vermeer 352 and rg50

[ROLLACOSTA]

I am seriously going to purchase a new diesel stump grinder soon ,but the trouble is which one to go for .I like the 352 and the rg50 though i have not had a demo of either yet ,i have seen and run them and took them for a walk ,but i haven't cut a stump with either yet ,my main concern is HOW STABLE ON ROUGH GROUND ARE THEY? i have been told that both the rg50 and 352 MUST be used with the extra wide wheel's,how true is this ?

i will also get a demo of a tracked carlton ,but from what you guy's have said about the wheeled 4400/4 i won't even bother with this machine

 

[Dadatwins]

I demo the vermeer and was not thrilled with the stability of the unit. The one I demo had the three wheel setup, four wheel is available but do not think it would help. Seemed to me to have a lot of top weight. Had nice power on level ground grinding but the stability issue pulled me away. The Rg-50 is really nice machine, nice low center of gravity for turns and hills IMO just out of my price range this year. I will look at it next year. The rg-50 I have seen was set up with dual standard wheels and looked to run fine on a slope. Not sure how much the wider wheels will add to width of unit but if gate access not a problem, I would think the wider the better. I use a Carlton 7500 tow behind at work and it has plenty of power for street tree grinding. We have a carlton 2700 4 wheel with a Kawasaki engine, but my Rayco 1625a runs circles around it. The carlton is just to heavy in my opinion. As for anything with tracks, stay away if you are doing residential and care about tearing up turf. Good luck.

 

[Lumberjack]

we have the RG rolla.

It is much more stable with the outside wheels on (and it bounces less due to the weight being over 4 tires) but it is far from unstable IMO with the outside tires off (to get the 36" width).

When side hilling we normally swing the wheel uphill. The RG50 is of the size that you can man handle the machine (like in mud you can push it through normally and then use your weight.

I say (as always) get the RG50.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

thank's guys for your replies ..Dada was you looking at the vermeer 352 deisel model ???..Lumber i have a 7' oak stump to grind out to a depth of 8'' below ground ,how long do you reckon the rg50 would take to do a stump that size ??

i think IF i whent track's id need a dozen or so 8'x4' plywood boards

 

[Dadatwins]

thank's guys for your replies ..Dada was you looking at the vermeer 352 deisel model ???

Yes, diesel engine is the only thing available on the 352 I think. Nice unit , and seemed to have plenty of power just like the stability of the Rayco better. Bandit has a nice looking unit also, no info on the site yet think they are still prototype, not sure if they are available 'across the big pond' either.
http://www.banditchippers.com/index.php?option=com_models&task=view&itemId=15&lineId=26&modelId=33

 

[juststumps]

have a 2004 vermeer 352,,,they do make a gas 352,, get the deisel,, PROS...10k less than a RG50,,,, lighter,towing,, lawns!!! 36" sweep... CONS,, it's top heavy, gotta watch out on slopes... turn the cutter up hill for balence....rayco has a 70" inch sweep,,,[MAJOR PLUS] 35 hp vs 48hp for the rayco.... but it's $10,000 more.....so you gotta take two stabs at the stump......it's pain... but $10,00 is a lot of stumps

 

[juststumps]

meant $10,000.....still have to push the thing trough mud.....they do get stuck easy,,in sloppy ground...had a run of really big stumps... wish had a rayco T275....

 

[Lumberjack]

7' stump 8" below the ground. How high is the stump? Is it hollow or solid? The biggest stumps (done I believe) where an honest 10' in diameter at the cut. A 7' stump isnt a very common place, at least around here. Its been a WHILE since I ran the RG50. It will grind a 3' oak stump under a foot high, 10-12" deep in under 20 min I would think. I will ask my dad and see if he can give me more solid times. I can tell you that a RG85 will grind the same 3' stump in under 8 minutes, I am trying to be conservative with the times as to not put foot in mouth, or give you unaccurate info.


The short swing of the vemeer is a turnoff to us, and I cant remember but is the vemeer cutterwheel ran off hydraulics? Thats a MAJOR plus if it is. I dont really keep up with any models other than Rayco, havent found any that would suit us better based off the specs.

I checked out the 352. Here is what I pulled from looking at the design and specs for under 5 min.
I WOULD NOT recommend it.

No operator shield, either you will be hit with stuff or you CANNOT see. No two ways about it, I wouldnt run a machine like that I dont believe.

It is around 600 pounds lighter than the RG50, but on smaller diameter and width (I am guessing on the width) than the RG50 which I believe is a moot point.

The exhaust comes right out around your face, even if its facing away, you will feel it and smell it on windy days for sure (we can on our RG85).

It does NOT a hydraulic cutterwheel, very nice feature. I have never seen the purpose in the huge thing at the end of the cutterwheel, hell rayco's small one gets in the way, that thing there is HUGE.

It has a 40" swing arc BTW (RG50 is 67").

It looks to have a much higher C.O.G. than the RG 50, so side hilling looks to be an issue.

The RG 50 cutterwheel can reach 8" higher (good thing) and 1" lower (basically insignificant).

The 352 is 4" longer, insigificant in theory, but isnt this suppose to be compact? I cant say 4" would have ever kept us from a stump but I think the 352 could be more compact.

RG50 has 49 hp which is around 43% more HP than the 352, which I say is significant. There is loss in the hydraulics over direct drive but we will never use a self propelled machine that doesnt have hydraulic drive.

This is IMHO, I get nothing from rayco or anyone to say these things or think this way.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

meant $10,000.....still have to push the thing trough mud.....they do get stuck easy,,in sloppy ground...had a run of really big stumps... wish had a rayco T275....

JUSTSTUMP'S is the 352 unstable even with the extra wide wheel's attached ??

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

whilst i'm on the subject ,have any of you guy's got any experience with these new Bandit stump grinder's . They look a bit like Carlton's to me.

 

[Lumberjack]

They look alot like carltons to me. If it aint got an operator shield (the Alpine Magnum excluded as well as the 2 wheel machines) then it really doesnt have a good standing with me.

Hydraulic drive is "it" for "us".

 

[juststumps]

rollacosta,,,the 352 has dual wheels on the front standard...you have to lift the 352 up,,, take the duals off to get in a 36" gate... use the wheel to lift it, take the outer wheels off,,,3 bolts on each...put them back on after getting thru the gate....it is top heavy....it's about 50"s wide, with the duals,, 35 with out...rg 50 comes with single wheels, 35"... duals are an option... wide hi float tires are an option...lumber jack said no shield..true,, gotta wear ppe...work by feel...rg, you see,,bigger ,sweep..10K???? for me not right now...352 has 35 hp,,, rg 50 has 48, super 50 has 60hp... vermeern is direct drive,, rayco is hydro...vermeer says there is a loss in hp with the hydro.. so 35 hp =48 hp.. i really dont believe that...so ,,it was a money thing...

 

[juststumps]

rolla, i don't think i replied to your Q..it's all on how you drive it.. i wouldn't drive it laterally on a steep slope, and start swinging the cutter around...i'd only do that facing up hill... the 352 is top heavy..

 

[Lumberjack]

Our RG50 came standard with duals.

There is a loss with using hydraulics, its nowhere near 14 hp. The super 50 has 50% more torque also. HP ratings are important, but so is the underlying torque band (hp is a mathmatical representation of torque at a given RPM).

10k aint nothing when it comes to getting the right equipent. Spend now and be happy later.

 

[Liston]

Don't knock it

Don't knock it till you've tried it, SP7015trx

Give us a call back to talk Diesel grinders. There is a difference.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

5 years ago we put an old 35hp rayco on a kubota undercarrige, just to see if it was a good idea - the whole thing cost me about £3000 including our labour. I'll say this, i would NEVER go back to a wheeled grinder after having tracks. carry a few ply boards if you want to turn the machine, but other than that they dont leave a mark on grass and float through mud. i put the controls on a cable remote, but i suppose i would do it with a radio remote now.
if you want serious grinder advice, talk to ian gilbert at gristwood and toms - the guy is the don when it comes to stumps, and a proper diamond geezer

 

[Liston]

Grinders

Totoly agree with that advise, talk to Ian he knows a good grinder when he see one

Also with the new turf tracks fitted as standard equipment on Carlton ground imprints are less damaging in a stright line.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Had a demo today of the 352 ,not a bad machine but it does have several very annoying point's 1,POOR VISABILITY [control's to cutter wheel] no remote option 2,RADIATOR SUCK'S UP ALL THE CR*P BIG TIME EVEN WITH THE MESH SCREEN 3,THE MOST IRATATING THING IS THE 40'' CUTTING ARK WAY TO SHORT IMO 4,ITS ALSO A LOT SLOWER THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE 45 MINS FOR A 48'' POPLAR STUMP ground 6'' below [cut very low to the ground]

GOOD POINT'S

deisel engine

back up service

price

build look's fairly strong

and the machine is imo fairly stable

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

NEXT demo RAYCO...RG50 though to be fair this machine is much bigger and more powerfull so not realy a like for like machine [plus it's a lot more exspensive]

 

[P_woozel]

I like the RG50 tthough I dont think its stable at all I wont run it on a double fall line withhout the duals on, if you take them off when going thru a 36" gate if there is any variance in ground level it will pivot easily into gate. Thhe machine aint light weighs a ton and its long so fitting thru that 3' gate is only part of the battle. I get the thing stuck frequently in poorly drained yards with the heavy glacial till, that rig just jiggles the crap until its high centered in thick soup. Keep a winch handy. But it does grind well, wish it had remote, and better flaps for shin protection, compared to vermeers tracked 50hp rig its way better.