Low impact woodland management

[QuantockTreesMatt]

Hi there guys, I have been working as an arborist for a few years now alongside another guy and we are both busy and doing alright for ourselves! I have recently had the idea of moving into woodland/forest floor work but aiming at land/woodland owners who are conscious about the effect on the environment that this work may have. I had the idea of purchasing an atv towable timber crane trailer and putting it on a tri axle hauling trailer with the atv and moving them both to site! I have also seen that some companies are producing fast tow timber trailers with cranes but at a heavy cost!

 

I just wanted to see whether anyone has taken this sort of route of work on here and how it has been welcomed by customers. I will also be looking for advise on what atv/timber trailer would be a good investment (currently looking at vahva jussi) and what sort of vehicle would be sensible for towing with, i.e Land Rover or pick up!

 

Thanks very much for reading through and look forward to your thoughts/suggestions👍🏻

[foxforestry]

I took a real punt going down the low impact compact route but it is starting to pay off.

I researched the hell out of it for months. So if I can help message me a number and I'll bell you.

I went with in my opinion the best on the market. It is made and bit in Finland and is the first of its kind in the UK. Multi Mette.

[CHC]

[ATTACH]198055[/ATTACH]

This is my machine. Very light foot print. Where about you based fox forestry?

[Tom D]

I think in general forestry work pays less than arb work, for the same investment. Get something that will come in handy on the larger domestic jobs too, (like an alpine)

[Gray git]

For ultra low impact you won't go wrong with an iron horse, we use this older version on quite a few thinning jobs where nothing else would get in to extract everything without causing a mess. Also very easy to transport.

[foxforestry]

CHC I can't get your attachment. I'm in suffolk and you..?

[woody paul]

Suffolk is a big place :laugh1:

[samarb]

Hi Matt,

 

ATV or Quad won't be any good in this area. I tried it a few years ago and found the lack of weight meant traction is a problem over 250kg, and forget hills both up and down.

 

I settled on this in the end all in about £30k, it won't make you a millionaire and is not a stand alone business but working alongside other crews and resources it can make a difference on certain jobs.

 

Hope this information helps.

[Andrew McEwan]

If you're splitting your time between woodland and arb jobs don't discount getting a 3pl crane, I end up using mine a lot more than I would if it was mounted on a trailer.

 

Also if you're new to silviculture/forestry practice in general, and not working for clients through an agent or forester, a copy of Harts and the FC blue book will help you out more than any particular kit will.

[MooresFT]

Always thought a tracked dumper with hiab would be a very useful bit of kit. Plus lower impact than a bike etc.