Is it just me, or is stump grinding a huge pain?

[TomSawyer]

So far, I am not a huge fan of stump grinding. I get these calls, " Hey can you come bid this stump, it's 30 miles away, and btw, I'm price shopping" Total waste of time. I don't want to put people off, but I'm not really interested in bidding a single $75 stump. It costs me that much to start my truck in the morning. Also, how do you approach the mess created by grinding big stumps? I just did one in a doctor's yard on the lakefront, and I could tell by the look on his face " You're not going to leave me with THAT mess, are you?" It would cost me at least 150 to get rid of that crap, not to mention topsoil, seed, etc. How do you guys handle this?

 

[Brush Hog]

I just sub it out. I just tell customer pay me for the tree and here's the name of the guy that does it for me. That way I get paid and they pay him when he's done. Can't compete with the guys that do it after work for gas/beer money.

 

[kennertree]

It's hard to compete on those single stump customers. When I get calls like that I tell them I will look while I'm in their area. Once I look at it I give them a price and tell them I can only do it when I have other stumps in the area to group it with and can grind it then. If they say they want it done before then I will give them a higher price just to come out and do it when they want it done. When I'm pricing a removal and the stump goes with it, I will price the tree a little higher and give a cheaper price on the stump so they think they are getting a deal on the stump. For an example, lets say to do the whole job it is 1,000.00. I tell them I can do the tree for 950 and 50 for the stump, in reality the price to do the tree is 850 and the stump is 150.

 

[treemandan]

Easiest thing in the world. I line them up until I have enought to rent the Rg50 and hit them all in one day. I wouldn't buy one. Sometimes you have to call the utility co's and as far as getting rid of the debris I just wave my magic wand and they usually move pretty quick. I don't go chasing stumps and if you want it cheap you have to wait for me. I can do soil and seed or I can just grind and go, whatever you want, I just get my wand out and PRESTO!
Seriously if I go in there and take down a monster tree the stump grindings are the easy part.

 

[gr8scott72]

I'm not really interested in bidding a single $75 stump.

A lady called me yesterday and told me she had one stump. I told her my min was $85. She told me about her neighbor needing some stumps ground also. I told her if I could do hers and her neighbors I'd do hers for $70.

I did hers for $70 and her neighbors for $175 and they told me that their other neighbor needed some also and I did his for $250 and while I was loading up someone else stopped me and wants me to come look at his but he doesn't live around there so I'll go tomorrow.

I also went to see a friend of mine that lives close that I hadn't seen in a while and he had a friend there that asked about stump grinding and said he had some and didn't live far. I ended up going to his house and grinding 5 more for $150.

I had a job earlier this morning for $300 so my day turned out quite nice:

$300
$70
$175
$250
$150

for a total of $945. All were grind and go, no clean-up.

And another job to do tomorrow from being out there today.

That one-stump job will end up putting over $700 in my pocket.

 

[treemandan]

A lady called me yesterday and told me she had one stump. I told her my min was $85. She told me about her neighbor needing some stumps ground also. I told her if I could do hers and her neighbors I'd do hers for $70.

I did hers for $70 and her neighbors for $175 and they told me that their other neighbor needed some also and I did his for $250 and while I was loading up someone else stopped me and wants me to come look at his but he doesn't live around there so I'll go tomorrow.

I also went to see a friend of mine that lives close that I hadn't seen in a while and he had a friend there that asked about stump grinding and said he had some and didn't live far. I ended up going to his house and grinding 5 more for $150.

I had a job earlier this morning for $300 so my day turned out quite nice:

$300
$70
$175
$250
$150

for a total of $945. All were grind and go, no clean-up.

And another job to do tomorrow from being out there today.

That one-stump job will end up putting over $700 in my pocket.

Yeah, that's how it works. This thread would make more sense if it was titled " Is getting out of bed a pain in the ass or what?"

 

[TomSawyer]

come to think of it, getting out of bed IS a pain in the ass!

 

[treemandan]

come to think of it, getting out of bed IS a pain in the ass!

I know, you don't have to tell me but it helps to have some motivation like some stumps to grind or to find some stumps to grind.

 

[TomSawyer]

Stumps don't motivate me. I like the big ugly removals that the property owner is scared to touch, and with good reason. I like big wood, big saws, heavy machinery and whimpering, crying PO's saying "please get this tree off my house!" Stumps are grunt work, worse than dragging brush. But to each his own!

 

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

Try to set a minimum that's right for yourself. KENNERTREE made a good point bout the pricin too! Make em think they're gettin more than they pay for. I actually take my grindings for a lil extra(with the loader on ft of the tractor i grind with). Most like it when i fill it in with topsoil,seed, and straw! I get the seed real cheap from the co-op, straw is free for me, and topsoil free too and i sell them all of the above. That way when they say pretend it was never there, that's what they pay for and get!

 

[treeman82]

I don't mind grinding stumps at all. If I had to run a 252 each time I went out, or a tow behind then I'd be pretty pissed. However I can normally find an RG50 or RG90 with blade and go bang them out. What irks me is when I miss a piece on a BIG stump, or when I've gotta clean up. Otherwise, I like the fact that it's go here... grind X stumps, go there, grind another X, go there, there, there blah blah blah. With that big machine I don't kill my body or anything... so its pretty nice.

 

[gr8scott72]

Meet Babe the Blue Ox:

 

[Treetom]

Gr8Scot, what a beast. What make is that rig? I use an old Vermeer tow behind stumper, with a Wisconsin 65 horse gas engine. When someone calls and wants "a" stump ground, I refer them to one of the guys I know who just do stumps. These same fellas have portable machines, which I don't have. When I get into some hard-to-reach removals, I call them in and get some consideration on the stump grinding price.

 

[gr8scott72]

Gr8Scot, what a beast. What make is that rig? I use an old Vermeer tow behind stumper, with a Wisconsin 65 horse gas engine. When someone calls and wants "a" stump ground, I refer them to one of the guys I know who just do stumps. These same fellas have portable machines, which I don't have. When I get into some hard-to-reach removals, I call them in and get some consideration on the stump grinding price.

I just bought it 2 weeks ago. Drove for 16 hours one way to pick it up! It's a Carlton SP7015TRX. 60 hp 3 cyl deutz turbo diesel, rubber tracks, wireless remote, sandvik wheel, and it only had 162 hours on it when I got it.

I had a Rayco 1625 and did stumps part time. I decided that I wanted to do this full time and realized that I needed a big machine to do so. The local Vermeer guy tried hard to sell me their 60 hp tracked machine but I just wasn't impressed. (The new demo unit actually broke on the demo.)

I found Babe the Blue Ox on eBay and ended up paying $29,500 for it. That was more than $4k cheaper than the next cheapest one I found that had double the hours.

I absolutely LOVE this machine! One of the jobs I did today, someone else had tried to do with a tow behind and got his truck stuck, BIGTIME. The guy kept asking me if I thought I should come back when the ground dried out some. I just smiled and said I'd be fine. (Not only was the ground wet but the stumps where at the end of the yard where the septic tank field line came out.) It was a mukky mess but Babe just chugged right thru.

 

[oldirty]

I like the big ugly removals that the property owner is scared to touch, and with good reason. I like big wood, big saws, heavy machinery and whimpering, crying PO's saying "please get this tree off my house!" )

shout it loud brother!


i'll grab a stump machine for retirement.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

My stumpmaster fits on mount on my chippers drawbar, or can go in the back of our station wagon. Can often get stump jobs done on the way or back from tree jobs. Or do the dismantle and grind the stump in the same one truck trip. I can do the jobs with terrible access that others wont touch.

I dont like grinding, but its extra work and sometimes those few extra jobs get the bills paid when it all to quiet out there.

 

[tree MDS]

I got a friend that does mine for me, though I'll probably get one this year as I see a need for it-used. My friend often totes his along on the estimate and just does it right then-saves time and fuel, not a bad idea. I want a self propelled so I can load it on my tractor trailer, then use short ramps to get it in the back of my one ton, then I can clean and topsoil with ease. It also seems like you can get more for stumps if you took down the trees yerself, as they allready know/trust you.

 

[TomSawyer]

Now THAT is motivating, grinding stumps in someones septic tank effluent!

 

[TomSawyer]

How about some horror stories, what have you hit with your stump grinder? I'm always afraid of finding a live underground power wire or a water line.

Anyone hit anything weird?

 

[PTS]

Interesting thread, I'm with you on the Pain part. I am always having to pull a guy off of a crew to go grind and he will make me a whole lot more on a crew then grinding. On the other hand a service without grinders is not a full service either. So I'm torn. My solution has been sub contracting as much as possible and still making a little money. The hardest part is to find a quality sub contractor and I guess I got lucky on that. He takes approx. 50 stumps a week off my hands and I am grateful for that.