Favorite gear/equipment you bought?

Serf Life said:
Which piece of gear have you never regretted buying? Made you the most money? Had the lowest maintenence to use ratio? Thinking stuff with engines and/or wheels, brush moving carts, attachments etc. but post up whatever was your best purchase and why.
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For simple enjoyment of trees, my favorite purchase has been the bulldog bone with ropewalking system. Climbing/pruning is so much less work and more fun having this kind of set-up compared to where I started, spiking trees and DRT.

For taking the work out of tree work, I am one month into owning a mini loader (Intrepid100) with BMG, but it is completely transforming my ground operations and making it so much easier and more productive. I would say confidently that for three guys on storm clean-up we are triple the production at 1/3 the effort. Loading logs into dump trucks, dragging brush to chipper, pulling chipper close to the tree, loading debris, pulling trees. This is the basic incredible stuff it does, but I'm also finding more uses as I go (man-lift, gear transport) and now consider myself utterly dependent on machines for ground work.
 
Of course the MINI changed the game for all of us. Next the BMG on the mini eliminated lazy ground guys.
Next the BMG rake eliminates 90% of the hand raking. (Thanks Dave) @tnttree

Let's not forget the senas. Now we communicate like a educated connected crew. No more yelling and screaming to add to all the chipper equipment noise.
The treemek. No more large crew for me. Me and two simple guys.20190502_131718.webp
 
It's been raining just about every day here in Michigan, it was a breeze to clean this parking lot after we were done with the BMG rake. It was wet muddy and heavy it would really suck to do by hand
 
I'm not sold on the rake, yet...

Seems like it excels at pavement, which is easiest to clean, and infrequent for me. Seem like some plywood (I always have some under the machine on the trailer for various needs) in the grapple would plow almost as well, and blowers move lots on pavement.

I'm wondering about turf.
 
southsoundtree said:
I'm not sold on the rake, yet...

Seems like it excels at pavement, which is easiest to clean, and infrequent for me. Seem like some plywood (I always have some under the machine on the trailer for various needs) in the grapple would plow almost as well, and blowers move lots on pavement.

I'm wondering about turf.
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The rake has done well, but not perfect on grass for me, I've only owned the rake for a month or so and everything has been so wet that all of my chipping has been done on the road which the rake has been great for. As for plywood, I had tried that with the BMG before I got the rake, I couldn't get it to hold it steady and it hangs up on seams on a sidewalk whereas the rake will glide over a raised seam. Using plywood to plow is one area where the Vermeer grapple with the locking pins excel over the BMG.
 
By the time its raking time. I will often just use a sheet or half-sheet by hand.

I wonder how a couple sheets of plywood held in the grapple (prevents breaking through the plywood), dragging with the 'drift' engaged on the loader-arms, would work.

I wonder if a $3 ratchet strap would 'lock' the grapple against the frame enough to plow.

A $3 ratchet strap fixes floppy Lowering Devices, and is multipurpose.
 
Each has their own faves but for me if you're talkin non-big ticket items I'd say a good pole saw can help you be very productive & efficient in many aspects on a job site from prep work to trimming up to 15' high (Stihl HT131).
Small stuff that I'd hate to live without now would be my HH2, HAAS knee ascender, Quickie, adjustable FS and of course a Silky. Big shot is a big help on tall stuff too.
 
Jehinten said:
This thread officially sucks. Lol. My mini broke down on me today. I stacked brush in the front yard from a tree that was zip lined from the backyard. Had brush stack 5 feet high all along the curb, got about halfway through the chipping and I lost all hydraulic power in the mini skid. Haven't had a chance to diagnosis it yet, but I'm suspecting the pump went out.
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Tom Dunlap said:
Or a sheared key..I try to be optimistic
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My mini is back up and running and back in the "this tool is awesome category". Ended up being a blown o-ring in the control valves, $1.06 fix and an even easier fix than a sheared key, once diagnosed, that is.
 
sk650 for sure. Got a 2006 with 4k hours on it last spring for $8000 with bmg. Probably paid it off in two weeks... In that year we two hoses go, and we put new motor mounts in over the winter. That was it. Whoever the guy is who can't fit it into his budget was, go find a cheap one. It's time to leave the dark side! The Force (aka hydraulics) will be with you. We promise. The biggest issue you're going to have is figuring out how much more you should be charging for having it on the job.

Recently upgraded from handheld blower to a BR800. That was mind blowing. No pun intended. Seriously though, awesome.

The BM rake sits a lot of the time for me personally, but when it's killing it, it is absolutely killing it. Especially combined with a big blower. Also plowing snow in yards/sidewalks it's a dream. So even though it sits a lot it's still worth the price tag for me.

Can make a lot of money with just a throw line, slingshot, porty, and a three strand as well....
 
Seeing some trends... Mini, BMG, grcs, polesaw. Good info from those who know. Mini was already next on my shopping list, adding the BMG. Thanks for the replies.
 
before a mini forwarder -- Sennas! - I had 6 cutting crews running back in the dark ages
I would buy them for every one of those men today
Best Safest thing I can imagine -

with 25 years runnin a tree biz experience, I could have mediated
- so many safety issues, problems, opportunities- all with Senna communication

Thank you Mr. Cox for introducing them to the Industry
 
southsoundtree said:
I'm not sold on the rake, yet...

Seems like it excels at pavement, which is easiest to clean, and infrequent for me. Seem like some plywood (I always have some under the machine on the trailer for various needs) in the grapple would plow almost as well, and blowers move lots on pavement.

I'm wondering about turf.
Click to expand...

I plan to have an opinion on the Rake within the next 2 weeks.


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Serf Life said:
Which piece of gear have you never regretted buying? Made you the most money? Had the lowest maintenence to use ratio? Thinking stuff with engines and/or wheels, brush moving carts, attachments etc. but post up whatever was your best purchase and why.
Click to expand...

1. Jeff Jepson’s “To Fell A Tree” & Douglas Dent’s “Professional Timber Falling”.
Over the years following these basic steps no one else around here follows.
It’s been made obvious by the attention we get when we do things so different from everyone else. Knowledge Truly Is Power.

2. SENAs

3. Ported MS461R. With a 28” or 32” bar, it’s my main felling saw.
4. 1 dozen 10” K&H wedges.
5. Our Kubota. M7060 HD-12 similar lift capacity as a SVL-75 in the power position & more lift height than a SVL-95 in the height position.
b3e38f51e68bf56cd7f843d1aca397a3.jpg

6. Wraptor

7. Mini Skid with BMG grapple- one doesn’t go without the other.

4964e56c9171d17eedcd37d6bb406e63.jpg



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