What to buy first? And where to look for it?

[Fivepoints]

I bet Reach is about right on his weight guess. 4-5k isn't enough hauling capacity. That's two 12ft to 14 ft 24" white oak logs. A 550 sized truck with a regular dump bed on it will have 7k to 9k worth of payload. A 14k dump trailer will have around 10k payload.

The other thing to think about is how are you going to grab the logs with no grapple? Having to put and remove a sling on each piece isn't going to be fun or fast. With no directional control, its hard to lay the logs where you want to put them by yourself. Also, where are you going to store the crane when it's in chip truck mode?

I know from your previous post that you want to stay under cdl. You will probably still be required to have a dot medical card. This varies state to state. Also if you bought this truck and hooked up a 14k dump trailer you now have a cdl class A rig.

 

[Sgfinco]

Gotta go cdl if you can. You can pick up a 33k truck for far less than a 25999 truck since lots of people want to stay under cdl. Tree parts get heavy quick.

 

[Fivepoints]

Gotta go cdl if you can. You can pick up a 33k truck for far less than a 25999 truck since lots of people want to stay under cdl. Tree parts get heavy quick.

Plus cdl trucks generally have air brakes. They work well and the parking brakes work very well. They last a long time and are about $300 per axle in parts to refresh. Plus no bleeding the brakes.

 

[ATH]

Gotta go cdl if you can. You can pick up a 33k truck for far less than a 25999 truck since lots of people want to stay under cdl. Tree parts get heavy quick.

Dumb question (we are all under CDL):
Why the aversion to CDL trucks? What all makes them more difficult (I know the hurdles with licensing - just curious what else)

 

[Reach]

I tried to find the listing but I found not, I ran across a truck on eBay recently just like you’re describing, but it was a 33k gvw. The listing said it weighed 24k empty. A 26k truck does not weigh much less than a 33k, as the only real difference is the axles and suspension. The frame, body, and drivetrain are the same.

To me, even a 33k truck with a knuckle boom is just too light, if you want something useful just get your CDL and buy a ten wheeler grapple truck. A CDL is not that hard to get, and there’s plenty of companies that will do the paperwork for the DOT compliance for you for a small fee.

 

[Sfoppema]

I cant speak to the chipper but I have been thinking a lot about what I think would make a great truck. Here is what I have been thinking... biggest truck I can get without a CDL and has a knuckle boom. Then I would turn the bed into a dump and build some collapsible or retractable sides/roof. That way I can chip into the box or retract the sides and roof and use the boom to load large log sections that I cannot chip. Might have $10-12k into the truck by the time its modified with the dump and sides/roof.
Here's a truck that I've been drooling over. A truck is the first logical step in my opinion and renting choppers seems like a good way to avoid normal maintenance on equipment but at a cost, which might be worth it depending on if your groundie has common sense or not.

I did exactly what you have described with a truck a few years ago. It was not a good idea and I lost money and time on it. It can move logs, yes, but very slowly. As 5points noted, you need to sling the logs and drag them in. God forbid they swing off or don't fit neatly in the truck, then you need to climb up, pull the sling off, sling the butt end, move it over. It's a painful experience. Plus, you really can't hold many logs. If you are keeping the logs at your yard, you'll have little dinky log piles everywhere because you can't pile them neatly as you can with a log loader. Removing the top is time consuming. The crane will be old and will ALWAYS leak no matter how much money you put into it. Not only will you be moving slow, but pissing hydro fluid every time you do anything. Much better to find someone with a log truck nearby who you can hire to move wood for you. I've lucked out using the same guy for the past 5 years who hauls wood for me. Admittedly, it can be a pain going by his schedule, though he's generally able to grab logs within a few days of me piling them up (with a mini). The amount of money and headaches saved not having to buy and maintain (and be licensed to use) a 6 figure truck that I only need every once in awhile is enormous.

My advice would be build relationships with people who have things that you can use, ie a log truck, dumpsite, roll off cans. Having a dumpsite 30 minutes away is too far. Invest some time in finding a closer location. Call every farm, landscape supply, etc you can find. Seems like around here they all take chips free. There is a dairy farm half a mile from my house that takes all my chips. Lifesaver. Dumpster company owner might burn wood or something. Might drop cans off for free you can load with wood. Never know until you ask.

 

[lumberjackson]

Everybody's situation is different and there are so many options that can work. Lots of great advice, but don't feel like you can't make something different work for you. I started up my own company in April and the first thing I did was put a dump bed on my 3/4 ton and bought a 12" chipper. She fills up with chips fast, but there are so many places to dump that I rarely drive more than 10 minutes from the site to dump for free or even get paid. It works for me for now and gives me a little bit of time to find a good deal on some bigger equipment without feeling like I NEED a truck NOW before I can make good money. Plenty of drawbacks with my setup, but overall, it works out well enough for my situation.

I definitely agree that being professional and making connections will take you further for the same effort than most other things you can do. If you can rent from a dealer, that's great, but I have had terrible experiences renting from the local tool rental place. Super dull knives on chippers that don't even run, stump grinders that spray oil and come with cracked and shattered teeth, so many problems that you end up paying for in time on the jobsite and time you are have the machine out. Good luck!