Do you think I can reach this with a 50ft Nifty Tow Behind?

climbingmonkey24

climbingmonkey24

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
United States
I'm not the best judge of height / reach. But you can see there is a nice spot right next to the tree where I can park lift. I figure if I can't reach the tippy tops I can manage them by hand / light rigging...don't want to rig too big because tree is dead. I also have my 25ft pole saw.


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climbingmonkey24 said:
I'm not the best judge of height / reach. But you can see there is a nice spot right next to the tree where I can park lift. I figure if I can't reach the tippy tops I can manage them by hand / light rigging...don't want to rig too big because tree is dead. I also have my 25ft pole saw.


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Pictures = a thousand words.
But looks to me about maybe 60’.
Might have to setup a couple times and set some pull lines with a pruner to keep a safe distance with the lift.
 
VenasNursery said:
I think so. Are you doing this solo?
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No I have someone who works on the ground for me.

I haven't comitted to the job yet. I just looked at it. I typically stay away from large removals and focus more on pruning work etc. but I'm trying to grow and expand my business and want to turn down less work. I'm just anxious about getting into trouble with the lift and not being able to get it all. The tops are all real dead. So climbing out is not an option.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
No I have someone who works on the ground for me.

I haven't comitted to the job yet. I just looked at it. I typically stay away from large removals and focus more on pruning work etc. but I'm trying to grow and expand my business and want to turn down less work. I'm just anxious about getting into trouble with the lift and not being able to get it all. The tops are all real dead. So climbing out is not an option.
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As long as you have a experienced groundie I don’t see any problems
 
Do you think where I could park the lift is far enough away from the power lines? But there should be no reason for me to even have to get too close to them anyhow, so I didn't think it would be an issue in this particular case.

I think this is a self-confidence / anxiety issue. I trust in my knowledge and skill for tree work, but I have anxiety about something bad happening, etc. and I think it holds me back from taking on work that I could do.
 
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southsoundtree said:
Yes. I've used that size before. It will be ezpz.


Remember that the worse thing to happen will be renting a bigger lift and learning to measure better.


A free clinometer app to measure a 45 degree line of sight to the top of the tree is a bit more accurate than the stick-trick.
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50ft lift is the max option I have. Unless I want to go with the huge one's that are on tires like they use on construction sites and at that point I'd lose money.

This would be a partial cleanup. Haul away small branches, etc. cut and leave pieces of wood for firewood. So that's pretty good.

I've got 50ft or so of boom, plus another 25ft of that heavy duty pole saw I have which brings me to 75ft. So theoretically speaking it sounds like it could work.

Making the decision to go forward and bid the job and not overthink it is another battle. :muyenojado:
 
On one hand because I can get so close to the tree that will help me maximize the full extent of the boom for the upper stuff, and worst case scenario I use the pole saw to piece the tippy top stuff out, set rigging or pull lines if needed etc., That stuff is dead so it can't weigh very much. Should be manageable to maneuver by hand or with ropes or even just free fall small pieces with a pole saw. That's as a last resort if I can't reach enough with the lift to just cut and chuck.

In writing it sounds like a good plan...but even so...
 
A couple of points:
climbingmonkey24 said:
50ft lift is the max option I have. Unless I want to go with the huge one's that are on tires like they use on construction sites and at that point I'd lose money.
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This is only true if you don't include the lift price in the quote. Customers pay for specialty equipment


A 50 foot lift can remove 80 foot trees all day long, as long as you have a good drop zone. You appear to have one here.

Your pole saw or throw weight can set a tag line much higher for better leverage than your lift will reach, to help gain control on limbs growing towards the wires. Give it a good test pull before cutting. Better to have it break out before cutting on a crucial piece than after, since its dead.

Small tops in dead trees can typically be broken out if needed to help the piece fit in a drop zone or to allow it to be removed without having to go as high.

You mentioned cut and chuck, on crispy trees it's nice to chuck it straight into a dump trailer. Saves 90% of the time on cleanup and shattering limbs do not cause damage to a trailer.
 
I think I've lost my nerve, and I don't know how to get it back. I used to not deal with this much anxiety and nervousness about tree work. I'm worrying about things I once never worried about.

For example, all I can think about is what if something goes wrong regardless if I can do it safely. Like what happens if the tree decides to fail of its own accord, knocks the power lines down, whole street is without power, now I look like an unprofessional asshole to the whole neighborhood.
 
We had some strong winds last night and some branches fell from the tree but it's still standing right.

I've taken down trees similar to this where the whole thing looks dead but the trunk wood is solid as ever. The client said that after the power company hacked it back from the power lines is when it started dying.

Do you think my anxiety about the tree failing is unwarranted? I don't want to keep letting my anxiety hold me back from taking on jobs that I know I am more than capable of doing skill wise but that I just get too freaked out about because of all these "what if" disaster scenarios I play in my head.

It's like a film that is on loop, it just keeps going and going.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
We had some strong winds last night and some branches fell from the tree but it's still standing right.

I've taken down trees similar to this where the whole thing looks dead but the trunk wood is solid as ever. The client said that after the power company hacked it back from the power lines is when it started dying.

Do you think my anxiety about the tree failing is unwarranted? I don't want to keep letting my anxiety hold me back from taking on jobs that I know I am more than capable of doing skill wise but that I just get too freaked out about because of all these "what if" disaster scenarios I play in my head.

It's like a film that is on loop, it just keeps going and going.
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I think I know what you're feeling/dealing with: before you had less anxiety, you seem to have lost your nerve; things seemed to go smoother, even though looking back they seem complex and difficult.
I felt that way, for me, some of it was that before, I would let myself think more about what could go wrong and the difficulty of the work.
Also, I think it comes from the stigma of unwarrantedly doubting oneself, yes we do loose some physical strength as we age, but we should be gaining more wisdom and understanding, which inherently we are, yet we doubt that based on feelings. There are some feelings we should train ourselves to intellectually ignore, that certainly aid in our need for perfection of character.

I think you have picked the near perfect size lift for the tree (that looks to be about only 50ft high [tops]).
If you park the lift in the light blue house's driveway, it seems like a good reaching point without having to be on the grass.
The tree should be quite strong with its own weight, for you to dismantle it in pieces, rigging seems unnecessary.

Just don't be nervous, and watch to keep the lift a minimum of 15feet away from the bare top wire of the power lines.
Also, because instead of rigging, you'll be doing many smaller cuts, just be very careful of your cuts in proximity to your hands.
If need be, make the chain cut slower, less aggressive, by sharpen it without correspondingly, filing the rakers down as much as you normally would.
 
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Willber said:
I think I know what you're feeling/dealing with: before you had less anxiety, you seem to have lost your nerve; things seemed to go smoother, even though looking back they seem complex and difficult.
I felt that way, for me, some of it was that before, I would let myself think more about what could go wrong and the difficulty of the work.
Also, I think it comes from the stigma of unwarrantedly doubting oneself, yes we do loose some physical strength as we age, but we should be gaining more wisdom and understanding, which innately we are, yet we doubt that based on feelings. There are some feelings we should train ourselves to intellectually ignore, that certainly aid in our need for perfection of character.
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For me it isn't a matter of doubting what I think I can do or my knowledge of how to do something, it's playing the what if scenarios in my head that are out of my control. For instance I know I can safely cut and rig a large limb over a house without causing damage because I trust in my skill.

But it's the, "what if the tree tips over when I'm tied into it" or "what if the tree fails when we are on the property and it had nothing to do with us but the homewner blames us" type business. My anxiety isn't specific to tree work, it's a regular part of my daily life. I regularly will play through the what if sitautions and go through potential future conversations / interactions I may have with people over and over to plan for every worst case scenario. What if they say this, how do I respond, if I say this what will they say. If something goes wrong how should I respond or handle it.

I know everyone has a different view on COVID and this isn't even about that, but I have noticed that this "disaster reel" seems to be much more apparent in my life now than before COVID. I don't recall struggling with all these "bad thoughts" as much before.

Don't know if it has something to do with feeling like there is a lack of control over things, or what.

I've retreated because of my anxiety but now I want to face things head on and break free from it and get back to the way I used to feel. But maybe I should start smaller? I primarily focus on pruning and trimming work and smaller removals. Getting involved with these larger removals while it is something I would like to do from time to time, it's extra. My primary focus is pruning.

So maybe I should try and get a better handle on these feelings and stuff before I start getting involved with these bigger jobs? Again, it's unrelated to self-doubt or my ability to actually perform the work, it's getting control of these negative thoughts about something bad happening that I can't prevent or control.
 
I think you have an anxiety problem. Is it limited to tree work?
Have you found a pro counselor?



This tree is pretty easy, open drop zone, lift accessible.

You have not bid it, right?
Go measure it.
Include the right price for a lift.
Bid it.
Forget it.
Maybe it comes in?



Worst case is if you find a bigger lift is needed, you're out some money if you bid it wrong...inconsequential.

Best case, you measure it, bid it, show up, its no problem, get paid.


Pruning is a good gig. Consider root zone care. Very chill... sometimes boring AF.
 
southsoundtree said:
I think you have an anxiety problem. Is it limited to tree work?
Have you found a pro counselor?



This tree is pretty easy, open drop zone, lift accessible.

You have not bid it, right?
Go measure it.
Include the right price for a lift.
Bid it.
Forget it.
Maybe it comes in?



Worst case is if you find a bigger lift is needed, you're out some money if you bid it wrong...inconsequential.

Best case, you measure it, bid it, show up, its no problem, get paid.


Pruning is a good gig. Consider root zone care. Very chill... sometimes boring AF.
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Not limited to tree work. Regular part of daily life. I don't think I would have a problem doing this tree at all in regards to the actual removal process / work. How would the anxiety be about it though? That's a different story.

And the thing is, I know in some situations the anxiety is irrational and isn't always warranted. But it's "turning it off" or "dialing it back" that I need to work on.

I've talked to someone qualified in this respect about it which does help sometimes.
 
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