15" chipper purchase

[Royals Fan]

I work for a fairly large park district , we are wanting to purchase a new chipper. We currently have two Brush Bandits, they are getting some age and hours on them. I am not real happy with the repair service and how long it takes. I am looking for recommendations, stick with Bandit or go to Vermeer, Moorbark, etc. Like I said, we are looking at 15" and Diesel engine.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Couple of threads here on Morbark's breaking shafts and how quickly they step up to get you back working again.

Seems pretty common for people using Vermeer's to talk about getting loaners. That might meet your desires.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Post the same question in the Forum, Rubber Hits The Road, and more of the right people might see it.

And if that doesn't generate enough excitement you could always say Merle says Morbark is using cheap Chinese steel in key components and doesn't give a rip about its customers, while Vermeer is softer than most soccer moms minivans.

Welcome to TreeBuzz by the way.

 

[flyingsquirrel25]

For a parks department a 15" machine seems a little big. Keep an open mind when looking at the different options on any of these machines. Putting a diesel on to run that size chipper can run you an additional $25-35k without a problem. Which takes up a lot of dollars from other durability, functionality and just plain ergonomic features. If you can get lucky and find a tier 3 engine you've got gold, don't take long to pick it up.
As for manufacturers, I went with the bandit after demoing morbark and bandit. It chipped better, with less HP over the morbark due to design issues. and the tow weight was reasonable because it didn't need almost 200 horses sitting on the tounge just to chew up 15" wood.
demo as many machines as you can, believe me it won't take long for what you are looking for to rise to the top. These inferior machines weed themselves out pretty quickly.
Good luck on your search.
Welcome

 

[Jasonk]

We have Bandits and although I love the machines the service has been complete shit!!! We demoed a Vermeer a while back and will be looking at them closely for our next purchase. Dealer support and loaner machines are key when running a production operation IMO.

 

[Royals Fan]

For a parks department a 15" machine seems a little big. Keep an open mind when looking at the different options on any of these machines. Putting a diesel on to run that size chipper can run you an additional $25-35k without a problem. Which takes up a lot of dollars from other durability, functionality and just plain ergonomic features. If you can get lucky and find a tier 3 engine you've got gold, don't take long to pick it up.
As for manufacturers, I went with the bandit after demoing morbark and bandit. It chipped better, with less HP over the morbark due to design issues. and the tow weight was reasonable because it didn't need almost 200 horses sitting on the tounge just to chew up 15" wood.
demo as many machines as you can, believe me it won't take long for what you are looking for to rise to the top. These inferior machines weed themselves out pretty quickly.
Good luck on your search.
Welcome

Thank you for the info, our Park District comprises of over 10,000 acres. Not all of the acreage is maintained, but a large number is with another 2000 acres coming online as a regional park in 2018. I have already received a quote on a Vermeer 1500 with a tier 3 engine. I guess I need to parade them in and take them for a test drive.

 

[Royals Fan]

Post the same question in the Forum, Rubber Hits The Road, and more of the right people might see it.

And if that doesn't generate enough excitement you could always say Merle says Morbark is using cheap Chinese steel in key components and doesn't give a rip about its customers, while Vermeer is softer than most soccer moms minivans.

Welcome to TreeBuzz by the way.

Thank you for the advice Merle, I will head over there now.

 

[ROYCE]

Thank you for the info, our Park District comprises of over 10,000 acres. Not all of the acreage is maintained, but a large number is with another 2000 acres coming online as a regional park in 2018. I have already received a quote on a Vermeer 1500 with a tier 3 engine. I guess I need to parade them in and take them for a test drive.

I know Morbark has had some issues with cheap steel....but I really like them. My situation is slightly different in that I have a great working relationship with a top notch diesel shop. They get the parts from morbark and fix whatever I need. One lower bearing went a few months ago on the feed rollers. We were shut down. I could only get one bearing from morbark.....but I really wanted to change them both. I took it to my guy with that one bearing and he was able to find me another aftermarket one and had me running in a day. That was huge.
I would buy another morbark. I run my 15" hard and have had very little problems with it overall. I actually might buy another one soon. To have a spare back up one....and one to use on a second crew as needed.

 

[treebilly]

Try them all out but customer service is key. We run mostly Vermeer because of that. Service has been slipping so to keep them on their toes we bought a used bandit(380 hours 255xp). My phone blew up today whencthe sales rep passed me on the highway. I guess Vermeer will be giving us another look for special treatment. They should. We've spent a mill in the past five years.