Tornado

swstout · #1 04-27-2010, 01:01 AM

Last evening (Sunday), we had a tornado that cut out a 17 mile swath here. Only miner injuries. Only 2 houses destroyed but many trees and utility poles destroyed. The buildings of major concern was a grade school and a high school. If it came today, the buildings would have been packed with kids. The twister came about 3 miles from my home but we had winds of 85 mph here.

I have had 31 calls tonight for tree and branch removal. I declined jobs where damaged trees were close or on structures as I do not have equipment to do the jobs safely. Maybe next year.

I’m going to have busy day tomorrow going to 22 sites (in the rain - 90% probability).

Steve

__________________

kdexpd · #2 04-27-2010, 01:42 AM

Lawn care business tips

Hey Steve

I know what you're dealing with. We had a good one last year and I made a small fortune cutting trees off houses and out of roadways. Tornados can be bittersweet as they are terrible dangerous, but awesome money makers. Be safe and best of luck tomorrow!

__________________
Kendrick
Cedar Lawn Care Services, LLC
Kirksville, MO

picframer · #3 04-27-2010, 05:10 AM

Glad you are OK bud, it's unfortunate these things happen, on the other side they are a gold mine for us. What I see though is the trunk slammers advertising tree cutting when we have big storms, no license, no insurance, no safety gear, it is honestly scary. The city is generally out in full force to crack down but they can't be everywhere.

CHEESE2009 · #4 04-27-2010, 10:30 AM

My Aunts dog played in this movie

Glad you are alright once again my friend!

Steve · #5 04-27-2010, 11:36 AM

WOW! That must have been some storm! I am glad you are alright!

Quote:

I declined jobs where damaged trees were close or on structures as I do not have equipment to do the jobs safely. Maybe next year.

What kind of equipment would you need to do such a job safely?

#6 04-27-2010, 01:17 PM

Glad you are ok Steve. Tornado's are unpredictable and dangerous. We had a tornado watch the same night. And I was working and NOT looking forward to it if we had one hit. A week or so ago we had one in the next county north but there was minimal damage.

Hang in there and be safe while doing the clean up!

Eli

picframer · #7 04-27-2010, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

WOW! That must have been some storm! I am glad you are alright!

What kind of equipment would you need to do such a job safely?

Mini excavator with a thumb takes seconds, block and tackle works, boom on a truck is what many use. Just make sure you are insured, land a tree on a power line without proper insurance and she is all over.

We do so many of these we carry the insurance, it's not cheap and here you have to be certified which I am and also certified as an instructor so that I can certify staff.

swstout · #8 04-27-2010, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

WOW! That must have been some storm! I am glad you are alright!

What kind of equipment would you need to do such a job safely?

Andy gave a pretty good list (posted on this forum).

I have a $2,000,000.00 liability policy but thre is no reason to tackle jobs I'n not qualified for. Of the jobs I visited today for quotes, I got 9 and passed on 8 (too close to structures and or power lines).

If I take on any more work at this time I will have to hire and get another vehicle. There is more important equipment to get now (like the John Deere x749 that will open many more job opportunities).

Steve

picframer · #9 04-27-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swstout

Andy gave a pretty good list (posted on this forum).

I have a $2,000,000.00 liability policy but thre is no reason to tackle jobs I'n not qualified for. Of the jobs I visited today for quotes, I got 9 and passed on 8 (too close to structures and or power lines).

If I take on any more work at this time I will have to hire and get another vehicle. There is more important equipment to get now (like the John Deere x749 that will open many more job opportunities).

Steve

The 749 will direct a massive tree if attached to properly, if I were in your shoes and knowing what I do about what you do, this would be my next investment. One reason is JD has a financing arrangement on this unit, one year no payments, it will pay for itself in 6 months tops because it can do so many things....no I am not in sales and I don't work for JD, it is the best unit on the market for an all around lawn care tractor. Just make sure you add all the attachments you need as they throw it into the same financing deal.

swstout · #10 04-27-2010, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by picframer

The 749 will direct a massive tree if attached to properly, if I were in your shoes and knowing what I do about what you do, this would be my next investment. One reason is JD has a financing arrangement on this unit, one year no payments, it will pay for itself in 6 months tops because it can do so many things....no I am not in sales and I don't work for JD, it is the best unit on the market for an all around lawn care tractor. Just make sure you add all the attachments you need as they throw it into the same financing deal.

I sold the publishing rights to my Master's Thesis and plan on payng cash when the money comes in. It should be in about 2-3 weeks. I don't like financing. I have 16 payments left on my house and am not looking to finane anything again except in emergencies.

Steve

Tornado

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