TreeBossPro Blog — Crew Dispatch & Routes

Where Tree Crew Routes Start and End: The Yard, the Chip Dump, and Back

A tree crew's route is more than its customer stops. It starts at the yard, where trucks are loaded and the chipper is hooked up. It often includes a trip to dump chips or haul wood when the chip truck fills. And it ends somewhere, ideally close to the yard so the crew is not driving forty minutes home at the end of a long day. Planning those pieces is part of good dispatch.

Building on Keeping PHC Application Records Tied to the Tree Route, this article looks at the parts of the route that are not customer stops, and why they matter.

The Morning Start

Every crew day starts at the yard. Loading saws, rigging, fuel, and the right attachments takes time, and a crew that leaves the yard with the wrong equipment loses even more time later. The crew app shows the day's job list and categories, so the crew lead can check that the trucks match the work before leaving.

The first stop matters too. A big removal first thing is often the right call, but if it is across town, consider whether a closer job should go first while traffic settles.

Chip Truck Capacity and Dump Runs

A chip truck holds only so much. A big removal can fill it, and a day of pruning can too. When the chip truck is full, someone has to go dump it. Where your crews dump depends on your area: some companies have their own yard, some use local disposal sites, and some deliver chips to customers or gardeners who want them.

TreeBossPro does not plan dump runs for you. What it gives you is the information you need to plan them yourself: the job list, the tree details on each property, and the route map. A dispatcher who sees two big removals on one route knows a dump run will land somewhere in the middle and can order the stops so the crew passes near the dump site when the truck is likely full.

Wood and Brush

Wood is its own question. Some customers keep the wood in rounds. Others want everything hauled. Logs might go to a sawmill, a firewood operation, or your yard. The crew notes on each property should say what the customer agreed to, so the crew knows whether to plan for hauling.

When a day includes several haul-away jobs, plan accordingly. A day of jobs where the customer keeps the wood moves faster than a day of full haul-aways.

Big wood changes the equipment, too. A removal with large trunk sections that have to be loaded and hauled may need a different truck or trailer than a day of brush and small limbs. When the property record shows a high DBH and the notes say haul everything, the dispatcher knows before the morning that the crew needs to plan for heavy loading and probably an extra trip.

A tag for jobs where the customer keeps the wood, or wants chips left behind, makes those days easy to spot on the board and helps balance heavy haul days with lighter ones.

Ending Close to Home

The last stop of the day sets how long the drive home is. A route that ends on the far side of the service area adds unpaid or overtime driving. When possible, build routes that work outward in the morning and back toward the yard in the afternoon.

Auto-routing helps order the stops, and the dispatcher can adjust so the day ends closer to home. For crews that take trucks home, the end point is different, but the principle is the same.

Different Crews, Different Endpoints

The stump grinder may start and end at the yard with a trailer, or may take the machine home. The PHC tech may restock at the yard mid-day. The estimator might start from home. Each crew's route should reflect where it actually starts and ends.

Setting up separate crews in TreeBossPro and assigning work by job category makes this easier, since each crew's route can be planned on its own terms.

Put It on the Plan

None of these non-customer stops show up on a customer's invoice, but they all take time. A dispatcher who accounts for yard time, dump runs, and the drive home builds routes that crews can actually finish.

That whole-day view is what tree service routing software should support. The route map and job details give dispatch everything it needs to plan the parts of the day customers never see.