I have no desire to handle firewood due largely to the fact it is so cheap in my area. Last year a rick split and delivered ran $50.00. The time it would take to handle the wood several times could be spent working or doing maintenance.
It seems to me it takes lots of time and manpower to drag the limbs to the chipper and then hand load them. Wouldn't the extra trip or two to the dump be worthwhile with the loader setup, if you could do without the extra hand to drag brush and load the chipper? Not only that, having run a loader during Hurricane aftermath I can vouch for their speed. A large pine can be removed with 5 or 6 cuts vs 30 cuts when moved by hand.
I have a 1 ton 33 ft bucket truck and climb everything that the bucket can't reach. Am I missing out on $20,000.00 woth of saved time by not having 60 ft of reach(which is what I have seen arbortech trucks go for)? If not I would rather invest $25,000.00 in a 20 ft dump and track loader. I am also considering learning the landscaping trade, as there are absolutely no landscaping companies in a four town area. Weekly I get asked to do landscaping jobs most of which I must decline, do too lack of ability. The track loader would be a great at doing a number of landscaping chores, with it's endless supply of attachments.
