A long-running TreeBuzz thread highlights a practical challenge for many tree care companies: how to make decisions about investing in equipment. Across the discussion, contributors returned to a few consistent ideas, including starting with the right setup for the work in front of you, growing gradually and finding ways to bridge the gap as your business expands.

The conversation began on January 16, 2021, when a TreeBuzz user asked, “For the guys out there who are running a smaller setup versus big equipment and trucks, what you got?”

He described his own approach: “I focus primarily on pruning work, so I have no need for huge equipment right now. I am interested in maybe a spider lift down the road though, and expanding to bigger equipment gradually while keeping costs in check.”

That idea – starting with what you need and growing from there – runs throughout the thread, which, five years later, is still buzzing.

Right-size your setup

Many contributors emphasized building a setup around the type of work they actually do, rather than investing in large equipment upfront.

“I just roll with a truck, trailer, saws, climbing gear, trash can, some traffic cones, rake, broom, and a couple of carts to haul wood,” wrote a user from Urbana, Illinois. “Works for me. I like to keep things simple and enjoy the workout.”
Those who started with minimal equipment still found ways to make it work. “HA! I used to try to not spend money on equipment,” wrote a user from the San Francisco Bay Area. “I unloaded a pickup with a potato rake for years.”

For smaller operations, especially those focused on pruning or tight-access jobs, that simplicity can be an advantage – lower overhead, easier logistics and fewer barriers to getting started.

Others noted that smaller equipment can still be highly effective.

“I feel like it’s easy for a smaller operation to be looked at as inferior simply because they have less (or smaller) equipment than the larger outfits,” wrote a user from Northern California. “But size of equipment alone doesn’t determine what kind of work a company does, customer service, etc.”

Reinvest and build

A consistent theme in the thread is reinvestment – using early jobs to fund equipment upgrades over time.

“When I started … my first couple jobs paid to rebuild [my trailer],” wrote a user from Ontario. From there, he slowly added equipment, bit by bit: a 9′ chipper, a dumping chip box, a trailer crane, a tandem axle dump trailer. The gradual build allowed him to stay financially stable while expanding capacity.

“This whole fleet runs off of a 2 to 3 pickup-truck crew and we’re plugging away. I’m lucky enough that I’m in my first year and I’m fully equipped and everything in the entire fleet is 100% paid for. Now we just have to work work work.”

Other contributors echoed that approach. A user from Michigan described using a smaller chipper to bridge the gap: “It should serve you well until you can upgrade … [it] allowed me to make money, save up and purchase a [larger machine].”

Buy used, rent smart

For many operators, growth doesn’t happen all at once – and it doesn’t always require buying new equipment.

Many contributors pointed to “gently used” equipment as a practical way to expand without taking on unnecessary cost. The user from Ontario noted that his early additions included equipment he found “for a steal,” allowing him to build out his setup while keeping everything paid for.

Even when larger equipment was needed, some operators relied on short-term solutions rather than immediate purchases. As one contributor noted, renting a larger chipper on an occasional basis – rather than owning it outright – was a way to take on bigger work while keeping overhead in check.

“If you line up your removals on days where you can rent a machine or sub out the clean up,” suggested a user from Canada, “you might not need a truck and chipper.”

Grow deliberately

As businesses evolve, equipment needs change – but contributors consistently stressed the importance of growing deliberately.

“Bigger isn’t always better,” wrote the original poster in 2023. “And in some cases, it may not make a lot of sense from a financial standpoint for an operation that is mainly doing smaller jobs to have the same equipment as an operation doing large removals every day. Also, it’s not just the size of the equipment, but knowing how to use it and maximize productivity and efficiency with what you have.”
Instead, growth tends to follow demand. Whether it’s adding a chipper, upgrading a trailer or investing in new capabilities, each step is tied to the work – and the revenue – to support it.

Conclusion

For small tree care companies, the thread ultimately reinforced a straightforward idea: start with what fits the work, add equipment as the business justifies it and grow in a way that keeps costs in check.

And for many companies, that means starting small.

As the original poster reflected on March 27, 2026 – years after starting the discussion – “Glad to see this thread is still going. We all start somewhere, and honestly sometimes staying small isn’t always a bad thing.”

This article is based on an original TreeBuzz discussion thread in the General Discussion forum. It was chosen and compiled by TCIA staff for its relevance to the May issue’s equipment theme.