BANDIT VS MORBARK, Which to go with?

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pdqdl

pdqdl

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I've got a Bandit 200. Bought it in 1987, and it still has almost all the original parts. The hydraulic valve on the rear has worn out a couple of times, we had to replace the solenoid on the hydraulic valve, and the tachometer quit working.

Apart from that, all the hydraulics are original, no cracks in the frame or sheet metal, and the 80hp John Deere engine is all original too. It's the best machine I ever bought.
 

bck

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We just bought three new Bandit 18xp's, three of our Morbarks were Tier 3 motors so we needed to get rid of them. Very pleased with Bandit, we have 13 chippers, Morbarks,Vermeers and Bandits but the guys really like Bandit.
Jeff
It was a beautiful day!
Is that because of CA emissions ? Did you buy gas or diesel ?
 
mike515

mike515

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In 30 years on the job, I have never used a Bandit. But we like our Morbarks better than our Vermeers. Not sure why anyone would want a gas over diesel but to each their own. We still have one gas Vermeer (which is actually a freakin' tank that won't die) but I think we're going to sell it. We just don't use it anymore. I'm kind of interested in trying out a Bandit though.
 

bck

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How so on gas? I am really sick of the crappy diesel engines and the higher price of diesel fuel. I've had vastly superior performance out of my newer gas engines than the recent diesels. Of course, none of my vehicles is very new, so I've not been obliged to buy any DEF.
Never owned a gas, I demoed one a couple of times and was not impressed. Sounds like they blow up after 2000 hours
 
mike515

mike515

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Never owned a gas, I demoed one a couple of times and was not impressed. Sounds like they blow up after 2000 hours

I would definitely rather have diesel but that old Vermeer gasser that we have has a Ford 300 engine. I just checked the hour today because I want to sell it. 4384 hours. Never had an issue with it that wasn't just normal wear. The thing runs like a champ. I'm sure that isn't normal based on my past experiences with gas chippers.

Chippers are kind of hard to find in my area right now so I totally over-priced it. I figure if I'm going to sell it to one of these local hacks competing with me.....they will pay a lot for it. If not, I will probably just send it to the auction yard at some point. But most likely, I will space it off and it will just sit there doing nothing.
 
pdqdl

pdqdl

Old enough to know better.
. AS Supporting Member.
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Feb 26, 2008
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Location
Right in the middle, USA
I had an old Olathe chipper with that 300 Ford engine. It was a very sturdy engine, an equal to the average diesel, and a heck of a lot cheaper to fix and find parts for. Those old point systems were kind of annoying, though.

I don't think I would want a modern, fuel injected gas engine. 10 years later, it'll be dead from being over-engineered and a lack of available parts. It would use less fuel, though.
 

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