Chipper with grapple loader

[DavidT]

Does anyone have any experience using a chipper with a grapple loader?

 

[FlashD]

As in the chipper units that have grapple loaders built into them or as two seperate units?

 

[DavidT]

Where the chipper and loader the same unit.

 

[PUClimber]

I have run the bc2000 with the grapple attachment. Nice machine. What do you want to know?

 

[DavidT]

Is the grapple worth the extra money? Is a chipper that big with a grapple feasible to use on a daily basis doing residential tree work? I currently have a Vermeer 1250A and we do alot of crane removals. We put branches by the chipper, ground guy cuts up and hand feeds. Seems like the grapple would speed things up, of course bigger chipper helps. Can the grapple pick up the big branches and feed into chipper, or do you still need to cut the branches up?

 

[BostonBull]

we use Woodsman 18XX and 790 with grapples. Cant imagine how we were productive doing crane work without them. Nice on resi jobs where big wood and logs are being chipped. Or if you can get the machine close enough to use the winch.

BUY THE WINCH OPTION AS WELL!!

 

[DavidT]

Don't know much about Woodsman chippers. How do they compare to vermeer and morbark?

 

[BostonBull]

They chipper WAY better. They have had some build quality issues in the past. Cost less up front as well. The Morbark was a dust machine that didnt chip very well. That was close to 2 years ago, so they may have made changes since.

 

[familytree]

You have to realize, once you get past the 12" diameter chippers, a winch or grapple just makes sence, only because transporting that large of material to the chipper gets to be a bit cumbersome and painful.

We use a winch and also have a mini skid steer. Can't say enough about how great the mini skid had been to us. Improved moral and makes quick work of almost all of our jobs.