doobin

Long reach

Because nobody wants to try to cut back 40" of thick woody growth at once? I have a 30" rough cut and it's an animal, it's a struggle to push it through the whole 30" sometimes so I'd imagine the 40" to be a very niche market for someone with much bigger biceps than me. When you're cutting a fine hedge, the extra length is ideal as it means fewer passes and less potential for error.

I'd be tempted to wing it with an even cheaper van. Berlingo with years MOT for £600-£800. Are you subbing on the tree climbing? Spend some of your extra money on decent saws and rigging gear, allowing you to increase your day rate. The most profit I should think will come from quoted hedgecutting jobs- have yourself a nice new hedgecutter and maybe even an easy lift harness. A decent trailer bought second hand will always be worth what you paid for it, and will allow you to remove arisings etc.

Doesn't matter how well I treat them, a good pair of chainsaw boots will last me a year. Can't put a price on comfort, they're worth it. Like Hodge says, £4 a week puts it in perspective. Good boots, good bed, good woman.... you know the rest.

Can't imagine the centre joint will last very well with no oscilliation?

I'd not spend even the 4k you have on a van starting out, that's a fool's way to loose money quickly. I've seen it multiple times, young lads with a nice shiny truck but no tools to earn with. That truck quickly gets downgraded, and 90% of the time they end up back working for someone. A 2k van or pickup depending upon what type of work you do is sufficient. That leaves you much more for decent tools, which are what actually earns you the money. You're just as likely to need to spend on a 4k van as a 2k one, and most likely it'll be more expensive to repair being newer. A Vauxuall Corsa will cut it just fine, I had no trouble making £150/day profit with a small car and trailer full of Stihl tools at age 19. I've got everything from a chainsaw to a milling machine to a digger to a cement mixer to a mower to a tractor to a plasma cutter to a planer thicknesser. There's not a day goes by that I couldn't go out within 5 miles of base and make a good wage with one of them. A truck just gets you from A-B. Buy quality tools at the right money and it's as good as money in the bank. A newer truck will loose you a lot in depreciation. My digger is worth the same or more than I paid for it and it'll earn me an extra £80 on a job no trouble at all. Same with machine tools, the milling machine won't drop any more in value and it'll save me money in repair costs. That said, I'd love a newer truck. But I'd never swap 8k of my tools for an 8k truck. Give us an overview of the work you do? I run a Berlingo and an LDV doublecab, both have pros and cons. Do you really need 4WD?

I'd spend a large chunk on a mini digger, grab and cone splitter if you're wanting to handle that amount yourself. Drop 15k on that and an MS660 and it'd be easy. You'd end up spending at least that amount in labour and your time if doing it manually for just 5 years.

But 20% Leylandii burns fantastic

Don't pay £150ish for a second hand MS181. Have a new one for £220. Second hand Stihls are strong money.

All of this hassle means it's gonna be cheaper to mill on site though.

I can't see any crane company being keen on going into a field. I would imagine most would flat out refuse unfortunately. Best get yourself a couple of nippers so you can run the mill and direct the lifting Do you know anyone with a matador locally?

I almost did the same just to see what it was like. Very interested in your report. I just can't see it holding a candle to the equivalent Stihl MS250, even on a smaller bar, but I stand to be corrected. Fingers crossed for you.

Then it's a bit rich to say no conifer...

MS181 is dirt cheap at £220 and much more power. Depends how much you value the light weight. It'll be a big drop in power from your MS230

Best entry level saw ever in my opinion. Always have one or two about for fencing, gardening and odd jobs. I change every year or so as the residual value on eBay is excellent.

Depends which way the £100 is going, surely...

Gotta chime in here. Big difference between the aforementioned 'chancer down the pub' and a bloke who passes you good leads because he's too busy or is taking his business in a different direction. 10% once I've done the job is fine by me. Saves all the hassle of advertising, plus my buddy is pretty good at weeding out timewasters on the phone. In a nutshell, it's high quality leads in the local area that I only give 10% on once I've gotten paid for the job. Works for me, I enjoy paying him. Knowing the work will keep coming in.

I wouldn't trust Spyrabase either for pulling over trees. I've used both types extensively on high tensile fencing on hills, and they'll hold less than you think. If I can pull them out the ground via a loop of wire and a gripple, you'd want to think twice about relying on them for critical tree felling. Check the load ratings- from memory the large Spyrabases are rated to 400kg. Do you know accurately what it's going to take to pull a leaning tree over? A pickup parked in 4WD has more anchoring force than a Spyrabse anchor. I know because I've tried it

In my experience it's very hard to judge even when you think you know the ground conditions. I'd never used them for pulling over trees that wouldn't go over just by pushing manually, put it that way. Far better to clean up the (limited) mess from a large anchor than the mess from a failed tree felling.

I'd be VERY wary of using them for that purpose. Even the large screw in type might not be up to it- better a dig-in spade type. It's all about how much earth you can make the load try to push against. I use anchors a lot, and you'd be surprised how little the type that you can install by hand will actually hold. It would really spoil your day having one fail at the critical point, sending the tree back the way it was leaning and snapping the hinge leaving it to fall the wrong way with no gob.

I'd skip over the MS362 and go straight to MS461 if you want to run a 20" bar most of the time. If you're constantly ringing big butts then I'd even consider an MS660/661. I love my 036 and 034, but for smaller bars an MS250 is quicker on a thinner kerf, and were I to buy new I would certainly go for a bit more power.

You could sub it out to a virtual secretary. Plenty of companies offer such services.

True that, I started with an SJ413 Transit type pickups are indeed no better on fuel, but you just can't beat them for a gardening business. With small, quoted garden jobs the key to profit is the number you can get done in a day, so three blokes in the front and and lots of space in the back for the best tools money can buy (and rubbish removal) is a winning combo for me. LDV has been good. Has the OP even said what line of work he's in??

That Sanli in the FJ review looks exactly the same as the £50 Chinese saws the author mentions. 'Silver stripe' and everything.... OP, if you cut to the chase and buy an Echo, Husky or Stihl, you'll thank us later. MS 171 will outcut all that Chinese junk. It's just the way it is. I'm not denying that the Chinese can make good stuff. But those saws are not it.

Then he'll never get ahead in business . If he's walking or bussing to gardens, all he needed to improve his range was a small moped. I started like that when I was 16. Walk before you run springs to mind. He could even skip the moped and go straight to a small car. What does a gardener who currently walks to a job need a pickup for??