipper instead of the lawn tractor and dolly. You would get many times more use of the the truck/chipper than the lawn tractor.

Try looking for a used truck/chipper if you are just starting out. There are all kinds of different pricing out there.

I used a small, 6" chipper for years before I could afford a larger machine. These can be had for as litttle as $3-5K sometimes with alot of life left in them. A decent one ton truck is all you need to start out.

 

[kf_tree]

we've used dumpsters for BIG jobs. a huge tree or a job with multiple big tree's. we still chipped the brush but used the dumpsters for the wood.

the problem is how do you do 4-5 small jobs in a day? the dumpster idea only works for one job, unless your shuttling bush around in a pick up.

when my dump was getting repaired once i blew chips into a uhaul truck for a few days and had the guys shovel it out. i wanted to bring it back full and pay the 30 dollar cleaning fee.

 

[MasonGrey]

I am doing good right now if I get one job a day. Actually doing good if I get one job every two days!
Spent a lot of time humping big wood out of some guys back yard last week and thought the tractor and dolly would serve me better for the short term. It took me 3 days (by myself) to haul it through the narrow gate and up the hill, and could have easily been done in a day with the tractor and dolly. Not to mention all the extra cuts I had to make so this stuff would would be manageable.
The truck and chipper are for sure at the top of the list, but my poor back can't take many more days like that!

 

[treeguy347]

Mason, have you considered a quad? I just took out a 26" white pine. Hauled all the logs out to the big trailer with it, and took a little trailer in for the brush. The light weight is great, I went over two septic systems no problem, they don't damage the lawns if you drive gently, and they have a lot of pulling power. I was pulling 3' by 16" sections up about a 50 degree bank with no problem.

 

[MasonGrey]

I have considered a quad. Still thinking pretty hard about it. Just thought I might get some dual usage out of a lawn tractor.

 

[Stumper]

If you are just getting started I can see where chipper rental or a dumpster might have merit for a particular job but not for day to day use.-For the money you would be spending you should be able to buy equipment in a month or two-IF you hadn't spent it on rentals A good trailer is mobil, cheap, and -if you learn how to cut and load brush- can haul a LOT. If you have to rent to begin with a 6.5'x 16' tandem axle trailer is rentable for $25 dollars per day in many cities.

 

[Greg]

One of the largest tree co's in town has a roll off biz also. --Lots of money in roll offs. However I've never seen them using them for tree work, but have seen other guys. Thos things are about 5ft tall, I think that would suck lifting everything overhead and throwing it in there. Now a bobcat could load on pretty good.
---Call several tree guys in town, tell them that you are just starting out and need chipping on occasion, find out how much they would charge to just show up with thier chipper and truck and you help feed it. I would bet that it will be right around the same cost as a rental, but the machine will be bigger, you won't have to deal with dumping, and you will build some good working relationships out of it.
Greg

 

[DadF]

Bigger picture?

What I would like to know is what you all do with your chippings? Hopefully they are being composted and reused rather than being sent to a land fill. If using a dumpster there is no doubt about where it's going.....the landfill. Recycling should not be an option unless dealing with diseased or infested material. Even then proper composting will eliminate a lot.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There is are a number of threads on chip disposal in the archives. It all boils down to where you are.

Here we still have nurseries that will take it for free.

When i ran a crew I had a book of customers that would take chip for cash or let me dump whenever I wanted for free. I found that it realy did not pay me to do that being that I was on a funky hourly/commission pay scale. 20 min to dump, plus drive time was not worth the 30 bucks chash I could put in the slush fund. I dumped at the shop and pushed the stuff around whenever I could.

People like KF working in a major metropolis can not find people who want to dedicate the space needed. You've gotta go to the dump then.

Here they recycle all the stuff so it does not go into the pit. There is a composter that sells baged black dirt dirived from municiple yard waste. The dump charges by the ton too.

One guy here is starting a tub operation and charging everyone $20 a load.

 

[DadF]

Here at Purdue almost everything biodegradable is put into a composting program called the "Soilermaker". All prunings, brush, leaves and grass clippings are made into an artificial soil that we are starting to use on campus. Just this last year the recycling department has even started collecting the food disposed of by the dorms and that is also being incorporated. Surprising just how much is being saved in tipping fees at the landfill. Don't know about your area but quality topsoil is getting hard to find as well as expensive. Just thought that maybe there would be some others out there that might be trying to help the environment. Every little bit counts.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I utilize a trailer, a lot, and also a chipper.

Many, many people like my trailer and look at it to see how its designed. We have used it for 13 years.

Its a typical utility trailer 6' x 10' and 2' high sides. It tilts above the wheels, and the axle is in the middle.

We made a metal frame - like a giant garden rake head - that is 4' wide and it sits in the front of the trailer. It skids on two metal bars to keep it off the bottom of the bed. A cable goes from it, over the trailer bed to a pulley at the back piece of channel iron. It goes all the way back and dissappears into a small slit.

Note: If you do this, weld 2 reinforcement bars from either side of the pulley, at an angle to the side channel iron to keep the back bar from bending in. Also, spray the pulley at least once per week with motorcycle chain lube or something.

The cable goes to the pulley, around it and under back to the front of the trailer to a hand winch. The winch is on an extra bar to keep the winch mounted in line with the cable.

This requires a small chain to come from the drag through the front of the trailer, and one of those gagdets where the handle locks and tightens to hold the drag in place when the trailer is unloaded.

If you do this, balance the load, don't put the greater weight behind the axles. It can wobble a truck out of a traffic lane.

Also, douse the cable with lube every week. I used to change cable every 3 months, now I get 2 years.

This $1000 trailer, and the $150 modifications hold and drag out 2000 to 4000 lbs of debris.

It requires a fairly level dumping area. Here, the area is ever so slightly uphill. I put the truck in nuetral, and when I winch, the bed pops up, and when the cube of debris hits the ground, it just pushes the truck and trailer forward. When the cube is 50% off, I just get in the truck and pull the trailer from under the other half.

I think this method is better with a manual winch.

 

[MasonGrey]

M.D., this sounds exactly llike what I need. Can you post a picture to give me a better understanding of how this trailer is designed? This sounds like a practical yet inexpensive solution to some of my problems. Thanks for the input.