Purchasing a new chipper

[pdqdl]

To each, his own !

Could not agree more I am 45 and would rather feed a whisper all day than any high priced unit. If I wanted to buy a high priced unit it better have its own grapple not a winch just my thoughts! Why spend ten times the cost and not get what you are paying for? A tracked chipper with a grapple feed would be something worth having! I just stick with my 30 year old whisper that chips all day long for many years to come with little break downs.

Wow ! Meaning no disrespect at all, but have you guys ever worked a whole day behind a hydraulic feed chipper? I am a true believer in saving money, but I would never go back to my old drum chipper.

Everything about my old drum chipper cost me more in the long run: parts, downtime, ease of repair, productivity, employee retention, ...

Over 10 years on my Bandit 200, with only two repairs (not caused by our stupidity) since new. Needed a new tach, and the hydraulic feed lever broke off. Still has the original clutch, and we have only put new belts on twice.


Big bad chipper with grapple sounds like fun alright, but you would spend a fortune just hauling it around. Better have some big jobs to pay for those.

 

[ozarktreeman]

opcorn:

that just made my rainy arse day.thanks mr.

 

[pdqdl]

opcorn:

I kinda liked it too.

This thread got quiet though, didn't it ?

 

[mckeetree]

A bit presumptious, aren't you? I have not made any statements about my "toughness". I'll be happy to swap stories about our relative experiences, and when we are done wasting time boasting, perhaps one of us will feel better.

I doubt if I will feel any better about myself, as I am already pretty happy with myself, and see no point in being "tough". I don't know many people "tougher" than me, as I work every day with a bunch of crippling injuries. If I wasn't so tough, I probably would be a lot healthier, with fewer injuries.

Working smarter is better than working harder.

I guess it would be tough to work "all beat up".

 

[ozarktreeman]

:angry2: yea must have scared them with that tuff guy routine.works every time

 

[ropensaddle]

Wow ! Meaning no disrespect at all, but have you guys ever worked a whole day behind a hydraulic feed chipper? I am a true believer in saving money, but I would never go back to my old drum chipper.

Everything about my old drum chipper cost me more in the long run: parts, downtime, ease of repair, productivity, employee retention, ...

Over 10 years on my Bandit 200, with only two repairs (not caused by our stupidity) since new. Needed a new tach, and the hydraulic feed lever broke off. Still has the original clutch, and we have only put new belts on twice.


Big bad chipper with grapple sounds like fun alright, but you would spend a fortune just hauling it around. Better have some big jobs to pay for those.

I worked with them and they did not hold up, too many
moving parts to go bad they stayed in the shop weekly.
A whisper is simple runs almost forever; you may have the best
slow feed ever, but talk to me when its thirty and still works
hard every day. To me unless they have a grapple they are too
slow. In ten years my whisper has never had the belts changed;
had blades changed several times. One alternator, and a tune up.

 

[tree MDS]

Wow ! Meaning no disrespect at all, but have you guys ever worked a whole day behind a hydraulic feed chipper? I am a true believer in saving money, but I would never go back to my old drum chipper.

Everything about my old drum chipper cost me more in the long run: parts, downtime, ease of repair, productivity, employee retention, ...

Over 10 years on my Bandit 200, with only two repairs (not caused by our stupidity) since new. Needed a new tach, and the hydraulic feed lever broke off. Still has the original clutch, and we have only put new belts on twice.


Big bad chipper with grapple sounds like fun alright, but you would spend a fortune just hauling it around. Better have some big jobs to pay for those.

I too have a bandit 200+ with 76 hp cummings for about 11 or 12 years now and have had no real major problems other than the fact that I want a bigger one because groundmen are stupid these days and cant figure out how to cut a tricky piece to go in properly. I'ts got the big tire/fender option and hardly leaved a trace on lawns behind my trusty old 88 GMC 4wheel 1 ton. I added a hydraulic winch that I use for rigging/pulling trees over. These are very reliable and I have never had a problem with hyd. motors either, there are some more grease fittings but so what, just sic the ground dog on it !

 

[hornett224]

i'd say you have a pool of soft guys to pick from..........

because you don't want to pay hard working guys.i work my ass of and have my own equipment but no one wants to pay what i'm worth.so they get broken equipment and junkies that don't show up or do much.pick your poison.


as far as the chipper goes,you better be really busy to spend that kind of money with the economy this flakey.i'd look for a used 200xp.it's an excellent machine. 12" machines get a lot done as well.there are a lot of used chippers out there because too many guys went hog wild and bought over their limit.there is a lot of competition out there .hope this economy weeds out the clowns soon.

as for Bandit,they are excellent machines.if i had to buy a chipper today,it would be a Bandit,Morbark,or Woodchuck.

 

[tree MDS]

because you don't want to pay hard working guys.i work my ass of and have my own equipment but no one wants to pay what i'm worth.so they get broken equipment and junkies that don't show up or do much.pick your poison.


as far as the chipper goes,you better be really busy to spend that kind of money with the economy this flakey.i'd look for a used 200xp.it's an excellent machine. 12" machines get a lot done as well.there are a lot of used chippers out there because too many guys went hog wild and bought over their limit.there is a lot of competition out there .hope this economy weeds out the clowns soon.

as for Bandit,they are excellent machines.if i had to buy a chipper today,it would be a Bandit,Morbark,or Woodchuck.

Sounds like a CT boy.

 

[hornett224]

LOL,i have only been here 4 years this month.

didn't take long to pick up the attitude.

don't get me wrong,there are some great guys here but some cheap bastards as well.i have always believed you get what you pay for and fix it right the first time.

i have no sympathy for people who make poor decisions and whine about the results.

a dollar chasing a dime makes no cents.

 

[tree MDS]

didn't take long to pick up the attitude.

don't get me wrong,there are some great guys here but some cheap bastards as well.i have always believed you get what you pay for and fix it right the first time.

i have no sympathy for people who make poor decisions and whine about the results.

a dollar chasing a dime makes no cents.

I hear you. This is year 12 self imployed and I used to know who was who around here, lately (the last 5 years or so) I dont know who half these supposed tree guys are-or where they got thier money for all that equipment! Oh well, at least the season is starting to break, in the last 6 days I looked at just under 10k worth of work-maybe I'll be able to get the hell out of here and off my ass and cut something soon! Hornett, is it getting better where you are too??

 

[hornett224]

nothing here.

completely dead.a few guys are out working but mostly on town contracts.all i have been doing is big clean ups for a guy that has no tractor or way to move logs.

i have over 30 estimates out but no return calls.the ones i have driven back by in my daily travels ,the trees are still standing and i know my bids were more than fair.a lot of people said they were waiting until april or warmer weather.i don't know about you but i think this is perfect working weather.i don't know what it matters to them what the temp is,i'll be the one out there working and i like this better than july and august heat.

if you need any help i'll be glad to come down.i have an 84 tercel wagon so gas mileage is great and i can fit a lot of my gear in it.my cell is 860-916-3290

i'd like to get the muscles working again before the phone starts ringing off the hook.i know it's gonna hit all at once.it did last year.

 

[hornett224]

i hear ya on the new guys.

a lot of landscapers decided they were tree guys here.one guy bought a bucket truck last year but is scared to get in it.he doesn't like heights.i'll be running it friday for him.go figure.

i've climbed for a few of them.most admitted too me it's a lot harder work then they ever imagined or they got in over their head on too big of a tree.they always seem taller after you get the job.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[tree MDS]

completely dead.a few guys are out working but mostly on town contracts.all i have been doing is big clean ups for a guy that has no tractor or way to move logs.

i have over 30 estimates out but no return calls.the ones i have driven back by in my daily travels ,the trees are still standing and i know my bids were more than fair.a lot of people said they were waiting until april or warmer weather.i don't know about you but i think this is perfect working weather.i don't know what it matters to them what the temp is,i'll be the one out there working and i like this better than july and august heat.

if you need any help i'll be glad to come down.i have an 84 tercel wagon so gas mileage is great and i can fit a lot of my gear in it.my cell is 860-916-3290

i'd like to get the muscles working again before the phone starts ringing off the hook.i know it's gonna hit all at once.it did last year.

Thanks man, I sent you a pm-let me know if you dont get it for some reason.

 

[ropensaddle]

I wander if your referring to my old whisper as cheap and me an
unwed son I really don't care except, I like to know when
someones is on attack. As far as cheap yes when it comes to a chipper.
I don't want to spend hardly nothing,I got mine in an auction my old
company was having and worked it at that company for years! I
don't use it too much since buying my grapple truck, as any chipper
is laborious and time consuming and I would rather spend big dollars on
real equipment ie. crane,skid steer etc. a chipper for me is for little jobs
I do now!!

 

[capetrees]

Hornet

I see you wouldn't buy a Vermeer 12" or otherwise. Any insight as to why? I have one and was wondering if I am going in the wrong direction if I upgrade. Its a 12" model, a BC1000xl and weighs less than the bandit 1090 yet does the same work. Better for me but is there something I'm missing?

 

[ropensaddle]

Oh and just so you know my 1375.00 chipper will chip all day
everyday of the week:hmm3grin2orange: I only hope you can see the beauty
in that.

 

[treeslayer666]

completely dead.

i have over 30 estimates out but no return calls.the ones i have driven back by in my daily travels ,the trees are still standing and i know my bids were more than fair.a lot of people said they were waiting until april or warmer weather.i don't know about you but i think this is perfect working weather.i don't know what it matters to them what the temp is,i'll be the one out there working and i like this better than july and august heat.

The phone will start ringing as soon as we get the first sunny 50+ degree weekend, that's when everybody gets outside and remembers what their yard looks like. It's perfect working weather for us but buy the time our customers get home from work its cold, dark and sh*ty. I'm sure they are not headed out to their deck for a beer.

Its a slow start this year for me too but jobs are starting to come in. In the last week or so I picked up 2 weeks of work, and I had a week lined up from jobs I picked up over the winter. Good thing cause I'm starting back up on Monday after sitting on my a** since Christmas. I like to have a 2 week buffer before I bring my guys back. Today alone I looked at over 10k worth of work in the piss-pouring rain. Only got one job on site but that was the only person that was home.

Just a couple more weeks and it will pop.

 

[hornett224]

ropensaddle

I wander if your referring to my old whisper as cheap and me an
unwed son I really don't care except, I like to know when
someones is on attack. As far as cheap yes when it comes to a chipper.
I don't want to spend hardly nothing,I got mine in an auction my old
company was having and worked it at that company for years! I
don't use it too much since buying my grapple truck, as any chipper
is laborious and time consuming and I would rather spend big dollars on
real equipment ie. crane,skid steer etc. a chipper for me is for little jobs
I do now!!

i wasn't referring to you.you should know that by now.as for whisper chippers,i like them just fine.

 

[hornett224]

just my personnal prefference.i know a lot of guys that love Vermeer.

Hornet

I see you wouldn't buy a Vermeer 12" or otherwise. Any insight as to why? I have one and was wondering if I am going in the wrong direction if I upgrade. Its a 12" model, a BC1000xl and weighs less than the bandit 1090 yet does the same work. Better for me but is there something I'm missing?

i have used their larger chippers and compared to the competition i listed,they don't compare in my opinion.

my biggest beef with them is their arrogance and lack of customer support.maybe the new stuff is getting better but they burned their bridge with me.

i noticed at the tree show in Hartford that every time i walked by the Vermeer display it was empty and the staff was talking to themselves.the other vendors were packed and their staff was talking to the people interested in their product.