Knuckle boom

I got you. Here’s how it works; we bring power, water, Food, fuel and sewage service. We have supply trains coming almost daily after roads reopen. We deploy into the storm. I have RVs and a mobile command reefer unit. You will be in a hurricane if you go with me. I provide the workman’s comp and the schedule of work. I have the sat. Phones and radios to keep us in touch. I have a small plane that we survey with so we are not driving around chasing our tails trying to find the bad spots. Depending on severity of the storm, we stay for anywhere from a week to a month, before the money slows a little, but once it slows, the living gets easier and it doesn’t cost as much to operate anyway. Then we can double back and do hangers or debris hauling. Anybody can go and wing it, but it’s hard living without first world stuff if your not prepared. Not to mention it’s nice to know what your going to make instead of just hoping you do well.
 
limbcontrol said:
Because that same tree would be done and on to the next job with taking big picks. At the end of the day we would accomplish more work. Yes the payroll is a few guys higher but I'm still profiting much more. A grapple saw would slow our roll, we bring our crane in to blow out jobs.



That's cool you don't have employees, but somebody is gotta process that brush/logs. We average between $500-$700 an HR with our crane crew. At $175 an HR for a crane? No wonder they love subbing you!
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They still process all the material I put down. I just do the hard labor. The thing is on that particular job you couldn’t have taken big picks without a ton of haste trying to land them
 
@CanaryBoss hurricanes don’t scare me lol. I have raced the Baja 1000 multiple times which is basically a 24 hour hurricane. Don’t want to tie the thread up I will PM you.
Have you checked out the Palfinger cranes. Palfleet builds beautiful trucks and their support is top notch.
I showed up with it on the second day with a 4 guy crew and by 10am I sent 2 guys to another job as 1 mek 1 mini and a chipper and truck is a 4 man crew.
 
Someone asked me what they cost at the recent crane man Inc class. I said I can’t afford to not own one. It’s not about how much they cost it’s what they make. I told my wife I may be building another bigger one she said she said go right ahead knowing the cost. I worked till 7:30- 8 pm the last few years, now I get home at 4pm with all the work done.
 
Baja Mike said:
@CanaryBoss hurricanes don’t scare me lol. I have raced the Baja 1000 multiple times which is basically a 24 hour hurricane. Don’t want to tie the thread up I will PM you.
Have you checked out the Palfinger cranes. Palfleet builds beautiful trucks and their support is top notch.
I showed up with it on the second day with a 4 guy crew and by 10am I sent 2 guys to another job as 1 mek 1 mini and a chipper and truck is a 4 man crew.
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That’s all good news.

Glad to hear about the reduction in crew needed.
 
I met with a personal friend and business tycoon I know here in Jacksonville yesterday. And I mean tycoon. His most recent venture was purchasing a company for a million 4 years ago that he has built to 165 million and now he’s selling. In four years! This isn’t the first business he has sold for over a hundred million either. When I showed him the numbers and Steve’s video, he looked at me quizzically and said, “what are we even talking about? Buy two of them. It’s an obvious choice”
 
Baja Mike said:
@CanaryBoss hurricanes don’t scare me lol. I have raced the Baja 1000 multiple times which is basically a 24 hour hurricane. Don’t want to tie the thread up I will PM you.
Have you checked out the Palfinger cranes. Palfleet builds beautiful trucks and their support is top notch.
I showed up with it on the second day with a 4 guy crew and by 10am I sent 2 guys to another job as 1 mek 1 mini and a chipper and truck is a 4 man crew.
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I have not looked at Palfinger. Could not find anybody that built them that would even call me back unfortunately.
 
@limbcontrol Our market is fairly depressed compared to yours it sounds. $175 is top I could bill out since you can get a 33t for 125hr and a 60t for 225hr. I certainly not trying to argue any of your points. What I am trying to explain is how the niche works for me in my market. I can't compete with a 33t on sheer volume of stuff that can be picked up and put down. What I capitalize on is those situations where it isn't effective or manageable to land huge brush picks. Sheer volume on an 8 hour basis, sure you'll win on the big picks. I've done them for years and still do them when the situation dictates but my clients don't hire me for that. The hire me to use the grapple. Not every crew is as proficient as your crane crew. Heck many people in my market still think crane picks are all done with 1 steel choker. What I provide is a constant barrage of material at a pace they can manage with the manpower they have allowed for that specific job. I'm sure you profit more than I do but you also have headaches I'm not willing to deal with anymore. I wish I could charge more and make more but i'm comfortable with what i'm doing less the headaches of bidding, employing, chasing checks, cleanup and wondering who is gonna call out today and screw everything up for my day. I'm in no contest with you. I'm just trying to give the OP my perspective. I wish I worked for a company like yours. I probably wouldn't have bought my own rig and gone out on my own. I just got sick and tired of working for unprofessional behind the times outfits who sacrificed safety for the money at the end of the day. More power to you my friend. Again, no contest here. Just saying, this works for me in my market with my standard of living. Best wishes to you for continued success, sounds like you guys are killing it.
 
I’ve been working with cranes since 1989. Boom trucks,hydraulic,and. articulating They all have there place.the key is to find what is going to be best for you and your work style and company. I have been operating a k boom since 2007. It works well for me and is amazing what they can do. I have added a grapple saw to it now as well. The saw is just another tool. I don’t use it daily but when I do use it it is because it is the safest and most efficient method for the job I have used it to cut the limbs and to grab them while the pick is being cut with a chainsaw. The rotation is nice when handling picks but with a stick or kboom most picks I don’t need rotation. We do use the grapple truck and other equipment to manipulate picks landing.
I’ve heard about increased cycles and cycles to failure being an issue with saw use. This is only an issue if you are overloading the crane. I set trusses with mine and have set over 200 in 1 10 hour day. I still have original wear pads in the crane.
There has been a lot of good advice given in this thread by some knowledgeable people. If you are purchasing a piece of equipment I recommend talking to and working with or watching those that have them before making a decision. View different brands and set ups.

I will try to follow this thread and put more input in as I get time.
 
W
allmark said:
I’ve been working with cranes since 1989. Boom trucks,hydraulic,and. articulating They all have there place.the key is to find what is going to be best for you and your work style and company. I have been operating a k boom since 2007. It works well for me and is amazing what they can do. I have added a grapple saw to it now as well. The saw is just another tool. I don’t use it daily but when I do use it it is because it is the safest and most efficient method for the job I have used it to cut the limbs and to grab them while the pick is being cut with a chainsaw. The rotation is nice when handling picks but with a stick or kboom most picks I don’t need rotation. We do use the grapple truck and other equipment to manipulate picks landing.
I’ve heard about increased cycles and cycles to failure being an issue with saw use. This is only an issue if you are overloading the crane. I set trusses with mine and have set over 200 in 1 10 hour day. I still have original wear pads in the crane.
There has been a lot of good advice given in this thread by some knowledgeable people. If you are purchasing a piece of equipment I recommend talking to and working with or watching those that have them before making a decision. View different brands and set ups.

I will try to follow this thread and put more input in as I get time.
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Well thought out and explained.
 
Speaking of Storm work.. I have never made money so efficiently and easy as with the Mecanil. Simply reach and grab the broken limb or tree off the home without having to send a climber on a caved-in roof or shifting tree. If you got a bad enough hurricane and the money's right I'd consider the trip myself.
 
climbhightree said:
With one caveat. Your picks won't be as big as with slings because you have 600-800 lbs of weight tied up in the grapple weight.

Though by just grabbing (instead of setting slings) you can almost do 2 picks to one.
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That's true, but from my experience I think the time saved in between usually put you in the lead. Where it really shines is in the bigger knuckle boom. I got started on this by bluestone and Bob Montgomery They do huge trees in a hour by grabbing
 
Anyone worried about neck problems from looking up a your grapple saw all day? Might be nice to have some sort of reclining chair to sit in.
 
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