- Location
- Home of the New Jersey Devils
I'm not too sure really. I don't plan to replace a chipper. Just load more wood really.That's a cool truck! I've seen guy's with a truck like that leave the chipper at home and just pack brush and logs into it. Just a thought if you are doing real large removals and stuff, I'm thinking along the lines of dump trailers here where sometimes you need to get in there and cut everything up to slice and dice to make more room for more material versus just piling it in whole...could you run into any issues like that with an overflow of material where the time back and forth to dump it and or cut everything up is decreasing production versus just using the chipper?
I guess it depends on the size of the job and how much material you are going to be handling would be my thoughts.
We have the mecanil on backorder.The guys at Dillon Tree use a mecanil 280 on the same truck. Today we used it for some removals and loading logs in a space too small to effectively use the k-boom.
Thanks!I have zero experience to add to this conversation, but I wanted to say that is a beautiful truck. Congrats, Mark.
I agree and understand. Our other 2 logtrucks have bypass grapples. This was a new try. We also have a bypass coming for it (mecanil) that will possibly stay on the truck most days.A few thoughts for you Mark, before the subject gets too threadbare. Two years ago or so my employer was looking to purchase a grapple truck for the sole purpose of log hauling. Before the truck was purchased we were able to hire another company's grapple truck, nearly the identical truck to what we were looking to purchase, except that the one we hired on a pretty big job, had the clamshell. The truck my employer purchased has the bypass grapple.
I have seen the clamshell excel and I have seen some of its shortcomings. The clamshell will pick up more coarse- to finely ground bulk debris (stump grindings, mulch etc) than a bypass grapple, hands down. Later we hired the grapple truck with the clamshell on a block of municipal work. The block consisted of 99 street trees, with very easy access. On the account of hauling stump grindings, the clamshell was incredibly efficient. The stump grinders were able to stay on the grind while a single guy in the grapple truck came through to clean up the grindings. The shortcomings of the clamshell are in the arena of picking up logs. I've seen that same clamshell bucket struggle (as in dropping logs in sensitive areas) to pickup a log that was well within it's clutching diameter.
We had Palfinger install a quick-disconnect system on our grapple truck so we can easily switch from the bypass grapple to a hook for taking picks. I don't know if they have a system like that for the clamshell or if the ability to switch between bypass and clamshell would even suit your needs.
Sweet truck though! That truck looks twice the size of the one we use!
Versatility cab be king!I have both. The grapple is faster, higher dump fees, and less labor. There are times the chipper makes more sense. I have a 18” chipper so we are not limited too often.
My service areas has a variety of tight and ample spaces. We can get the chipper in places the grapple cannot go. Having the chipper I can break some guys away and have them go do other jobs while the rest stay on the main job.