Learning stuff the hard way

[TexasTreemonkey]

Lets hear about stuff that we learned the hard way geting started in the business.Ill go first.

My first chipper, the trusty w/c 17 woodchuck was working fine one day then the upper feed roller quit feeding. Crap, a fornt yard full of limbs and im behind. i really dont need this right now but it might be a simple fix. After verifing there was hydralic fluid going to the pump on the side of the roller i assumed that the pump was burned up. i mean thats sounds simple enuff. Well after spending a day on the phone tryin to find a pump, and finally found one that was $575 i thought shoot im gonna see what happened to the old pump. It took a cuting torch to finally get the old one apart to see what the origanal damage was and... I looked and looked and studied and studied and i coulnt figure out why the old pump quit. After finally sayin to heck with it i put the new one on, after totally destoring the old one. Which it didnt matter since it was burned up right? haha put the new pump on and started the beast up and still the upper roller wont turn!! Took the new pump off and finally figured it out. There is a $20 coupling thats is notorius for going out. Simple fix. IF YOU DIDNT HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT THE HARD WAY

 

[arbor pro]

Ethics, in this industry or any other, is probably the toughest lesson I've ever had to learn. And the learning curve has not been an easy one.

When first starting out, the need to make some cash pressured me into doing work that I didn't feel good about doing. I still get a sick feeling in my gut when I think about the handful of trees I topped when I first started out some 20+ years ago.

Nowadays, I would rather lose a job rather than compromise my principles and do something that I know will have a negative impact on the client or on his property sometime down the road. I tend to sleep better at night having done so.

Other hard lesson learned - you can never praise your employees too much. They like to hear that they're appreciated and doing a good job. Money might tell an employee that his skills are in high demand but, it does not tell him that he is appreciated for what he does and how he conducts himself on the job.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I think one of the hardest lessons for new companies is judging cleanup times between species. I work with a lot of young companies and regularly hear lamentations about ash and honey locust cleanup times. Similarly how fast a conifer will fill up a chipbox. "I didn't expect to have to dump twice!"

 

[capetrees]

NEVER trust a rental company for heavy equipment. Found that out the hard way when I rented the chipper I now own. Worked it while it was a rental and the damn thing threw the blades! Snapped the bolts in half and sent the blades all over the place. Returned it and the guy tried blaming me for the damage until he opened the compartment to look at the drum and blades and realized the blades hadn't been sharpened for quite a few rent outs and someone had put some REALLY bad stuff though it, dulling the blades to about as sharp as your thumb. They had the drum, blades and bearings along with anything else that went haywire factory repaired and about a week later, I bought it from them. Been running fine ever since.

 

[md_tree_dood]

Use a spotter when backing up

When it doubt, tie it off

Get out of the tree if you're in a hurry or tired.

I learned these lessons when I backed into a piece of equipment with my truck and chipper, put a branch through a sunroom window, and cut my rope in half and almost came out of the tree the fast way

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

Always buy good equipment. Never settle for the "bargain" brand of anything that your going to be using that you have to rely on to operate or make money with.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Always double-check everything, and look up and all around before making back cut.

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

Always double-check everything, and look up and all around before making back cut.

Thats a good one.

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

Oh here is another one. Always inspect your equipment each day and make sure those bearings get greased no matter how tired you are. I didnt learn this the hard way but its a good rule to live by.

 

[Rftreeman]

The one thing I learned the hard way is bidding jobs.

 

[John464]

stay on top of maintenance and keep a log chart for every piece of equipment you own. Trucks logged by mileage and off road equipment logged by hours.

this is probably the easiest thing to forget but can save you thousands and much down time if upkeep everything

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

The one thing I learned the hard way is bidding jobs.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

I learned the hard way that the vermeer BC600XL is very top heavy. Taking a bumpy corner too fast can lead to said chipper flopping around behind the truck like a fish on the ice. Bad day... very bad day..... Mike

 

[Slvrmple72]

When the neighbor comes out in a bikini its time to get off the jobsite and go get lunch. :greenchainsaw:

 

[Mapleman]

My first saddle--a give away from a former boss--had no leg straps. Thing slipped up under my armpits while traversing between two trees. I was 40' up and hung out to dry. Finally managed to shuck free of one rope and swing to the ground.

Another lesson learned is to always stretch out before a tough climb, and take time to walk all the way around a tree, inspecting the roots and trunk for defects and the crown for widow makers, snags, and big dead stuff. Oh yeah, check for hardware, cement, and wires too.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

What is the cost:benefit or risk:reward ratio of a job. If it is a nasty dead tree is it really worth a few hundred dollars profit to risk life and limb?

Now that I'm married I've come to the conclusion that if I kill myself, my wife will be sad; but if she has to wipe my but for the rest of my life, she will be very mad... for a very long time.

 

[LTREES]

What is the cost:benefit or risk:reward ratio of a job. If it is a nasty dead tree is it really worth a few hundred dollars profit to risk life and limb?

Now that I'm married I've come to the conclusion that if I kill myself, my wife will be sad; but if she has to wipe my but for the rest of my life, she will be very mad... for a very long time.

I hear that alot from my uncle. Then he ask when I can come take a look at his trees.

LT...

 

[Mapleman]

There are some trees that I did back in the 80s and a few in the 90s that I probably wouldn't do again. One that stands out was a dead elm over a restaurant in Burlington, VT. The guy I was working for was a landscaper who pretended he was a tree man. He'd been saving this dead elm for a couple of years, and the bark was peeling off in long shreds.

Anyway, I get all rigged up and hitch into the ball of the crane. Once I get a high tie in, I start conversing with the crane operator. I had already laid out a general plan of action with him. He came out of the cab to wipe his topside window dry, as it had begun to rain. It was then that he told me this was his first tree job...

I have great respect for good operators, but this guy was squirrelly on the hydraulics. After picking a piece, he would bang the boom into a leader, sending deadwood raining down on me. And there I was hanging in the air without a hardhat. The only thing that could have made things worse is if the operator found out I was doing his wife--that is if I had actually been doing it or he thought I was. Tip to all you pups out there just starting out, always take care of your crane operator, and make sure he/she has a firm handshake.

 

[yibida]

Vintage

I am finding out that after a hard days climb removing trees my recovery only took a day of relax, add ten years to your vintage and you start to consider consultancy work.

 

[Mapleman]

A hot shower and 2 cups of strong coffee in the morning can sometimes take 10 years off. I used to jump out of bed in the morning, thinking about what I was going to climb. Now I roll out slowly, thinking where can I find a thirty- foot ladder to pitch into the first branch.