New to mulching!

[Johnnybee]

Hello

Ive been a long time lurker and have read countless threads relating to mulching. Now I have a few questions of my own and would be grateful for any insight you can provide!

A little background on myself; Im currently a sophomore at Virginia Tech, studying Forestry operations and Business. I have known I wanted to run a mulching/ land clearing company since the first time I saw a Fecon add in a magazine about 5 years ago. My family has been extremely supportive on this dream, so much so that we even went to Ohio in 2008 to a huge Lyons Auction. I had high hopes that we would come back to VA with an ASV 100, but that didnt happen. Probably a good thing. While in Ohio, I had the awesome opportunity of touring the Fecon factory and meeting with Bob Candy, Fecons manager at the time I believe.

My dream of having a skid steer mulcher business was put on the backburner for a while and my family agreed to get it going by the time I graduated college. But I could NOT wait that long. I knew we needed a truck to tow a skid steer with and after months of searching I found an awesome deal on a 07 GMC 3500 Duramax in Texas. My Dad agreed that we needed a truck so we flew down there and drove it back. A few months later we upgraded trailers as well and got a 30 Load Max 22K pound GN. Thats when things began getting real.

Fast forward to last week, I put our John Deere tractor on CL thinking it wouldnt sell. Needless to it sold within 3 days for more than we paid for it. As this was happening I stumbled upon a 2009 Terex PT100F with only 400 hours and a Fecon head. To my surprise, with the funds from the tractor sale as well as some money I had saved we got it!! Btw Im pretty mechanically inclined and we have a lot of tools to get started. All the equipment is paid off at this point.

Now I have a few questions,

First, will our truck and trailer set up handle that machine? Based on the ratings and what Ive read it will but Im looking for some firsthand experience. Also I know I need a CDL to be legal. Is it true I need the class A CDL? Any tips on getting it? I got the study book from the DMV and have been reading it religiously. :confused2:

Secondly, are there any tips on starting and running a mulching business? My area, Loudoun Co. does not seem to have much competition from what Ive seen and I believe there is a huge market for mulching there. Any tips for marketing a mulching business?
Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

JR Land works

 

[JonnyMc]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

JR - Here is a really good thread on starting a mulching business:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/construction-equipment/94296-business-plans-mulching.html

I can't be of much help to you, because I am kind of in the same boat you are (i.e. getting a business plan together), but I was looking at the above thread this afternoon and it has some very helpful info in it. In fact I printed out the whole 12 pages of threads to leaf through it, highlight some numbers and ideas, etc.

I will however be intersted in seeing if any new pointers come up regarding rising fuel costs, the awful economy, etc. Any thoughts folks?

Good luck JR. From the sounds of it, if you have equipment paid off already, you are a lot further ahead than most folks.

 

[fishfactor]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

They are lots of guys that pull CTL size mulchers with a pickup. I pulled our Bobcat T320 mulcher for a year or so. It will do it, but it hurts your feelings. You are over the GVWR in most cases and will need to be tagged for around 30K lbs which requires a CDL. Not a walk in the park to get your CDL. Study a lot before you take the test.

I would suggest looking for a single axle semi truck with a short wheel base. You can find them for around $10K. It will pull the load a lot easier and you will be able to haul extra attachments, etc without worry. You can tag a single axle for up to 65K lbs if memory serves. You could also get an adapter to hook your goose neck trailer to the fith wheel hitch.

Get your feet wet running the mulcher on your own property or a friends property. It's not a get in a be productive attachment. You will think you've got it after a few days, but you don't. You will be able to think back after a few years and realize just how slow and inefficient you were. You will learn something everday that makes you better.

You will break things, and probably a lot of them at first. This work is harsh on equipment and it will break down. The life expectancy of a loader running a mulcher is much less than one doing grading. The collection of tools you carry will continue to grow but you will never have the tool you need that you left at home.

I don't mean to discourage you with what's below, but I'm just trying to be honest. There is a reason equipment trader and all the auctions are loaded with cheap mulchers.

Don't expect to be able to depend on earning a living or even drawing a paycheck for a while, maybe a year or two, maybe more. With equipment breaking and fuel prices sky high you will spend tons of money. Probably more than you make for a while. Be prepared to burn 2 tanks of fuel a day and go ahead and order some extra teeth for your head. While it is good there is no competition, that's also bad. People may not have heard of mulching and resist change. Sometimes a competitor in the market is acutally good. This is a pretty hard business to advertise for. Commercials don't work and nobody reads the newspaper anymore. Focus on doing this part time and try to grow in into a profitable business.

Most of all, good luck! Let us know how things go.

 

[QwikDraw]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

Do some searchs for past posts, you can spend a few nights finding a lot of info.

Good luck.

That name sounds a little familiar....

 

[Johnnybee]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

JonnyMc- Thanks, I have read that thread many of times and learned a lot from it. Good luck to you as well.

Fishfactor- Thank you for the wealth of knowledge. I do realize pulling a Terex PT100F with a one ton truck is a bit extreme I don稚 think a single axle semi is in our budget right now. Luckily my dad has some trucking experience and should be able to get his CDL relatively easily.

As for practicing running the head, weæ±*e lucky to have a 500 acre family farm to practice on with plenty of variation in vegetation to play around with. My younger brother is an excellent operator and has been running bobcats since he was 9 years old; he will be the operator of our machine.
I defiantly know what you mean about having the right tools but also not having the one you need. I hope we have enough tools to start out but I know we will need to get some more, like a larger impact wrench. We will defiantly be getting some spare teeth. Do you recommend getting a spare set of hydraulic hoses made for the ones that go from the mulcher to the machine?

Fortunately we are not in a super hurry to turn a profit, seeing as im still in college and my dad still has a full time job at Dell. We are just hoping to get set up adequately for when I graduate and maybe land a few jobs this summer. One of the reasons we went with the Terex over a dedicated machine is the ability to do other work such as snow removal. Im planning on contacting some of the larger excavating, stream restoration and environmental companies in my area and telling them what I can do and put a portfolio together with pictures and videos. I think there is one company close by called Virginia Landworks, they look like they have a solid operation going.

Thanks again :thumbsup:

What kind of fuel transfer set up do you recommend? Im leaning towards a skid mounted set up that I can load in and out of a pickup bed rather than carrying 90 gallons of fuel around all the time.

 

[Johnnybee]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

Do some searchs for past posts, you can spend a few nights finding a lot of info.

Good luck.

That name sounds a little familiar....

haha yea Its very close to yours. :ashamed: JR is my nick name and the first letters of mine and my brothers name. I havent seen much recent info on actually marketing mulching.

Thanks

 

[BLane3400]

Your in a great position...everything being paid for will allow you some capital in the near future.
I would suggest that you start out working for private property owners until you get the feel for what your doing...after that the sky is the limit! In business it's hard to put all of your eggs into one basket, but you should really look into Pipeline & Utility Vegetation Management.
Each state has electric co-op's that could really use your services. Trees & ROW's will always be an issue, and with a good safety record, proper insurance, and the right prices you could stay busy year round.
Many people have built multi-million dollar companies doing what you want to do...it's a great idea, and only you can decide how to make it real.

Good luck!

 

[DIRTROAD]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

I havent seen much recent info on actually marketing mulching.

Thanks

Marketing is the fun part! At least I enjoy it anyway. I think its fun to challenge oneself to come up with new ways to get exposure. Just experiment and think outside the box. You don't know if it will work until you try it. Good Luck!

 

[fishfactor]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

You will eventually need every hose on the machine. Having a spare of them all will save you time if you can afford it. It's also a good insurance policy. If you have a spare you won't need it. Be sure to price them and not just order. I think the large hoses that run from machine to mulcher are over $200 each and that's having a hydraulic shop make them up.

I use a 50 gallon transfer tank when we are just running the Bobcat as that's about what it burns a day. Also have a 250 gallon trailer mounted tank when we use the Gyro Trac. Although it only burns 60 gallons a day, we always have the T320 so that 250 gallons goes quick.

Don't go for the cheap pump. I went through 2 of the $200 pumps from Tractor supply before springing for the $350 fill rite pump. It's a real hassle to be on a job, out of fuel with fuel in the tank and no way to get it into your mulcher. Spend it once and forget in.

Be sure to carry extra fuel filters for your machine and transfer tank. ORD is getting pretty bad around here. We have a filter on our tanks which catches a majority, but the filters on the mulchers only make it about half way through the 250 hour service interval, if we're lucky.

Also keep Hydraulic fluid on hand. You will develop leaks. Often mystery leaks that are easier to feed than try to find. They will eventually turn into real leaks and be easy to find:laughing:

 

[AX MAN]

Re: JR Landworks- New to mulching!

I have sold my business but my name is still in some publications. I got a call last week. The man said you got one of those machines that can chew up anything? That can be a problem. People expect you to mulch things bigger than you should be. Work faster than you are capable. And expect you to work in places that will get you stuck. Learn your limations and stick to them.