Forestry Mulching

[Polkchop]

I have recently started kicking around the idea of starting a forestry mulching business, but am pretty much clueless of the feasibility of my endeavors. A little back ground on myself, I am a full-time firefighter, and I would be doing this on the side. My schedule is 24hrs on duty, followed by 48hrs off duty, and I can get time off almost anytime except holidays so if I needed to off for a job that would be no issue. Is it even remotely possible to go out and purchase a machine, and make enough money to makes the payments, insurance, fuel, maintenance, etc. with no prior experience? How do I go about selling my product when I have no experience, and not even a machine yet? I would love to get into this business not as a way to make a ton of money, but I just genuinely enjoy running equipment, but I just want to be able to do it on my terms. So if I was to be able to land a contract whats the best route for obtaining equipment? Should I lease, buy used, or just take a leap and buy new (once i have work lined up)? Is a rotary cutter good enough to start out with until I can get enough business to justify the extra money for a drum? I am just snowballing at this point trying to get an idea of what I am looking at with this business. My goal would be to be able to get a piece of equipment in the next 12 months or so if I do pursue this. Thanks in advance to any insight anyone can give me.

 

[Code54]

A few of the guys on here do mulching and will be able to give you a lot of info.

Just off the cuff, don't forget you need a 3/4-1ton truck, HD trailer, all the tools to service the machine (or take to a dealer) then the real expense - the machine (Hi flow, large machine) plus if you want a true mulcher look out - those babies are expensive!

Have you thought about going into smaller scale brush mowing (brush hogging overgrown real estate lots perhaps) then seeing how it goes. Could start fairly small - 4' hog on a small machine for smaller lots then build up perhaps. Heck - could even use a walk behind and do those smaller jobs others don't want. May let you get into the field for a lot less investment and get a good idea of the local market. A lot depends on your area and what is in demand (Sorry - don't know where plant city is). If it is a big farming area, a lot of farmers have brush hogs so demand won't be as high. Anyway, just a few thoughts.....

Good luck and thank you for your service as a firefighter!!

 

[Polkchop]

Thank you, and yeah I have a 2016 ram 3500 4x4 dually so I have the truck covered, as far as trailer goes i'm figuring that too, with having to purchaser a machine. I do have have access to multiple gooseneck trailers but that would be a last resort as I don't like borrowing equipment. I would like to get a decently sized CTL so that I could have a little more versatility rather than just mulching only. As far as the bush hogging part goes, tractors are a dime a dozen in this area, and everyone is offering bush hogging at 40/hr. I do currently have a Husqvarna PZ 60 zero turn that I mow a few yards with to make some side cash, but mowing just isn't my cup of tea. If I could get large land plots it wouldn't be bad, but those are few and far between.

 

[nybirdman]

I had a little experience this year with CTL's and bush-hogging.First guy I hired had a 65HP with a front rotary ,second a 90 HP with a FECON head.Cost per hour for the FECON machine was about double but did more and better final results.
Area hadn't been cleared in approximately 80 years so was very heavy with brush and small trees up to six inches or so.
I know the second machine was a lease to the contractor;I think that would be the way to go if starting a business.A lease with a maintenance clause.Both machine had damage and break-downs when done.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Thank you, and yeah I have a 2016 ram 3500 4x4 dually so I have the truck covered, as far as trailer goes i'm figuring that too, with having to purchaser a machine. I do have have access to multiple gooseneck trailers but that would be a last resort as I don't like borrowing equipment. I would like to get a decently sized CTL so that I could have a little more versatility rather than just mulching only. As far as the bush hogging part goes, tractors are a dime a dozen in this area, and everyone is offering bush hogging at 40/hr. I do currently have a Husqvarna PZ 60 zero turn that I mow a few yards with to make some side cash, but mowing just isn't my cup of tea. If I could get large land plots it wouldn't be bad, but those are few and far between.

From one fireman to another I will tell you what you're wanting to do is not uncommon but I wouldn't say it's a good idea. I would recommend you work for a local guy to learn what you are doing, confirm that you actually like doing it (could surprise you how tedious it gets), figure out how to do maintenance/sharpen teeth and what machines you like to run. If after 6 months you still like it you'll also have an idea of the business and see how fiscally feasible it is make a decision there.

If you want to go legit, get ready for class a cdl, dot numbers, commercial insurance and all the fun stuff that comes with it. Commercial registration for truck and trailer and most likely a med card.

I would suggest a dedicated mulching machine that can do other work like bucket, grapple, post holes etc. if you get a ctl that "can" runs mulching head your going to be getting a machine that does nothing great but decent at it all. Also you want all the shielding and protection of the dedicated forestry packages. Stuff will get in all kind of nooks and crannies and you don't want a fire.

For my stuff, if i cover my note, diesel and maybe get some walking around money, I'm happy. I like to have others pay for my equipment and I get to use it for free. However, I have a ton of equipment and don't want to work everyday. I'm usually running it twice a month and I'm happy with that. There is lots of work but I'm picky. I won't tear my stuff up on a place that hasn't been mowed in a while or with lots of trees that'll scratch up the cab. I'd rather leave it parked than risk damage

Brett

 

[Polkchop]

Thank you both very much for your input, there is only one guy in my area forestry mulching, I haven't contacted him yet but I have been considering it. I completely understand where you are coming from, if I had worked with someone before I started my mowing business I would have definitely found something else to do before I started that venture. I'm well aware of all the expenses with insurance and dot issues, and am halfway through getting my CDL just for personal use. My goal at the end of the day is to have something to do on my days off, and hopefully put a few dollars back at the end of the month, and to have some nice equipment to do stuff around my place. Trust me I know how much of a pain in the rear it can be to run your own business(on a much smaller scale) from insurance, to unruly customers, to having to file taxes, but at the end of the day there is nothing like getting done at the end of the day, and knowing that everything you did for the day benefitted you and on you(and Uncle Sam).

 

[TSO]

One part of my business is land-clearing which includes forestry mulching. Here's the investment you'll need to make if you're really ready to get into it: A large-frame CTL with roughly 100 HP and high-flow. Specifically, a CAT 299xp, Takeuchi TL12, Terex/ASV RT120, Bobcat T870, etc. You'll want the full cab models with forestry package which would include a reinforced door and improved Cooling for the machine. Expect to spend around $65k-85k on the machine. I've run the Bradco and Bobcat branded mulchers... FAE makes a nice unit as well. Expect to spend another $30k on a Mulcher. So, assume $100k-120k to get you started.

You'll need to have a good business liability-insurance policy, and many customers will request a proof in advance... FYI.

These machines with mulcher will weigh in around 14k lbs - 15k lbs... So make sure you have a trailer capable of handling that much weight.

Beyond that, make sure you are ready and capable of making repairs. On the clearing job i had last week, had 3 busted hoses in as many days. Not including another blown hose that i had to repair on my main work machine, my Terex/ASV PT70. Bottom line, just be prepared to drop hundreds of dollars on surprise repairs, and potentially thousands of dollars as the need arises. It's better if you can do the repairs yourself... But if you can't, have a mobile repair unit ready at your disposal.

Speaking of repairs, just keep in mind that most of these commercial machines only have a two warranty. So just be ready to drop big money as the need comes up... And always assume that something will break, has things most certainly always do when you least expect it.

Good luck!

 

[rd_macgregor]

Initial equipment cost and ongoing maintenance are one side of the equation, but you also should look at the demand side issues. Who do you expect to be your customers? Are you looking at clearing tracts of forest, restoring old fields that have brush and small trees, making trails through woodlands, or pushing fields back to fence lines after years of neglect? Clearly any of these could be potential clients, depending on the equipment you end up with, but is there enough business, willing to pay adequately to cover your costs, and within a reasonable hauling distance to home?

 

[Polkchop]

Once again thank you to everyone for the input, the maintenance issue I'm not really concerned about on the smaller side of things, like hydraulic lines and what not. Of course when you get into bigger issues such as pumps and stuff then I will have call in the pros. The biggest concern for me is getting work lined up before purchasing, or leasing a machine. I toyed with the idea of getting everything except for a machine, and lining up a week's worth of work at a time and just renting a machine just to get my name out there, and do that till I can get somewhat steady work flow coming in, or enough to cover the note, and insurance costs. My biggest fear is to get a nice piece of machinery and have it sitting.

 

[aczlan]

A friend branched out into excavating that way, he lined up work and rented a mini excavator from the dealer at a monthly rate, once he was sure the business was going to work, he bought it from them.

Aaron Z