What size crane have y'all used? The one time I looked into it the crane company wanted to put a 25ton unit out, seems overkill to me.

the deal fell through so I din't get to play with the big toys, my set up was to have the crane, a whole tree chipper and rent a big dumpster to put two silver maples in.

I dont have my wood weight tabels here but seems a 5ton would work as long as yuor not rying to pick up everything at once.

Reply to post by John S, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

John, 25 ton is the size we usually use. Cost: $111 per hour including travel. (Portland Oregon)
We have used a smaller crane (truck mounted) with good reults- telescopic tubular- I don't remember the tonnage but much less capacity than 25 ton.
Recently used a 50 ton due to its long reach, even though it was a small lift needed, and was happy with the reduced man hours it replaced (I think it was $170 per hour).
There is a man called Jim Craigg who helped us with many jobs with his 25 ton, at $100 per hour. His crane tipped over somewhere, and was totaled, but he was OK. He was getting ready to retire anyway.

Reply to post by John S, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

The real issue is effective weight and reach (the lateral extension as compared to vertical height). The weight of a given piece of wood (from your tables) is what it is say X. If a crane will pick up X at a very vertical angle it will only pick up something
(Saw one job where a relatively light truck crane was specced. Not a monster tree but tight quarters with roofs, driveway and structures and no open area beneath tree. Retaining walls on each side of driveway. They backed the truck in and the walls were so tight they couldn't put the outriggers down. Sooo not much use. A bigger, longer reach crane that could have worked from the street might have been cheaper in the long run.)

Trust your operator's judgment on the equipment needed for each specific job.

Reply to post by John S, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

As Scott said, trust the operator. Get them out to look at the job, and insost on an operator who has worked with trees, if possible.

A local company recently hired a 95 ton crane for a long reach. It was about a 24 inch tuliptree. Canker at the bottom had allowed it to barberchair. It was hung up in another tree, resting on top of a 20 foot high split stump, over a house and patio. Yuch! It's more fun to be a consultant in times like that...

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

With the winds in the Metro MKE area last year I reffered alot of people to other companiesto make bids on. I don't work with things that have messy tangled torqued loads on them, or involving chainsaws in attics & bathrooms. Too much simpler work out there.

I guess how I should'a phrased the question is; for most jobs what is the optimal minimal capacity for a crane. Since I only bid on jobs that are of only moderate difficulty/risk, I'm looking for ways to make up for that shortage of manpower that everyone feels.

The problem here is that with big cranes road closeur permits and baricade rental (can't use your own)nearly doubles the cost of the rental (Theres a $300 and some of the small municipalities want $200-350 for fees).

Reply to post by John S, on February 05, 1999 at 22:51:13:

It really is a job by job call and you have to trust your operator. By all means get multiple bids / opinions if you think you're being oversold.

Here in NY / CT every removal crane I ever hired was street legal without any permits (at least special, per job permits).

Reply to post by John S, on February 05, 1999 at 22:51:13:

There are a lot of ways to bid this type of job. When I was selling commercial work, I would make the arrangements, but the crane company would bill the client directly for associated costs, including permits.

The safety issue was the first consideration- the crane made the job possible with much less risk to people and property. Anything is possible these days, if there is sufficient funding to do it. You quote the costs, let the customer decide if it costs too much. Don't put yourself or your people at risk by skimping a few hundred ducats on the right equipment for the job. Better to walk away.

Reply to post by Peter Torres, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

John, I hire a 25 ton crane mounted on a Ford truck. The operator does 95% tree work with his crane. I don't recomened operators which are inexperinced with trees, I've seen some nasty pictures. I like 25 tons because it is quick and many trees in my area (N.E.PA.) can be done with one pick. One pick is nice when dealing with dead and/or hazardous trees. I try to line up as many jobs as possible for one full day. Cost isn't an issue when I do 3 or 4 days of removals in 8 hours. Hope that helps, Eric

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on February 06, 1999 at 11:28:35:

>> Better to walk away.

Many times a month, "here'r some people you may want to talk to and have them bid on it." I include companies I knnow will over bid me and some that usualy come in close that I've worked with before.

Never got the job from doing this but I've got some favors from those that did a few times.

Reply to post by John S, on February 04, 1999 at 23:11:49:

John,

Getting used to bidding and working with cranes is a natural extension of other technical treework. The procedures are not that different than hanging a block in a tree and lowering limb wood. The "Oops Factor" is much bigger though. Try working as a grunt on a crane job with another tree service to see the procedures. Then try to work time and materials. Doing crane work I have found is quite profitable. We can do a lot of work very quickly with less risk to the climber.

Last spring I helped a buddy with a crane job. The crane was brand new and worth $350,000. It cost $750 for four hours, portal to portalwith the operatro. Pretty cheap I think. We took down four 50 foot spruces on the wrong side of a two and a half story house with slate roof. I made eight cuts. Cut off the tops, then a butt cut. The only mess was about a wheelbarrow full of twigs in the yard. The tops were all chipped by the time I got done making the last butt cut because the crane set the tops right at the back of the chipper.

Like any new procedure, you should learn it "Low and Slow".

Have fun!

Tom