Hodge

Ha,Ha. Ok I only use Subby climbers, if they were to put on a chipper and truck then it's gotta be £300 if they get no work then don't go down that route. I don't see how people can sub us or not can charge less and make money

But then I stick my cut on top

You have lost me eggs.?? All I'm trying to get across is that lads charging £250 and under for a chipper man and van are on a hiding to nothing. In reality I'm not arsed as I do my thing and I'm sorted, when I started I charged not enough and learnt the hard way.

Err, that's not my concern eggs as I have my own chipper and truck etc. if he gets that then that's up to him

Fair play bud, then add a chipper £100 and a van say £100 there's £350 is that not ok?

That's what I charge for a 3 man team, so a 2 man at £400-£500 is right.

How's that then??

Ok let's assume everyone has truck then eggs. If I got a job in and get another Groundy to help and get £650-£700 a day then fine, But someone owning a truck and chipper needs to be charging £300 a day to be sustainable. I pick and choose my work these days to be honest and things are far better doing it this way.

My mate is a jobbing gardener, he gets £130 a day and the customer provides the tools, he is booked 5 days a week all year round.

If I didn't have a truck and a chipper than I would as I pay £140 for a climber, then I charge my chipper out on jobs at £120 so that's not far off the mark eggs.

Come on, a man, a truck and chopper for £150 a day? That is just bloody stupid. I'm baffled at how you can make a living.

If he has not got accident insurance he can. That's not really the point of the post.

In the tree game this "subbing out" is a real grey area for all concerned as we have read in many threads on Arbtalk. Some people sub out with loads of kit to other firms that find the work and pay them to do it, they still have overheads to pay, as does the lad with a chainsaw and fuel can going felling for someone. In most situations insurance is advised/needed as you will inevitably be doing your own jobs as well as subbing. You run a car/van/truck so they need tax/insurance/servicing and this money has to come from somewhere as does paying for kit. Some lads think it's ok to buy an old chipper and truck and go round doing jobs and "subbing out" for folk and charging £low prices to get the work££ with no thought of if something breaks or what if something happens. As we have said before if we all were more capitalist minded then this industry would pay well but we have lots of tree hugger types happy to make ends meet working in the wood etc (no offence meant to anyone) for peanuts. There will always be people who work for peanuts but if you are serious about this game then you need to charge properly. Another short example of why we must get real with pricing is the risk factor, a contract climber I use had a nasty accident in Friday and cut a 4 cm long , 1cm deep cut into is thumb area, it was his right hand, he was cutting a conny hedge and the branch brok as he cut and he lost his footing, as he slipped his hand came into contact with the slowing chain. He will be out of action for quite a while. If he has no accident insurance how will his running costs be paid? If he charges a proper rate he should be able to afford accident insurance and build up some Capitol for such events. Charging too little also can put pressure on jobs to get them done quick so then another job can get done to pay the days cost. Just something to think about lads n lasses:)

I agree, £400 plus vat for a day for 2 men is about right but like you Ian try never to work on a day rate to the customer. I charge by the job and that's that.

Cut and climb are tough as old boots, I've had em for years and they are the Best!!

No wonder this trade is on its arse if you charge £250 a day for man truck and chipper, and that bing a new chipper to. Beggars belief lads??

Thank god your ok, I've been getting worried! Take it easy mate.

I've tried calling him today and got no reply, very odd.

The new 230 VTR has threaded holes on the sides of the chassis for attaching tool carriers, a clever bit of thinking by Timberwolf!!

I really can't understand why this bloke is mixing aspen with normal fuel?? It defeats the object of Aspen does it not?

Chilling after a good day mountain biking:)

Sorry, I couldn't help it:)

There's only one blue moon and that shines over Manchester!!!! MCFC!!!!!!!

My mate has spent a small fortune on iodine, special juices from the U.S. That cleanse the body, spends loads eating organic yes smokes loads. He thinks he's ok as it roll ups. Well done Steve for keeping off the fags mate:)

How many of you on this diet smoke? That's what I find funny about this kind of thing, I have a mate who is on it and won't eat anything unless it's organic or free range etc but smokes 20 a day. Kind of defeats the object of being healthy.