Stump Grinding Biz ??????

T

treetech503

Hey Guys,
I have been sub contracting all my stumps for a while now. Usually things go well but we loose a customer once in a while due to the sub not doing a good job etc. Also, we loose that potential revenue from the grinding. I think I'm at the point where it would be a good long term investment in the company to buy a grinder and do all stump work in house. Still a new grinder that can produce is a significant expense considering annual gross revenue from the grinding would probably be 20k on the high end of things. What do you guys think? Is it worth the head ache and expense in the long run? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Definatly worth it! And once you have it you will find out that you will get a few stumps a month just cause you got it. It is possible also while you don't have one to bid your stumps seperate, and once you have a day or two worth built up, rent one for the weekend. You won't make as much money, but you will still, keep someone busy.

And working with the old man I have learned to love the grinder! Instead of saying "ha dad I am broke" there is the grinder. Go make ya some money! Just the other day next to a job, there was some guys burning some brush. So when I went back to collect they were outside. They said that they was going to rent a grinder. I looked at what had and told them I would match the price 200 for renting one. More work than we usually do for 200. But it will only take 3-4 ours. That's still 50 an hour.

Well I cold go on forever about a grinder, but that's what I think, get 1 if you can!
 
I used to sub out stumps. Then I bought a used vermeer 252. A great investment. It paid for itself 2x over the first year I owned it. The machine does all the work and not as maintenance intensive as I thought it would be. Fresh teeth, grease, change the oil and air filter, check the hydraulic fluid and keep the belts at the recommended tension. Find a good used machine and just take care of it. You could get one 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new one. Go for it
 
If you lose clients due to poor workmanship then that's a cost you need to also figure into the equation. that in itself could be worth the investment. It can open up bids on city stumps or golf courses which of course leads to more exposure of the company for tree work.

Just don't go too small on the grinder if you're stumps average out on the big side. Maintenance will be less if you've got more hp than you need.

Go with a self-propelled since the tow-alongs limit you to truck accessible sites.
 
I agree about self propelled vs tow behind. My RG85 (83hp) out produces a competitor's 120hp Vermeer almost 2 to 1. That's not entirely because it's self propelled, but that's got alot to do with it.

Also doing bigger stump grinding jobs with a tow behind can really beat on a truck.
 
Thanks for the input. I think the grinder definitely makes sense right now. Its also parting with the money that hurts. I also am going to get a rayco. I'm going to go as big as I can afford. Can't wait to get grinding.
 
I was in the same boat a couple years ago dealing with the sub and grinding. Unless you're swamped and don't have time you're throwing money away paying someone else to do it. I picked up a used vermeer 252 and it's been decent. If I ever pick up another one I'll look into something a couple steps bigger that's 4x4, diesel, with a blade.
 
I rented for a long time when I needed a small one and it was a PIA. Teeth not sharp and stuff.
I would do what they reccomended above and see what you do a lot of. If you dont go through many gates think about subbing those out or renting occasionally and get the bigger HP machine.It will save you alot of time in the long run. There are alot of good used machines out there if you know where problems could be on stump grinders. Sharp teeth are the key.
 
If your loosing customers to your sub now its probably worth a ride back to check before you pay him.
 
I agree about the size of the machine. The 252 takes a beating on larger stumps, say over 20" to 24" depending on the type of wood and how high above grade it sits. But it's great for those small gates and tight spots. Depends on what the majority of your stumps are. Get a smaller machine and sub out the large stumps or vice versa. Or invest in 2 machines. And look into sharpening your own teeth. Bench grinder with a green wheel and a decent breather. It doesn't take that long once you get the hang of it. I get at most 2 sharpenings before I chuck a set of teeth. But don't let them get too dull before you do it. It's harder to get the edge back if they're too rounded. I'm surprised at condition of the teeth I've seen on other grinders.
 
We sub out all of our stumps but are making a push this year for our own machine.

basically, my boss is tired of waiting a few days for the stump guy to get in there before we collect. It was an easy decision. Take the amount of money we pay out in stumps per year (this year was over 14,000) and see how much a machine costs and what the monthly payment is.

We had never had too many complaints about the stump guy, but if we did, this decision would have been made years ago. Nothing worse than working your hardest to make the customer happy just so someone else can pee in their cherios.
 
Best thing I ever did was get rid of my grinder. Stump work is way to cheap in these parts. My stump guy said he's getting the same price that he was charging 15 years ago. Hope things go better for you.
 
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Best thing I ever did was get rid of my grinder. Stump work is way to cheap in these parts. My stump guy said he's getting the same price that he was charging 15 years ago. Hope things go better for you.

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I agree,here where I live there's 5 or 6 different guys I use to grind my stumps.They pretty much trip over each other to get the work,so i would rather have them deal with the headaches of the maintenance and break downs.But that's just me.
 
ya havin a grinder is nice and makes pretty good money but...... if you are running a small crew its just one more piece of equipment you have to cart around and sometimes that means a trip back to the shop and another trip to the job and back. with gas prices the way they are if you do much work far from your home base it starts weighing hevily on your profit margin. plus its just one more piece of equipment to break down. i can tell you first hand when you start grinding stumps you will get into loads of rocks, wires, metal and lord knows what else burried under the stumps. and let me tell ya those teeth are NOT indesructable, nor are they cheap. we have a little vermeer and it has well payed for itself and it comes in really really handy, but sometimes i hate the thing!
 
I rented stump grinders before too, and always hated them. Too small, dull teeth, engine problems, etc. Plus the $150 per day rental fee. So I purchased an '04 Vermeer 352 and am very happy with it. Good luck to you!
 
I'm majoritly a one man show, stumps don't bother me.


What's a thread without pictures? Here's 54 minutes of grinding on 3 jobs from this past Saturday afternoon. About 12 minutes was messing with the fence on the first job.

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This morning's job, 36 miles from the house. Knocked it out before class at 930. The stump took about 15 minutes including setting up and taking down the plywood and loading and unloading the machine.
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File Photos
Big Grinder, "Jake":
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Little Grinder, "Jennifer"
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