MedulusModerator  Veteran Member Posts:786  
| 02/05/2010 2:35 PM |
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Not to cut short the thrilling discussion of roof chalk on another thread, but I am curious about what equipment some of you have bought over the years that has not turned out to be useful, whether the reason is because there was no occasion to use it or it just plain didn't work. I'll start it off with two items.
1. An electrical tester. This item was inexpensive and worked very well. However, over the course of a decade I think I used it three times. Most of the time it was just laying in the bottom of my contractor's belt pouch and I forgot it was there.
2. A sonic measuring device I got as a well intentioned Christmas present. What an inaccurate piece of crap! The only time it even approached accuracy was in the measurement of rooms in vacant houses, and then you had to double check the accuracy using a tape measure. Otherwise, the sonic signal bounced off whatever it happened to find in the room and gave me a random reading. I think it's still lying around my storage space somewhere. Maybe it will have some value as a kitchy antique some day. Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM
"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
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claims_ray Member Posts:293
| 02/05/2010 4:00 PM |
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My wife. This is a very expensive item and until I put a stop to it she kept replicating more expensive models.
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MedulusModerator Veteran Member Posts:786
| 02/05/2010 4:06 PM |
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I'm sure that response isn't going to win you brownie points around the old ranchero, Ray.
Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM
"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
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claims_rayMember Posts:293
| 02/05/2010 4:21 PM |
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My wife has an excellent sense of humor. She has to she married me.
I don't have any waisted equipment as I don't buy every new item that comes along. I will only purchase some piece of equipment once I need it, the prices become more reasonable or someone else makes it cheaper.
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| 02/05/2010 4:29 PM |
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I have purchased several certifications that were suppose to throw me right to the top of the list. After several years, most of which I have never heard from the company which sold the cert class. I would love to hear from them to say "sorry, I'm busy". Oh yes, and there was the one company that for a fee would give me an exclusive on out of season day claims in my area. Luckily I talked to other adjusters that had the same offer in my area, so I saved those $.
JWG
I know the voices aren't real, but sometimes they're right!
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| 02/05/2010 7:06 PM |
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Three items come to mind. About 10 years ago when the carrier started requiring claims to be closed in the field, I bought a small fan to use in my truck while sitting in the driveway writing the estimate. It never really worked out - when it got really hot I always used the a/c and just learned to work faster. The other is a hardhat for scoping under fallen items - I still carry it but rarely use it. Finally, is a snake bit kit - never used it but it still provides peace of mind.
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| 02/05/2010 8:17 PM |
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After observing our industry for the past three decades, I'm working on the theory we are expensive and useless surplus equipment for most of the time and only useful when all hell breaks loose. Which isn't often enough!
Ol' Ghost
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ddreisbachMember Posts:172 
| 02/06/2010 12:52 PM |
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I'll second the vote for the sonic tape measure. I have two. The second one was a gift.
But my favorite is the "Tape-Dolly". You clamp it on the end of your tape and push it up a slope that's too steep to climb. Really cool, but be careful and push straight up the roof or the tape will buckle and it's coming back at you! Or, a little wind pushes it sideways and once again it's coming down. I quit trying to use it a couple years ago. Now I cut a slit in a ping pong ball, shove the end of the tape in it, and slide it up the slope. Wind is still a problem, but not as much it seems. |
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HuskerCatVeteran Member Posts:762
| 02/08/2010 1:06 PM |
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I'm somewhat in agreement with Ray, except it's an ex-wife. Been 13 years and still paying for it....but sometimes feel it's been worth the cost. |
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olderthendirtMember Posts:160
| 02/08/2010 1:48 PM |
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Sometimes I feel like empathy, integrity and common sense are excess baggage that get in the way of making money.
Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put in it
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MedulusModerator Veteran Member Posts:786
| 02/08/2010 2:33 PM |
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I disagree, Peter. Those are some of the tools we use to make money.
Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM
"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
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Jud G. Advanced Member Posts:509
| 02/08/2010 2:56 PM |
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My vote is for the the measuring wheel. They have no place for our role in property damage estimating, but for casualty investigating it's nice to have something that will measure hundreds of feet in lieu of information secured from eyewitness accounts. |
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ChuckDeatonLife Member  Senior Member Posts:1110 
| 02/08/2010 6:09 PM |
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The new Disto with the cross hairs replaces the wheel for outdoor measurements.
"Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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Tom TollModerator & Life Member Senior Member Posts:1865 
| 02/09/2010 12:08 PM |
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I agree with Chuck, emphatically. The new Disto D5 is a great instrument. I bought one for Janice when I caught it on sale on Distage. It was one of her Christmas presents. Having fooled around with it, it leaves all the other Disto's in the dark. I highly recommend the Disto D5 from
distagage.com/ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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| 06/04/2010 1:47 PM |
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Thanks for the kind words about the Disto, Tom and Chuck. I continue to get great feedback from adjusters on the new Disto D5 and D8, and I'm still offering a 10% discount to all members of the catadjuster.org community. Just type "cado" in the coupon code field at checkout to get the special price. If you have ANY questions about the Disto, please send me an email or give me a call, toll free, at (877) 423-4786. The older units were great time savers, but these new models with the color display/viewfinders work significantly better when you are measuring outdoors in bright light, nothing else by ANY manufacturer even comes close. I'm an experienced adjuster, and will make sure your get the right unit for your needs, give me a call if I can help.
Greg DeTray
www.distagage.com
(877) 423-4786
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| 06/04/2010 9:55 PM |
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Agree on the sonic measurer. Very inaccurate and not worth toting around. I would also say a single ladder rack and extension ladder. Not that they are not easier to use, but absolutely kill your fuel mileage.
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| 06/05/2010 10:30 PM |
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Disto D5 is great. Now, I use it to measure fences even in bright sunlight. It is not as sturdy as the A5. Today, I dropped it on the sidewalk and it spewed batteries everywhere. The A5 didn't do that...but who cares. I love it.
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ChuckDeatonLife Member Senior Member Posts:1110
| 06/06/2010 9:51 AM |
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The first Disto I owned fell off the roof of a moving vehicle, bounced down the street and hit the curb. No apparent damage.
The Disto and John Postava's Simsol are the two best adjusting tools.
"Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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| 06/10/2010 9:20 PM |
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We got our Disto from Ebay. It's an antique about the size of a toaster. I was hoping to upgrade when it breaks, but it doesn't sound like that is going to happen.
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LindaLife Member  Guest Posts:35
| 08/02/2010 12:38 AM |
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I agreed with Jud. The rolling wheel is not and never was designed to be used on roofs. Some adjusters still use them but they are never accurate and unless you have to measure a couple of acres of fencing-leave it in the truck!
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