Another 40 year old just starting

[Mick Dempsey]

No experience of Bearcat, or of a gravity feed, rollers (even just one) would be my preference, but 20hp seems adequate.

 

[Rich Rule]

You could probably get away with it if You had to.

 

Personally I would rather be hit about the face with the fish you mentioned rather than use that.  Gravity fed does work but becomes particularly tedious.

 

6 inch minimum tow behind or tracked.  That said though, you would have to re assess your vehicle situation.

 

Good luck.

[forestboy1978]

Yeah it's a real conundrum. 

 

My van is awesome cos it's 200ps and rigged really really well for jobs but obviously no good for tree surgery. 

 

Another option is to winch a chipper onto the trailer and then leave someone with it while I do disposal. Trailer is a beast and will take 2.5 tons+

 

Perhaps if I only take local work it's an idea as the recycling centre is within a few miles. 

 

I may go chipperless for a while as the trailer takes a lot if it's processed decent. Then the option might be to get rid of my beloved little smart car and buy a 4x4. I do like the Ford Ranger wildcat but I'd need to be getting at least a few decent tree jobs a month to pull the trigger on the that. 

[jmac]

Small gravity fed chippers are painfully slow, you might find your quicker mashing up branches in your trailer with the saw. Tracked chipper in the tipping trailer works for me but it might not be right for you depending on where you live.

[tony_t3d]

Disagree. Self taught tree surgeons produce stuff like this. 

And this [emoji107]

 

I don't wish to cause any stereotypes but the gentleman who last touched this tree was from the other side of the Irish Sea

[mitchel]

2 hours ago, forestboy1978 said:

Cheers for all the imput lads. 

 

Right... so... I've climbed 30 or 40 trees myself already with no training. I've dismantled 20 or so ranging from small to 10 maybe at about 30 ft. I did all that with no training and harness and lanyard and NO top handled chainsaw. Obviously it was hairy to say the least. 

 

I work for myself doing fences. I work all year with no downtime. I DO NOT need the tree work but I quite like it and I want to learn (for the first time in my life) the text book stuff. Rigging, feeding, different cut, techniques etc. I am a self teacher. Never been taught anything in my life so this will be a first but cos it's practical I think I will be OK. 

 

Do I like heights - Not particularly! I'm not comfortable on cliff edges etc. I wont be comfortable 60 ft up a tree and that's a fact. That said I've always had massive balls and I know I'll get used to it. 

 

Bottom line.. trees fit well with my fencing work which is 90% of what I do. Trees require minimum materials so contribute less to VAT threshold. Trees pay better. A lot better. Certainly so when you are in my position in that you just don't "need" to win the work. And  finally trees offer more potential for growing a business than fencing alone. I could expand now if I took on landscaping but I hate it. Sky opens up and you're doing nothing until it stops or you're wallowing around covered in shit making a total mess. A lot of people don't want to pay for it either and quoting complex landscaping projects is massive admin and massive rapport is needed cos there is always a hidden x, y or Z in the job that needs addressing.  

 

I intend to basically take on smaller stuff to begin with and sub contract for the bigger stuff. I have good contacts with a couple of guys who are practically legends in my area at what they do. 

 

Re the chipper. Surely a small chipper I can winch into my van that'll chip to 5 inches is better than chipperless? I mean, I can't afford another vehicle yet and my van is absolutely essential as it's rigged for fencing. My trailer is 6 1/2ft x 11ft caged 3 way tipper so it's useful but obviously I can't tow a trailer and a chipper. 

 

I'll post a pic of my setup.  

 

why not get a tracked chipper then?

[mitchel]

2 hours ago, forestboy1978 said:

Yeah it's a real conundrum. 

 

My van is awesome cos it's 200ps and rigged really really well for jobs but obviously no good for tree surgery. 

 

Another option is to winch a chipper onto the trailer and then leave someone with it while I do disposal. Trailer is a beast and will take 2.5 tons+

 

Perhaps if I only take local work it's an idea as the recycling centre is within a few miles. 

 

I may go chipperless for a while as the trailer takes a lot if it's processed decent. Then the option might be to get rid of my beloved little smart car and buy a 4x4. I do like the Ford Ranger wildcat but I'd need to be getting at least a few decent tree jobs a month to pull the trigger on the that. 

dont waste your money on those shite chippers you need a chipper with a single hydraulic roller minimum they are out there i got offered a 6 inch 40 hp jensen for £1500 plus vat i need to go look at no stress control but at least its a start

[forestboy1978]

Tracked chipper is a bugger to load and unload. Takes time. Trailer is not a plant trailer so it's not comfortable for plant.

Tracked chipper is expensive. That's a big expense when only just starting out. 

 

I'm going to start off chipperless and see how it goes. Tracked chipper might be the answer though. 

Edited January 5, 2018 by forestboy1978

[Haironyourchest]

Depends what kind of jobs you're on as well - if you pick up work from your fencing clients, which are likely farmers Im guessing - they wont require chipping. Just tell them the job comes a bit cheaper if you don't have to chip and they'll be quite happy to build habitat piles instead. For suburban work, the brash will have to be removed, either in chip form or whole.

[Mike Hill]

A tracked machine is extremely versatile even in an urban environment. Giving clients an option to retain the chip,towing a trailer full of waste out of a job etc.

 

Taking one off a trailer takes less than a minute.