Is a winch on a chipper worth it?

[ClimberBusinessman]

I have a Giant G1200 TELE with a power-rotating grapple. Currently we still haul brush and logs in a 16' long, 14k rated (9500 pound capacity) dump trailer. Not the most efficient setup in terms of the number of loads of brush we're hauling. I'm thinking of getting a wood chipper some point in the future, and have thought about a 15-18" chipper, and it needs to be below 10,000 pounds as it would be towed behind a chipper truck (I'd need to get one), and and I'm trying to keep things under-CDL. I don't want the discussion to turn into a lengthy debate on what I can and can't do under CDL. I did contact my state DMV and they had someone, probably their legal counsel, email me back (took them at least a couple months) and said I could legally drive a 10,000 pound chipper behind a 26,0000 GVWR chipper truck, and that would be under CDL and could be done with a regular license.

I contacted Morbark, Bandit, and Carlton. For Morbark, their new 19" chipper, the BVR 19, with the diesel, you can only stay under 10,000 pounds if you forgo the winch. With Carlton, you're limited to a 15" chipper with a diesel to stay under 10,000. With Bandit, with their 18xp, if you have the winch and the 174hp diesel, it puts it above 10,000, unless you go with the smaller diesel (I believe it's 139hp) or the 165 HP Ford Gas, or the 174hp diesel in the 15xp chipper.

Here's the questions:

1. Would you guys rather have a gas engine or a smaller diesel engine and a winch, or no winch and a bigger diesel engine?
2. The other, possibly cheaper option is go big diesel engine (174hp) but smaller chipper, like the Bandit 15xp, or the Morbark BVR16, or the Carlton 2015. In that case, I believe you could do a winch in those configurations and have it be under 10,000 pounds.

Which of these would you do, given the weight restrictions? What would be the best on a day-to-day basis? We do probably 60-70% removals and 30-40% pruning work, but currently no crane work.

 

[ShezTreeNThar?]

Honestly, having done a ton of chipper work, on a typical day most times the brush can be hauled by hand faster than the winch can get it there. Personally, I can get two runs of brush to the chipper before the winch gets one there…. And if one is too long or heavy to carry I’ll cut it with the saw quick and go, throw it into the feeder and run back for the next. However, with bigger ridiculous logs (like a whole smaller tree-30’ or less but still too big to drag by hand) we used the crane to feed the chipper, would support it until we didn’t need to, stop, remove the line and then just let it feed itself. With all that said, I’d rather have a bigger chipper engine and no winch, at least then it’s not getting bogged down and causing a holdup. And speaking from a lot of engine work experience, I would go for the bandit, diesels.. definitely. Stay away from gas engines, they just aren’t cut out for the long hot idle time and then the sudden high revs. Nor are they suited for all the jostling around this sort of equipment has to tolerate. Just don’t hold up well at all. Diesel is always the most reliable way to go for pieces of equipment that have to take abuse and still last a long time.

 

[Scott MacDonald]

A winch line is amazing on a big chipper like a bc 1800 0r 2100. We did a lot clearing job in two weeks 147 trees. Drag the entire tree right up to the hopper, reposition the knot at the base lift it directly into the hopper. Ive worked with big chippers for years and would only consider vermeer a real chipper. A BC 1500 is also great with a winch on city removals. If you cut the cookies right and your box is big enough you can chip the entire tree. I chipped a 120' white pine in two loads and about six hours as the crew brought me the pieces on a tree dolly. If youve never used a winch line on a whole tree before, beware it can swing if rhe but catches anything or hits the hopper. Make sure operator is watching and understands hand signals. I had a 30' spruce swing and throw me before i could get away. The operator wasnt looking. We weren't properly trained. Eventually I learned. I've seen guys knock themselves out with a 90 degree piece of wood when it flips up on 9" chippers. Helmet a must. BC1000s and up have a knee bar so if you are pulled toward the hopper even a little bit the feed stops. Very nice.

 

[Scott MacDonald]

A winch line is amazing on a big chipper like a bc 1800 0r 2100. We did a lot clearing job in two weeks 147 trees. Drag the entire tree right up to the hopper, reposition the knot at the base lift it directly into the hopper. Ive worked with big chippers for years and would only consider vermeer a real chipper. A BC 1500 is also great with a winch on city removals. If you cut the cookies right and your box is big enough you can chip the entire tree. I chipped a 120' white pine in two loads and about six hours as the crew brought me the pieces on a tree dolly. If youve never used a winch line on a whole tree before, beware it can swing if rhe but catches anything or hits the hopper. Make sure operator is watching and understands hand signals. I had a 30' spruce swing and throw me before i could get away. The operator wasnt looking. We weren't properly trained. Eventually I learned. I've seen guys knock themselves out with a 90 degree piece of wood when it flips up on 9" chippers. Helmet a must. BC1000s and up have a knee bar so if you are pulled toward the hopper even a little bit the feed stops.

 

[Scott MacDonald]

I have a Giant G1200 TELE with a power-rotating grapple. Currently we still haul brush and logs in a 16' long, 14k rated (9500 pound capacity) dump trailer. Not the most efficient setup in terms of the number of loads of brush we're hauling. I'm thinking of getting a wood chipper some point in the future, and have thought about a 15-18" chipper, and it needs to be below 10,000 pounds as it would be towed behind a chipper truck (I'd need to get one), and and I'm trying to keep things under-CDL. I don't want the discussion to turn into a lengthy debate on what I can and can't do under CDL. I did contact my state DMV and they had someone, probably their legal counsel, email me back (took them at least a couple months) and said I could legally drive a 10,000 pound chipper behind a 26,0000 GVWR chipper truck, and that would be under CDL and could be done with a regular license.

I contacted Morbark, Bandit, and Carlton. For Morbark, their new 19" chipper, the BVR 19, with the diesel, you can only stay under 10,000 pounds if you forgo the winch. With Carlton, you're limited to a 15" chipper with a diesel to stay under 10,000. With Bandit, with their 18xp, if you have the winch and the 174hp diesel, it puts it above 10,000, unless you go with the smaller diesel (I believe it's 139hp) or the 165 HP Ford Gas, or the 174hp diesel in the 15xp chipper.

Here's the questions:

1. Would you guys rather have a gas engine or a smaller diesel engine and a winch, or no winch and a bigger diesel engine?
2. The other, possibly cheaper option is go big diesel engine (174hp) but smaller chipper, like the Bandit 15xp, or the Morbark BVR16, or the Carlton 2015. In that case, I believe you could do a winch in those configurations and have it be under 10,000 pounds.

Which of these would you do, given the weight restrictions? What would be the best on a day-to-day basis? We do probably 60-70% removals and 30-40% pruning work, but currently no crane work.

Ive only ever used Vermeer chippers. What is your take on the other brands? I hear bandit chippers just have an emergency last chance pull near the feed in place of a knee bar. I'm not sure how you are supposed to grab that as your hands are probably getting chipped at that point. There was a 22 year old climber who went through one a few years ago with this chipper. I cant make out the make, but im wary of any Chuck and duck, rocker stumper, or chipper. I would have lost my eyes so many times without a mask and glasses on. What machine was this? His hands went through first

Honestly, having done a ton of chipper work, on a typical day most times the brush can be hauled by hand faster than the winch can get it there. Personally, I can get two runs of brush to the chipper before the winch gets one there…. And if one is too long or heavy to carry I’ll cut it with the saw quick and go, throw it into the feeder and run back for the next. However, with bigger ridiculous logs (like a whole smaller tree-30’ or less but still too big to drag by hand) we used the crane to feed the chipper, would support it until we didn’t need to, stop, remove the line and then just let it feed itself. With all that said, I’d rather have a bigger chipper engine and no winch, at least then it’s not getting bogged down and causing a holdup. And speaking from a lot of engine work experience, I would go for the bandit, diesels.. definitely. Stay away from gas engines, they just aren’t cut out for the long hot idle time and then the sudden high revs. Nor are they suited for all the jostling around this sort of equipment has to tolerate. Just don’t hold up well at all. Diesel is always the most reliable way to go for pieces of equipment that have to take abuse and still last a long time.

And it takes two people to operate. I can drag a tree pretty fast.

 

[Scott MacDonald]

Ive only ever used Vermeer chippers. What is your take on the other brands? I hear bandit chippers just have an emergency last chance pull near the feed in place of a knee bar. I'm not sure how you are supposed to grab that as your hands are probably getting chipped at that point. There was a 22 year old climber who went through one a few years ago with this chipper. I cant make out the make, but im wary of any Chuck and duck, rocker stumper, or chipper. I would have lost my eyes so many times without a mask and glasses on. What machine was this? His hands went through first

And it takes two people to operate. I can drag a tree pretty fast.

 

[Mas]

The chipper in your picture has Bandit decal on the side of it.
That would be a horrible thing to witness.

The little Vermeer BC700XL also has a knee bar to stop the infeed drum.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Auxiliary infeed all depends on the size of the chipper in reality. Small units are better at hand feeding while medium sized chippers benefit from a mounted winch to facilitate feeding and large chippers like forestry chippers usually have infeed tables and are best fed with a trackhoe equipped with a grapple. All hinges on the throughput and how large the chipper is and of course where they are being used at. You don't want to be feeding a large chipper with a trackhoe in a residential setting simply because of the limited swing radius on the machine (trackhoe).