Favorite gear/equipment you bought?

[southsoundtree]

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.

GRCS for the right scope of work and market. I've used mine once so far. Didn't even need it. HAPPY to have it. I just

A mini will do what the GRCS will do, somewhat, but also lots more.

I'd rather put $3k on a mini/ BMG down-payment, that a GRCS.

A GRCS does tricks a mini can't, as well, and is way portable. I just closed a sale on removal work where I can hang three trees whole, and pull out the butts with the mini, easy, solo.




All that is fancy and great and expensive. My best money spent starting out, over 11-12 years ago, was on my hand-truck and a little welding. $150...I'll get a picture. Still working hard.
Carry's logs, long and narrow, with a built-in lifting lever to avoid directly handling the log. Balance it over the axle. Ratchet strap it on. The little bit of welding of cradles makes it able to do things I can't with my Arbor-Trolley.


Ratchet straps are handy tools, and cheap, I'm talking the $3-4 each ones. Makes a POW more like a fixed bollard type LD, when a strap is choked above the POW on the trunk, with the ratchet-buckle end of the strap downward, its easy to pull it all tight, and tighten as things stretch, better than tying it up with anything else, IME.

 

[Jonny]

I saw your modified hand truck, it's brilliant.
Definitely copying that one day

 

[southsoundtree]

The R and D cost me millions!

 

[Gorman]

Can you pm me a pic?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Can you pm me a pic?

Please share a pic here

 

[Barc Buster]

1. Jeff Jepson’s “To Fell A Tree” & Douglas Dent’s “Professional Timber Falling”.

The best work related money you have ever spent hsell!

Let's add "The Fundamentals of General Tree Work" by Jerry Beranek to those two books. Should be required reading for every green treeman out there! Learn something new every time I read it and I've reread it a lot.

 

[TopNotchEquipment]

I really wish a mini skid steer was in my budget. That appears to be a game changer to small tree services running a 2-3 person crew, and unless they got a lemon, you'd be hard pressed to find someone that regrets buying one. One day.

I love my GRCS!! Not a daily use tool, but I have some capabilities now that most guys in my area don't.

Not as expensive as you may think to own a mini skid or loader. I have minis starting at $15k and loaders starting at $30K with finance programs currently running a deal $100/mo for the first 3 months lets you make some $$ before bigger payments start. most machines will run between $600-800/month for Loaders and about $300-500 for a mini. You dont need to start with a bigger more expensive unit if you currently have nothing, cause any machine is better than nothing or employees that are unreliable and cost per week the same as a Loader or Mini does per month.

 

[Ptstreeguy]

Gear I can't live without- 518 skidder, Lucas mill, APTA, Powerscender & Mini Saka, killer set of Spurs with tree gaffs and Opsal/Caddy pads, a good running 90-120 cc saw, big fat 3 strand flipline, wedges and a falling axe, Hobbs device, and a good multisender (Wrench, HH, BDB, ect.) Oops, can't forget the Pfanner Proto?

The APTA over the big shot for everyday use ? Just wondering gonna make a new purchase

 

[evo]

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.

How did you diagnose it? Any short cuts if you had to do it over?

 

[evo]

I’d hate to go back to the days without a chipper. Pound for pound the biggest return on my investment. Paid 6k, and in five years has broken down two to three times, which did really suck.
I’d be hard pressed to choose to what machine I couldn’t do without. Chipper or mini.

As southsound said a grcs is super Versatile, but I can and could easily do without it. It’s made me money, but I’d nearly say it’s the least used tool I own. I’ve lowered whole trees and grabbed the butts using nothing other than the mini. Lower the tree on a MA, with a solid anchor. Let it run on the bollards as you back up.

 

[Jehinten]

How did you diagnose it? Any short cuts if you had to do it over?

Ended up being the same issue that I had the previous year when it broke down after 2 hrs of use.

When I originally diagnosed it I removed the control valve assembly and broke apart the 5 controls and 2 end blocks. Ended up finding a bad o-ring in the end block where the hydro fluid enters and exits the controls. After reassembling I found that the port with the blown o-ring was assemble from under the hood.

So this time around that was one of my first checks was that o-ring and I found that it was bad again. took 5 mins to replace once the machine was cooled down.

control valve assembly removed from the machine
breaking the valves apart from each other. the cause of the problem and the location of the bad o-ring.

When assembled this is accessible by opening the hood and reaching in with two 12" extension on a 13/16" socket. Replace o-ring, retourque the "plug" (not sure what its really called) and get back to work.



During disassembly of my machine, I found that some of these ports have spring loaded ball bearings and cone bearings which are easy to send flying with disassembly especially if the control unit is still on the mini skid.