The first link is to the product "Baumvelo" or Tree Bicycle.
Baumsteiggerät "Baumvelo", Typ BVS mit Stahlbändern
This link is to an article I posted a few weeks ago in another thread
How do you spikeless climb big palms?
That thread got me thinking about the different ways I could be doing my side business. (My main work is in television, I travel 35 weeks a year and have summers mostly off, this is when I do the bulk of my side work with palms)
1)
Boom or Bucket truck. $$$$ and use limited to open area.
- I'm not ready to take this large a leap into my business
2)
Rope climbing. $$ and unlimited access to any tree.
- Since I'm not yet trained I'd appreciate advice here. I have an appointment to go to a tree climbing school next month in Georgia to take a basic training course and an advanced course the following month. Drawback seems to be a long set up time, from shooting the weight to getting up the tree. I've seen people saying 15 minutes per tree.
3)
Ladders and polesaw. $ but limited in height.
- This is how I got started on my own palms and my neighbors started paying me to trim thiers. As "hack" as it is it's worked for me for the last year or so for the jobs I've been doing. (all residential, all 40' or less)
4)
The Baumvello or "Tree Bicycle". $$ with no limit to height.
- Obviously the training in climbing is still a necessity with these. I'm corresponding with Grube.de to see what the exact limitations on diameter are
but it seems to me that a quick clip into the rig and clicking into the foot climbers would lend to a very quick setup and breakdown per tree. Ekka brought up a question in the linked post about getting up into the crown, well since they can be "parked" and dismounted a shorter climb into the crown would seem to work. (though I may be talking out my butt since I'm not a climber, yet.) If I could cut 5-10 minutes off the setup and breakdown per tree it would allow for many more trees per day.
I'm asking because I see so much knowledge here and your opinions on the practicality of this piece of equipment would be greatly appreciated. The application I see for it is in doing commercial areas like local malls and other businesses with 50'+ palms.
The problems I'm seeing are these:
1) getting the contractee to want their trees cleaned of husks, which is necessary for the Baumvelo.
2) diameter of tree - I'm working on this part.
3) Cost - Actually I don't have a problem with the cost, If I think I could get more work out of them. List price is approximately $2500.00 USD.
By the way, anyone out there know of a Smilie
like this but with a Palm?
Thanks again guys/gals.