Dump trailer with platform for a mini....?

SuperK said:
How practical is this set up TC? Does it go out everyday like this?
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The mini usually rides in the dump trailer. If the trailer is full I’ll bring the mini home in the back of the chipper. It works. Not really ideal but much better than a lot of other alternatives. Works for me but I also have a bigger chipper and a smaller mini than most.
 
Thanks, that's the way I want to go, mini with a dump trailer for removals but taking mini on pruning jobs with one truck sounds really nice too.
 
There's also a lighter weight bumper pull flat front deck trailer made by Rocket City in northern Alabama and also sold through other distributors. It is advertised as a landscaping mulch dump bed. The cost difference is substantial (just under ~6k for the rocket city version). I'm certain that the Midsota will be more robust, better for removals, but the RC one will be better for pruning and staying under weight. I think both are very legitimate for their respective tasks.

The Midsota trailer is kind of in no-man's land because it costs more yet cannot hold debris from a full size tree removal (partly because it is way smaller than a grapple truck dump bed and partly because of its own weight relative to the specs of whatever is hauling it).

The dump on the Rocket City trailer might deform if a log is dumped into it instead of set into it. Great price though, and it can haul more weight legally in some circumstances...

Kind of like that Zahn conversation over on the mini skid steer thread, it depends what you're intending to do most of the time... a Zahn with a rocket city trailer could be a sweet setup.

I've been looking to upgrade from my standard double 3500lbs. axle utility trailer, which I *hate* unloading for 1-2 hrs. when there's no assist (large tree, komatsu, etc.) around. Problem is, there's no clear upgrade for me where I'm paying more money to get more value. 15k for a flat front 12' dump roll-off trailer. 8-9k for a 14' dump bed (with which my mini can barely get a log over the edge), 10k for a beefy flat front rear dump, 6k for a light duty ffrd... End of day, I put new boards on the utility trailer and beat it up some more... for $400 plus regular repairs, it's earned its money so many times over. Once I pay off my mini skid steer, of course, I'll be saving for a grapple truck or crane. ;)
 
treebing said:
what's the zahn conversion?
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If you pick up a smaller loader for low-impact work, it will be taking out smaller chunks from smaller trees. I'm assuming you're not planning on removing anything much over ~25" diameter with the Zahn, otherwise you'll be in that zone where you're ripping stumps in half, etc., which is really inefficient.

A lighter-duty trailer (likely with a lower dump bed height) might be suitable for a Zahn-centered work crew. It allocates more weight towards the wood being hauled and less weight is wrapped up in the trailer metal. With these types of rigs, wood hauling is the biggest bottleneck because the machine and trailer take up between 1/2 and 4/5ths of the rated capacity, leaving proportionately less for wood. You're on the margin to gain back some of that wood hauling capacity - every little bit helps. With a Zahn, you gain ~1000lbs. of hauling capacity in the trailer vs., say, my sk650. With a rocket city trailer, you gain another 1000lbs. If you make the front of the dump box higher than the back, the bmg (on a Zahn hinge pin) can stick the butts in and you don't have to waste time sawing off errant sticks up front in the branch tips... By tilting the dump bed rail to be high in front and low in back, you don't add weight, while facilitating the low Zahn hinge pin height and gaining time that would be lost "packaging" your load. By going small (buying a Zahn), you lose less hauling capacity - it's an area of convergence for efficiency with a Zahn. By also getting a light-weight trailer, you double the gain in hauling capacity.

I'd also trick it out with 14" wheels to ride low and help out the hinge pin height. might also be able to chip into that dump bed if you had a 6" light-duty tracked chipper to ride on the flat front. Haul an air compressor and a load of mulch to the PHC site... Could be a good light rig.
 
I have a 6 inch morbark chipper that I would love to convert to tracks. I wonder if there is a track body that you could just take the wheels off of the chipper and put it on tracks.
 
treebing said:
I have a 6 inch morbark chipper that I would love to convert to tracks. I wonder if there is a track body that you could just take the wheels off of the chipper and put it on tracks.
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Tracks are ridiculously expensive. I'd like to see a self-propelled chipper on four wheels... maybe stick a big drill in one axle? ;)
 
if I could figure out how to wheel my chipper up into the dump trailer. wheels or tracks. right now I could tow the moral with the mini once on the sight but I couldn't tow it up the ramps I'm pretty sure.
 
Midsota does offer axle upgrades or tri axle option to increase load capacity. Of course those would most likely require a class A license.
Tri axle option has give of 23k gvw
8k axle upgrade is 15k gvw
 
Man that is a lot of thought. Much like a 3/day per move chess game where the position is played twenty times to end to find the most effective line. Although imho, I think y'all are pointed in the wrong direction, with the right intent. I really don't think there is a one truck solution to tree work. I think really it is about a few small trucks. Think Isuzu size.


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I will try and get a picture of a guys truck up here.
I think it was a L9000 with a platform for mini in front of dump bed. And he either pulled a chipper or his track loader depending on job. Was well thought out how he built it.
 
treebing said:
this is my current setup. looking to up grade the ramrod to a zahn or a tracked ditch witch soon. can't make up my mind
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Check the ground pressure specs of each unit closely. They do *not* correlate to tip capacity.

Also, look into those smooth orange turf tracks for the minis. If you get a tracked unot, expect to pack some plywood occassionally, and expect to reschedule the occassional job to avoid precipitation-associated impact.
 
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