Need some advice

[nuzbee]

Hey Guys!

I was hoping you could help me. I’ve been cutting trees off & on for about 15 years now and in about the last 6 months have gotten more serious as far as doing this for a living. Could you all tell me the steps I need to take to be “legal” , like licenses & insurance who and how much coverage…….what’s reasonable.

What are some effective ways to get my name out, since I’m not in the phone book?

I usually work alone so I probably wouldn’t need workmans comp…hmm? Also, some of the jobs I’ve done I’ve underbid by three or four hundred dollars. Is there like a standard rate that I should go by?
I want to be reasonable, provide safe quality work at a fair price.

What is a good working height for a bucket truck and do I get a gas or deisel? I found an ’89 F600 w/370 gas remanufactured engine, new clutch kit, and all new rubber w/ maintenance paperwork for $14,900, is this a good price?
The boom has a 34ft working height.
Would the boom be long enough?

 

[DDM]

You need to check with your city and county to see what kind of license is required. I carry 1 mil in liability insurance
1 mill didnt cost much more than 500K.
I dont carry workmans comp because just me and my wife do the work we do however have Health insurance, Short & long Term Disability. You didnt state the height of the Bucket truck but normally 50' should suffice.
I advertise in the Paper and thru doorknob hangers after a while word of mouth of people seeing your bucket out is the best advertisement.

 

[treeman82]

I would suggest that you get a MINIMUM of $1 million for coverage. Make sure that your policy covers all aspects of tree work. A landscaper policy will not work for tree work. As far as bucket height goes; for some applications 50 feet will work ok. However I truly believe that 60' is the minimum. If you can find a 75 footer, or a 75 footer with elevator... that would be even better.

 

[ammons phillips]

nuzbee, i'm dealing with the w/c issue right now....even though i usually work/climb alone and have my own personal accident-health-short term disability insurance, most of the contractors in this area require w/c or they "have" to put me on their w/c . this costs about 10%...i don't understand it quite yet, but i've found a "ghost" policy that covers my 1 part-time employee, not myself..about $8000.00 more to include me. my insurance guy tells me that this is an accepted practice and allows me to collect my full invoice. it's all really confusing...any info from others in NC would be helpful....i've been told to go easy into this w/c issue but i've recently found it necessary to have it.. liability insurance is cheap and the cost easily absorbs into 1 or 2 jobs...b

 

[DDM]

Ammons, Tell your Insurance Agent you want a certificate of insurance. Exclude yourself. It costs about 750.00 for a worthless piece of paper that shows you have W/C.

 

[nuzbee]

Thank you all for your time and help.

Does anybody know of where I could get a good used bucket truck?
I've surfed the web so much I think I'm gettin' waterlogged......helbb....helbbllpp......help!!!

Have you all had any personal dealings with peolpe that sell them?

 

[rbtree]

http://www.treetrader.com

is great

 

[ammons phillips]

ddm, yep that's the ticket...a worthless piece of paper for $850...i guess it can work in our favor more often than not, so i'll play the game and give them my dough...thanks, b