Online reviews- I give them mixed reviews.

[Toliver]

It seems we have a resource now to learn about the pros and cons of a product before we buy it. It's really nice to know something is a piece of junk before I buy it. However, in the world of people who don't know how to review properly, now the reviews muddy the water. For instances: "I give this product 1 star because the delivery service lost it and I never got it." Really?! Ok, so I ignore this one. But how about the reviews that aren't clear if it's really a bad product or the person is an idiot and doesn't know how to use it? Or they abused it and blamed the product? Anybody else hem and haw about buying something when there's just enough bad reviews to give you pause?


Now, what started this is my current need for a heavy duty come along. I'd like a 4 ton. I have 2 big trees leaning too much toward my house and I figured I'd use a heavy rope and come along to encourage them to fall away from the house when I cut them. Who has a good one they'd recommend?

 

[Doug B.]

I really search out reviews on some things before I buy. But I feel like reviews are tainted nowadays. With that being said, I still look at reviews but I weed through them with the mindset that you can't please everybody.

As far as the come-along, you can actually just get one from Walmart. It doesn't take much to persuade a tree to go where you want it to if you go high enough in the tree to attach your chain/cable/rope!!!

 

[basshappy]

I use this to pull the trees toward where I want them to land.

https://www.amazon.com/Maasdam-Long-Haul-Puller-4-Ton/dp/B002RL7UGW

 

[bassboy1]

You typically get better info from the 2, 3, and 4 star reviews than the 1 and 5. Those folks usually list rational reasons for such, the 5 guys are just deliriously happy, and the 1 star guys are too mad to be reasonable.

 

[ddgarcia]

I tend to do the same as bassboy1 and weed through them. Grammatical and spelling errors are the first giveaway for me and like you said the one that say they got poor delivery service or some such. Beyond that, it's kind of a crap shoot.

As for your plan to use come alongs to "encourage trees to fall away from your house"....................you might want to search YouTube first. There are many videos of folks doing similar with everything from a couple of guys holding ropes to pickups and tractors pulling on them, and you can guess why they're on YouTube.

Good luck to you if you go forward with your plan. Hope you only pay a little now and not a lot later.

 

[Toliver]

Believe me, I have given the "what could possibly go wrong?" scenarios a lot of thought. I grew up helping my dad cut down big trees for firewood and learned a lot from him. We could generally put a tree down exactly where we wanted it either by looking at the natural lean or my mechanical manipulation. But I am still an amateur at best so I am very careful about these things. And if I decide I can't do it myself, I'll get some help. I've seen enough of other people's foul ups to know tree felling can go very wrong very fast.

 

[greg_n_clayton]

Iffin you were closer......I got a come-along you could borrow !

 

[earlthegoat2]

When I started my business, my wife had nearly everyone she knew leave me a fake 5 star Google review.

Helped my business a bunch getting off the ground. Luckily I was able to add quite a few 5 star reviews which were actually legitimate later on.

I check a few product reviews here and there but I have really been disappointed more often than not by products that otherwise seem to receive universal praise.

Many of the most loved Harbor Freight products I have tried I was not happy with. Not so much because it was a bad product. It just didn’t fit my needs or personal preference. I never left a review to voice this concern as it wasn’t a product related problem really.

 

[normaldave]

Ditto @bassboy1 @ddgarcia...

This is an industrial grade brand that is one our company is familiar with. Pricey, but made in USA.
Lug-All.com Cable Hoists

 

[Iwannashoot]

Product reviews are just another marketing ploy. Heck even Bud Light gets five stars from some people.

 

[Gbr5pb]

Yep read the 2-4s. I have used a tractor supply 4 ton to educate several trees which direction to fall

 

[Silver Britches]

On high dollar items I do read a few reviews, and from various sites. I look for “verified purchase” or similar to let me know the person actually bought it. Amazon is loaded with a lot of fake reviews, but they’re not the only ones.

Be very cautious of buying a product if you see several reviews that look like the one below.

Tihs very good porduct. I buy give me happy experinse long time. Seller greet an sip prodct on time. I buy agin this pordutc. Make me very happy. You buy be hapy to. Hit taht buy buton now. I give 5 stirs.

 

[tree cutter 08]

Most folks lack the common sense to leave a review thats worth reading from what I've seen. As far as the the come along goes, they work in the perfect scenario. I've been doing tree work for 20 years now and don't even own one. Get yourself a good rope, block and a truck or winch.

 

[Toliver]

Most folks lack the common sense to leave a review thats worth reading from what I've seen. As far as the the come along goes, they work in the perfect scenario. I've been doing tree work for 20 years now and don't even own one. Get yourself a good rope, block and a truck or winch.

The trees are too deep in the woods to get a truck close enough. That's why I was going to buy 150' heavy rope and a come along to put pressure in the right direction just due to their lean. I'm not sure I'm good enough to do it with just notching the back side. But I am certainly open to any suggestions and advice. I just can't afford tree service prices just for dropping two trees to let them lay there and rot.

 

[Throwback]

If you doubt people are nuts read online reviews. Funniest one I ever read was for a wall mounted can crusher. It’s 4 screws that can go no other place but where they go. Common sense will tell you how to mount and use it.

The complaints ?
—No instructions on how to mount or use it
—cans were hard to crush—poor design
—the best was “I crushed cans with liquid still in them and got wet, should include instructions saying to pour out all liquid before crushing cans

A young black dude did a video review that was hilarious. He said he did it to show how truly simple this thing was and how dumb some people were

 

[tree cutter 08]

The trees are too deep in the woods to get a truck close enough. That's why I was going to buy 150' heavy rope and a come along to put pressure in the right direction just due to their lean. I'm not sure I'm good enough to do it with just notching the back side. But I am certainly open to any suggestions and advice. I just can't afford tree service prices just for dropping two trees to let them lay there and rot.

A good 3/4 150 foot rope will run around $350, a good block and sling will run around $200 and come alongs will vary in price. Problem with a come along is you don't have the speed and if the trees are big enough won't have enough pull. Bad way to find out once everything is cut and can't pull anymore. Also if one gets away and hits the house homeowners won't cover your mess up. I crinch when I hear ladders and come alongs used in tree cutting.

 

[pjciii]

I just ran across this review. Like you were saying earlier in OP.

: Is the duck down ethically sourced?

Answer this question

---

A: The ducks live in a grassy wonderland under a rainbow. They play duck games and sing duck songs. They are tickled by a joke just before their feathers are ripped off and made into your sleeping bag. Hope this makes you feel better.

 

[Batjack]

As bad as I hate to quote Andy Griffith : "Call the man Bea, call the man."

 

[Toliver]

A good 3/4 150 foot rope will run around $350, a good block and sling will run around $200 and come alongs will vary in price. Problem with a come along is you don't have the speed and if the trees are big enough won't have enough pull. Bad way to find out once everything is cut and can't pull anymore. Also if one gets away and hits the house homeowners won't cover your mess up. I crinch when I hear ladders and come alongs used in tree cutting.

I have used trucks, tractors and 4 wheelers to pull trees to a designated landing zone and used a skid steer to push them where I wanted them but these 2 particular trees are just in a bad spot for me and I am perplexed. The come along idea was the best I could think of for this situation but you're making me change my mind now. I really don't want the corner of my spare bedroom relocated to the ground. I'm going to have to reevaluate this when I get home.

 

[Toliver]

If you doubt people are nuts read online reviews. Funniest one I ever read was for a wall mounted can crusher. It’s 4 screws that can go no other place but where they go. Common sense will tell you how to mount and use it.

The complaints ?
—No instructions on how to mount or use it
—cans were hard to crush—poor design
—the best was “I crushed cans with liquid still in them and got wet, should include instructions saying to pour out all liquid before crushing cans

A young black dude did a video review that was hilarious. He said he did it to show how truly simple this thing was and how dumb some people were

I bought something recently and did a similar review. People complained about the product not fitting in the space they used it in. I pointed out it fit perfectly in my truck because I measured the space first and then used the measurements shown clearly in the description to buy the right one.