LEAVES??

[SJR Lawncare]

Do you guys do leaf removal?? I know its still early but I am already starting to think about it and prepare for the leaf season. I am in Md. and am debating on buying a leaf vac. & possibly a dump trailer.<br>What do you guys use? I have been using a little wonder push blower & backpacks,blowing to the street, then using a trashcan to load them into my pickup & 12 ft. trailer. Then off to the dump to hand unload. This takes so much time & energy. So I thought a loader & dump trailer would be a wise buy. Please give me some input & suggestions. THANKS SJR<p>----------<br>SJR Lawncare<br>

[Tim1075]

I was thinking about leaves today too while i was cutting. I need to make a box for my fathers f-350 mason dump so i can hook the new leaf loader up. But the thing is the box has to be able to be put in and out because monday through friday its a fence truck and they cant have the box on. I have a large forklift to put it in and out i just need to know what you guys think i should make it out of.

[lawrence stone]

Try just double cutting with hi lift gator blades until thanksgiving in the north.

[machine]

Guys, I been doing leaves for years, and would like to know how you charge. I have a minium charge of $80 1/2 to 3/4 arcer Residential which I do It 3 times a year. I tact on charges when I show up to cut the grass and too many leaves are on it inwhich the custromer has not brought my Leave Removal contract. How do you Price Leave Removal and How many times a year do you do it?

[Guido]

SJR Lawncare - Heres my opinion, the dump trailer is not a good idea. The leaf loader certainly is!! Heres why, and what I think you should do. If you use a dump trailer for your leaf loader, where are you going to put your mowers, and other equipment? NOW - If you put a box on a dump truck, or get a dump insert if you don't have one, and hook the leaf loader on it, you can still pull your trailer with all your equipment. This way if you have to bring along mowers and pushblowers, etc, you have everything with you. Also, its a lot easier just going to dump a truck then it is to drag a trailer through the landfill, farm, or wherever your dumping.<p>Heres a couple of tips when you guys are building your boxes on your dump's:<p>I've seen a ton of ways to work the box issue as far as dumping goes. I've seen people mount there blowers on the plow mount or front bumper and run the chute over your hood and into the front of the box. That way sucks!! Too much piping that you don't need and it can clog a lot easier that way. The smart way is to put it on the back of the box. Look at the swing-away spare tire on a Blazer and you'll get the idea. Another nice setup I saw was the blower permanently mounted to the backdoor of the box and the back door had hinges on top, like a dump truck tailgate and the whole door and blower is one piece. If the toungue of your trailer is long enough, you'll have no problem pulling your trailer with the box intact.<p>MAKE SURE YOU EMPTY THE LEVES ASAP!!!! I've had my leaf box freeze up on me and that could be a huge problem unless you have access to a heated garage to melt it down so it can be dumped. <p>Leaf removal is big $$ back home (CT area) but to make any of it you need to have the right setup and get in and out of those jobs quick!!<p>Good Luck with your setups and feel free to email me if you have no clue what I was talking about!!!<p><p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[FIREMAN]

save you money on the dump trailer, if you go up high enough with the box you could use a dump insert in your pick-up. This is a wise choice because you'll have the dump box all year long, for mulch and topsoil or whatever. Also, if you buy a dump trailer you are committed to towing it and not being able to carry the blowers and mowers you need to do the clean-ups you want to make more efficient. As far as mounting a leaf-vac, I have mine set-up in the trailer so when I need to dump I just leave the trailer at a job with a crew, go dump while they get the leaves to the curb and return to suck more leaves. Remember as the leaves are loaded they are reduced in volume while being vaccumed. My set-up for maintenance is an f-250 with a dump insert and sides built from 2x6s that extend 5 feet above the top of the insert on the top is a mesh net, pretty fine mesh , but it works well on the back are 2 plywood doors hinged on the sides with hole cut in one for the vaccuum exhuast. This set-up has proven very useful for many jobs...hope this helps

[Chris]

We've been doing leaves for about 8 years & have come up with the following setup. We use 4x8 sheets of luan plywood reinforced along the edges w/slotted 2x2's. Turns out to be relatively light & strong. We make the sides & top with this material. The tail gate is hinged @ the top with a wed block fabric curtain @ the bottom to seal it against the truck tailgate. You can mount this rig on any dump truck or unit. We cut an 8&quot; hole in the top/middle of the gate to insert the vac/blower hose into. Currently we use an 8hp Trac-Vac unit mounted to the tongue of a 12' trailer. This way we can pull the truck away & put another unit in its place. We use the trailer for blowers, etc. Our Turf Tiger goes along to do some bagging as req'd, as well as push piles down to the pick up point. Works well for us. We alawys try to get the piles to a paved spot for pickup; driveway, etc. Good luck

[slingshot]

my truck loaders go on the last week of sept.i use ford f350 4x4s with 12 ft stake bodys.i inclose 10 ft of the truck 6 ft high.i leave the last 2 ft uninclosed and mount the loaders right to the floor of the bed on the right side put the hose and rakes and blowers on the left side.all we do is turn the fuel off and let the loader run out of gas befor we dump so it doesnt flood

[Toddppm]

We use a a 12 stake dump also, i have about 6 ft. sides on it with 1/2 inch conduit forming a half moon on top with a mesh top, kinda like a covered wagon. I use this truck for chipping into , mulch etc. works pretty good. I have a dumpthrough tailgate that came with the truck that i mount the vac on, it's a tailgate vac. Then a piece of plywood cut the match the shape of the top to close off the back, works great, sometimes don't use the plywood if leaves are wet they don't blow back out too easily. I have a Billy goat vac that shreds the leaves a little but the truck still fills up pretty fast!

[Parrot]

why so much work? all i do is blow out the gutters and then walk around and blow leaves away from the house about 2 feet and then mulch them up with the mulching kit on my mower. turns them to dust, like they were never there. no dumping, no mess, no added expense of vacs and what not. too ez.<br>

[Runner]

I'm with you on that one Parrot! I do the same steps but when we cut, we run open chutes. This does two things. First. it shuffles all the leaves to the surface to dry without clumping any grass. Second it reduces the material considerably. We then use Little Wonder push blowers and Lazers to wind row and pile the leaves, (Still leaving nice mowing rows) We then use mulching plates to turn the material to dust- usually disappearing altogether or atleast reducing it to VERY small piles. This we just tarp and throw on the truck (just a 1 ton dump) No plywood sides required- I can pick up leaves ALL DAY and never have to dump the truck- It's just dust! And we get aALOT of leaves here in central Michigan! Customers don't mind, and there is never any signs of where the piles were because we hit those spots with backpacks after if necessary. That's just 17 years of experience I guess!

[MOW ED]

I have been doing leaves for 5 years here in Green Bay and I have been using a Walker with great results. When the leaves are dry I can turn them to powder and if they are wet I have to go slower but it still works. <br>Pricing is pretty good here too. Most jobs are dumped on the curb and the city picks them up for free. The ones I remove are put in the pickup bed and front of the trailer on tarps and they are pretty easy to unload.

[Marquis Lawn]

Anyone ever use one of those JRCO leaf plows? It looks like a bulldozer attachment on the front of your WB. From the looks of it, you could just blow out the beds, and push all the leaves to the curb to the loader. Sounds real easy to me, anyone ever tried it yet? I'm gonna buy one, but I'd like to hear from one of you guinea pigs who bought one already. :)

[AGG Lawn Maintenance]

We put all leaves curbside for city pick up.<br>Any leaves we remove we charge $50.00 per pick up load to dump. We either bag or blow off lawns in Oct-November. In December we do Final Fall Clean ups removing leaves from the lawns and beds. Fall clean ups are done weekly removing leave from just the lawn areas. I think its best if you put any leaves curb side for city pick up. For the Fall Clean up we charge the same as a cut. Because the grass has slowed down by this point we just blow and maybe cut no edging and trimming. Final Fall Clean ups we charge 4 times a cut. We remove leaves from the lawn and bed areas. We have our timing down to a tee. (two ground blowers two back packs, mower baggers and vac's) Travis AG&G Lawn Maintenance

[Runner]

Mr. Marquise, While I haven't seen the leaf plow in action, I do have a JRCO tine dethatcher. I keep this on a Gravely 300 rider that I use. I am able to use this to push piles of leaf mulch onto the tarps with it. With the hydraulic lift on the mower, I plow it upward on the tarp and then just &quot;shake&quot; the deck a little and the remainder just drops on to the tarp. I believe that the leaf &quot;plow&quot; really isn't going to clean all the leaves and may even tear up some turf. The tine dethatcher rake works great though, not so much for dethatching but for doing those cleanups that the leaves, sticks and such are matted down in the grass.(especially spring). Good luck with it.<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: Runner

[jeffyr]

I've seen a couple of guys using the leaf plow on a WB and a Walker. It is useful to move piles once you get them to a street or driveway. none of them used it on the turf. If that is all it does, I'm sure any of us could fabricate some kind of plow a whole lot cheaper. And from the looks, a whole lot lighter too.

[plowking35]

Perhaps some eduction on different types os leaves is needed. While talking with ELM he does the same mulching procedure, and was surprised that we bag, tarp, leaf load and the like.<br>Well it seems east coast leaves are much more abundant, and red oak leaves for one wont fall to at least Dec 1 and when they do, they are very acidic, and not good to mulch into the turf. So most everyone hauls them away. Most towns around us dont pick up at the curb, although towards the larger cities they do. <br>I remember all the leaf cleanup BS and am gald that I sub it all out now. We still clean the beds and make piles, we just hire someone to load them up.<br>Dino<p>----------<br> Professional Ice and Snow Management <br>Products:Services:Equipment www.sima.org

[thelawnguy]

Im practically neighbors with plowking35, and can attest to the fact that the northeast is one big forest with small clearings with houses in them. The vast quantity of leaves mandates picking them up, though when they first start to fall, and at the end, you can get away with mulching (as I do, reducing the amount left to tarp away by half or less). But when the bulk come down in November, youre talking about 3 inches of leaf cover that no mower can mulch effectively without suffocating the lawn..<p>Two communities I work in have curbside pickup so I just drag a tarp full to the curb, the third city doesnt pick up unless they are bagged in paper sacks so for the handful of customers that require removal I just tarp them into the back of the truck (with 4 foot sideboards). I contemplated a leaf loader and box but decided that it wouldnt be cost effective given the quantity (maybe seven truck loads per fall) I remove per season. And there is no charge to dispose of leaves so that helps.<p>If you are buying a leaf loader spend the extra money for an 11 hp or greater, other contractors have indicated that the 8hp vs 11/16+ hp ones price vs aggravation isnt worth the smaller one.<p>Bill

[Guido]

Thanks Bill and Dino, I knew I wasn't dreaming about all those fall time images in CT when I wrote my post!! I have a hard time believing all those leaves can be mulched come near Halloween timeframe. Bill's definetly right about the loader. I had an 8 and then a 14. A buddy of mine had an 11HP. the 11 and 14 were unreal compared to the little 8!! And the 8 clogged 3 times as much as the others did.<p><p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[DaveOhio]

We have a great system for leaf removal. We usually begin at the foundation of the house and blow out the beds. (backpack) Then we begin blowing into piles. Usually you must work with the wind here. Once we've got a bulk of leaves, our Great Dane Surfer blows through with its leaf plow and pushes a big bite toward our truck. We have an old Ford F-600 stake dump. We made an add on leaf body with a screened roof. We tow a 60 hp leaf vac that SUCKS. Definatley overkill, it runs most days on idle. It shreds and greatly reduces the volume of leaves we haul. It is easy to find places to legally dump these leaves. In Ohio, this is the best way to handle bulk leaves. We used a tarp three times last fall.

[Tim1075]

I do my leaves by perimeterizing the yard with a backpack so all the leaves are about 6 foot from the property line and beds. Then i take the wheel blower and blow them all into a large pile by the street where i park the dump truck(f-350 with 6 foot plywood sides). Then since i work alone i take the green barrels and fill them up and toss them up over the sides. Then after i have them all loaded i cut the grass. I pick the leaves up about once a week starting in oct.

[DanG]

Up here in NY most leaves don't fall untill around Nov.1st or later. So i mow normally but with mulching kits on my Z-masters throughout october and through Nov.<br>I can mulch up around 3&quot; of leaves if i have to and it leaves about 1/4&quot; or smaller sized pieces which i then go and pick-up as needed with the bagger on my smaller Z but most of the time they just rot into the ground.<br>If I have to I go around and use a blower to get them out where I can mulch them(I do mostly cemeterys and they tend to build up where the mowers won't fit)<br>I used to use a truck mounted Trac-Vac on a 10yard chip/leaf truck and this is alot faster by far.<br>And all I got was rave reviews with just mulching last year so thats what I'll be doing this year again

[Tim1075]

And if i find that i need to move leaves from 1 part of the yard to the place where i'm making the pile and i cant just blow them there i will make a pile and rake it onto the tarp and drag them to where i'm making the large pile

[Mowin4cash]

Where are some of you guys dumping your leaves? It costs $55.00 a ton to dump them where I live. And no farmer wants to take them even though I use a two blade setup on my Dixie Chopper to pulverize the leaves as I gather them. I reduce leaves to almost powder, you'ld think farmers would jump at the chance to have this &quot;FREE MULCH&quot; delivered to their fields! <p>----------<br>When the mowing gets tough, sharpen your damn blades!<br>

[Tim1075]

We have a dump in our town and it costs $25.00 to get a permit which is all you need to dump as much leaves and grass and wood for the whole year. The only thing is the leaves, grass, ect. has to be from our town so there are not that many landscapers that dump there.

[gene gls]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones! I have a neighbor down the road that has an old gravel pit. I maintain her property in exchange for dumping privleges. I have a new neighbor further down that raises pumpkins.He will take all the grass and leaves that I collect for his compost pile to use in his pumpkin patch.

[SJR Lawncare]

Thanks for all the posts guys, its been helpful.<br>SJR<p>----------<br>SJR Lawncare<br>

[Cutter1]

Any way you look at it, leaves suck. I bill for the time and number of people I send, but the best way to get it done is too sub it out. If not I just run it over with my Laser. Dumping is nice if you have your parents down the road own 20 acres!!