Hello everyone! New to this site and also new to running my own business. For starters...I am 27 years old and have worked for my family's logging business since I was tall enough to reach the clutch on the skidder. Have helped with that all through college and actually quit my full time job as a physical therapist assistant to go back to logging. I am currently now back doing physical therapy, but have started my own tree trimming business as a side job/possible future full time gig. Mainly not going back to logging due to the fact that working for your father can be very trying...very very trying. Anyways was looking for some tips. I have been at this for about a year and have accumulated climbing and rigging gear, several saws, a 2-ton chipper truck, and chipper. Am thinking bout going the bucket truck/chipper dump route, but am a little leery to make the plunge. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
Forestry trucks (bucket trucks w/ chip boxes) are usually more expensive than just a bucket/aerial lift truck, but are nice on bigger jobs to be able to chip into two trucks instead of one. My personal favorite is the Terex Tellelect Hi-rangers, they just seem beefier. If' you're a bigger guy, round booms seem to be a little bouncier -- plus round booms are notorious for getting micro-cracks in them, which doesn't affect them structurally I don't think, but water does get in, causing them to fail diellectrics tests. So not as good for line-clearing jobs imo.
having a bucket truck and a chip truck is imo the best way to do it, because its easier to position the bucket truck as needed for the aerial work, and then you can put the chip truck and chipper in the best spot for the ground guys to chip into. Doesn't work as easy if you're only running a forestry truck, because then you're trying to do both with the same truck, which rarely works as well. When our chip trucks been in the shop, I've climbed when I could have used the aerial lift, so that its easier on the groundguys, which has made the whole project go faster than if they would have had to drag everything to the back of the bucket truck to chip into.
If its a side-business, keep that in mind, don't over-extend your credit or have too many things you're paying taxes, insurance, and maintenance on -- if you're a great climber, maybe get a log truck with a lightning loader/clam/grapple for getting rid of big stuff, and you might even be able to get your name out there faster by hauling loads for other treeservices etc. Plus those big grapple trucks are awesome for big storm cleanups.
Keep your stuff looking as nice as possible with your name and phone number on it though, because people will see it.
