When passion meets precision
There is no better person to design, build and maintain trails than Jeff Gannon, the President and operator of Affordable Trail Solutions (ATS).
As a keen mountain biker who enjoys the great outdoors, Jeff is a strong believer in bringing trails to all communities, so they too, can experience his love of the outdoors. Starting out as a volunteer building trails for local biking advocacy groups, his passion and natural skill, along with some support from a biking colleague, who helped kickstart the business by giving him a truck, trailer, excavator, and some operating cash, led to the formation of Affordable Trail Solutions.
Founded initially in 2018 by Jeff and his wife Amber, along with Dirk and Christina Merle, who also love the outdoors, it is no surprise that the company specializes in soft-surface mountain biking and hiking trails. They have a team size that fluctuates from 2 to 5 employees, depending on seasonality.
They have been blessed to work on local trails, mainly in the Little Rock area of Central Arkansas.
It is not only Jeff’s passion for riding trails that makes him one of the best in the business - he also has over 15 years’ experience in construction, machine operating and excavating – and a rare understanding of water flow, having been a keen whitewater kayaker for over 30 years!
Attach2 spoke with Jeff onsite at the Maumelle Pinnacles, where the team is building 13.5 miles of soft-surface backcountry trail.
This project is a particularly big achievement for the crew, having worked on trails for Rattlesnake Ridge and Blue Mountain, and now to finish out the Maumelle Pinnacles on the Central Arkansas Water property. Connecting to the Arkansas State Park, everyone can now enjoy many pathways into green spaces, which is a big driver for Jeff and ATS.
Built with the best
We were curious to hear more about Jeff’s equipment and the influence it has on the trail building process.
“Most of our equipment is the 1.5 excavators and down from Caterpillar”, he explains. “We think they make the best machines for what we're doing. We do the 1.5-ton machines, which will be a 301.7, 301.8, and the 302.”
Jeff also tells us he has an Attach2 tilt on every one of his machines, and that his fleet includes 2 Heli-Tilt Couplers and 2 Ram-Tilt Couplers. Thanks to the tilt capability this gives him, he can do almost all his trail-building tasks without even moving the tracks – and thanks to the hydraulic coupler, barely moving at all! He sees it as a real competitive advantage as many US trail builders don’t usually change buckets often. Having tilt and hydraulic quick-connect really helps to increase their machine and operator efficiency, reduce time out of the cab, and prevent environmental disturbance.
“We call this the back slope, the tread, and the out slope”, Jeff points to the trail ahead of him.
“The biggest benefits of the Attach2 Heli-Tilts are the ability to do all three angles from the same stance - and not have to go back up and change attachments. One thing that makes Attach2 better than all the rest is that they have a hydraulic quick connect, so you can get rid of a bucket and pick up another, all without getting out of the seat. These tilts are instrumental in what we do here on the trail. We've figured out that it cuts out about 35% of labor on the ground with just one attachment.”
Jeff may very well have been one of Attach2’s first US customers. Having heard about Attach2 online, they were looking for a unit for their small machine.
“They were the only unit that had the hydraulic locker on it, which was the major selling point for us,” he explains. “We've tried other brands. The others, you had to beat the pins out to change buckets. And this one, you push a button here in the seat, unlock it, drop it, reach over, grab your new one, lock it back, and you're ready to go. This one costs a little more than the other units. But if you've ever beat pins out of a bucket, you would pay whatever it costs!”
Jet-setting equipment
A few years ago, when Jeff initially enquired, he was sent a unit all the way from New Zealand as Attach2 had not yet launched in the U.S. These days, Attach2 has taken over SnowWolf, based in Minnesota and has stock readily available throughout the U.S.
“It was a great process. It had to come through customs, and they walked us through it. We now have a US dealer that has units in stock, cutting delivery time in half. And those guys and girls over at Attach2 really do a good job!”
So why was Jeff so drawn to Attach2? Well, for one, competing brands in the US have 6-month wait times, and compared to the US, he says New Zealand sits 15 years ahead in product evolution – especially when it comes to tilt technology. He also tells us he has eagerly and extensively stress-tested the gear, even trying to break concrete with it, and has labelled it ‘bomb proof’ in a recent Instagram post.
“We’ve never really needed any warranty or anything,” Jeff says as he goes on to talk about the Attach2 aftercare service. “The team also always call to make sure you're happy and ask check in on how things are going.”
Landscape legends
Going beyond a recommendation, Jeff now requires his sub-contractors to have a tilt hitch. Although he notes that many ATS subcontractors enjoy the Attach2 tilt couplers so much that they end up buying their own.
“Once you use one, you have to keep using one because you'll be mad that you don't have it. It's the time saved. The amount of stuff you can do from the seat to cut out on the handwork is pretty wild. If you don't have one, you're missing out.”
Finding good, skilled labor in the industry is currently proving a challenge, however he says that the tilt hitches are helping to bridge the gap. There is a high standard of skill required for fine trail shaping and with the tilt hitch it enables up and coming laborers to improve their skill set
Jeff tells us that Attach2 is starting to become a popular choice within the US trail-builder community, and as a preferred brand, we can’t wait to see what the Attach2 tilts can tackle next within this landscape.
Helping to influence the trail-building community with precision and ease and producing the best-quality work are at the forefront of what Attach2 stands for, and Jeff even tells us he can instantly tell which trail builders use tilts and which don’t. He says that Attach2 gear helps produce visibly higher‑quality work.
Here’s to helping make better places to live and ride!
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