“Protect your investment by keeping your equipment maintenance up to date,” Daymon says. Safety concerns With recent news headlines, there’s no shortage of reminders that these machines are among the deadliest pieces of equipment in the industry. Manufacturers point to education as paramount in reducing wood chipper accidents. “We have owner-operator manuals, parts manuals, and service manu- als for our products,” Daymon says. “We’re building an array of online and in-person training resources, so our staff and customers are educated on the benefits and safety mechanisms of our products.” Hicks equates safe wood chipper opera- tion with proper maintenance and sug- gests that operators take up a daily rit- ual that includes inspecting for cracks in knives and properly adjusting belts and clutches. Seemingly trivial tasks need to become routine, manufacturers warn, since all parts of a chipper are connected, and an imbalance in any one part of the system could be danger- ous for the whole. Tree care workers minimize risk and maximize safety with wood chippers by being properly trained, exercising caution, and using common sense. Conclusion Chippers and chip trucks are valuable forestry tools. Although these powerful machines require routine maintenance to keep them operable and safe, the return on your investment will quickly become evident in time saved and jobs accomplished. When shopping for a chipper, keep an open mind and an honest inventory of the size and type of wood you process. A knowledgeable representative will guide you to find the perfect chipper for your business, setting you up for safety and success.
When buying a chip truck to match a chipper, transmission capacity is often the most important consideration.
Partnering With Chip Trucks
While chip trucks aren’t strictly essential, ex- perts agree that they make tree care jobs im- measurably easier, especially when chips need to be transported offsite. “A chip truck and a chipper go hand in hand,” says John Dean, inside sales specialist at Cus- tom Truck One Source, which sells new and used chipper trucks. “If you don’t have a chip truck, you’ll be limited in what you can do.” ONE CREW, TWO JOBS Combined with a rear-mounted bucket truck, chip trucks can add value by allowing one crew to tackle multiple jobs at once. The bucket truck can get a head start taking down trees and move onto another job while the chipper and chip truck stay behind to com- plete clean-up duties. This would allow crews to manage more jobs, increase productivity, and take on more work. CHIP TRUCK MUST-HAVES Dean recommends keeping the same chassis as other trucks when adding a chip truck to your fleet. “It’s convenient to work with the same chassis, so you have the same service and mainte- nance,” he says. “And your drivers are already familiar with that chassis, whether that’s Freightliner, International, or Peterbilt.”
While horsepower and torque are typically top- of-mind for most customers, Dean believes transmission may be even more important when it comes to a chip truck. “Transmission actually regulates what you can tow,” Dean says, adding that a vehicle’s trans- mission must be equipped to handle its combi- nation weight rating. This includes the chassis, the contents of the chip truck, and the chipper being pulled behind. Additional considerations include volume (how large your chip loads will be), whether the truck will need to hold other equipment and tools, and how many people it will need to carry. MAXIMIZING THE LIFESPAN Just like a wood chipper, routine maintenance keeps a chip truck on the road and at the job site. Dean stresses the importance of cleaning a chip truck after every use. The moisture in wood chips could seep into any imperfections in the metal and cause the box to start dete- riorating. In addition to regular cleaning, Dean encour- ages chip truck owners to get in the habit of conducting daily inspections and preventative maintenance.
20 | ArborTIMES Summer 2024
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