treevolution

Thanks for the reply. When I did my research it seem that there was no real saving once accountancy bills have been taking into consideration.

How much profit do you need to to make going limited worthwhile against being a sole trader.

I don't think the old ones had a turbo. They used the turbo on the std8 to get 45hp out of the same engine. I think Greenmech have gone down the route of having a heavier flywheel to produce more torque from a less powerful engine. Wonder if forst have done the same with the fly wheel.

It looks like the STD6 has the same engine as before but only producing 24 hp rather then 35 hp as before to comply with stage V emissions. Is this done by putting a restrictor on the engine and is it possible to remove once the chipper has been brought. Can't see how the new STD6 would be able to compete with the old ones with a drop in horse power.

Have the price's for diesel chipper's now taken a big price jump due to the additional cost of having a stage V engine.

Unfortunately OPM is now out of control and will eventually cover the majority of the country. Not only will it make it more difficult to carry out work on Oak trees but we will start to lose our Oak, I have heard of a number that have had to be felled due to the damage caused by the caterpillar. It's ridiculous that is started off from a few trees that were imported from Holland and planted by Hanger Lane, London. It would be good if the ARB association could provide training on how best to deal with it as it can be very detrimental to your health.

The ARB trolley really changed things for me. I remember when we had handball everything out of the garden. Also helmets. Remember when everyone had the same husqvarna helmet with the elastic chin strap.

Pfanner arborist Type A are probably the lightest trousers for tree work.

I have a HB20 and can see it outlasting me. The new ones can just about go through a 25 inch gap when you take of the outer wheel. Could you not recondition the one you have. The only downside I find is it is a heavy machine and you do feel it at the end of the day.

There will always be parts for the machine, I was just not sure what would happen to the Quadchip once they had used up all the stage 4 engines. First one I change at 800 hours and then the second at only 370 hours but this was because I wanted one of the last ones with the stage 4 diesel engine. Have to say Greenmech are brilliant to deal with and any issues that have I have had have been sorted asap. They are also very helpful on line and phone to help with any problems you might have.

On my 3rd one and have to say a brilliant chipper. Would not really be able to go back to an inline chipper now as the turntable makes things a lot easier. Round blades last a lot longer then straight ones and are easy to turn/change. There is a lot of really good design points on it that when it came out it was ahead of a lot of the chippers of that time. If you get one that has four round blades the chip does not seem to make it all the way to the back of the truck due to it being a very fine chip. Greenmech will give you a kit that you can change to a two blade system making the chip bigger which means it will throw the chip further. Went from a 150 and have to say the quad chip was is so much better. Think that the Quadchip will cease production this year so could be some good deals on one.

Unfortunately it has to be gone this week and is now sorted but thank you for your interest.

Looking at going down this route at the moment and see that Sherpa and Cast both do a loader at only 76cm wide. This would fit into most gardens that I work in but I was wondering how a small machine of that size would perform and whether anyone could share their experiences. Thanks.

Sorry for the spelling mistake. Just want it gone on the day if possible. It's very near Hampton Court.

Anyone interested in the above in the West Moseley area. Tree is coming down Wednesday and wood can be collected from the front drive. PM for details. Thanks

I know but where I am there is not the access for those machines as people keep building boxes on the back of their property with bi-folding doors.

Really enjoyable read while having a sandwich. Wish you all the best with the new venture. Did get me thinking, what is the cut off point for climbing, two years away from 40 and still climb without too many aches and pains but can't lift big timber anymore. And what is my exit plan.

Hope things pick up for people soon and that it is just a blip but I have noticed work slowly drop of since the referendum. I have lost a couple of clients to non VAT registered companies recently which has been a kick in the teeth. People are watching the penny's.

Hows people finding things at the moment. I'm getting less and less call as the weeks go by towards summer and even less jobs being accepted when I do quote.

I was on £180 a day in West London last April. Can't seem to get passed this amount unfortunately.

I once had a lad on work placement that I later took on full time. Good worker, and good with customers and started to become a really good climber. But same thing as yourself that I had to pick him up and then drop him back, always sub him money before pay day. At first I didn't mind as he was a good worker but as his hangovers got worse and the late morning became more frequent for him it really started to stress me out. Then one Christmas I received a lovely card from his Mum wishing me a happy holiday and ending with thanks for looking after my boy. A light turn on and I thought why the hell should I be looking after a guy in his mid 20s. What do I get for all the additional hours put in by being his chauffeur, if he worked in Tesco would they send a taxi for him each shift. You said that he is reliable but how can he be if he can't even get to work. You have to decide whether it's worth all the additional hours you put in employing him or would you be better spending that time finding someone that can get to work in the morning under there own steam.

By 57 plate Nissan Cabstar has a train weight of 7 tons. I have towed up to 3.5 tons with a ton on the back before but would not like to do it every day.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Can I ask where do you get them from. Thanks

I have found a real drop off in work the last two years. I went from running a 3 man team Inc myself with a fourth person part-time flat out with two months of work booked up, to having to go out as sub contract climber last Spring just to fill my weeks. Since then I have downsized to myself plus one and work four days a week which does let me have some quality time to be with the kids. The one thing I have found with the change is I might not turnover the same amount but do get paid more per hour then I did when I had staff. I do think there is a real slowdown in work at present but hopefully things will pickup soon.