Anyone used the BTS hauler I see on WesSpur?

colb said:
I've had so many repairs to my mini that I want a trolley/hauler for three reasons (your obscenely tight landscape reason is also a good one, though very rare since I've got a 36" access mini):

1.) to take up the slack when the mini is down,

2.) minis have a surprisingly narrow zone of usefulness - trunks that are smaller than the grapple closure (perhaps 25-28"?) and larger than you'd want to haul on a trolley (perhaps 12-20"?),

3.) trolleys pair well with a bicycle service model - I know, it seems odd, but it's actually quite marketable... I rolled around solely with an aluminum bicycle flatbed trailer for a year and still have it for the occasional job.
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Hey, colb! Interesting post! If you don't mind my asking, are you saying that you were able to reliably find gainful employment within bike riding distance from your home for at least a year? Were you seeking out your own work, and working for yourself?

I find this to be an inspirational story, if so. What methods did you use to obtain your work? Your story gives me hope that it might really be possible for a single small operator to find a niche for himself.

Thanks for your post, and any further answers you choose to give.

Tim
 
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TimBr said:
Hey, colb! Interesting post! If you don't mind my asking, are you saying that you were able to reliably find gainful employment within bike riding distance from your home for at least a year? Were you seeking out your own work, and working for yourself?

I find this to be an inspirational story, if so. What methods did you use to obtain your work? Your story gives me hope that it might really be possible for a single small operator to find a niche for himself.

Thanks for your post, and any further answers you choose to give.

Tim
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Tim, the answer is complicated, as you might suspect. I've had lots of help. My mom bought me a 192tc for that Christmas, for instance. I've also had a lot of initiative. Some days/weeks I cycled 1.5 hours to my job site while towing 250 lbs, climbed or rigged all day, and then cycled 1.5 hours back home. I've also had good circumstances. For instance, Florida is very flat, the weather permits year-round operations, and I live in a city that is chock full of trees and tropical storms. I've also had a 1/2-time salaried data science position, a large child support payment to make, and have had to take measures (legally, and in scheduling availability) to provide suitable time for my son and I.

I believe that some people with lower costs of living (e.g. not parents) could start up immediately, via word of mouth business (this is what I have done thus far) with a bicycle and trailer. The best trailer would be aluminum, change tires easily for transit and jobsite needs, would have signage on the sides, would function as a roof-height ladder, and would emulate these haulers/trolleys in their ability to shuffle debris around. It's not made, currently, and I suspect it is a $2500 item to custom make, $1800 to mass produce. My 96" aluminum flatbed was $750 and is adept at transit, but not site work.

Tree work, in the end, is a performance. If you put on a good show you'll get more business than you can imagine. Trailering an MS 660 with a long bar behind a bicycle down a road would generate unbelievable leads (I haven't done it yet because I can't buy a 660 yet, lol). I've trailered a rig with a 30 gallon spray tank and 100 ft. of brand new yellow hose and the road just goes to chaos. Once I was trailering a valuable historic church pew (one of those "Ben Franklin sat here" kind of things...) and a guy actually pulled his car onto a 4' median on a busy 4-lane road and tried to inconspicuously take my picture at waist level with his cell phone, lol. People were having to change lanes to get around him.

Tree services are really mundane and indifferentiable to clients. Sorry to put that out there, but it's mostly true. Yoos is not mundane. X man does some pretty entertaining stuff (remember the balloon he was using to set his throwline?), but only occasionally. It's not a criticism - he's rolling in work and wants to work better, yet he still toys around and amuses us occasionally. I suspect that August Hunicke isn't even really noticeable to a client despite the fact that he produces his vids extremely well and his rigging is superior. I'm uncertain that clients pick up on his operational superiority, and he's so into his work that he even made his pfanner helmet pure orange by removing the yellow accent stickers. The guy is tops in my book, but that does not create business with a broad client base (he probably doesn't need to either, so I'm not faulting him and greatly respect his business model). My company is mundane since I sized up to a Blazer and sk650 mini. I hang the bmg grapple on the mini, facing south at the back end of my trailer and people ask about it, but that's all I've got. My huge competitor in town (I'm obviously one of the smallest operators still) sports camouflage trucks, jeeps, buckets, chippers, skids, etc. under a legitimate connection to the armed services. They are extremely professional, and it's also a really good show. Put on a show (and obviously back it up with excellent work) and you'll get business without a problem, imho.

The other main problem we have is that our paying work (complete removals) leaves nothing behind, and customers rightly take the lowest (hopefully insured) bid in that circumstance if they're not being suitably entertained. If you're getting bathroom tiles installed, you're more likely to choose a higher bid since you'll be looking at it for a long time. A smart guy uses the wood debris to make something so that he can come in low on the bids, knowing that he'll make it back by toting home a few burls or slabs. Especially in the north, where the climbing is more seasonal and one has time to work a burl.

Probably time to tie this thread back in though. What would you prefer to tow behind a bike? A BTS hauler, a SA trolley, or a custom aluminum trailer? :)
 
@colb; Wow, thanks for the great response to my question. Riding a bike for three hours a day on top of all of the climbing work makes me think you must be King Kong, or something.

It is not so much that I would wish to pull a trailer behind a bicycle, it was more a question of whether or not a guy could find enough tree work to do within a bicycle ride's distance from home to be able to sustain himself. The answer seems to be yes, if you are willing to ride for 90 minutes each way. Which implies that someone with a motor vehicle should have a decent chance at it, too.

Great stories, great post. Please keep jumping in on this forum; it's a pleasure to read what you have to say.

Tim
 
TimBr said:
@colb; Wow, thanks for the great response to my question. Riding a bike for three hours a day on top of all of the climbing work makes me think you must be King Kong, or something.

It is not so much that I would wish to pull a trailer behind a bicycle, it was more a question of whether or not a guy could find enough tree work to do within a bicycle ride's distance from home to be able to sustain himself. The answer seems to be yes, if you are willing to ride for 90 minutes each way. Which implies that someone with a motor vehicle should have a decent chance at it, too.

Great stories, great post. Please keep jumping in on this forum; it's a pleasure to read what you have to say.

Tim
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The motor vehicle accounts for most recurring cost. It was important for me to reduce recurring costs. I'm sure someone can find a way, but I couldn't have shouldered that cost. I bought gear instead of car/gas/insurance. Appreciate your posts too, Tim.
 
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