So I fell in love with the trade, saved 20K, what to buy first?

What equipment do you recommend me to buy first?

  • Chipper Truck

    Votes: 5 83.3%

  • Forestry truck? old, new, lease to buy?

    Votes: 2 33.3%

  • Chipper

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Total voters
    6
So many things factor into what equipment you need. What kind of trees you have in your area, who can you use as sub contractors to take care of things like logs and stumps, and what is available in the area to rent. What type of work are you going to try and go after? Large removals, small removals, pruning, plant health care? I have a bucket truck but rarely run it. I climb for a month then rent a SD64 for a month. Conifers, decurrent, and palms usually have very different methods used to properly maintain or remove. So sounds like you'll need to develop a better game plan before you go buying equipment.
With that being said a dump truck with a chip box similar in size to a F450/550, chipper,7x14 dump trailer, and mini skid with a bmg grapple will do a ton of work. 20k won't buy you all that but those would be my must haves. Your market and strategy will dictate the best order to buy them.
 
tc262 said:
So many things factor into what equipment you need. What kind of trees you have in your area, who can you use as sub contractors to take care of things like logs and stumps, and what is available in the area to rent. What type of work are you going to try and go after? Large removals, small removals, pruning, plant health care? I have a bucket truck but rarely run it. I climb for a month then rent a SD64 for a month. Conifers, decurrent, and palms usually have very different methods used to properly maintain or remove. So sounds like you'll need to develop a better game plan before you go buying equipment.
With that being said a dump truck with a chip box similar in size to a F450/550, chipper,7x14 dump trailer, and mini skid with a bmg grapple will do a ton of work. 20k won't buy you all that but those would be my must haves. Your market and strategy will dictate the best order to buy them.
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What he said
 
Sergio Villegas said:
Hello TreeBuzz my name is Sergio Villegas, I live in California and I am on my 20s. I had a landscaping business with my brother and I got into trees. I've been watching videos non-stop ever since because I know that I want to open my tree service soon. My wife hates it..lol
So I fell in love with the trade and I know I want to do this for living now. I managed to save 20K. doing side jobs and my savings from my other job. I would like to know what would you guys buy to open up your tree service first if you were situation? Boom truck, chipper, etc. What do you think made your service go up a level? Thank you all in advance and be safe.
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Congratulations Sergio you have the most important thing, a passion for tree work.

Maybe it would help to know what equipment you have so far. What have you used to complete your side jobs?

And by the way, there is a lot of education about trees and tree work happening all the time. In Sacramento there is a program called Arbfest West happening in 2 or 3 weeks. All of the learning opportunities are very welcoming as long as there is space to attend.
 
Merle Nelson said:
Congratulations Sergio you have the most important thing, a passion for tree work.

Maybe it would help to know what equipment you have so far. What have you used to complete your side jobs?

And by the way, there is a lot of education about trees and tree work happening all the time. In Sacramento there is a program called Arbfest West happening in 2 or 3 weeks. All of the learning opportunities are very welcoming as long as there is space to attend.
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@Merle Nelson So far I have been getting jobs in which the clients want a lower price if they do the clean up. I have a v6 f150 but if I ever needed a dump truck my brother has a 8x12x4 dump trailer with a f350 that he lets me use whenever I need it.
Saws: ms 193, ms 250, and ms 311, Stihl 90r pole saw with 2 attachments and the saw bar, pole saws, and a hand saw
Climbing: I use a pretzel hand ascender, foot ascender, rope wrench using a friction hitch, I purchased a rigging kit from wespur.com (Negative Blocking (False Crotch) Kit #3), I also have good PPE, climbers companion book, Arborist's Certification study guide 3rd edition book with the CDs.

Pretty much thats all I have. Thank you for the info of the Arbfest West I will look into it. Thanks for all the advice everyone and every advice is appreciated. be safe
 
Not a bad setup for small jobs or if you don't have to haul debris . I live in a very densely populated area, so I always haul everything
 
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That does help knowing what you're working with now Sergio. It sounds like a great place to be. What I would want to do at that point (and I should have done it sooner) is become viewed as peoples whole tree job solution wherever it makes sense.

For instance I sold a lot of tree work to capable people where they did the clean up but, that leaves a lot of money on the table. When I bought a chipper and started selling to a finished clean job most people in my area would rather have that. I started doing a lot more work and my profit margin went up. Also interestingly enough I got a lot more referral calls. People like impeccably cleaned far better than great tree work - yard a mess.

I would suspect that a chipper light enough to pull safely behind your F150 but big enough to keep pace with your future growth would be a real asset today. For instance Bandit makes a 90XP that has a light weight air cooled gas engine, it weighs around 4000 lb I think. That thing does great for trimmings and small trees and can also stretch out to doing up to 8/9 inch wood on removals when needed.

Your pickup will be outgrown soon enough anyway, but for now you can make plywood sides, tarp it and chip into that when needed. Also sell the idea of using chips on property when possible, and prep to chip into One Ton/Dump Trailer if needed.

You may well have to haul chips away without towing chipper if you have a good sized load. That's okay it is just temporary. Whatever chipper you choose to buy get it with electric brakes. Cheap insurance to make sure you can stop when a tourist starts sight seeing in the lane in front of you.
 
Can you rent a mini skid steer? Consider buying a grapple attachment.

If you can chip onsite into woods, etc, or sell mulching with chips generated, you don't need to upgrade trucks immediately.

Grapple-loader truck subcontractors can be great.
 
southsoundtree said:
Can you rent a mini skid steer? Consider buying a grapple attachment.

If you can chip onsite into woods, etc, or sell mulching with chips generated, you don't need to upgrade trucks immediately.

Grapple-loader truck subcontractors can be great.
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I can't rent a mini where I'm at, much less a good one. The nearest sk650 costs $350/day plus delivery. That's more than my monthly payment for my used sk650, bmg, bucket, and stumper 220 combined.

X2 on grapple loader trucks - $250 well spent in my market.

Think about any technological leapfrogging that applies to your market.
 
colb said:
I can't rent a mini where I'm at, much less a good one. The nearest sk650 costs $350/day plus delivery. That's more than my monthly payment for my used sk650, bmg, bucket, and stumper 220 combined.

X2 on grapple loader trucks - $250 well spent in my market.

Think about any technological leapfrogging that applies to your market.
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We can get an sk800 for $148 a day and right around 475 a week and 1100+/- a month. Even with the low rates I still bought for less a month. And if I had gone used it would have been even cheaper.
Even more important than what to buy is knowing why, as the why is your plan going forward on how to deal with the other pieces of the business. Even knowing when to spend cash on hand and when financing is the way to go. The tree business is not always a cash on hand world. Either you don't have it or it needs to be available for the bigger picture.

X3 on grapple trucks - there cost of ownership can be so high it's better off coming out of someone else's check book. And colb is correct $250 is nothing to get rid of a load of logs. I can't even pay the local landscaper to run his pick up and dump trailer for less.

One of the stats I pay attention to most is income. Month to month and year to year. This helps me decide what's next or if I need to pay down debt first. I watch very closely to make sure the income is going up equal to or greater than the purchasing. Otherwise you are just buying toys and your growing assets not what pays for them. In reality each purchase should increase efficiency or save money equal to or greater than the out put to aquire.
 
I'd definitely prefer to buy over rent.

At a start, the grapple definitely can't be rented, and is only about $3k. A rental payment for a day here and there is still better than a work out back.

A mini/ grapple combo (with tow hitch) to go with the dump trailer/ grapple truck would be an important consideration. I move my chipper to the brush when applicable. Brush to the chipper when needed.


We need to know more about the market factors from the original poster. I use the snot out of Google Maps, so a zip code would help, too.
 
You have a similar set-up and situation that I did: saws, gear, passion, and some starter knowledge.

My dad is small time but got lots of referrals from him - had to rent his truck and dump trailer.

First thing I invested in:

1. Hands on training

2. Contractors license, insurance, and workers comp - about 10k once you factor in time and needing to travel to classes and hotel it.

3. Truck & Dump

My next investments: arb cert, mini, chipper & chip truck, compact tracked lift.

My Advise - keep your eye on profit margins, build good business credit, then you'll be able to get any necessary equipment down the road. I'm about a year out to buying bigger equipment, but am profitable and attractive to banks.

Keep up with the training - if you systematize quality, it doesn't slow you down and becomes ingrained.

Get small business training - learn about incorporating, tax law, liability, contract law, writing a 2-5-10 year plan.

Get your arborist and utility cert. In CA it isn't necessary (except working around utility lines), but it opens up commercial and gov work.


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