The long way around a septic tank

The septic tank sat between the house and the driveway. That is the short route from the road to the front yard, and it is exactly where a spider lift and a loaded chipper would have gone if nobody had looked first.

Nothing went that way. The lift and the chipper were both routed around the back of the house and brought up to the maple from the far side. It cost distance and it cost time, and it is the difference between a tree removal and a septic repair.

Ground protection mats went down wherever the lift set up. A spider lift puts its whole weight through four outrigger feet, which is what makes it usable on turf at all, but only with something underneath those feet to spread the load.

The maple itself came out of the front yard in sections. Small-diameter limbs went through the chipper and stayed on the property, blown into the spot the homeowner had marked out. The usable firewood was hauled down the road to a neighboring property at the homeowner’s direction. The stump was cut to within about five inches of the ground.

Route planning is most of what a spider lift buys you. The machine fits where a bucket truck cannot, but only if somebody has walked the ground first and knows what is buried under it.