Five Dead Ash Lift Vs Climbing

[ClimbingTN]

I’ve been passing up bigger jobs where I thought I should have done it. The latest…Trying to figure out when it’s time for a lift or bucket. I’m working for a client that has probably 25 dead Ash. I’ve already dropped 4-5. I have some in range of targets ie. house, trees and driveway. Here’s my situation. All 5 can to be climbed tied into an adjacent tree. One near house definitely requires rigging. Others are probably cut and chuck. They’re 60-70 footers. I can rent a towable JLG 50 ft for $450 a day. I’m trying to figure out efficiency since I “never” have rented a bucket or lift. I used man lifts for years so I’m somewhat familiar. I’m also trying to be fair to the captive client. My question is a bucket or lift in this situation is more efficient and possibly more cost effective? Climbing, I can get all on the ground in mabe 1 day. I just don’t know in this situation so, all comments welcome. Craig

 

[Simpleiowaguy]

I use towable lifts occasionally on super dead or crispy trees, not just ash. I can't guarantee that it's honestly any faster but its definitely a safer more reliable option. If you thought you were gonna be in a time pinch as far as completing in one day I'd focus on just getting the problematic sections away from the structures and targets so you could come back and climb to finish the next day if need be. We rent a 55ft towable and move it around with the wheel loader, it's pretty low impact for the most part.
As far as the client goes I'd just express to them that it is necessary to ensure that everything is done in a safe manner. Mathematically it's only an extra 100ish bucks a tree.

 

[flushcut]

Find a Nifty towable much nicer to use.

 

[southsoundtree]

Get a lift.

Climb solid trees, not dead ash.

 

[Serf Life]

The 50' lift doesn't have much side reach so at full extension you'll not have much wiggle room with a 70' dead tree. Depending on how dead and how close you can get it may not be enough...

 

[ClimbingTN]

Find a Nifty towable much nicer to use.

Yeah the other rental place has the Nifty but they want $690!a day. The JLG is a articulable but, it’s really long.

 

[ClimbingTN]

Get a lift.

Climb solid trees, not dead ash.

I have TIP in adjacent trees. I have a strict no climb dead Ash tree policy. Also, don’t climb dead stuff of any sort.

 

[ClimbingTN]

The 50' lift doesn't have much side reach so at full extension you'll not have much wiggle room with a 70' dead tree. Depending on how dead and how close you can get it may not be enough...

Back right up to it within 6ft of driveway.

 

[southsoundtree]

A throw-line and then tape measure used for assessing an accurate height is smart before renting a machine.

The self-propelled lift is way faster and easier.

Time and reach versus money.

 

[ClimbingTN]

A throw-line and then tape measure used for assessing an accurate height is smart before renting a machine.

The self-propelled lift is way faster and easier.

Time and reach versus money.

Good suggestion!

 

[climbingmonkey24]

Generally the way I approach it in terms of getting the most “bang for my buck” is to figure out exactly what I need the lift for, whether any of the work can be done without it, and then rent it for a certain amount of time based off that. For example, on some hedge jobs in the past I’ve sometimes split it up into two days. So go one day with a ladder and extension trimmer and work the sides as high up as I can get, and then rent the lift the next day to work the top. This ensures I am allowing myself enough time with the lift for what I actually need it for without feeling rushed. It can also reduce the cost if you may only actually need the lift for say 4 hours rather than renting it for 24 hrs only to have it sit for 20 hours. Obviously there is logistical planning that goes into it. On some bigger jobs, it may make more sense to pay the extra amount to have the lift there so you don’t have to worry about the travel time of making multiple trips, etc. if it wouldn’t be convenient to go back a second day or what have you.

As it’s already been mentioned, for your particular situation maybe this means you use the lift for sections where you think it would be better suited or improve safety, and then if you decide not to use the lift for everything use some of the alternative methods to finish it off.

Honestly, there’s been times where I’ve rented equipment and I had doubts whether I was making the right decision or just needlessly increasing the cost. And nearly every time I looked back and was glad I trusted my instincts because it turned out to be the right decision. So I would consider what you think would be best, and trust in your experience and judgement and then roll with it.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Neill]

Good advice to listen to that gut feeling

 

[Treetopflyer]

Even if your main tie in point is tied into an adjacent tree there’s still a lot of risk of ash trees failing , breaking , crumbling without much indication it could happen, and it happens too fast. If you have a strict no climb dead ash policy I’d rent the lift chalk it up as an experience and keep on trucking brother

 

[snunyabizness]

he's showing a nice "quickdraw" technique using cloves on a bight to take down an EAB tree with decay. might be helpful to you on this job. be safe.