Congrats brother! Put 800 hours on mine in 2022. Drove it on the road a shit ton. Hills are slow going...There were rumors of some kind of memo that went out about not being able to drive them. Didn't come from Merlo. Never heard of anyone that actually had any issues with drivetrain. Didn't have a second of downtime with the exception of a few minor self inflicted problems. Though I heard some people had some sensor issues. You're going to love it. Going to get a tractor trailer set up in 23 sometime. Having it moved is actually pretty nice if you can find someone reliable to do it for a reasonable amount. Saves a driver as well as a big rig sitting on the side of the road during the job.... Good luck!
Deployment, stowing, and towing friction points are valid concerns. However, the added efficiencies do make up for these points of friction in some markets.
You need to see it in action. On the right jobs there is no faster way. Even with towing etc.
Well it has hydraulics plumbed to the end of the boom for the saw. I see no reason a mounting plate with a high speed (or even two speed) hydraulic winch couldn't be fabricated for it. You could even use synthetic line to keep the weight down.
If memory serves, either the winch has a low rating, or it’s so heavy it negates is effectiveness by drastically reducing overall capacity. Either way, my friend who bought the merlo said the winch wasn’t worth having.
Sounds like the available winch isn't designed very well.... Seems like making your own is the way to go. I was only bringing it up because you said that was the weakness of the merlo. Imo the weakness seems to be the high cost and hassle of transporting it. Looks like a great machine though, would be useful for a lot more than just tree work. If I had one, I'd probably have all sorts of attachments for it, man basket, forks, winch, etc. I build pole barns and it would be an awesome machine to have on those jobsites..... I don't know if the cost would ever be justified though. The grapple saw makes sense when you have access.
