The Zipline/Speedline: Over or Under-rated?

Jed · Mar 1, 2011

Elders: Forgive me. You guys have doubtless already seen this type of thread, but I haven't yet, and here's the thing: I've heard a lot of older removal guys talk about having used a zipline to expedite may a removal, but in the four years that I've been with this Res-Arbo service in the East Puget Sound area, I've never even seen it utilized once. The foreman I work for thinks that it is "almost always a huge waste of time," and never uses it.

What do you guys say? What methods do you use to tension and/or attach the line? Do you use a haul-back to get the stuff back up to ya? Etc.

stehansen · Mar 1, 2011

I've never used it. I never had enough spare altitude.

MasterBlaster · Mar 1, 2011

Just get it as tight as possible.

rskybiz · Mar 1, 2011

I love using the speed line, so do groundies as its almost always closer to the chipper. I tend to use up a bunch of chokers and haul them back up vs. haul line.

Old Monkey · Mar 1, 2011

When it works, its golden. I do not contrive situations to over rig things. I use speed lines only a handful of times a year. I used it to heavily subordinate a co-dom on a silver maple over my daughters school about a week ago. It was super handy, saved time and made my groundie love me.

CurSedVoyce · Mar 1, 2011

Slings and biners... Lots of em :lol:

We use it pretty frequent here. Easier to line the brush to a good LZ than run someone up and down slopes all day. Sometimes we are asked to leave what would be understory to the tree, so we will line the brush out over the tops of manzanita before rigging the chunks down. Leaner over a roof... I can think of a few good apps

sotc · Mar 1, 2011

I use the grcs or chipper winch to tighten and a half dozen slings & biners. Not used too often but nice when the situation is right. We just discussed this somewhere

canadiantreeman · Mar 1, 2011

It is nice when it works out, but I find one needs a tall tree or a good slope to make it work. We used a zipline all of 3 times last year, but it worked like a charm. Its a good tool to have in the ol toolbox.

SouthSoundTree · Mar 2, 2011

I think that its underutilized, esp. with conifers. Not for ever removal, but slings and biners and no haulback or control line mostly. Sometimes it just a matter of natural crotch rigging a bunch of limbs, then "fix" or tie-off the end of the rope on the bole, sling, cut, let 'em slide. Hand tension is often enough without an anchor, but a simple way to anchor would be to use a speedline sling and biner on a branch on another tree, using a munter hitch to hold the hand-applied tension. Easy to switch back to lowering rigging (NC) as needed, or to catch the top.

Controlled speedlines with a haul-back are a lot more work, but still worthwhile where appropriate.

tophopper · Mar 2, 2011

They work great when applicable.

On average, I set up a speedline MAYBE once a year. It's a great trick to have up your sleeve, when they work, they work beautifully (sometimes). Just not very practical most of the time

Jed · Mar 2, 2011

Thanks you guys. Willie: I did the little search thing on both words (speedline, zipline) with no success, so at least that's off my conscience. I'm just trying to figure out why we NEVER use it.

lumberjack · Mar 2, 2011

It's been quite a while since I used one. They can be helpful, but they is generally a quicker way to get the debris down to where a machine can get to it.

Burnham · Mar 2, 2011

It's my observation that the guys schlepping the brush out to the chipper are going to be the most enthusiastic about a speedline, the climber much less so. We gods aloft sometimes are not as willing as we might be to ease the labor of the grunts below...not always by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe not as much as we should. And the boss/foreman/whatever might see the setup time as a cost without bothering to evaluate the potential benefits accrued.

Jed, perhaps the guy running your show just doesn't care to go through the extra effort on the thinking end of the problem and finds it easier to just load up the groundies with dragging the debris out.

Jed · Mar 2, 2011

Precisely Burnham... You've got his number. Here's the weirdest thing though: many times--HE IS THE GROUNDY! (He's got shoulder problems like every other over-used guy in our shop, so I get to climb a little over half the time.) Yah: you're right though--the ground guys in our shop refuse to climb anything remotely big, and as a punnishment, are horribly neglected.

tophopper · Mar 2, 2011

Make it rain!

Jed · Mar 2, 2011

tophopper: What do you mean man? (Make it rain!) Rain brush on em'?

Underwor · Mar 2, 2011

I have not used it often, but when I have it is great for that tree over a couple of buildings with brush all around the bottom. You can get most of it into the open. I use one line to catch the load on the big chunks and then use it to control the speed down to the bottom. Lets me drop off some pretty heavy chunks and set them down where they can be chipped or loaded much easier.
Have also used a vertical speed line hooked from top of tree to bottom on spruce to prevent the top from springing the butt into the side of a house or other undesirable location when pulling branches off close to a building. Usually hook several branches at a time with a longer sling. This type line also needs to be tight so it can not stretch too far from the tree trunk.

tophopper · Mar 2, 2011

inbredJed said:
tophopper: What do you mean man? (Make it rain!) Rain brush on em'?

Jed · Mar 2, 2011

Oh MAN!! They already drag heaps!

tophopper · Mar 2, 2011

Read the movie, saw the book.....

Its not a glamorous life, but no sympathy here.
It goes both ways you know..... Ive been up many a tree and thought to myself "those bastids on the ground have it easy today"

Make it rain!

Burnham · Mar 2, 2011

No argument from me, there are days when I wonder what came over me to think this climbing gig was so attractive

.

NeTree · Mar 2, 2011

Done a few ziplines here; not a huge application for them, but for the ones that I can do it... they've saved TONS of time and labor.

SouthSoundTree · Mar 2, 2011

Only time that I think the groundies have it easier with removals is when its a no disposal job. Sometimes in that case, he is there "just in case".

I generally get out of the tree and help on the ground, unless there is something else that requires my attention that can only be my attention. I'd rather climb another tree.

Blinky · Mar 3, 2011

Useful around here with houses on hills and itty bitty DZs near the trees... but I usually don't set'em up more than a few times a season. It's cool to run'em over houses.

bill22 · Mar 3, 2011

I've never used one, and since i freelance and never haul brush, I take top hopper's approach. Let it rain.

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