Need a new Stump grinder! Help!

[loghogbaby]

I currently have a 2003 Rayco 1625 Super Jr. Needs a new engine, belts, ETC. Not really sure if I want to live with this machine any more . I tested a Rayco 1645 it was awesome it will cut my grinding time in half or less. Not sure if I want a $32000+ payment? I haven't had a chance to demo the new Brush Bandit 2550 yet any one have either one of these machines yet? Tested a morbark D52 with 34 HP cat. Not impressed. Also a Vermeer SC372 it was much better that the morbark. Found a 2007 RG 50 for less than $22000 with very little hours is this a good machine? Don't know where to turn? New, used? Just need some input please? Thanks for the help.

 

[Single_Shooter]

Rule of thumb....lightly used is always the most bang for your buck.

Just like a car - these things have an expected service life. Figure what that life is and figure the expense spread over that time (minus a couple years in my book) and figure the costs of upkeep and go from there. Your best bet in a car is 2-3 years old and under 60,000 miles. This way you let the new buyer eat the lion's share of the depreciation and you get the most for your money. I bet the dealers will have an approximate annual upkeep expense table for you to look at based on hours of runtime on their machines.

Try to figure the same type of formula on a grinder. I am in the market for a larger grinder myself and am going to the dealers and actually doing hands-on stump grinding on jobs with their grinders to see which one I like best before I go drop the cash on one. I am fortunate that I am paying cash and a payment is not in my formula so my standards will be quite different from yours as far as a price goes. Just get the best machine you can EASILY afford. Do not live within your means....always live under your means...that's my rule.

Let us know how it goes!! Good Luck!!

 

[grinderpete]

Vermeer

A competitor has his Vermeer sc60tx up for sale. $17500 1179 hrs on the machine and 125 hrs on new 60 hp turbo cat engine. Greenteeth set up. Machine is in Arkansas however.

 

[MOE]

The low hour RG50 would be most appealing to me of what you mentioned and the prices listed.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

I currently have a 2003 Rayco 1625 Super Jr. Needs a new engine, belts, ETC. Not really sure if I want to live with this machine any more . I tested a Rayco 1645 it was awesome it will cut my grinding time in half or less. Not sure if I want a $32000+ payment? I haven't had a chance to demo the new Brush Bandit 2550 yet any one have either one of these machines yet? Tested a morbark D52 with 34 HP cat. Not impressed. Also a Vermeer SC372 it was much better that the morbark. Found a 2007 RG 50 for less than $22000 with very little hours is this a good machine? Don't know where to turn? New, used? Just need some input please? Thanks for the help.

I have had 4 diff grinders over the years, currently running a all hyd bandit 2550, it replaced a bandit 2150, went with the 2550 to do away with always having to adjust belts and grease and replace bearings, it is hands down the best grinding machine i have owned, using 900 series green-teeth, being the first year for the concept it does have some design flaws which bandit is aware of and they are very good at making corrections and standing behind their machines, have emailed them twice to see if i can buy additional warranty as mine is about to run out, so far no response so i guess thats a no, i paid 25000 for it new with the 38hp kohler, if i was younger probably would have gone with the diesel for about 30000, the rayco rg50 u mentioned is a lot of machine but the price looks good, but replacement parts are expensive, my dealer formerly was a rayco dealer and his shop is allways full of rayco's being worked on, he may have some good used machines, pm me if u want his website address...

Hope this helps....

Bob...

 

[Topbuilder]

Old Man Grinder,
I'm running a RG50 out of Montgomery. Is there a closer repair shop than Poston in Pearland?

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Old Man Grinder,
I'm running a RG50 out of Montgomery. Is there a closer repair shop than Poston in Pearland?

Hey topbuilder,,,,,Not that i know of, wonder what they are going to do now that bandit has sold out
to alamo enterprises, kinda concerned if i am going to still be able to get parts for my bandit. hows business
out your way ???, been slower this year than last, mainly due to drought being over and a lot more
competition, seems like every tree service is getting their own grinder, but i see a couple for sale in my
area on craigslist so maybe next year will be better, competition will weed out the bad ones....

Have a great Christmas and New Year...

Bob.....

 

[Mowingman]

Hey Bob,
I have had some of the same issues up here in north Texas. Work has been fairly slow this year, and it seems like every tree company is buying some junky little, used grinder, to do their own work. I hope you are correct about the upcoming year.
Had not heard that about Bandit. Did they sell to the Alamo Group that makes highway roadside mowers, in Sequin, Texas? Or, did the sell to Alamo Enterprises, the rent-a-car-company?
Is it cold down there? We were at 13 degrees this morning north of Dallas.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Jeff

 

[Topbuilder]

Hi Bob,
My theory is the die off is not over. I think we will see trees dying for years. I have 20 acres, i'm still losing trees. I had a job taking out a couple stumps next to where my customer was having a pool dug. NO moisture at the bottom of the hole. That was over 12 feet deep. There is a ton of jobs out there where they cut the trees years ago and eventually get to the point where they want them gone. Money is tight. Some people would rather let 'em set. I get allot of single stump calls. If you can string them together it can be all right. It's rare though. Usually it is as much driving as grinding. I hate to lose the singles by making people wait though. You know how sometimes going to one address can end up mushrooming into a couple days work. One time I went to do a job another guy walked away from and did not get out of that subdivision for a week! I'm losing work to the "$10 per stump" guys and sometimes that is a blessing. The RG50 won't keep up with that. If I end up getting a 7015trx I could do it but still wonder if it is just trading dollars. I have read allot of good things about them on this forum (like every post written about them...) I really appreciate the sharing of knowlege here.
Stay safe y'all

30 degrees here this am... wish I was out there all day grinding. Love this time of year!

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Hey Bob,
I have had some of the same issues up here in north Texas. Work has been fairly slow this year, and it seems like every tree company is buying some junky little, used grinder, to do their own work. I hope you are correct about the upcoming year.
Had not heard that about Bandit. Did they sell to the Alamo Group that makes highway roadside mowers, in Sequin, Texas? Or, did the sell to Alamo Enterprises, the rent-a-car-company?
Is it cold down there? We were at 13 degrees this morning north of Dallas.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Jeff

Hi Jeff,,,,,Good to hear from u....

They sold out to the alamo group in Sequin......31 right now, we have not gotten as cold as Dallas area, have
escaped the ice so far, chance of some tomorrow, pretty rare to get ice down here, but it has happened....
we had a moderate drought again this year so will lose a lot more trees, hoping bus will pu this year.....All
the tree services i work for had a slow year which means slow for me also, some have left the business
entirely, have about 4 jobs lined up right now, one is 75 stumps, just waiting for ground to dry up so i
can do them, price per stump has been driven down a lot because of all the grinders, but they will soon
find out what it costs to run a grinder, one tree service i know of has allready sold their big rayco when
the engine blew and they didn't have the money to fix it, i have seen this happen b4....

I think what happened last year because of the drought down here we got spoiled and then this year when
things went back to normal we think it was slow....just my opinion but some of the tree guys say the
same thing.......

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and a great 2014....


Bob.....

 

[Duramax05]

Running a carlton 2015 and all i got is great things to say about it.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Hi Bob,
My theory is the die off is not over. I think we will see trees dying for years. I have 20 acres, i'm still losing trees. I had a job taking out a couple stumps next to where my customer was having a pool dug. NO moisture at the bottom of the hole. That was over 12 feet deep. There is a ton of jobs out there where they cut the trees years ago and eventually get to the point where they want them gone. Money is tight. Some people would rather let 'em set. I get allot of single stump calls. If you can string them together it can be all right. It's rare though. Usually it is as much driving as grinding. I hate to lose the singles by making people wait though. You know how sometimes going to one address can end up mushrooming into a couple days work. One time I went to do a job another guy walked away from and did not get out of that subdivision for a week! I'm losing work to the "$10 per stump" guys and sometimes that is a blessing. The RG50 won't keep up with that. If I end up getting a 7015trx I could do it but still wonder if it is just trading dollars. I have read allot of good things about them on this forum (like every post written about them...) I really appreciate the sharing of knowlege here.
Stay safe y'all

30 degrees here this am... wish I was out there all day grinding. Love this time of year!

Same thing here, the 10 bucks a stump guys won't last, i seen the same thing happen about 7-8 yirs ago but
the price came back around, A lot of guys got in the business because of the drought last year and thought
they were going to make a killin and then it got slow and their grinders are sitting, i am getting a lot of small
jobs also but i can make money on them, while i am grinding my wife goes around the neighborhood and rounds
up some more jobs, the tree guys and word of mouth keep me going, i agree with you i don't think the die off
is over, i have seen a lot of dead oaks in the last couple of months, just got a bid on 75 stumps from
hurricane ike, like u say money is tight, hoping for a better 2014......

Keep in touch....If u ever get by browders marina at the lake livingston dam, stop by...


Bob.....

 

[ShermanC]

Hey Bob,
I have had some of the same issues up here in north Texas. Work has been fairly slow this year, and it seems like every tree company is buying some junky little, used grinder, to do their own work. I hope you are correct about the upcoming year.
Had not heard that about Bandit. Did they sell to the Alamo Group that makes highway roadside mowers, in Sequin, Texas? Or, did the sell to Alamo Enterprises, the rent-a-car-company?
Is it cold down there? We were at 13 degrees this morning north of Dallas.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Jeff

I just read in my new issue of TCIA magazine that Bandit was purchased by Alamo Group, Inc. Of Seguin, Texas. The article indicated that the reason is for an injection of capital. Bandit will remain in Michigan.
I have been very impressed with the quarterly publication called Bandit Bullets and I've looked at their videos.

 

[ShermanC]

Rule of thumb....lightly used is always the most bang for your buck.

Just like a car - these things have an expected service life. Figure what that life is and figure the expense spread over that time (minus a couple years in my book) and figure the costs of upkeep and go from there. Your best bet in a car is 2-3 years old and under 60,000 miles. This way you let the new buyer eat the lion's share of the depreciation and you get the most for your money. I bet the dealers will have an approximate annual upkeep expense table for you to look at based on hours of runtime on their machines.

Try to figure the same type of formula on a grinder. I am in the market for a larger grinder myself and am going to the dealers and actually doing hands-on stump grinding on jobs with their grinders to see which one I like best before I go drop the cash on one. I am fortunate that I am paying cash and a payment is not in my formula so my standards will be quite different from yours as far as a price goes. Just get the best machine you can EASILY afford. Do not live within your means....always live under your means...that's my rule.

Let us know how it goes!! Good Luck!!

Single Shooter hit the nail on the head. In my case I decided after TCIA EXPO 2008 to diversify my tree service by grinding stumps. I had operated a worn out Vermeer SC-206 from 2003-2007 and found the jobs easy to sell. Several competitors had come and gone here...the rocky soil is extremely tough on machinery no matter what the make and model. I have resolved myself to a lot of maintenance and upkeep for every job we do. I paid cash for both a barely used Husqvarna SG-13 and eight months later a new Beeline SP-13. Husqvarna discontinued theirs after two years and Beeline closed their business three months after my purchase. I've stayed the course, learned how to fix every part of both machines and learned what will wear out often. The engineers at Honda messed up with the design and specifications of the muffler and cover; the muffler directs fumes right at the operator and the cover is such thin material it works it's way loose of the five retaining screws not long after installed. If I could do it over again, I'd go many miles to rent and try several makes and models of machines. Nowadays, owner reviews on the Internet buyers make a better decision. I don't regret the work this service brings for it can sometimes be a great fill-in and sometimes gets some tree service work for us.

 

[MH49]

I just read in my new issue of TCIA magazine that Bandit was purchased by Alamo Group, Inc. Of Seguin, Texas. The article indicated that the reason is for an injection of capital. Bandit will remain in Michigan.
I have been very impressed with the quarterly publication called Bandit Bullets and I've looked at their videos.

Just an FYI the Bandit/Alamo deal fell through, I kinda thought it was a good fit.

http://www.dieselprogress.com/Decem...it-Turns-Down-Alamo-Acquisition/#.UswtCfRDtQE

 

[CalTreeEquip]

Have you gotten a grinder yet??