pole saws

[snowman]

Truck drivers are whinning about my haul road. I brushed it out at beginning of job but theres lots of overhead stuff hitting the stacks of trucks i guess. It was fine all summer but snow is now making things sag. Three miles of high limbs to open up. I offered to ride a load out and cut everything that hit me in the face but the driver said I was insane. :D I know zip about pole saws but apparently need one.Any suggestions on a good quality one that doesn't break the bank?

[Red 93 L1 #3383]

At work we have a Stihl HT75 and it seems to be a good unit.  It was bought back in 2000 for $467.

[beenthere]

There was a thread or two a while back, discussing pole saws. One is:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,558.msg5787.html#msg5787

another:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,7838.0.html

I've a Stihl, and it has been real good for me. But am sure there are others that could perform as well.

[Rocky_J]

For professional use, the Stihl is by far the best choice. But for casual use you might look at the Echo unit as a less expensive option. The Echo doesn't telescope but has an optional extension that can be purchased separately.

Avoid the Poulan crap from Home Depot at all costs. It's cheap, but it's cheap and you'll end up buying two before you finish and then you'll have two broken, POS garbage pruners.

[zopi]

Orange and white, baby!

[isawlogs]

If .. alls you will be doing with it is this one stretch of road once .. I would look at renting one for a weekend . that would be the cheapest way to go .

  I have HT75 but that dont make it the best , but sure dont put it in th back of the pack either .  ;)   I have read real good things about the echo .

[Al_Smith]

No doubt the Stihl is a better made product .The Poulan will work though but is not as durable ,a well known fact .

However bear in mind that who ever made the unit they will not take much abuse . On for instance the HT-75 Stihl ,which I believe is no longer produced ,bending the tubes or shafting for all intents is the death of them . Repair is almost impossible and replacement exceeds the value of them .

Now I have an HT-75 in the shed that I repaired as best I could .It runs true but the full retraction  capability has been lost due to bent shafting .In other words goes all the way out but not all the way in .

I must admit while being heavier than the Poulan it certainly out preforms it by leaps and bounds .Now the Poulan as I say will work but is not intended for anything other than occasional use and is not a good choice for anything else .

[SwampDonkey]

You've just learned one of the trucker's most cherished commandments. Thou shalt not have brush over hanging the road to swat thine truck. :D :D

If it were me and I had the time, I would be cutting the trees back, not the limbs. Nice to have narrow roads, but a good dry road where sun can hit it is a lot better than a wet one with water laying in it. Brings to mind, need proper ditching to. Not the bull dozed road where the mud is pushed up to the sides damming any water from running off, making nice deep mud holes. :D Especially apparent, when a drive out the road on a cold frozen autumn day frees a frozen chunk of ice that takes out a stabilizer arm under the pickup. Don't ask. ;D

Ok, I said enough. ;)

[DanG]

Strange as it may seem, I agree with Swampdonkey. : :D :D

It just seems like an awful lot of work to open up 3 miles with hand-held equipment, unless it is just a branch every few hundred yards.  If you have mechanized logging equipment on site anyway, you could make short work of it and sell the product to boot.  Of course, we don't have full information on either the road itself, or the restrictions you may be working under, so these suggestions are just food for thought.  Another possibility would be to put a man in a loader bucket with a lightweight chainsaw.  You can put a bunch of limbs on the ground quickly, that way.  The ultimate tool for doing what you're planning would be the Jarraf. ;D 8)

[rebocardo]

I agree with swampdonkey about the roads. As for brands, I say get one with a swivel head so you can do a proper cut and drop the branch straight down. Cutting a branch at a 45 degree angle with a straight head just makes it easier to jam the saw 14 feet off the ground.

[Rocky_J]

And which one would have a swivel head, rebocardo?  ???

[isawlogs]

 I like using the method of cutting any limbs\branche right at the root system . usualy it works fine . ;D

[snowman]

I got the stihl and it worked great.My neck sure is sore though from looking up all day. Had to do it this way because haul road runs along a creek in a wash state no cut zone. No trees to be cut within 50 feet of a stream. The road is a grandfathered in "illeagal" road that runs right beside a creek. It was put in in the 20s when the easieast place to put a road was right along the creek and nobody cared. Ahhh the good ole days. Theres one stretch where the creek and the road kinda merge that has turned to solid ice.Now I get to hear the truck driver whine about that. :D

[rebocardo]

And which one would have a swivel head, rebocardo?  ???

An example would be the EFCO PT 2500 and PTX 2500, there are other brands with them too.