Invest in Crane or New Bucket Truck

[teamtree]

Any thoughts on how a crane would help out my business. I have a 53' hi-ranger and would like to get a forestry unit but I am also considering a crane. How much time can a guy save with a crane on a typical take down?

 

[alanarbor]

What percentage of your business is removals?

 

[teamtree]

Probably 75%. But it seems the trees are always getting bigger and all my competition is getting cranes. But does the crane mean less money for the job? Seems like the expense would be about the same or higher although labor hours may go down. Seems like there is as much or more risk associated with a crane.

I realize it will get me in and out of jobs quicker but does it mean the tree I am taking down for $800 will now be a $500 job?

 

[Koa Man]

I don't have a crane, but I did have a material handler bucket capable of lifting 1500 lbs. I did not make my price a whole lot lower just because I could do it faster. I was able to make it a little lower because I could do it more efficiently and thereby beat the competition. I don't have that truck anymore and there is no way I could compete price wise against guys with cranes on removals that the crane CAN get to. I can beat them on the backyard jobs with my mini loaders. If you want a crane/bucket combo, check out the Elliott telescopic lifts. You can get 90 ft. height and 6000 lbs. lifting capacity. That should be enough for most take downs. I was able to do a LOT with just the 1500 lbs. capacity of my material handler.

 

[diltree]

The crane is the fasted, safest, and most efficient way to remove trees. We have a 40 ton terex with 105 feet of stick and a 17 ton rear mounted JLG, with 90 feet of reach. The 17 ton is for sale if you are interested. Not only can you improve your tree business with the crane, but you can also do crane rentals, setting trusser's and air conditioners..ext........which can add another $1,000 a day to your companies income on days you are not useing the crane for tree work. You really cant loose owning a crane in our business.

 

[Koa Man]

diltree is probably right. A friend of mine bought a 23 ton crane and charges $125 an hour from the time the crane leaves the yard to the time it gets back. He manages to keep it busy most days between tree work and construction companies. I would like to get a crane, but I have no space to park it right now. My next purchase will be a spider lift and I fully intend to get one at the TCI Expo in November. I think I will be able to rent that out quite a bit.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

got any pics of the JLG diltree?

 

[diltree]

I will snap some today

 

[Jim1NZ]

I love cranes!

Buckets for dead removal's with dirty vines growing all over the tree etc

 

[trzz]

question. What are the annual operating costs of owning a 23ton crane? What about certification of the operator and vehicle? How expensive would it be to (fix) a old crane '95-2000 in comparison to new in time/profit loss? can anyone with experience(own or have owned new/used) educate me?

 

[alanarbor]

I would suggest finding a crane rental outfit that you can develop a relationship with. A crane is a big chunk of overhead to absorb. You also don't have the crane certification/inspections hassles. I would also look at how to build your business towards more sustainable services. Removals are becoming a commoditiy, I only seem to see the prices falling. Plant health care, soil restoration and pruning, these keep you coming back. Lets face it, you can only remove a tree once.

That being said, I vote bucket truck!

 

[Koa Man]

.......That being said, I vote bucket truck!

I vote spider lift, way more versatile and you will get places where a bucket
truck won't. The only advantage a bucket truck would have is if you are doing work near power lines, since the spiders are non-insulated.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

A friend of mine just sold his crane, it was like a 20 ton ? isn't it funny how quickly we forget, i spent alot of time on that ball and cant remember if it was a JLG or what. anyway, it was mounted on a mack (300 series? i dont know much about trucks)the whole thing was around 10 years old, but a nice looking rig. bill had it all painted bright red with white lettering. My 2 cents would be that owning a crane is a full time job all on its own. bill was always working on something, little stuff, the hook gate would break or some boards on the deck needed replacing, a cylinder was leaking, a fuse kept blowing, and the eternal chore of keeping it clean. We made some good money with it, but as you stated everyone is getting a crane, so everyone is chasing the same apples. With the competition as brisk as it was and all the extra expense a crane entails i.e. you'll want a big chipper and chipbox, now you need better drivers, plus you have to drive the crane around, you need a real steady climber, whats it going to do to your liability? maybe another ground guy. it all adds up.
Then you finally get the big job, 14 large pines around a nice house, a good client of yours, $8750.00 because they are friends, hell yeah. then one day you drive by and some old farmer with a pos timberjack and a 1982 woodchuck is doing your job! ????it. so you go and talk to your clients and it turns out they are real sorry and all but he was $7000.00 below your price
Cranes are great fun, i really enjoy my crane days, plus you look way cool driving around, but that is not reason enough for me to consider a $75,000 purchase. So far it has been enough to rent one when i need it, i don't see that changing.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[diltree]

Pics

This is our 17 ton JLG we have for sale

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Nice diltree. I was drooling over that on treetrader. how much are the cranes on there own- sans truck?...

 

[diltree]

Thor...we did about 80% of our crane jobs with that JLG rear mount.........we now have a 40 ton Terex, we now handle about 98% of our crane work without renting. The bottom line is, owning a crane is a no loose situation. We have been at it for years and the rentals pay for the crane, haveing it to do tree work is just a bonus.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Over here, crane work is really competitive. We have a deal with a company for our cranes, we get a new 40 tonne allterrain city crane for $70 an hour. there are dozens of crane companies around all after the same work. bit like tree work

That type of crane, with the ability to also carry a load, is unheard of over here though. I wouldent mind putting a crane like that on the back of a 32 tonne 4 axle truck
How much would the crane alone cost?

 

[diltree]

Good question......im not sure, but you could buy the whole unit and use the crane and sell the truck......the truck only has 9,000 mile on it

 

[KentuckySawyer]

What about the size of crew needed to assist with a crane versus a bucket? I'd say a bucket crew needs a minimum of three for a medium to large removal, whereas a crane crew is probably going to necessitate at least four people. But the crane is much faster, so you move onto the next job sooner.

Also, what's the difference in insurance rates? I know that a person hanging off the hook of a crane is one of the most expensive things to insure.

 

[PTS]

I realize it will get me in and out of jobs quicker but does it mean the tree I am taking down for $800 will now be a $500 job?

I have found that people have a hard time understanding a 5 hour job and a $800.00 bill. they look at it as $160.00 an hour. They don't understand all the expense and overhead that goes with it. In my mind the job is worth so much and I tell them upfront on almost every job what there expense will be. I never mention how long it will take because you then get into how much per hour. If they are prepared for the total how long it takes is just simply what the bid was for. And don't be afraid to use your bigger equipment as your talking point. Let them know that you have the larger equipment that will allow their tree to come down faster, safer and you will be out of their hair just that much quicker. It is all about sales.

We don't have a crane, however we do have the capability to lower with our boom truck. You put twice as many guys on a site and twice as much equipment and your still expected to charge nothing. That is why I like it when the customers are no where to be found.