CTL and Mulcher lease...

[leftyokie]

so, i started a sideline business last yr with a L185, blue diamond extreme duty brush cutter, extreme duty grapple, a tree shear and a turbo saw. This has all served me well but i have a job oppurtunity to take out over 2000 AC of standing cedar, but it needs to be mulched. Since my machine wont run a mulcher i was looking at leasing a cat 299D XHD for a month at a time. I can buy outright so this would be my only option that i can see. what are everyone's thoughts on this??? anyone lease before? thanks jason.

 

[KSSS]

I would not do that. A skid steer mulcher has a place. I have a Tushogg on a CASE 465. It works well but to cut down 2K acres, I think you will find yourself buried in the rent of the CAT due to the time it would take (granted I don't know the tree population) but that's a lot of trees I am sure. I would rent a dedicated mulcher for that kind of job. Fecon makes several, there are numerous OEM's out there. I would investigate that and see if you can make that work before using the CAT CTL.

On leasing. I would use an RTO instead. A certain percentage of your rent payment would go toward the purchase. They would pickup repairs as long as you did not cause them. A CTL mulching 2000 acres of cedar is going to see some repairs.

 

[dirtmonkey]

I know you may not want to hear this but , sometimes you gotta say no. I know a guy with the capabilities to do that size of job. I f you want his number I can send it to you and maybe you can work out a finders fee or broker the deal and not loose your customer. All while keeping your small jobs too. He is a nice guy and will most likely work with you. He runs Ironwolf and Bron ( forgive my spelling ).
I'm not trying to discourage you. I would like to see you succeed. Sometimes we all need a little help.

 

[Randy88]

I have no idea how much experience you have with grinders, but if your thinking about a skid steer and grinder for 2k acres of trees, you might want to ask far more questions, before venturing forward with the idea. Just how many tree's per acre are you talking, what size in diameter, and height are you working with, what type of terrain are you in, whats the time frame to get the job done, how fine of a grind do they require, is there a requirement to equally spread out the mulch or just as its ground. Are they offering you a contract, any money up front for expenses and about a couple dozen more questions and have you chatted with a banker who will fund you till the first money comes through and have you had a lawyer overlook your contract to figure out how they can back out and leave you hang.

Horsepower grinds tree's, your looking for production, not a skid steer and grinder head on that, as for fecon, rent it short term before ever signing any long term lease, then before doing so, hunt up something worth taking home you can afford to run and keep going, that makes you money, not the manufacturer. There are far better makers of grinders out there you'd want to consider long before fecon, do some checking around, and make sure you have dedicated power to any head your running, not robbing hp from the carrier unit.

 

[leftyokie]

well, i agree with what everyone has said here... I have tried to let this one go due to the size of the job and the cost of rental or leasing. I called on a larger fecon ftx440 but at 35k a month before taxes, ins, and del...well i just dont know. I am going to go look at the area next monday to get a better idea of the quanity of trees and size, i know the area so i am assuming it is infested. I am having a hard time because i think this could be a great door to open... what i have discussed to this point with the manager of the land is they are wanted to do sections at a time and not the whole 2300 at once... labor wise this may be better but at 35k to get a machine there it could be worse. dirtmonkey i have talked to you on the phone at sometime in the past when i was getting started, feel free to call me again and maybe we can bring this other guy in you know. jason 580-716-0822

 

[leftyokie]

I went and looked at this job, its not near as bad as they described it! 2300 acres yes, but it has tons of oak that stays and other desirable trees as well. it does have lots of cedars a lot are really big but i feel the masses are 10-12 ft. i see it being possible at this point, but im still looking at trying to pick up a mulcher but also run my skid steer and my mow deck to do undergrowth and smaller trees. In theory if i can at least break even on the rental, i will make money with my steer. i just cant afford to turn down much if anything right now.... i am starting to work up an est so i will see. i really appreciate your imput

 

[Red Hill Dirt]

Leftyokie, i'm in similar trees, probably straight north of you in Kansas. I run two machines, one with a Turbo Saw, the other with a Bobcat 84inch grapple.

Couple videos:

http://youtu.be/IAPF7SuIZac

http://youtu.be/jgeDz-E1aBk

http://youtu.be/D2odzR-tHw4

Here are some other threads where similar questions have been asked.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...is-the-right-spot-for-mulching-equipment-talk

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?35994-What-price-for-grubbing-mesquite

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?37116-Results-of-Mesquite-Grubbing-project

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?36976-which-mulcher-should-I-purchase

 

[eric12]

why do you have to mulch them? and do you have to deal with the stumps afterwards or can you just leave them?

 

[Red Hill Dirt]

why do you have to mulch them? and do you have to deal with the stumps afterwards or can you just leave them?

Landowner request probably.

There's a guy that cuts and mulches the trees around here. He cuts with two custom built machines, and then has a giant grinder that he feeds with a 320 Cat excavator. He lets the trees lay for about a year to dry.