New Business!!!

[treeclimbertree]

Hey everybody!
First time on forums and have been reading alot of the old and new posts!! theres some great information out there and it seems like a hell of alot of experience! I'm starting my own business and was looking into buying a new truck. Now the quick and dirty way is to get a used one from a hydro comany or get a landscape truck that has been beaten pretty bad. but i dont want to go that direction. So i was thinking about either getting a small one ton with either a dump body with a chip cap or even go for a roll off style??? Thos have just been my thoughts though. so if there are people out there who have started a company and get give any suggestions on what kind of truck to start off with that would be great!

Ben from Ontario Canada

 

[maloufstree]

All I know to tell you is good luck with it and that I hope you are very successful. Its tough out there right now.

 

[treeslayer]

small dump, and look for every hauling job you can get in order to make it until spring.

good luck.
be cheap, money in the bank looks a lot better than a truck in the driveway rusting, bro.

 

[Jon22]

We rock a GMC 3500 with an aluminum enclosed dump bed. Easy truck to drive(not nearly as big as a bob tail) but lacks a little power when loaded down.

 

[fishercat]

i would never buy new.

nothing,especially a bucket or dump.they lose too much value too fast.

 

[treeslayer]

:agree2::agree2:

Oh God yes, buy used and rusty. pay cash, which you borrow from your in-laws. hire a friend to drive it for free firewood. run an ad in the paper for free mulch and wood, NO DUMP FEES!

payments now are killing most companies going under.

 

[outofmytree]

Sounds like a plan. If it is paid for all you have to do is earn to eat. Of course if you eat like my kids that may be an expensive grocery bill!

I went the opposite way and borrowed plenty to buy all new gear. It is a very different market here with a small population and a large state so 2nd hand prices are awfully high. In hindsight I could have bought a used truck and a smaller chipper to reduce the end-of-month pain. I think if you can get decent used gear at the right price and if you have mechanical skills or have a trusted friend/family member who does then that is the better option.

 

[RUBE]

Welcome to the tree world Ben. Its a little of what do you know about trees and a whole lotta what do you know about overhead. If you can pay as you play its a little easier. Good luck in your new venture.

 

[Walt41]

Don't forget your local town/county auctions, I know I never miss mine, you just never know.

 

[Saw Dust Smoken]

new biz

A 3/4 ton or one ton can be used for more things than work. I would getting a dump bed/flat bed. I use a 1 ton ex-cab with dump flat bed/bale bed. Move hay for cattle or load logs with arms. Dual purpose truck-gooseneck ball for stock trailer pulling. If interested PM for pictures.

 

[blueatlascedar]

I started my tree biz back in 1983 and the economy was bad at that time, but nothing like this past year. I started with a 3/4 ton pickup, then went to a one ton dump, then after establishing myself a couple years, then I went after newer larger equipment. Start with the minimum and let it grow and invest accordingly. You can still make old stuff look decent with a little investment and a lot of time

 

[mndlawn]

payments now are killing most companies going under.

True words.

 

[John464]

ya, but new trucks spend less time in the shop and 100% tax write-off plus the depreciation. With that in mind I see no point in buying used. everyone's business is different. Its either I buy new trucks or give it to uncle same. Ill take the shiney new truck thank you

New guy be careful you hear your advice from real business owners, not employees or weekend warriors.

 

[treeslayer]

ya, but new trucks spend less time in the shop and 100% tax write-off plus the depreciation. With that in mind I see no point in buying used. everyone's business is different. Its either I buy new trucks or give it to uncle same. Ill take the shiney new truck thank you

New guy be careful you hear your advice from real business owners, not employees or weekend warriors.

and you must be subsidized by a rich- mommy/daddy/wife/inlaw/ _______
_______ fill in the blank.

if you make enough profit, (and pay decent wages, taxes, and all the other overhead,) right now in this economy to buy outright, as opposed to financing like most startups need to do, more power to ya.
but you are the slim minority. I certainly agree that the shiny new truck is much nicer to look at, but for somebody starting out, your advice is skewed by the fact you have $$
also, I'm wondering how can you write it off, AND depreciate it?

 

[John464]

and you must be subsidized by a rich- mommy/daddy/wife/inlaw/ _______
_______ fill in the blank.

if you make enough profit, (and pay decent wages, taxes, and all the other overhead,) right now in this economy to buy outright, as opposed to financing like most startups need to do, more power to ya.
but you are the slim minority. I certainly agree that the shiny new truck is much nicer to look at, but for somebody starting out, your advice is skewed by the fact you have $$
also, I'm wondering how can you write it off, AND depreciate it?

and this guy sounds like he has $$ to spend. A used truck is not always the safer bet and comes with a higher risk of downtime and costing you close to the same money as a new one or more. we are talking a one ton here. they are only 30k or so. Thats only going to cost him approx 6k a year. The savings is minimal, the headaches usually are not. Say the tranny goes, the tow bill, the guys standing around, the job not completed. No back up trucks, he only has one. That one repair could of paid for a reliable truck for the entire year. Now his customers are underpromised, he's losing work. Have you ever been in the shoes as a business owner? and If you have had you outlined your expenses? what did you really save by buying used junk in the end?



I am not telling him to buy new and I didnt give him advice. I am presenting the other side of the coin of why people buy new. I do not know his business, but for some of us buying new is the most sensible business option. Thanks for the ill-informed assumptions, grunt man.

 

[treeslayer]

whats a grunt man? always wondered.

 

[treeclimbertree]

Refresher

i shoudl have given a little background of what i have been doing in the past. I have been doing tree work for over 3 years with over 4 years education in forestry, urban forestry and arboriculure. i recognize that education isnt everything but it does help later on. I started out with a F150 long box that i didnt care about. so i regularily beat the crap out of it. then i upgraded and bought a 04 2500 duramax silverado but the down fall is its a short bed so a dump on it is pretty much out fo the question due to the size of the bed and the jobs i seem to be getting. so ive been running a flat bed car trailer and doing the manual unload at a buddies farm and we burn on the weekends. I have recently gone to auctions and have purchased myself a vermeer 625a so using a small 6 inch will be handy, but i need something to chip into so that i dont have to do the manual unload. My debate was either dump trailer or go right in with a truck. Now i guess you could call me a weekend warrior because i do my own work on the weekends and also work for a company. I have also had insurance and a proper crew from the beginning so i guess that gets me out of the weekend warrior category! So now the debate by used truck and put a swap loader in (so i can do bins, phc, and chip box) or just go for the 1 ton dump or just get the dump trailer since we do run with two trucks.. there is another auction coming up in march so i am gearing towards that!

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

We buy new for that very reason.

and this guy sounds like he has $$ to spend. A used truck is not always the safer bet and comes with a higher risk of downtime and costing you close to the same money as a new one or more. we are talking a one ton here. they are only 30k or so. Thats only going to cost him approx 6k a year. The savings is minimal, the headaches usually are not. Say the tranny goes, the tow bill, the guys standing around, the job not completed. No back up trucks, he only has one. That one repair could of paid for a reliable truck for the entire year. Now his customers are underpromised, he's losing work. Have you ever been in the shoes as a business owner? and If you have had you outlined your expenses? what did you really save by buying used junk in the end?



I am not telling him to buy new and I didnt give him advice. I am presenting the other side of the coin of why people buy new. I do not know his business, but for some of us buying new is the most sensible business option. Thanks for the ill-informed assumptions, grunt man.

 

[fishercat]

must be a hell of a write off!

ya, but new trucks spend less time in the shop and 100% tax write-off plus the depreciation. With that in mind I see no point in buying used. everyone's business is different. Its either I buy new trucks or give it to uncle same. Ill take the shiney new truck thank you

New guy be careful you hear your advice from real business owners, not employees or weekend warriors.

i see bucket trucks for $150k + new.a year later after the guy lost all his contracts to the next low bidder,he is selling it for $50-70k.

new F-550s are $50K.you can pick them up a year or two old for around $20k.i have seen them for less than that.

mid 80s Chevy rocker panels and cab corners are cheap.

 

[treemandan]

i see bucket trucks for $150k + new.a year later after the guy lost all his contracts to the next low bidder,he is selling it for $50-70k.

new F-550s are $50K.you can pick them up a year or two old for around $20k.i have seen them for less than that.

mid 80s Chevy rocker panels and cab corners are cheap.

aaaww, sumpin always ready to blow. My 91 f150 has been in the shop for 2 weeks. I won't go into the long confusing story but if one can afford to keep new trucks on the road that's great but its just as painful either way. Only thing to be said is have a few trucks.
Having trucks is worse than being married but thet at least get you where you are going... sometimes. Well my wife does that too I guess, when my truck is broke down.
I would say if you have to rely on the service of outside shops for all of the repairs and PM then new is the only way for you.