BOXER bought out

[tntree]

You heard it here first

Boxer Mini loaders was sold to . . . Morbark

Boxer called me Thursday and canceled a parts order and
As an active Boxer dealer they said I was the first to be informed about the sale.
Called Morbark and of course they were not ready to give me a solution to this part order
got the proverbial "they will get back to me" I guess I will see how long that takes

mixed feelings about this,
Near Term, parts will be messed up for the next couple of what? weeks, months?
Long Term, My dealership with them will be up in the air, I do not want to sell chippers,
Pretty sure nationwide Boxer treeguy packages from Top Notch will end

Equip Biz . . . TMI
Mertz (the owner of Boxer) does about 95% of their Biz in Oil field & pipeline MFG
Their focus turned away from the Minis for the more lucrative energy sector
This along with the New Gas Tank Regulations, is most likely is why they have not produced any of their popular 427 line or any gas engine models
Also I do not think they worked out the looming tier 4 Diesel change deadline

So in the last year it was increasingly harder to get machines, diesels being the only ones they were producing
I think Morbark has there work cut out for them, and I hope they focus on the product
It has been, still is a very good competitive mini loader

Now I know why I had a gaggle of Morbark bigwigs looking at the Boxer in my booth at this years TCI Expo.
I went off on one of my rants, on one poor Morbark dude, about them needing to do something different, something out of the Box

Like mini platforms on chippers

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's pretty cool.

 

[sotc]

Interesting

 

[bonner1040]

Could you fit one of the larger mini's on a platform like that? Does it require a double axle chipper? Like a ditchwitch sk650 or a vermeer s600?

 

[mccauleytree]

That is one sweet set-up! I have the same questions as Nick!

 

[lumberjack]

Yes you can do nearly anything you can pay for.

 

[rangerdanger]

Interesting, always been a fan of Morbark equipment, our Model 17 has been going strong 19 years. Be interesting to see where they go with it.

 

[Oldmilltreecare]

That's a good idea in principal but extremely dangerous. When a trailer is designed the distances from the hitch to the axle(s) and the weight distribution are calculated quite accurately to ensure that the trailer is directionally stable at speed and even more importantly, when braking.

Imagine getting a 20ft trailer and putting a 1ton stack of bricks on top of the axles then drive down the road. Now move those bricks to the back or front of the trailer, what do you think will happen?

Also consider how weight distribution on the trailer, with the axle as a fulcrum, transfers weight through to the towing vehicle.
If the weight is all the way forward it exerts a lot of pressure onto the rear axle of the towing vehicle, lifting the front/steering axle.

There is a very good reason why artic lorry (I think you call them Semi) drivers load their trailers the way they do.

The other potential issue is this: Is the chassis that was designed to carry a chipper, strong enough to add a 1ton Boxer.

I love the concept though and this kind of thinking is what leads to new developments.

 

[bonner1040]

Here comes Carl....

 

[MasterBlaster]

He must be walking s l o w . . . .

 

[thattreeguy]

glad i got the dingo from willy.......smooth and parts are readily available

 

[lumberjack]

Haha I was asleep.

All of that is moot if you leave the mini on the chipper that was built for that purpose for transport.

 

[Oldmilltreecare]

Haha I was asleep.

All of that is moot if you leave the mini on the chipper that was built for that purpose for transport.

Agreed but are we not looking at a photo of a 'modified' chassis?

 

[lumberjack]

Yes, modified by Woodsman.

 

[rangerdanger]

I've seen many set ups for carrying the mini on the chipper. Be it in the back, or in the front, ppl have come up with various ideas. Pretty sure it's a safe set up.

 

[lumberjack]

Also the size chipper that usually carries a mini is usually moved by a MDT, not a pickup. They are more tolerant of higher tongue weight.

It's not a hard issue to engineer around.

 

[Oldmilltreecare]

It's all good then. I just remembered seeing a guy who had modified his trailer to carry an attachment. I wish I had photos of the crash to show you!

 

[tntree]

bunch of guys jumped me about that picture When I first posted it bout 9 years ago,
the chipper was designed by Woodsman to carry it - caused quite a stir at the 2003 TCI Expo
Ran it everyday for 6 years with no incidents, cept one crack to reinforce,
when Bartlett bought it in 09, took them about 6 months to say ehh ehh and they stopped using it
they took it off and scraped it -- what a shame
seem some scary pictures since like you speak of, most chippers axles barely cover the weight of their chippers

This Smart tree guys Vermeer was built to have a loader arm (missing) so no weight issues for him to worry about

 

[tntree]

Hey what the hell is a MDT? Massive Dump Truck?

 

[lumberjack]

Medium Duty Truck.

Mike's current chipper (Brush Bandit) has a platform at the front for the mini.

 

[bonner1040]

Picture?

 

[lumberjack]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zc5GQT_L2WU?list=UUB3bjS1yMcBWOMcSjAqph7g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[bonner1040]

Awesome!

 

[woodworkingboy]

That is nice looking gear, and you only live once!

 

[bonner1040]

Carl what would you venture a new Bandit 1990XP with the custom chassis/mini hauling setup runs?