Off-topic: Brush chipper wanted

[Jerry]

Guys:

I am looking for a 6" brush chipper along the lines of a Vermeer 620 - 625A or equivalent. Other / older units (ProMark, Gravely, Bandit) are OK as well. I have a 7-acre lot in central Colorado that needs a clean-up. Mostly aspen with a few pine, I will be chipping stuff that is too small or too rotten to salvage as firewood.

Prefer a unit that has a hydraulic in-feed, not a self-feed, but will consider a chuck-n-duck if the price is right. HP should be 20hp minimum. I need to move the rig around my lot with my ATV or Ford 8N tractor so am looking at the smaller size rather than a 9" or 12" chipper.

I am willing to look at almost anything in running (or near-running) condition. Budget is $1.5K plus cost of getting the rig home.

PM me if you have any leads or info.

Thanks, guys.

[soccer4m]

Cheaper way

Hi Jerry,,,,,,,,I cannot help with the chipper stuff, but when I lived in the country all the tree trimmings and brush were burned once a year. I would pile up the stuff and when the wet season came, called the local fire dept. and got the clear to burn it up,,,,a gallon of diesel fuel, sprinkle it over the pile and in about 30 minutes no more pile. Not sure if you can burn out there but even in Southern california dry country we can with a good rain, and a call to the local fire dept, just make sure to clear the area around the debris...........see ya in the summer,,,Mike Sun Diego

[Jerry]

Mike:
My lot is located in an area that usually has a summer fire ban so outside burning is not a viable option. We can take stuff to a "burn pit" which gets lit up once a year but the pit is only open on Saturdays and is manned by volunteers. Upshot is that this is a limited way to get rid of the junk wood; the pit is about an hour round trip from my lot. With loading and unloading I am lucky to get 4 loads a day (4x10 trailer with 30" sides) to the pit.

Looking for a chipper so I can work both weekend days or during vacation (week) days We have been using the burn pit approach for the last couple years and I am getting frustrated with it. Sold my snowmobile to put $$ toward the chipper so SWMBO knows I'm serious about it.

I hope to find something between now and next season (roughly April) that will help speed up the process of cleaning up the lot.



Load of burn pit wood that I would rather chip!

[dbbrian]

Wood chipper eh? Hope you're not going all Fargo on us

[MaximPhil]

Hi Jerry,
Nice looking trailer you have there. I took a look on google to see what you are talking about and this came up

http://www.woodmaxx.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DC-1260&gclid=CL3e56uq8NACFcK4wAodH3MJZQ

Only a couple of $$ past your budget but with free shipping

Enjoy your own little forest
Phil

[Jerry]

MaximPhil:

Thanks for the note. I have tried a couple of these self-feeders and they work well with green wood but not so well with the dry/dead stuff that makes up a lot of what I need to chip. I think I need a commercial-duty rig to get all 7 acres cleaned out.

Trailer...
Bought the rolling frame on Craig's List for $100.00. (Its an old camper frame.) Added fenders, lights, tongue jack, safety chains, bed, stake sides, eye-hook tie-down points, and cleaned and painted everything. Stake bed sides have been varnished. Have about $475.00 in it now. Size is 4' x 10' with 3/4 inch plywood deck. Trailer bed is drilled for a wheel chock that I use to haul the motorcycle. Axle and springs rated at 5,000 pounds. It pulls very well, no problem with it on the road at freeway speeds. I can pull it around my lot with the ATV. It has proven to be a very handy trailer.

Only unusual feature is that any (or all) of the 4 stake-bed sides can be individually removed. This makes it easier to load and unload the brush and firewood I throw into it. With all 4 sides removed the flatbed can handle odd or irregularly shaped stuff, like tree stumps or large rocks.