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fall cleanups with vacuums..what do you have?

15K views 73 replies 15 participants last post by  JDiepstra 
#1 ·
I went from doing 2 cleanups last fall and am looking at around 12-16 cleanups this fall hopefully. minimum building lots here in town are two acres but most of the grassland is under 1 acre.
That being said i'm looking at buying a machine to help me with fall cleanups. Around 6 or so people will want the leaves taken away so I am looking at
getting a leaf vacuum.

What size vacuum do you have and what would you say a good starter vacuum size would be for someone with a f350 with a dump insert?

what about the push billy goat vacuums? seems like you'd be at it all day without a vacuum thats under 16 hp???
 
#3 ·
hahaha
ya i don't have any craigslist customers, average willing home owner is willing to spend around $350 for cleanup and maybe a little more for disposal. Alot of my customers I just blow the leaves into the woods but there are more and more customers that want disposal of leaves and rightly so.

I used to blow the leaves on a tarp and put them into my pickup truck with a box but would have to take multiple trips due to lack of compactibility and shredding.

One landscaper I know does the tarp trick and drags it into his truck with a ladder, but I don't have a big dually dump, just a dump insert truck here...
 
#5 ·
I just love how newbies say oh I have 20 lawns for fall cleanup. And I get 350 each =7000$ so let's spend 4000 on a brand new vacuum (or 2000 on a used and throw it away next yr) after fuel and monthly expenses and new back packs and a helper( cuz by getting a loader I can already see their lazy which leads me to believe they are gonna pay a guy) At the end after building a box u are left with 500-1000$ profit. Makes no sense. Just tarp it onto a trailer or sub it out. That's what we did when we started for years and those fing 500lb tarps that everyone bi$#%es about??? I was pulling them up hills when I was 12 yrs old. Don't be a chump. Landscapers are supposed to look like conan the barbarian or Rambo not Artie Lang or Paul blart mall cop. Put your back into it. U have all December to recover!!!
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#6 ·
I just love how newbies say oh I have 20 lawns for fall cleanup. And I get 350 each =7000$ so let's spend 4000 on a brand new vacuum (or 2000 on a used and throw it away next yr) after fuel and monthly expenses and new back packs and a helper( cuz by getting a loader I can already see their lazy which leads me to believe they are gonna pay a guy) At the end after building a box u are left with 500-1000$ profit. Makes no sense........................................
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You have a point there but when you have a loader....AS MUCH AS I HATE TO DO IT, You can do leaf pile pickups...Only thing is you have no clue what people have raked into that pile until its stuck/in the impeller of the Vac. Which would give these guys some more money...ALSO when you have a loader it takes the stress out of clean ups because in my case I have the guys blow out the beds then i just zip around on my mower collecting then and dumping them at the loader. TRIPLE+ SHREDDED = More space in truck. which means less trips to the dump..

Which means more money.....possibly

Honestly my setup paid for its self before fall was over that year.
Just saw one on CL for 1800 Looks good it was a Billy goat.
 
#7 ·
Oh put the leaves on a trailer? Last price I got for a dump trailer was 4500.

Oh and about me being lazy, ya I've worked labor my whole life masonry, treework, gardenung, and to say
The least I don't mind using machines. I bet you use a 21 inch mower for all your yards conan the barbarian.
Yes I agree it doesn't make sense money wise yet but I want to look professional to my clients and having my own business
Getting started out you dont make much profit your first years, did you?
I really don't make much in a year maybe 24000 but I have a new f350 with dump insert
And want a vacuum because my back hurts most days due to an injury I had when I was a young kid.
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#8 ·
Hey I had 1 lawn last year to now but you know I didn't use a 21 knapsack
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#9 ·
adforester_ what sucks is your thought process fact is NO ONE here will tell you different then i am about to .
you thoink your back hurt the cheap tarp way of doing leaves then just wait untill you une the hose all day . granted i doubt you have that kind of work volume but what do i know .
No one has ever paid 2000.00 for tarps and never have they sucked a brick into a impeller on one neither so when you get a vac for the first time i hope your piles are clean leaves.
with no more jobs then your talking i would bet a walker mower and a 10" x10' tarp and a 2nd guy helping will be faster then your vac if you figure out a process.
if all i had was 7000.00 in cleanups i would pay some one $4000.00 and keep the profit and never touch the leaves .
we go through a vac every year . this year we are moving up to a trailer tow billygoat and i bet it will be dead by spring ...... it is just money spend it wisely and a vaccume at your volume is as stupid as buying a new mowers to mow 10 lawns a week or to save time .

get you a 16" trailer throw some 4" walls on it and mow the leaves and bag them and tie the tarps and haul them off . you can get about 100 walker dumps on a trailer this way for about $50.00 in tarps and $100.00 in plywood.
 
#10 ·
My scag bagged is 7 bushels and when the leaves get thick it doesn't come close to picking them up lol
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#11 ·
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#12 ·
Yea I admit it when I was 12 I did use 2 21" mowers You got me. I'm not saying go buy a dump trailer( there u go being lazy again just proves my point). And I hope u own at least a 16' double axel open trailer , cuz that's what I meant!!! Put up 5 pieces of plywood and just pull it up the ramps and leave the tarp full. Grab a new fresh one and do it again and again till it's filled. Then just back up to the spot and pull each one off !!! Presto I'll be stronger and richer. FYI I just bought a backup 25 hp kohler giant vac as a third for " just incase I suck up an unsuspecting log or brick and bend the shaft. Good luck. Not aiming at u just everyone who thinks as u do. Btw. Back problems suck. Get that looked at cuz it will haunt u in this business. Check out my web page from 2004. NeighborsCare.com. That pic was taken when I bought my first ever new trucks. I was 24. I'm 31 with 8 trucks(plowing mostly)now running 3-4 crews mowing 150+ lawns weekly and (myself) landscape/ hardscape and own a million in equipment which is all pd for . Yeah so my opinion counts brotha. So leave Arnold outa this!!!
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#13 ·
You asked what I use I have 2 giant vac 20 hp loaders and they weigh about 700 pounds each so know what your getting into before you go that size. The advantage is the hose size 12 inches clogs a 1000% less then 10 inches. Course you could go with a 16 or 18 inch hose but now your talking about 99hp. The units I use are about $5000 each. Now you asked what size to buy here is something to think on if you replace worn parts these things last forever one of mine is 9 years old. Iv replaced the impeller like 2 or 3 times and the liner 2 times had to have the engine rebuilt once as well. So keep that in mind before you buy this your going to have it a long time so don't settle or your regret it.
 
#15 ·
Get a vac. You will not regret it in the long run. This has been the case for us.
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hell yeah no doubt i have a 23 hp billy goat that i traded in a lemon mower for 4 yrs ago.... best investment for fall clean ups i have made next to buying my Ultra vac!

The ultra vac gets all the leaves, dumps them in the street or on the driveway(if the house is on a busy street) the we vac. them up with the loader... tripple shredded! LOVE IT!
 
#16 ·
i love getting dust buggers too it means more money and less trips to dump

we all agree that a truck or trailerloader if big enough is the way to do leaves I justdot believe the OP is making the best of hisdollar at this point i feel he needs more accounts before a large investment is needed now if he finds a deal he would be foolish to not get a vac sooner but a smaller truck unit woud be sufficient for now. we have took Agri-fab chipper vac` at1200.00 and made pickup truck loaders for some of our crews and they work good on a budget ..if you have a truck box 6` tall you can expect to take 3 loads off on a 3/4acre turf area with 18 mature oaks and 7 more boardering from the neigbor`s if you do 2 cleanups a year.......if you bag and dump it will get better
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#19 ·
Last year i was doing weekly cleanups for $75 for around 2 months plus mowing charges, seems like this gadget might fit the bill, but with only a 26" deck it seems small
 
#20 ·
how many cleanups do you all do for fall cleanup per a yard?

i offer weekly and end of season
 
#21 ·
For homeowners yes but for commercial They are only good down south. Up here we have too many leaves. For that price 2000 about not worth it Used they are prob getting rid of them cuz they suck. Oak leaves will fill it up quick. Just stick to the tarps and barrels. And u said only about 6 lawns must be vacuumed. Don't buy a vac. Not with even 20 lawns. Like someone said the hose is just as bad a killer on your back as tarps.
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#22 ·
we mow weekly through christmas....or it goes dormant
on top of that it takes about 2 weeks to cycle through every one we start as needed on november 1st and stay on a 2 week cycle untill new years.then we go to monthly cleanups untill february when we kick off the15th back to weekly mowing services .as a whole we handle about1 million cubic foot of tripple shreaded leaves total and we dont have dump trucks trailersand only have a few vacs.
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#23 ·
so your all saying tarp the leaves, but im not sure your hearing me say that i only have a f350 srw dump insert with a box on it. I also do have a 7x12' trailer that I could put sides on.
 
#24 ·
you dont read well i understand that now .

If you have a 7x12 trailer you can get about 12-14 tarps (10'x10') of mulched up and shredded leaves with out walls. The same as 30 dumps of a 9.5 bushel box . if you need more room then that you are not doing your leaves on the right schedule I have a 6.5"x 12'dove tail trailer and you can get a walker and 8 bags on it with no walls and on a 2 week visit with 20 trees on a 1/2 acre it is all on one trailer.

truth is business is about balancing wants and needs with the facts of costand demand . we all can be in debt to do a job but what did we gain ??? a sore back blistered palms and pocket change.
If i was your personal business advisor i would suggest this .
go out and sell leaf cleanups ( name a price yo ufeel should make $$ and stand by it this year) if you get 20 people saying yes then you may reconsider a vac but you cant base growth on a mayby or just in case . IF YOU DONT HAVE THE CLIENT BASE DONT THINK FOR A SECOND A NEW TOY WILL GET IT FOR YOU!!
 
#25 ·
We also have crews with walkers and 14' trailers ....we place a 4" high box on the front and you can get alot of leaves in it . It is all about baby steps . try a new method untill you find one that is BENEFICIAL to your business dont do something becasue everyone else does .

I tell all of my customers if they get a walk up estimate and they are asked what they pay ....it is a trick to low cut us and likely a failed attempt to take their lawn and be gone next season and if they ask just say $25.00

so you follow me and you believe we are cheap-o or they cant compete either way they are gone fast . So Dont believe what you hear and only believe half what you see.

Do what is best for your business and dont ask people who dont care your best intrest.
 
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