M15r gas

bryan keneally · Nov 25, 2018

I'm going to demo a m15r 165hp gas with a winch, hopefully this week. Price is $62K. I run a m12r with an 84hp cat. Its a very good chipper but on the small side for most jobs. Constantly cutting up branches in the tray. I have an 02 f550 7.3 manual. Strong truck, but I worried the m15r will be too much for it. Thoughts on upgrading to a larger chipper?
I also got quoted for a 15xp gas - $57K and an 18xp gas $65K, both with a winch. Dealers also said possible increase to due steel tariffs. These are the same prices, if not more than a tier 3 only a couple of years ago. Seems to me the manufactures are jacking up the prices in general because they can. $60k is a lot for a gas chipper.

Gorman · Nov 25, 2018

This is the first I’ve heard of price increases due to the tariffs on steel. When I locked into a price on my Pete build early September the salesman told me he hadn’t seen any yet. Good to know.

flyingsquirrel25 · Nov 26, 2018

That m15r is gonna be heavy. Really heavy. Don’t cheap out on the lighter one though (rx I think). 2 knives on that size machine will suck. The 15xp is 1500-2000 pounds lighter I believe, so it’s well worth looking at and they never thought about putting 2 knives in it.
Don’t believe either salesmanship says about how awesome their service. They all suck! So they are on an equal playing field in that respect!!

pctree · Nov 26, 2018

Imo go big!

Every time I've got bigger equipment it has significantly increased production.. Currently running a 22 inch chipped behind a 30 yard truck.

I'm looking to add a 40 yard truck soon

flyingsquirrel25 · Nov 26, 2018

pctree said:
Imo go big!

Every time I've got bigger equipment it has significantly increased production.. Currently running a 22 inch chipped behind a 30 yard truck.

I'm looking to add a 40 yard truck soon

Would agree completely. Bought the 15” chipper to cover our growth for ten years! About that!!! Go big or go home! But stay within DOT regs in your area!

bck56 · Nov 27, 2018

Thanks for the input. I think it's coming Friday for a demo. I've never worked with a larger chipper before. Production is key.

craneguy1 · Nov 28, 2018

Are you planning an upgrade on a truck soon? Do you realize that without chip space, you will just fill the truck faster than you already do? If your looking at a new truck soon, go with a 17 or 18"...its gonna run circles around any 15.

bck56 · Nov 28, 2018

I have an f550 with a 12 foot bed, I think it's 5 feet tall, maybe a little more. I can put a decent amount of chips in it. The m15r is actually an 18 inch machine, so they say. It's also 9,000 pounds. I'm more interested in the production of a bigger machine than just being able to chip bigger wood. I spend to much time cutting wood in the hopper. I just need to drag the brush to the machine and not have to mess with it. I also have a ditch witch sk1550, which is nice.

flyingsquirrel25 · Nov 29, 2018

bck56 said:
I have an f550 with a 12 foot bed, I think it's 5 feet tall, maybe a little more. I can put a decent amount of chips in it. The m15r is actually an 18 inch machine, so they say. It's also 9,000 pounds. I'm more interested in the production of a bigger machine than just being able to chip bigger wood. I spend to much time cutting wood in the hopper. I just need to drag the brush to the machine and not have to mess with it. I also have a ditch witch sk1550, which is nice.

My exact words then I bought the 15” bandit. It takes a lot of restraint not to send 15” of soft wood through and get it gone! I tried the m15r when we were demoing. The salesman let me tow it home with a half load of chips.... it was sketchy at best! Our ‘08 550 was lacking power, braking and weight to hold it down. Not to mention it puts us over weight right from the start (chippers aren’t tagged here so their weight is applied to the truck as part of the combination). If you get a chance to tow it do so that’s a ton of $$$ to put it in the driveway.... and not be able to safely leave with it!

flyingsquirrel25 · Nov 29, 2018

Ps with an SK1550 it sounds like you will be upgrading the truck in a year or so :birra:

.

Knotguilty · Dec 5, 2018

bryan keneally said:
I'm going to demo a m15r 165hp gas with a winch, hopefully this week. Price is $62K. I run a m12r with an 84hp cat. Its a very good chipper but on the small side for most jobs. Constantly cutting up branches in the tray. I have an 02 f550 7.3 manual. Strong truck, but I worried the m15r will be too much for it. Thoughts on upgrading to a larger chipper?
I also got quoted for a 15xp gas - $57K and an 18xp gas $65K, both with a winch. Dealers also said possible increase to due steel tariffs. These are the same prices, if not more than a tier 3 only a couple of years ago. Seems to me the manufactures are jacking up the prices in general because they can. $60k is a lot for a gas chipper.

Knotguilty · Dec 5, 2018

Did you choose machine? I'm in the same market right now. Anyone know the difference between the m15r and m15rx? Do the large gas chippers have the same torque?

flyingsquirrel25 · Dec 6, 2018

Knotguilty said:
Did you choose machine? I'm in the same market right now. Anyone know the difference between the m15r and m15rx? Do the large gas chippers have the same torque?

Biggest difference is the rx is a lighter machine. They put a smaller diameter drum with 2 cutter knives in so you only get a knife strike once every revolution. We demoed a 12” with 2 knives and it is a huge hp robber. And extremely disappointing compared to the 4 knife drums we tried. Our 4.3 (130 hp) GM has plenty of torque and power for what we do. Soft woods go through full capacity regularly, hardwoods only when we are short on space do we feed full capacity. If we were going to stuff the thing with a crane every day I would go with a high hp diesel for sure.

bck56 · Dec 6, 2018

I did a demo with the m15r. It's a nice machine but weighs 9400 pounds. It was also a gasser, which end of the day is just a gasser. I fed big pieces with my mini, and it did pretty well pulling everything in. Not as well as I was expecting though. It would chip, auto feed, chip, auto feed...and I didn't think the recovery was any faster than a diesel. They get the job done, no doubt, but for $65k out the door I would rather buy a used diesel or spend more and get a new diesel.