New Business Hauling Setup/ Chip v. Chipless

[VenasNursery]

@VenasNursery just curious on your fuel savings did you add in the fuel efficiency of diesel compared to gas into the mix? Our diesel is roughly 20% more $ per gallon but generally speaking you get at least that much more mpg compared to a similar gas. My 2500 01 dodge has something going on not getting great mileage about 15mpg towing my chipper 50% of the time, but even with that it's still about the same price as me driving a big gasser, if my truck was running 100% I'd be looking at 18 to 20 mpg and up if they're mostly highway miles.

Well diesel is $1.50 per gallon more than gas

Almost any truck loaded diesel or gas is gonna get 6 mpg

My motorhome is the same 36’ v10

And a 45’ 600 hp Cummins in a 2 million dollar motorhome gets the same

our Internationals with dt466 loaded still got 6 mpg

Oil changes are half the cost

No def

1 battery vs 2 funny I just finished putting a new battery in my motorhome which has a v10 and is a 2015 so eight years old actually made me feel good that it lasted that long

I don’t have to plug it in at night in the winter

No fuel additives

No air lines freezing

Not to mention a 12k option for a pickup diesel

So long story long I’ve never added it up

But IMO one of the better business decisions I’ve made

I live in Michigan so it is flat lands but have been around the country a few times towing a car with a 36’ motorhome with a v10 and stayed right with the big riggs with diesels

not the 600 hp bad boys

 

[Boomslang]

Well diesel is $1.50 per gallon more than gas

Almost any truck loaded diesel or gas is gonna get 6 mpg

My motorhome is the same 36’ v10

And a 45’ 600 hp Cummins in a 2 million dollar motorhome gets the same

our Internationals with dt466 loaded still got 6 mpg

Oil changes are half the cost

No def

1 battery vs 2 funny I just finished putting a new battery in my motorhome which has a v10 and is a 2015 so eight years old actually made me feel good that it lasted that long

I don’t have to plug it in at night in the winter

No fuel additives

No air lines freezing

Not to mention a 12k option for a pickup diesel

So long story long I’ve never added it up

But IMO one of the better business decisions I’ve made

I live in Michigan so it is flat lands but have been around the country a few times towing a car with a 36’ motorhome with a v10 and stayed right with the big riggs with diesels

not the 600 hp bad boys

Not to mention you can just drop a new engine in for a lot cheaper than what it would cost to rebuild a diesel engine should you ever need to.

 

[oceans]

Well diesel is $1.50 per gallon more than gas

Almost any truck loaded diesel or gas is gonna get 6 mpg

My motorhome is the same 36’ v10

And a 45’ 600 hp Cummins in a 2 million dollar motorhome gets the same

our Internationals with dt466 loaded still got 6 mpg

Oil changes are half the cost

No def

1 battery vs 2 funny I just finished putting a new battery in my motorhome which has a v10 and is a 2015 so eight years old actually made me feel good that it lasted that long

I don’t have to plug it in at night in the winter

No fuel additives

No air lines freezing

Not to mention a 12k option for a pickup diesel

So long story long I’ve never added it up

But IMO one of the better business decisions I’ve made

I live in Michigan so it is flat lands but have been around the country a few times towing a car with a 36’ motorhome with a v10 and stayed right with the big riggs with diesels

not the 600 hp bad boys

It’s when the air thins out in higher elevations that a turbocharged diesel will greatly outperform a gas engine. It’s really like comparing what people heat their homes with from region to region and pockets within. Different strokes for different folks! Right?

 

[VenasNursery]

It’s when the air thins out in higher elevations that a turbocharged diesel will greatly outperform a gas engine. It’s really like comparing what people heat their homes with from region to region and pockets within. Different strokes for different folks! Right?

Diesels have their place just not in my med duty trucks
Last year I purchased a 165hp gasser 15” chipper good at brush not too good for wood
Glad I kept 18” chipper with a 213 hp cat
Absolutely no comparison

 

[OasisTree]

If you’re looking for one rig set up, a 1ton dually with a decent size dump trailer and a mini is hard to beat. That gives you the most options without having to maintain an expensive chipper. There are plenty of people that are willing to deal with the brush for the firewood. This isn’t my first setup, but this is what we have now. It is used a support rig for my other trucks.

 

[oceans]

If you’re looking for one rig set up, a 1ton dually with a decent size dump trailer and a mini is hard to beat. That gives you the most options without having to maintain an expensive chipper. There are plenty of people that are willing to deal with the brush for the firewood. This isn’t my first setup, but this is what we have now. It is used a support rig for my other trucks.

What’s your combined GVW there?

 

[OasisTree]

What’s your combined GVW there?

36,000#

 

[oceans]

36,000#

I think you’ve posted that rig before? It’s gorgeous. I think I remember putting love eyes on that post.

I figured that would be a Class A Combo CDL rig. Funny how many different ways one can reach that number. Because I don’t have a CDL, I chose to invest as much as possible into the truck (26,000) and still be allowed to tow a 10,000 trailer. That works best for me in regard to flexibility and overall payload.

 

[OasisTree]

I think you’ve posted that rig before? It’s gorgeous. I think I remember putting love eyes on that post.

I figured that would be a Class A Combo CDL rig. Funny how many different ways one can reach that number. Because I don’t have a CDL, I chose to invest as much as possible into the truck (26,000) and still be allowed to tow a 10,000 trailer. That works best for me in regard to flexibility and overall payload.

So I have reached this configuration by much trial and error, and for our business model I find that staying under CDL is too restrictive.
I am amazed at how much stuff we can put in this toolbox bed, I would say that we have doubled our storage from the previous truck.
I am a big believer in having everything that we need with us all the time, with the only exception being the stump grinder.

 

[oceans]

So I have reached this configuration by much trial and error, and for our business model I find that staying under CDL is too restrictive.
I am amazed at how much stuff we can put in this toolbox bed, I would say that we have doubled our storage from the previous truck.
I am a big believer in having everything that we need with us all the time, with the only exception being the stump grinder.

So that trailer must be something in the 20,000 or more GVW?

 

[OasisTree]

So that trailer must be something in the 20,000 or more GVW?

yes it has 10K axles, plus 2K tongue weight. That's the rating from the manufacturer anyways.

 

[TreeCo]

I would rate an arborist having a chipper as 'very necessary'.

What I want to see is a self propelled stump grinder that could have the stump grinding end easily exchanged for a chipper end.

It would be nice if somehow the stump cutter wheel could also contain the chipper blades and serve as the chipping disc, but that may be asking too much. (knives easily removable to keep clean while stumping)

 

[Helmstein]

Ask @Helmstein about the F600. They’re rockin one with a dope sesetup.

We are running a 7.3 gas F-600 with a 14"chipbox that our giant 254T Goes in the back of with 12' ramps. This towes a 19xpc chipper under 10k. The ultimate under CDL rig that I could come up with.

The Gas truck and chipper does everything we ask of it.

 

[data farm 26]

I would rate an arborist having a chipper as 'very necessary'.

What I want to see is a self propelled stump grinder that could have the stump grinding end easily exchanged for a chipper end.

It would be nice if somehow the stump cutter wheel could also contain the chipper blades and serve as the chipping disc, but that may be asking too much. (knives easily removable to keep clean while stumping)

I've been working without a chipper for over 7 years, no problem. I don't think I would ever buy a chipper.

 

[Serf Life]

We are running a 7.3 gas F-600 with a 14"chipbox that our giant 254T Goes in the back of with 12' ramps. This towes a 19xpc chipper under 10k. The ultimate under CDL rig that I could come up with.

The Gas truck and chipper does everything we ask of it.

Awesome! The 7.3 gas sounds like the way to fly (unfortunately…), 6mpg?

 

[VenasNursery]

Awesome! The 7.3 gas sounds like the way to fly (unfortunately…), 6mpg?

Another bonus of a gasser is they don’t have to remove the cab to work on it like they do on a diesel

 

[Serf Life]

If I end up replacing this truck, 11’ body 12’ ramps with 10 mat rack and through box, may strip the goodies and put them on the f600. This guy must be over the 19k gvw filled.

 

[Helmstein]

Awesome! The 7.3 gas sounds like the way to fly (unfortunately…), 6mpg?

Correct 6mpg. If you do build this truck tell them you want the bigger fuel tank. Mine came with a 25 gal tank. That was the only issue that I overlooked.

 

[Helmstein]

If I end up replacing this truck, 11’ body 12’ ramps with 10 mat rack and through box, may strip the goodies and put them on the f600. This guy must be over the 19k gvw filled.View attachment 86618

My truck filled with chips weights just under 22,000gvw no chipper attached

 

[Fivepoints]

Correct 6mpg. If you do build this truck tell them you want the bigger fuel tank. Mine came with a 25 gal tank. That was the only issue that I overlooked.

That's kinda disapointing. My old 7.3 6 speed f550 averages 10 to 12 mpg towing a 12 in diesel bandit chipper or our 8k mini ex on a 14k trailer. Doesnt really entice me to buy a new truck. I have been looking at the f600s as a slight upgrade but still staying under cdl for our small truck.