pickup truck chip box ideas please

[Davidsinatree]

I am leaning towards biulding another deflector out of ply wood that folds open. I like the idea of using heavy tarp to keep chips from blowing out the sides. I will not be filling my truck bed up past the side walls, so having ply wood sides is not a must....I think. About 3 weeks ago I noticed some semi tarp had fallen off a truck on highway , but I was in my little car and could not recover it. That would have been good stuff.
Anyone ever try fitting some tubing to the exhaust tube to help deflect or slow the velocity of the chips down some. I know this could cause clog problems at times.
I can handle a few chips being blown over the sides , but not over the top.
Hey thanks for the ideas.....bringem on.
Here is what i'm working with.

 

[MidwestTree]

David, Try building something like a livestock rack for the truck, each piece can be put in seperately then corners attached with pins. Or you can find a slide in stockrack and attach plywood to the rack to make it solid.

Dana

 

[xtremetrees]

No way wood I chip into that truck. Durn nice truck.
Chip on the ground and sell it to your customers for mulch.
Leave mounds of it and tell all the neighbors

 

[Stumper]

David, Even if you don't want to haul a load that goes over the bed rails(I'm not sure why not-- you can handle the weight) You won't believe the reduction in the mess if the sides are boxed. You can make a removable rack quite cheaply-If you are concerned about marring the paint along the rails then pad with foam tape. Once you throw a removable rack on there you can cover it and hold it all in.

 

[SilverBlue]

A box is the best no doubt, next would be hoops with a mesh tarp or perhaps a hinged plywood tonau cover with mesh or wood side panels.

 

[treeman82]

I had a permanent mount in my old truck, however my ex partner made up something once and a while when we needed to. If I remember correctly, what he did was take a couple pieces of wall board? and put them on a frame made of 2x2's. The 2 of us could lift it up on our own pretty easily. Then all we did was lower it into the pockets on the body. I think we wound up putting a couple of ratchet tie downs on it, but really no big deal. Then besides that we just covered it with a tarp on the top.

 

[begleytree]

chipping into a pickup

Here's the obvious that I was trying not to state.
For the time, hassel and smirks you are getting from equipped companies, why don't you spring for the chip truck?
used asplundh chip trucks go anywhere from 5-15K. If you can't go pay cash for that you need to quit before you go all the way under, cause you're drowning! With all the time it takes using a pickup as a chip dump I don't see how anyone could make any money. You'd make about as much just working for someone else and wouldn't be as dead at the end of the day! You load a pickup bed in what, 15 minutes with any kind of real chipper (maybe longer for the kholer powered stick choppers) then drop and run to the dump to shovel out the chips, then back for another 15 minutes! outragous! for all the talk of progressive tactics I read on here I'd swear some of you are hauling chips and logs with a mule!
The town I work in here is only about 30k people, and you're not going to get enough jobs to pay for that big 20k chipper you're blowing into a pickup. folks would run you off. except for the price hagglers, and then the only ones doing those jobs are the bottom feeders.
Flame away, rights right even if everyone is against it.
-Ralph

 

[MidwestTree]

Good point Ralph, I just saw 3 nice chipper box trucks (mid 90's) for @ $8500. If you do some more looking I am sure there are more for less. I am setup right now with a dump trailer that we have been able to blow a huge days work into without completely filling but am thinking about finding the right truck instead. But on the other hand I can get everything to the job site in one trip. I pull the chipper behind the bucket truck and put my Ford tractor in the trailer. Just me and one employee but we have everything. The logs get hauled in the trailer too.

Dana

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm with Ralph, ya gotta get a real chipper truck... used one tons can be had a lot cheaper than you might think. One guy I sub to paid around 2 grand for his chip truck, and over the last 8 years he has spent about the same amt keeping it running. It looks like crap, but can dump 'bout anything you put into it. And it runs just fine.

It just looks like crap...

 

[a_lopa]

shadecloth at back off bin with a bottom weight makes a great deflector

 

[rahtreelimbs]

If you can afford it, getting yourself a dumptruck would be the way to go in the long run. It may seem like no big deal now, but after several months of shoveling chips and watching your nice truck get battered the whole situation may get old. Take your time and find something that suits your needs and cashflow.

 

[Davidsinatree]

Well now im leaning towards removable sides useing the stake pockets. The top of the bed has a plastic skid plate so scratching is not a concern there. At this time another truck is not in the cards. This baby is my work truck. I also like the idea of useing a stock rack for a frame and possibly attatching thin ply wood to the outside. I'll look in my tractor supply book to see what they have on stock racks.
Aussie_lopa,
Tell me more about this shadecloth as a deflector idea, Sounds interesting.

Thanks

 

[Stumper]

Begley and Brian, There is no denying the superiority of a dump bed and dedicated chip truck but give David a break-he is a PART-TIME operation. I'm not-I'm full time and I do need A. a bigger chipper and B. a dump bed on a one ton truck. However I have functioned pretty well with a 3/4 ton utility bed truck with a box. Typically I can chip 1-2 days of prunings onto that truck. I've had removals that filled it twice in one day and also had weeks where I worked the whole week before dumping. Raking out a full load takes 20 minutes. I can dump 5 minutes from my house and most of my work is on the OTHER side of the tree farm where I can dump whenever I wish. A pick-up sans dump is not the way to serve a crew but for a one man operation that concentrates on fine pruning it isn't a disaster just less efficient than a bigger rig. A bigger chipper that requires less trimming of brush and a dump bed with more capacity will probably save me an1/2 -1 hour per day-that is significant but until I started working near my capacity it was not a big deal. Not every one wants to start or expand on borrowed money.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Originally posted by Stumper
Jeff, That is a very nice, simple box. I know what you mean about filling too fast! I keep looking at 1 Ton dumps and saying,"I'm gonna get me one o'dem."

then if your like me youll fill a one ton dump too quick and be wanting a 7.5 ton dump ...thats the nature of the tree game were now getting a JCB fastrac tractor [40 mph] and 15-20 ton trailer [dump] possible crane with grapple ..im sick of shifting big rings

 

[stoner]

Hello All,
I've enjoyed reading up on this subject as I am looking to buy a chipper, and am looking for a way to chip into my F250. I am thinking that I will probably build a box to chip into...

One of the primary things I was thinking about was trying to avoid the 20-30 minutes of unloading time. I came across this product in a catalog, and I think that I may invest in it, as it seems like a simple way to unload, and an inexpensive tool.

http://www.realtruck.com/products/loadhandler.php

I haven't ever seen it in action, although if someone is unloading bricks, stone, and dirt with it, I imagine it could handle a bunch of woodchips. If anyone has had any experience with it, please reply and let us know.

 

[xtremetrees]

Yp stoner thats the thing I was thinking about.

Ive seen um work on TV's I gues theyd werk back in the world.

I think the thing is to look professional.
The plywood sides just dont get it for me I have always felt that looked pretty riduculus, cheap, half assed. IMO (in my opinion only) Some great treemen use it daily and feed many mouths with the plywood sides. How about steel painted the same color as your truck? The last thing I want is for my clients to see Joe country boy charging alomst 20% more than major money companies with major overhead driving something cheap. you just cant do it.
All our life threating dangerous environment aside its just a business and it goes along with all other business image is alot of the total price a client will pay.

Ive lost jobs to buckets that were parked on the job but never used.

Next Lettering.
Dont go with magnetic. Its to unstable a image. Look like a fly by nighter. Invest in some nice vinyl graphics. Youll be glad you did.

 

[begleytree]

xtremetrees, thank you, that was a much needed second opinion on professionalism. Suddenly I don't feel so outnumbered.
Good call on the mag signs also. I feel the same way. A good vinyl set costs less than the magnents around here and speaks volumes to a potiential client. I think too many here are too busy trying to say something with their operation that they don't see what they are really saying between the lines, unspoken if you will.
I sometimes come across as hardassed when I'm just trying to make a point. I make no apologies for that, its my nature. Folks either live with it or stay away from me.

nice thread about non-professionals on here, rocky started it about gimme a break. Seems some here were cutting the guy down, then turn around and do basically the same ???? thing. IE- plywood pickup sides versus a real chip truck, buying a new chain verses sharpening, on and on.

Am I the only one who can see the hypocricy in this?
Progressive climbing methods and a pickup chiptruck are fine if you only do side jobs on weekends. But you will never compete with the guy on a tautline with a chip dump. Its about image. Many here advocate raising the image standards of professional arborists, then turn around and drag that same image through the dirt everyday with the tools and equipment they bring to the jobsite. $500 in ropes and fancy gadgets that the customer doesn't even understand can never compete with $50K in the right equipment (or even $5K in a truck) that they see pull up to their house, not counting what the neighbors see.

Maybe I just don't get it. thought this was ARBORISTsite, not buzzjobs.com

I'm really not trying to start a fight, though it may come across as such. Just trying to figure some of you out.
-Ralph

 

[ORclimber]

I started part time out of a pickup. Then got into a 1 ton dump. Recently got a used 2 ton Asplundh truck. It is so nice to have a real tree truck. I get compliments on it from customers all the time, and it hasn't even been painted/lettered yet. It must make a better impression than the plywood sided 1 ton. Functionally it kicks Azz. Storage for scads of tools. Doesn't even feel a load of chips or the chipper. I will never buy another frankenstein truck. Right tool for the right job.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

We all had to start somewhere.
If he comes back in ten years and wants more ideas on plywood sides for his pick up, then he has a problem.
Kinda like climbers with ten years or more of climbing and being shown the easy way, yet still doing stuff old school.

 

[topnotchtree]

David, I was in the same situation. Forget the loadhandler thing. It will not unload chips blown in a truck. It works great for wood if you only stack it on the sheet and it does not get jammed behind the wheel wells.Chips simply jam up behind the wheelwells. You can buy conversion kits to dump your existing bed. www.loadhog.com is one of many. but, they are just as expensive as a used dump. I built a chip box using 2x3 around the bottom, and 2x2 for framing. I think I used half inch plywood. I caulked all seams inside and out to help seal the wood. My box bolted on with three 5/16 bolts down each side, and would unbolt and lift off just like a regular truck cap.Angle the top if you can to let rain water run off, and seal the top with a camper type roof sealer. A good paint job on the box will add to the professional look. I had four foot tall sides and two big guys could lift it to the truck. (much easier with 4 people tho) If you have to mount and unmount it by yourself, build/buy a set of jacks similar to what they mount pick-up campers on with.With your chip box mounted up on jacks you may be able to park your chipper under it to keep it out of the weather a bit.