Tree guys, Arborists and Riggers… I have questions …

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So we have a family friend who is a retired tree guy, but he hasn’t been much help, lol. He has a rope come-along thing he uses for pulling trees. I bought a similar one for my own use and he’s been helpful in teaching me some of the ins and outs of cutting and such. He has a pile of ropes, almost all are twisted strand with a line of color woven through. I asked what kind of ropes they were and where to get it, but he said he didn’t know. Most of them came from the tree company he worked for. My rope come along came with a 20’ length of white twisted strand rope with a line of color woven through, but when I bought it I was told that it was recommended to use twisted strand rope in it because it gripped better, but nothing about what rope.

So I finally got around to stopping at a local rigging store today. The guy there said the rope with a color stripe running through is poly Dacron, but he said it has a pretty low strength and he would recommend Polypropylene or Nylon because he said the poly dacron only had an 800# working load and the other two are way higher. So I’d like to know what anyone experienced in this sort of thing would recommend.

Also I thought of getting some line for if I have to climb a tree and limb it or something. The family friend uses the same line for everything but I saw some stuff about how climbing ropes should be a different material?

Lastly, I want to get a throw weight. The family friend just puts a big knot in the end of a rope and gives it a heave. But I think a weight might make it easier to get to higher limbs. I have no idea what a proper weight is, I’ve seen them from 6oz to 20oz.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I had a huge Locus tree removed this year... Every rope they used to rig this thing from over the house and between power lines was a solid color rope.

I learned enough that if I need ropes and have to climb it or anything technical to do the job... I'm calling a tree service in to do it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I had a huge Locus tree removed this year... Every rope they used to rig this thing from over the house and between power lines was a solid color rope.

I learned enough that if I need ropes and have to climb it or anything technical to do the job... I'm calling a tree service in to do it.

Most of the stuff I saw when I searched for arborist rope has been braided stuff, I’m guessing that’s what most tree companies use anymore but it wasn’t recommended for the come along I have.

I’m still young enough that I don’t mind doing a lot of stuff myself. I did some rock climbing in high school and kinda wish I knew people who still did. Between my property and my parents there are a number of trees that need to come down or have large branches that need trimmed. So we have been working at it mostly as we need firewood.

 

[Roert42]

I’ve cut down a few fairly large trees, 60’ I think was the biggest. Never paid much attention to the type of road, used a regular come along, and scaffold or a ladder.

Not t he safest way probably, but for the amount of time I cut trees it’ll do. You really only need to use a rope if the tree is close to something that you really CANT hit.

Otherwise there are ways to cut them to drop them fairly accurate.

 

[Curious Hound]

I would recommend nylon. The mooring lines we used for the submarine were nylon,, except that time we had to stay in Port during avhurricane. They gave us steel that day. I don't like the poly acts. Though I think it floats if you want to use it on a boat.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I’ve cut down a few fairly large trees, 60’ I think was the biggest. Never paid much attention to the type of road, used a regular come along, and scaffold or a ladder.

Not t he safest way probably, but for the amount of time I cut trees it’ll do. You really only need to use a rope if the tree is close to something that you really CANT hit.

Otherwise there are ways to cut them to drop them fairly accurate.

There’s a lot of stuff around here that can be hit. So far I’ve managed to do fairly well with dropping them. Except the two pines in my front yard, I didn’t want to deal with climbing a ladder and cutting branches to put a rope in it and neither came down nice.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I would recommend nylon. The mooring lines we used for the submarine were nylon,, except that time we had to stay in Port during avhurricane. They gave us steel that day. I don't like the poly acts. Though I think it floats if you want to use it on a boat.

My boat has been getting nothing but braided marine graded rope. Kinda interesting that nylon was used for mooring though.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So I’m case anyone is interested… here is what I understand now about the ropes. I found a reference about common ropes used mainly by companies that mentions solid color ropes but pretty much all ropes used now are braided, which are much better ropes than what I’m looking for, except the rope puller recommends twisted strand for best performance. So while I may get some braided rope, the twisted is what I need for now.

Polyethylene is low stretch, but not so good for natural crotch rigging and doesn’t handle shock loads well. Nylon handles that stuff better, but stretches too much for my application. Poly-Dacron is the more traditional for what I’m doing because it’s low stretch, handles natural crotch rigging well and will tolerate shock loads. So even though it’s got a low rating, it suits my needs.

Although anyone with experience is welcome to chime in, lol

 

[sgtsandman]

My only experience is with rappelling where you don’t want a rope that stretches. Tree work may require something with shock absorption in case of a fall.

I would recommend a harness with a chest ring. From personal experience, a waist only harness gets very tiring very quick on the stomach muscles and is hard on the back. Probably more than you want to spend but it is money well spent.

As far as rigging for a tree limb, I have no idea and would go with what the manufacturer suggests.

 

[Ranger850]

I have a buddy who cuts trees down during Hurricane season. I needed him for some work and he said he didn't have any ropes with him. I asked him what he needed and he said " just your basic rope, like rock climbers use, It holds up to UV and weather conditions better" were his (almost) exact words. I think I spent $50 ( maybe less) I ended up getting Black w/gold braided over "Nylon" or Poly-Nylon or whatever it was.

 

[Chapap]

Basic sailing rope is polyester. I always got the little white/red bundles from Home Depot for my Hobie16. For the static rope holding the trampoline together, it’ll last a decade living in direct sunlight. I only changed mine cause I figured it had to be getting weak. For the control sheets it would last a several years before getting too stiff for my liking. Has low stretch and doesn’t get waterlogged. The stretch is night and day compared to the super colorful cheap bundles you’ll find at Walmart and such. Not really tree related, but is rope related.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My only experience is with rappelling where you don’t want a rope that stretches. Tree work may require something with shock absorption in case of a fall.

I would recommend a harness with a chest ring. From personal experience, a waist only harness gets very tiring very quick on the stomach muscles and is hard on the back. Probably more than you want to spend but it is money well spent.

As far as rigging for a tree limb, I have no idea and would go with what the manufacturer suggests.

Yeah, at some point I might get some climbing specific ropes, I have one climbing rope somewhere around here, haven’t been looking really for it, but I bought a length awhile back along with a couple locking carabiners, small pulley and a figure 8.

Not sure exactly what I’m going to do about a harness yet. That’s something that I kicked around awhile back, then kinda tabled. I’m not planning on doing a ton of climbing so I’d rather not spend a fortune, but I’d also rather not have it fail. I did a little climbing back in high school but never really pursued it. I do know I’d like a padded harness, I used both web and padded years ago and the padded was worlds more comfortable. Never used one with a chest harness.

I have been looking at ascender/decender stuff. Kinda leaning towards getting some higher end stuff. Was doing some research and it looks like not only would it be easy for me to use, but also won’t be hard on the ropes like some of that gear is. Of course I don’t really need to have it, but if it makes my life easier when I do use it, well, it might be worth it. Looking at the Notch Jet Step foot ascender and the Rock Exotica Akimbo

Ordered the spool of Poly Dacron, should have it Tuesday from the local rigging shop.

 

[sgtsandman]

I have no experience on ascenders since I’ve only gone down obstacles and not up.

For a decender, I strongly recommend a super 8. I can’t remember if that is the complete name but it might be. It is a bigger ring with a smaller ring in the shape of an 8 with “fingers” to prevent the rope from wrapping the wrong way and having bad things happen.

Padding in the harness is a good thing. The chest harness takes the strain off your abs and back by giving your upper body support.

Make sure your ropes for prussics is at least 8mm. Any smaller and they can be a bear to break loose. Especially when wet.

You can use prussic loops as an ascender. One for each foot. An ascender tool for the hands/harness makes it easier from what I’m told.

 

[CrabGuy]

I used to be SPRAT certified and did high-angle inspections of dams, penstocks, etc; my son does arborist work. What you should look for is a low-stretch static line for working or for tensioned loads such as forcing a tree/branch to fall a certain way. If you are climbing structures (not rock climbing) and using a full body harness you need a dynamic line as your backup for belay that will take shock loading and soften the impact if you fall. There are so many newer ascend/descend devices now it's amazing. If you are ascending and working at heights like tree work you need a locking type device like a GriGri or shunt so you can release the rope and use your hands. To me tree work is the most dangerous type of climbing, nothing like a spinning chain saw and falling branches to wake you up.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I just use a really long pruning saw and maybe a ladder....I don't like heights....