Looking at my first truck and chipper

paul phalloides

paul phalloides

New member
I'm going to look at my first dump truck and chipper on Wed. The truck is a 69 chevy 4 speed with a granny gear and duallys. It's got no rust, a fresh coat of paint, decent tires, fires right up, and lifted the box with a full load of wood. Needs brakes to pass inspection. The chipper is an older style whisper chipper. Not the squarish asplundh model but more round and not as long with a pivot/crank for the shoot. Chipper also has a fresh coat of paint on it and he says it worked fine on a recent side job and that it cant handle up to 4'' pieces thrown individually in 'chuck and duck' fashion. He's asking $1900 for both. I havn't been able to find a functioning chipper for sale in my area for less than $2000. He seems like a legit dude and he's hard up for cash and doesn't really do side work any more. Does this seem like a good deal? I haven't seen the chipper but for once at a distance. Aside from leaks, missing covers, lights, cables, ect, what should I be on the lookout for? Are parts for older chippers like this hard to come by? Are parts for a truck that old hard to come by? I don't know a whole lot about engines and even less about old trucks and whatnot but if both pieces of machinery work in the manner he says they do this seems like it would be a really good deal.
 
You could theoretically recoup your investment fairly quickly, and it will be a magnificent learning experience.
Check the oil level in the governor in that chipper if it has a belt driven governor. (that little sucker is exceedingly spendy to replace.......don't ask me how I know that, lol)
 
Start small and keep it all or go big and make it big? A big question to any new business owner. Give us a little more info about yourself and your market. The 69 would be fun, but to be honest, my 97 kills me. Best move I've made was going newer and bigger. Since then the curb appeal brings as much as advertising.
 
I work for a company anywhere from 40-50 hours a week and do side work on the weekends. I don't plan on quitting my full time job as I'm about to have my first child and am more in the market for a house loan than I am a business loan. I do mostly removals and haul everything out in a pick up or stack everything on their property and buck it down. Everyone out here burns wood (myself included) so it's never a problem getting rid of hardwoods and I know an amish family with a sawmill nearby who have come to collect hemlock and whitepine logs whole on a few occasions. I live in the middle of nowhere and I'm just getting settled in my area and am starting to get more calls by word of mouth. I haven't even made up business cards yet. I know a lot of guys would say this is a 'fly by night' operation but I'm just starting out and so far have collected all the gear I could foresee myself needing, at least at this time, except a truck and chipper. I'm pretty close to having a decent down payment on property and don't want to risk spending it all on equipment (there are a lllooot of tree operations around here) and not being able to pay it off. I'd rather buy something used that checks out and continue getting my name out while working towards getting certified while employed by this big company. Ideally, in my five year plan, my wife will be done nursing the baby and back to work in her career (she's a music therapist) and I"ll be able to leave the company I currently work for and pursue my own business at my own pace without the pressure of having to make it right a way. I split a lot of wood and would like to get into selling firewood. I also am really into milling and would like to get my own mill someday and sell custom boards in the winter. I knew a guy who my dad worked for when I was a kid (my dad was also a climber) and he made a pretty good living doing that.
 
Then go with the original plan but follow the advise above. To lose $100 to a mechanic, if not for piece of mind alone, is money well spent. Pimp your setup and be seen. Good luck.
 
I know your just a weekend worker right now. I totally understand the value of owning the equipment you have outright. If it sits, you are not too worried. However, buying something nice and having it run when you need it to, is worth a lot more then the payment you'd be paying on that equipment. Just something to think about.
 
Well, I've looked at the truck and chipper and while they both started up and seemed to work okay they were not in the condition I was led to believe and the 'new coat of paint' looked as though it was spray painted on. The chipper worked but clogged after only a few pieces of hemlock. On my home from looking at them feeling disappointed I took a new different way home and happened to pass a home with a huge (asplundh) orange self feeder for sale in the front yard. It's got all the decals on it except the ones saying what brand/model it is. The lady told me it's a vermeer 1000 and that it takes up to 12'' pieces. She said it works great and I could give her a call to come check it out in action. She didn't know how many hours were on it but said they've had it for 3 years and haven't used it a whole lot. It's got a gas engine, not a diesel. She said the minimum she could take is $5000. I know most vermeers are yellow but I have seen several that are asplundh orange specifically for asplundh. I'm wondering if this is one that maybe came from an auction and if that's the case if it's been beat on especially hard. I'm gonna do some research and check it out. Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
he said it was a "self feeder" not a c and d. Cash in hand they will often take less than the bottom line they claim. Give 4k in hand after checking it out and impulse might have her letting you hook up and drive away.
 
but a 20 degree day with a yard full of pin oak...sheer pain in the future :-) Like turning off the lights and trying to get out before the room gets dark.
 
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