simonm

Put 1 of your lads through the licence ian, its nowt...especially if they are a dab hand at reversing etc. why not put a tipping trailer on instead? 3.5t is a decent load...only really works on big jobs though...not if your doing lots of small ones.

3.5t grafter lol, i wanted to buy a 7.5t grafter but i didn't want to leave short of 40 grand sat at the yard, i tried to get permission to add my house on the operators centre but to no avail, this is despite the front being more than enough to get the vehicle in and out. also i don't fancy driving to pick van up then home to load up etc as my stuff is kept at home, vosa were on my case to attend a new operators senimar, at the time i was doing 7 days and didn't have time to attend, they were relentless even though i had not registered a vehicle! in the end i surrendered it before i even did owt with it! stupid really...just stick a big tipper trailer on when you have a big job, tracked machine, double upon chip and log, prob not as efficient as a 7.5t but less hassle for me. Inspections and that were nowt as i found a mechanic to come out to me etc...not much of a ball ache tbh or not as much as some folk say to get the licence.

I used a firm in Wakefield called olmec who did everything for me, turned yard into operators centre, i didnt have to do much, cost around £1000 all in.

It was a hgv, 7.5t curtainsider, was for another firm, i knew it was overloaded by looking at it, gaffer said it will be rate

We hit a dab short of 90 grand turnover, so its too late! It seems ridiculous capping your earnings to stay under the threshold when the reason you set up is to line your own pockets not someone else's! I am new to this and maybe in a while it might not be as bad as it seems.

Just got me worried a bit as it seems a completely different ball game now, I have never had so much work disappear as I have recently, it has to be related to the price increase! Just wanna work had and make my money while I can instead of jumping over obstacles! Rant over

I remember doing a big Ash stump with a similar grinder what i hired when i started up, it was hard graft...happy days lol

I got busted for being 400kg overloaded miles away from base, wagon got immobilized as we couldn't get the weight off before the weigh bridge shut, £400 fine for me & £400 for the firm "they paid mine" they have been to court before for having vehicles overloaded but that's all i know. Same wagon was well known to vosa as different blokes drove it who more often than not had no tacho in etc, it got pulled often.

I am whiny tbh Mick, pissed off trying to better me and my family to end up knocked down again, the tree is covered by a tpo, the owner has tried to get the tree removed before but as folk are missing obvious defects and not applying the correct information to the application it is getting rejected, 1 of the other firms had a climber in a tree with trainers, no harness rope etc, top handle with no strop and a bit of tow rope that wasn't long enough! and the other i have no end of bad stories.

i have quoted £550 + vat to remove a medium sized Horse Chestnut in a customers garden, i didn't mention there was vat to pay, the customer said he had a much cheaper quote! despite me pointing out it had codominant stems, and a large column of decay that 2 other firms had not spotted , people dont wanna pay more than they have to even though you know the other firms who had quoted are ****!

I dont understand how folk can work like this though, I find there is very little I can do on my own, even jobs where you just need someone to stand over the footpath can be a pita on your own, having somebody full time makes you much Moore efficient.

I am currently looking for a Groundsman / second climber, working out of Wrenthorpe Wakefield, we are a small ltd company who takes on all aspects of tree surgery. We do both commercial & domestic tree work, stump grinding, firewood & fencing in a large area. Hours are Mon - Fri 7.30 am - 4.30 pm you will be required to work over time during busy periods. Driving licence preferred, must be punctual enthusiastic & hard working, experience preferred but not essential. Simon Martin 07977114605

Depends what you want doesn't it, i have never turned a job down which sometimes is a lot of hassle, i was up at 5 am today drove an hour and half to work in newark, got home @ 7 spent an hour sorting gear out, tea quote then up @ 6 tomorrow to do it again!

Thats how everyone starts, then sole trader to ltd then your doing good jobs winning more work then oops you've hit the threshold.

How fast does it fill the van?

Nobody wants to pay for stuff doing around here! i had a woman ask for 90' of 20' high conifer hedge felling and grinding out and the most expensive fence panels putting in, when i gave my price she asked if i could reduce costs, i said yes buy cheaper panels, her reply was can you not reduce you day rate! NO!!! we get jobs done quicker than most firms we are clean and tidy, i have invested heavily in new tackle in the last year, maybe you are right i should target new customers and bigger jobs.

I suppose they do need to fill their offshore accounts up ready for early retirement.

You don't have to display vat on your quotation only on an invoice right? which is what i have done, trouble is when they ask you either on site or the phone if it includes vat thats when i find i am buggered.

Tbh it has got me down a bit, i see what folk are saying about claiming stuff back but as soon as people get a whiff of vat they go elsewhere! few people seem to be bothered about a job being done right and just want it done cheap! i dont wanna be riding allover Saturday mornings looking at work i know i am out priced in! just seems like another kick in the nuts from the uk

I see where you are coming from, this should even it out a little, the area we are in is over saturated with every man and his dog doing tree work, 90% of which either stay below the threshold or are non tax paying folk. i now have a price hike to contend with. Has those of you that have gone down the vat route found your profits are down ?

I have been advised by my accountant to start quoting my price + vat, i seem to be loosing work hand over fist, jobs i would of won previously i am now loosing which i put down to the extra 20%! the only way i can think of going around this is to pursue more commercial stuff

Bet you were gutted you didn't have to ring that up

Climber wanted for Thursday 14th April, I am in a site meeting most of the morning and need a competent climber to crown thin a large Beech tree, groundsman will be on site to assist. The job is in Sandal Wakefield west Yorkshire. Simon 07977114605

I can do that with our belt driven carlton though, surely its about working with the machine not against it, plough it through the soft snotty stuff when the goings easy and steady away on the tough stuff. My m8 insists on ramming the cutter wheel into the stump to the point its towing! in this instance i probably have more horse power with an axe