MasterBlaster
TreeHouse Elder
Carl sounds like a good candidate for your Gen Foreman then, eh?
How do you "Storm Chase" properly??
- Thread starter NebClimber
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TreeJunkie
ArboristSite Guru
I'm not declaring disagreement w/ anything Carl has said. I just wonder as he talks as he has experience on the subject. I was just wundering what type of experience he actually has.
Lumberjack
Banned
I have helped my father cut trees at my house since I was 5. I cut my first tree (12" DBH or so Hickory) with an axe at age 6.
In 1998, a the first huge storm rolled through our area, and we lost over 1000 trees. We had it cleaned up in a year, and in that we bought a stump grinder (RG 50) to grind our stumps and to grind on the side to make our money back. I spent my 12th summer (I was 12) grinding stumps for a good little while at our house.
In 2001 the second big storm came through. That year we bought a new RG 85 in Jan, and the storm came through in Feb. That year we grossed over 80k in stumps alone.
In 2002 another huge storm came through the city (we live in the county). We didnt lose anytrees this storm, but the tornado missed our property by 200-300 yards.
In this storm I went out and helped people with various things. I used our multi mount winch to pull a 75' 3' DBH oak off a house. I pulled some trunks out of an old lady's driveway, and pulled a camper off the side of the house and then put it back on its tires. I did all of this by myself, at age 15. I also went around helping various tree companies with whatever they needed in the way of some heavy pulling. I did this all without exspecting money, but, like they should, they all paid me something. I also helped FEMA remove trees off of houses and the like.
The main thing that helped me then was that I looked 18-19, so they werent afraid of a kid getting hurt.
I didnt climb any that I remember, maybe a bucket truck for a second, but nothing too major.
I started my tree buisness in August 2003.
Now I am cutting trees full time, and have 2 full time ground men, and 1 part time groundman, but I am looking for a second part timer. I have done a huge amount of work for my time in the field, IMO. I have delt with many different people, and learned alot.
I figure that by this august I will have grossed over 50k in trees. That is with August through May being in school, and now I am going full time till august 18, when I go to college. I am unsure about the stump company, but it gets calls everyday, and has averaged 40ish thousand a year, doing it part time.
Another thing that has helped me is I was in COPE with the boy scouts and became an instructor (unofficially) at age 14. I took the course 2 summers in a row, then started being an instructor, normally running the reppeling tower or the rock wall.
(Not trying to sound like TC/GM/PP)
One thing my father has always told me is that I am an only child, and that I am givin alot, but that alot is exspected outta me. My father has shown me many things, and has helped me enormously. I have takin that, and ran with it. I am not afraid to tackle any obstical, and have enough common sense to figure things out. You can ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you I am very analitical, I figure out the problem, and get to fixing it.
I too have spent alot of time with automotives and working on equipment. We do almost all of our own manteince, and by 8 years old I was changing the oil by myself, and other routine things like brake work and general manteince.
Hope this has offered some insight. I am fully planning to be at this years TCI show, I hope to meet alot of yall there. Who knows, maybe a road trip? Na, too much time away from work as it is. I leave next Wed on senior trip.
In 1998, a the first huge storm rolled through our area, and we lost over 1000 trees. We had it cleaned up in a year, and in that we bought a stump grinder (RG 50) to grind our stumps and to grind on the side to make our money back. I spent my 12th summer (I was 12) grinding stumps for a good little while at our house.
In 2001 the second big storm came through. That year we bought a new RG 85 in Jan, and the storm came through in Feb. That year we grossed over 80k in stumps alone.
In 2002 another huge storm came through the city (we live in the county). We didnt lose anytrees this storm, but the tornado missed our property by 200-300 yards.
In this storm I went out and helped people with various things. I used our multi mount winch to pull a 75' 3' DBH oak off a house. I pulled some trunks out of an old lady's driveway, and pulled a camper off the side of the house and then put it back on its tires. I did all of this by myself, at age 15. I also went around helping various tree companies with whatever they needed in the way of some heavy pulling. I did this all without exspecting money, but, like they should, they all paid me something. I also helped FEMA remove trees off of houses and the like.
The main thing that helped me then was that I looked 18-19, so they werent afraid of a kid getting hurt.
I didnt climb any that I remember, maybe a bucket truck for a second, but nothing too major.
I started my tree buisness in August 2003.
Now I am cutting trees full time, and have 2 full time ground men, and 1 part time groundman, but I am looking for a second part timer. I have done a huge amount of work for my time in the field, IMO. I have delt with many different people, and learned alot.
I figure that by this august I will have grossed over 50k in trees. That is with August through May being in school, and now I am going full time till august 18, when I go to college. I am unsure about the stump company, but it gets calls everyday, and has averaged 40ish thousand a year, doing it part time.
Another thing that has helped me is I was in COPE with the boy scouts and became an instructor (unofficially) at age 14. I took the course 2 summers in a row, then started being an instructor, normally running the reppeling tower or the rock wall.
(Not trying to sound like TC/GM/PP)
One thing my father has always told me is that I am an only child, and that I am givin alot, but that alot is exspected outta me. My father has shown me many things, and has helped me enormously. I have takin that, and ran with it. I am not afraid to tackle any obstical, and have enough common sense to figure things out. You can ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you I am very analitical, I figure out the problem, and get to fixing it.
I too have spent alot of time with automotives and working on equipment. We do almost all of our own manteince, and by 8 years old I was changing the oil by myself, and other routine things like brake work and general manteince.
Hope this has offered some insight. I am fully planning to be at this years TCI show, I hope to meet alot of yall there. Who knows, maybe a road trip?
Na, too much time away from work as it is. I leave next Wed on senior trip.
MasterBlaster
TreeHouse Elder
Bravo there, Carl!
And TJ, did you want those lanyards, or what? Your mailbox is always full.
And TJ, did you want those lanyards, or what? Your mailbox is always full.
okietreedude1
ArboristSite Guru
As for chasing storms, we had a massive ice storm here in 2002 and it brought people from all over. It really sucked for us, the locals. Think about that when you chase.
We had 1000 calls in 7 days, thats when we stoped counting. Of those, we probably lost 50% to out of state a-holes beating on doors. Those guys came in and jacked prices as high as $75/man hour and they knew they could get it cause in 3 wks, theyd be at home countin their green and only then would the homeowners realize they got SCREWED!
I agree w/ the tom/dick/harry w/a chainsaw comment. Its nothing but the truth. I hated every minute of that storm work.
Another thing thats a real pisser for us local guys, now 2 yrs later those same 'former customers' that abandoned us durring the storm for the 'fly by's' are calling us to fix problems (ie: crown restoration, cleaning, shaping, etc.). Its hard not to say "Why dont you call that guy that trimmed it like this to start with?"
In a nutshell: THINK ABOUT THE LOCAL COMPANIES AND ASK YOURSELF 'WHAT WOULD I THINK ABOUT THEM COMING TO MY TOWN AND TAKING MY CUSTOMERS?' Be courteous.
We had 1000 calls in 7 days, thats when we stoped counting. Of those, we probably lost 50% to out of state a-holes beating on doors. Those guys came in and jacked prices as high as $75/man hour and they knew they could get it cause in 3 wks, theyd be at home countin their green and only then would the homeowners realize they got SCREWED!
I agree w/ the tom/dick/harry w/a chainsaw comment. Its nothing but the truth. I hated every minute of that storm work.
Another thing thats a real pisser for us local guys, now 2 yrs later those same 'former customers' that abandoned us durring the storm for the 'fly by's' are calling us to fix problems (ie: crown restoration, cleaning, shaping, etc.). Its hard not to say "Why dont you call that guy that trimmed it like this to start with?"
In a nutshell: THINK ABOUT THE LOCAL COMPANIES AND ASK YOURSELF 'WHAT WOULD I THINK ABOUT THEM COMING TO MY TOWN AND TAKING MY CUSTOMERS?' Be courteous.
TreeJunkie
ArboristSite Guru
David,
I completely agree w/ your view of door knockers. I felt the same way here in Kc a couple of years back. I would show up to a customers house to perform a scheduled cleanup and find the work had been done. Sure enough, by some out of towner. Really pissed me off.
My personal experience w/ "chasing storms" however is not the door knocker type of chasing. I've alway worked for the municipalities, cleaning up street trees, parks and public buildings. Other than that, maybe a few cemetaries, but no door to door customer robbing.. only the work which has to be done, that no local company has time or desire to do.
I completely agree w/ your view of door knockers. I felt the same way here in Kc a couple of years back. I would show up to a customers house to perform a scheduled cleanup and find the work had been done. Sure enough, by some out of towner. Really pissed me off.
My personal experience w/ "chasing storms" however is not the door knocker type of chasing. I've alway worked for the municipalities, cleaning up street trees, parks and public buildings. Other than that, maybe a few cemetaries, but no door to door customer robbing.. only the work which has to be done, that no local company has time or desire to do.
okietreedude1
ArboristSite Guru
Rocky,
as for 75/hr not out of line, living n orlando that may be cheap. but here in little ole Enid ok, pop 50,000, we charge 75/hr for 2 guys (37.5/man). Some here think THAT'S too high. I realize theres living expenses, but a hotel only goes to 55/nite and mcd's is cheap too.
as for 75/hr not out of line, living n orlando that may be cheap. but here in little ole Enid ok, pop 50,000, we charge 75/hr for 2 guys (37.5/man). Some here think THAT'S too high. I realize theres living expenses, but a hotel only goes to 55/nite and mcd's is cheap too.
Nickrosis
Manned by Boderators
Not to denigrate your position, but it is perfectly reasonable to factor in their drive time to and from the storm and a legitimate risk factor because storm work is unlike other kinds. The forces and reactions can be entirely different when something is loaded by other trees or houses, etc.
TJ, you sparked a question....here comes a thread.
TJ, you sparked a question....here comes a thread.
Guy Meilleur
Addicted to ArboristSite
Rocky you are right and I was wrong. I was stuck in a $1/minute rut and that made it harder than it needed to be.
It's hard to jack up rates on good customers when insurance is not involved. but necessary to run a business first and be a nice guy second.
okie I can't believe rates have to be that low out there.
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My experience with storm damage is only 2 jobs that I did. So figure me in with the ones that have no experience. My insurance agent gives my name to anyone that calls. Unfortunately since I do this tree gig part time the turnaround is not in their favor.
I state this upfront and advise callers that they may be better off calling someone else if time is important. They appreciate the honesty.
A climber that I know told me once to double the normal price when it comes to storm damage. This may be fine for him, but I can't bring myself to do that.
I state this upfront and advise callers that they may be better off calling someone else if time is important. They appreciate the honesty.
A climber that I know told me once to double the normal price when it comes to storm damage. This may be fine for him, but I can't bring myself to do that.
Ax-man
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hey Neb,
Did you ever go storm chasing??? Just curious is all.
Larry
Did you ever go storm chasing??? Just curious is all.
Larry
arboromega
ArboristSite Operative
storm work$$$$$$$
i have been to every major storm in the last 25 yrs
we hire a crane here in tampa and take it with us we try to hookup with more then one local tree service
hurricane isabel 4 months 500.000
i have been to every major storm in the last 25 yrs
we hire a crane here in tampa and take it with us we try to hookup with more then one local tree service
hurricane isabel 4 months 500.000
MasterBlaster
TreeHouse Elder
I imagine he hasn't, thats why he started this thread.
NebClimber
ArboristSite Operative
I did follow the tornadoes south of Lincoln, NE, last week. Bunch of small towns were hit. Worked on storm damage for 4 days. Took a large Sycamore off of a dental office and a few trees off of houses. Then, just like that, it was over. For me the drive was only about 100 miles. I took my bucket truck, my chipper, and my 16 year old brother. I'm just starting the company, and the trip was well worth it. But I don't think it was a big deal to any of the bigger, established companies. Really wasn't that much work to be had by day 4 or 5. But for me, it worked out well. The key was that I got right on top of the biggest jobs, and generally we could just let the material on site. And nobody cared about their lawns, fences, mailboxes, whatever, since most were already damaged.
Steven
Steven
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