Hey everyone! I'm a 15-year-old running a leaf cleanup business with my two buddies in the northeast. We made about $3.5k last season, but we want to make our operations more efficient. We've been doing a lot of bagging and hauling, which takes up a lot of time and trips to the dump. My friend recently found an 8hp leaf vacuum on Facebook Marketplace for around $200, and we're considering buying a trailer (I found a 4x8 for $300) and building a leaf box to use with it. However, I'm hesitating because I'm not sure if the total cost of $700 for everything will actually help us or just create more hassle. What do you think? Will the leaf vacuum save us time compared to bagging?
4 Answers
Bagging leaves takes forever and costs money for bags. Anything that helps reduce your unpaid work hours is a win! Does the vacuum shred leaves? If you have a place to dump them and can mulch, you could even sell this mulch next season or give it away for a few bucks!
Mounting that leaf vacuum on a trailer is a smart move! It'll chop the leaves up so much smaller. You might want to look into one of those tarp unloading systems with a crank handle. Dump trailers are the best for this, but they can be pricey—hard to find under $5k. Just make sure your vehicle can handle it!
Dump trailers tend to be heavy, so make sure your vehicle is up for it. I’ve pulled one with a half-ton pickup, but it struggled!
If you can shred the leaves really finely, you could try to sell them. Just be careful with oak leaves, they're not great for that!
Definitely grab a couple of tarps! If you manage to get a dump trailer, you're all set. Just blow everything onto the tarp, don’t overfill it. Two guys can twist them up into handles and carry them, while one dumps it into the trailer. Super efficient!
Do you think a 4x8 trailer with 4-8ft side walls would be big enough for jobs?