Brush Bandit stump grinders - opinions?

Bandit makes good chipper (which we use and believe in) and they probably make decent stump grinders.

But....

Looking at the picture of that model, it looks like the cutter wheel is powered by belts from the engine. A belt from the engine, then another belt to the cutter wheel.

I personally do not like this.

Why, because you really can't control the speed of the wheel. (people with direct drive machines argue when I say that, they say, "well I can throttle down and slow it down". Then there goes your power, you idiot).

You want a hydraulic motor to spin the wheel, not a "direct" drive from the engine. I don't care if the hydraulic motor drives a belt, that's just fine, just don't get that spinning motion directly from the engine's crank, that's all.

I like to be able to keep engine rpms at full throttle, but be able to have the cutter wheel moving slow in many situations; rocky ground, targets nearby, just grinding soil and surface roots, pea gravel around the stump....

Then turn the cutter wheel speed way up when I'm in the main stump and if there aren't targets nearby.

You sure you want a pull behind? The horsepower has been coming up so nicely in the self propel models, I think they are more desirable now. This is coming from a tow-behind owner.
 
Nothing wrong with a machanical set-up, each type of machine has its advantages and disadvantages. I prefer hydrostatic. I hate belts! Turning your cutter wheel speed down is nice, with my rayco I always lowered it by throttle whenever possible. It saves a lot of strain on the hydro system. I would not buy a Bandit personally, I've demo'd two of them and one blew a hydro line and the other other one overheated on the second stump. Both brand new portable machines. Needless to say I was not impressed. They may make a better tow-behind. Rayco makes a good tow behind 1672 dxh is a great one. Vermeer I don't know, but I love the new portable- good luck, let us know what you come up with. My advice to you is try everyone you can, and take it out for a day or two, not just one or two stumps like these salesman like to do. Its your money, they are not cheap, and you need to make sure your getting what you need.
 
When I started 6 years ago with the company, we had a 1672 and a a rayco 3 wheel self propelled with a 25 horse kohler(don't remember the model#). Sold the small one, and traded the 1672 for a Super RG50. We still have(and are keeping) the RG50, my boss misses a big tow behind sometimes(like the 6' oak stump he demoed the bandit on last week) The RG50 would have done it, I didn't see the demo, but I know the tow behind Rayco did it quicker. From what I hear a 60hp belt driven wheel will put more power to the cutter wheel than a 60hp unit with a hydraulic driven wheel. That may not be true, since I have heard that from people trying to sell belt driven grinders.
 
I have a Rayco 1672 that I'm not getting rid of. Obviously it's not a portable but it is a great production machine when it comes to flat out stump grinding.
 
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Turning your cutter wheel speed down is nice, with my rayco I always lowered it by throttle whenever possible. It saves a lot of strain on the hydro system.

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you always lowered it by "throttle"?

This doens't make sense to me.

This is the opposite of what you should be doing.

I believe in Rayco when it comes to stump grinders too.

I have a 120 DXH (120 hp tow behind).

One of my brothers has a RG90 4x4.

The other has a 120DXH and a RG50 4x4.

rayco has it together when it comes to stump grinders.

i think bandit will have it together soon, if they don't already, it always takes a little time when a company starts some new models. But I've always heard that Bandit's service sucks, luckily, I have never had to use it on the 3 bandit chippers we have owned.

I've been watching rayco chippers, i like the ideas, I just wonder if they might have some bugs to likely work out too.
 
I'm not here to trash anyone, these are just my opinions. I live a half hour away from the Rayco factory and it was real hard for me to spend the $$ on a vermeer, but I'm very very pleased I did. The difference in quality in noticeable right away. Bandit is a direct copy of Rayco, its easy to see. I had poor service with them too, on the stump grinder end. I spent a long time looking at machines before I bought one last year, and it just seems to me like rayco is working on old technology. I think each company has a strong point and a weak one.
 
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