equipment dilemma

[tinman44]

ok my partner wants a bucket truck. i want a box/chipper truck or even perhaps a box/bucket. his thinking is jobs will get done faster we can then do more. my thinking is we can clean up so we can take larger jobs instead of paying someone to do cleanup. thoughts?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Get the combo unit.

Problem solved.

 

[tinman44]

well thats my point but another thing i forgot to mention is a bucket truck by itself is inexpensive compared to box/bucket/chipper. but a box/chipper is comparable with bucket. so its also a price thing. i agree with you mb that rig is what would make our company fayetteville's leading tree service due to our attitude and professionalism.

 

[Stumper]

Both arguments have merit but I'm on your side. Do complete jobs efficiently. Buckets are useful but can't access half the work. Most jobs require cleanup. Plus you can get the truck and chipper for less $ than the bucket-work your way up.

 

[tinman44]

so how do i convince my partner (the pro) that i'm (the new guy) right?

 

[Stumper]

Send him here and I'll 'splain that you are brilliant.

Seriously, Why not start a poll about which should come first-Chipper and truck or Bucket? See what everyone says and show it to your buddy.

 

[Stumper]

Thinking about this-Did you mention previously that he is the climber and you are the ground guy? He may be wanting some relief while you are seeing that truck and chipper will round out your operation(compared to subbing out the clean-up) FWIW I'm not a very good climber but I don't long for a bucket-so much of this work isn't bucket work. I KNOW that buckets have a place and on some jobs they would really simplify things BUT I see so much lousy work perpetrated by Bucket jockeys and I do so many trees that a bucket wouldn't help on that it isn't a priority with me.

 

[Newfie]

Hate to sh!t in your oatmeal, but this business venture seems doomed if you are disagreeing about equipment purchases already. Personally I'd get the chip/bucket combo & a chipper to start.

 

[tinman44]

well we are partners and i'm training in the art of climbing with rope, then moving on to gaffs. so right now he is main climber but soon it will be taking turns. also a bucket makes things safer and simpler i know but i just see getting bucket then later getting box/bucket almost a waste of tax write offs

 

[tinman44]

Hate to sh!t in your oatmeal, but this business venture seems doomed if you are disagreeing about equipment purchases already. Personally I'd get the chip/bucket combo & a chipper to start.

well i am just trying to persuade him. i will go with his choice because he has done this for a long time(plus since i'm trying to get a house this year the truck is going in his name)(i know what your thinking and its fine if he decides to go separate with his truck because at this point i have nothing invested except time). he worked for utility clearing right of ways. and he has had a partnership before but the guy got a felony arrest charge so my partner (sheriff deputy) was unable to associate with him.

 

[TheSurgeon]

Chip/box truck=ALL jobs.
Plain bucket=SOME jobs.
Could it be more easier explained?

Myself, I really enjoy climbing and have needed a chipper everyday.

 

[hobby climber]

Productivity is the name of the game, right? The combo in a nice rig but what are ya going to do during down time for maintenance? If you go with the bucket truck and the dump box truck, I think you would be ahead of the game. As far a chipper goes, why don't you rent or lease one as needed. This way you company can write off the chipper as biz expense. During the winter you could put a plow on the dump truck & salt in the box and pick up some extra money with private contracts removing snow. Might even make enough to buy your own chipper for next spring. Down the road think about a bob-cat or a front end loader & trailer to expand your biz...just a thought. HC

 

[treeman82]

You know the jobs you do better than we do. Look at ALL of the jobs that you give estimates on, and the jobs that you actually get. How many of those trees between all of the jobs can you use a bucket truck on? Of those jobs, how many of them would be made faster by using the bucket?

In short, how many bucket days can you get in the course of a day, a month, a year? If you don't have many in the total number of jobs you have, why would you waste the money?

Conversley if you can use a bucket on 99% of your trees and be faster with it, then if you can swing it...

Personally, I can't remember the last job I was on where the trees were reasonably accessable via bucket.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Rent each one for a week, see which one cuts down the most time and cost.


My vote goes on the chipper, no question.

 

[tinman44]

Productivity is the name of the game, right? The combo in a nice rig but what are ya going to do during down time for maintenance? If you go with the bucket truck and the dump box truck, I think you would be ahead of the game. As far a chipper goes, why don't you rent or lease one as needed. This way you company can write off the chipper as biz expense. During the winter you could put a plow on the dump truck & salt in the box and pick up some extra money with private contracts removing snow. Might even make enough to buy your own chipper for next spring. Down the road think about a bob-cat or a front end loader & trailer to expand your biz...just a thought. HC

whats salt and plow for? (southeast atlanta ga) oh and whats snow?

 

[hobby climber]

Good point...didn't notice your location. ! oops. Snow is that white stuff that we get lots of up here in Canada eh! Our local weather man said we are going to be getting 6" to 10" or so over the next 24 hours. If your ever up this way between December & March, look me up...I'll show you how to build a snowman and make snow angels. :angel: HC

 

[treeman82]

This is kind of related, but kind of not. The only time that I have EVER seen a bucket truck with a snow plow on it was when Nick and I were going up to the Sugar Shack a couple of years ago at like 1:00 in the morning during a blizzard. It was either in New Hampshire that we saw it, or MA. Nobody around here puts plows on their buckets because a new bucket is $90,000<

 

[luke montelius]

Buckets are cool but...... if you climb efficiently... a mondo chipper and a dude/'s who can keep up with it(for wages I might add) is the way to make the money for a sweat lift device a bit later. My "chuck and duck" doubled, if not more, our year old company's $. A big auto feeder would let removals roll real sweat for ya. here is a pic of the good old days!

 

[tinman44]

actually one of my favorite places is grouse mountain.

 

[Stumper]

Luke, Do you want removals to roll sweat or to roll sweet?