i have a huge leaf removal job this fall and I need to be planning a way to make it work for me. The idea situation would be to have a leaf loader mounted to the tailgate of a dump body truck but I dont have the luxury of that.
I thought about mounting the loader to my 14 ft trailer and building a temp box to hold the leaves. Then your left with the issue of unloading them. The only way I could see to unload them is to then suck the right back off the trailer. time is money but if the machine was big enough It wouldn't be too bad.
my other option would be to sub out the leaf loader work all together to someone who has the equipment. Not a bad idea but it is going to be hard to schedule that.
I mentioned something to my mulch man about getting a loader but I can't depend on that until it is a done deal. Or I could just go out and buy a dump bed truck and loader and be done with it but then I am not making money at that point and I have nowhere to put another truck.
I could rent a dump trailer...and some how mount the loader to that. seal the top offsomehow... I need ideas guys

http://www.billygoat.com/site/intro.aspx?pid=58
http://www.sunbeltrentals.com/Equipm...180&catid=s423

 

Line the trailer with a large tarp .. grab the corners & pull the tarp toward the rear of the trailer to empty it . may need a crank type wench to pull it . If you use a long enough tarp , it can also be used for the top.. Then just hook the tarp to a tree or something & move the trailer forward to un load it ...

 

I would build the temp box near the back of the trailer with a door on the back to empty it.

I would also make the bottom of it slanted toward that back door so when you open the door the leaves should slide out.

Not sure if that will work for you cause I couldn't see anything on the links you posted..

 

Is this a 1 time deal or is it a full time landscape job?
There are used tree or chipper trucks for sale with dump boxes and it might be an option.
Used Trucks For Sale at Truck Paper: Freightliner, International Trucks, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack trucks, dump trucks, dump trailers, used trailers for sale.

 

We are a full time landscape company but this is by far the biggest leaf removal job ever. We can handle everything else with what we have but not this one. I found a 95 f 450 gas 460 with 74k. super clean truck but it has a service body on it. I wonder if I could trader the service body out and get a dump??

 

The easiest solution would be to find a used chipper truck, or maybe look for municipal vehicle auctions for a used vac truck (either the one they use for storm drain clean up or the ones some use to pick up leaves in neighbor hoods.
Actions idea of a tarp is also a good one, as long as the load of leaves dont get to heavy. But then you will also need a heavy duty canvas tarp to make it work, the plastic ones would just get ripped up to easily.
As for the truck with a service body, you probably wont get alot for the body, if anything, and a dump body will cost some $$$, especially if its all hyro. Might be better to find a used dump body somewhere. Kinda surprised you dont have a dump body now being a full time landscape company though. Might be a good investment to purchase one.

 

I am getting to the point of needing one and prob should have gotten one before now but then again the business is debt free. I just don't want to make money just to pay things off. that's why we don't have one right now.

 

Those slide in dumpers are too small. Figure the weight of the slide-in dumper, plus the load, you're barely moving anything at all. They're handy if you only have one truck and want a dumper you can put in and out of your truck for the odd time you need one. But you have a business that runs on trucks, for the same price you can get a solid f350 with a dumper body that can haul 2-3 times as much as one of those slide in things.

For the leaf vac why not put it in the back of your pickup truck with some ratchet straps to tie it down, then point the chute back into the trailer. You can put some plywood sides on your trailer, and a big door on the back, when you back up to the dump site it'll all be pushed against the back door and come spilling out. Do it that way you can even invest in an extra trailer, keep your leaf vac going non stop, just switch trailers when you have one full ready to go to the dump. Plus the weight will be spread between the truck and trailer, not mess up the ground as much.

 

Sorry, Daniel I don't have any suggestions. But am just curious is this leaf removal job like from a park, individual residences or city streets?

 

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but its quite interesting. Trackless Vehicles Ltd. - Leaf Loader

Have you looked at these by any chance? Giant-Vac - Leaf and Debris Management

 

if you have access to 55 gal. drums, with lids. and a way of atatching a shop vac to it. you could easily vac/bag at the same time. you can buy rolls of plastic corrigated tubes from lowes or home depot. not sure how big of a job your doing but, one person can vac. leafs while the other prepares the next drum. when you fill a drum, it would be pretty quick job of pulling the shop vac motor off one drum and onto the next.

 

all you'd need is an ac / dc converter to power it.

<a href="http://s687.photobucket.com/albums/vv239/glockstrap/?action=view&current=shopvacbarrellid.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv239/glockstrap/shopvacbarrellid.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

This is for a large condo property that I have as well as some residential properties that my company maintains.

 

I'd maybe try a used portable dust collector

 

Whatever you get or design, you will need a shredder, to reduce the size of the leaves and get more in the truck. Either that, or have a professional "leaf stomper" in the truck.

I've been using the hand-held blower vacs for a while, attached to a plastic trash can, to get at hard to reach areas. I use the mower and regular bagger for lawns, when there's minimal thickness to the leaves.

You've been given links to several really expensive ones. Have you checked out the DR brand leaf suckers? Sears has one also, that tows behind a regular lawn tractor.

I've thought of building something that'll suck 'em in plus shred them a bit, but coming up with the perfect materials is the hard part, with any home made device.

I'll eventually think of something.. as I did with my butt-trolley/snowblower/plow, posted long back here on FTE.