MTL Attachments- not a good experience...

[Tones]

Hmm, I wonder if the owner of MTL worked for Rayco in his past.

 

[AllDodge]

Bought me grapple from them and only issue I ran into is they installed Skid steer quick connects instead of AG. One call and they sent me the AG connectors. Been happy with it for the last 2 years

 

[ponch458]

Over the past month I have been looking at and comparing heavy duty brush cutters for my track loader. I was narrowing down to three manufactures based upon quality vs price, they are CID/RUT/MTL.

With each of these I reviewed all available information on the manufacturers website, watched scores of video on every brand I could find and finally called a few places for additional information. Every place I communicated with was polite, informative and as helpful as could be. Except MTL! I was ready to purchase their Extreme cutter but desired a bit more information relative to shipping, motor type and manufacturer and a couple other things. Having sent an email using their provided link a few days ago, and not receiving a reply, I decided to call (website says "questions, give us a call".

An individual answered the phone and seemed a bit irked that I had bothered him. I asked a couple of questions and he became quite insulting and rude. So I asked whether he might be the owner, to which he replied "yes". I really did not learn much from him except that they don't build junk (he told me to go someplace else if I wanted junk). I asked him if they stocked parts, he responded by asking me if I though they were some rinkey-dink outfit and proceed to tell me that they make the cutters for all the big, expensive brands such as Blue Diamond etc. Then he told me to go educate myself for a couple of years and I'd know just what I wanted. I thanked him and hung up.

So just for the heck of it I called Blue Diamond and asked them if they knew of an attachment manufacturing company called MTL. The rep said, you know, just a few days ago I heard of them. A customer of ours was trying to reach them and all he could get was an answering machine. He said he was surprised I got through. When I asked if he made their cutters he denied it. Have to say, I believe him.

 

[ponch458]

Over the past month I have been looking at and comparing heavy duty brush cutters for my track loader. I was narrowing down to three manufactures based upon quality vs price, they are CID/RUT/MTL.

With each of these I reviewed all available information on the manufacturers website, watched scores of video on every brand I could find and finally called a few places for additional information. Every place I communicated with was polite, informative and as helpful as could be. Except MTL! I was ready to purchase their Extreme cutter but desired a bit more information relative to shipping, motor type and manufacturer and a couple other things. Having sent an email using their provided link a few days ago, and not receiving a reply, I decided to call (website says "questions, give us a call".

An individual answered the phone and seemed a bit irked that I had bothered him. I asked a couple of questions and he became quite insulting and rude. So I asked whether he might be the owner, to which he replied "yes". I really did not learn much from him except that they don't build junk (he told me to go someplace else if I wanted junk). I asked him if they stocked parts, he responded by asking me if I though they were some rinkey-dink outfit and proceed to tell me that they make the cutters for all the big, expensive brands such as Blue Diamond etc. Then he told me to go educate myself for a couple of years and I'd know just what I wanted. I thanked him and hung up.

So just for the heck of it I called Blue Diamond and asked them if they knew of an attachment manufacturing company called MTL. The rep said, you know, just a few days ago I heard of them. A customer of ours was trying to reach them and all he could get was an answering machine. He said he was surprised I got through. When I asked if he made their cutters he denied it. Have to say, I believe him.

Well I certainly won’t go there again. They took my money upfront about 8000 bucks worth. Sat on it for 6 weeks during which time I tried to check in to see what the status of my order was. Seldom does anyone answer the phone. The recorder says send a text or email. They rarely answer those. I noticed when I would get a little snippy about not hearing from them they would magically call. A couple of days ago I got a text saying the “owner” canceled my order. One of the reasons I decided to order MTL was because the owner’s reputation as a grouch intrigued me. The best friends I have are grumpy old goats who scare most people away. Figured I might be able to work with this dude. I got a notice from MTL showing the refund but the refund has not appeared on my credit card. Maybe in a few days... sure did want to try their attachments. Ordered two. Weird experience to say the least.

 

[ponch458]

No I would not recommend MTL under any circumstances!

 

[KSSS]

Did they charge you extra for shipping to Alaska? If not, I am guessing they did the math and cancelled you.

 

[ponch458]

Did they charge you extra for shipping to Alaska? If not, I am guessing they did the math and cancelled you.

No I had them shipping it to our freight forwarder in Seattle. I just pissed the dude off because I called every couple of weeks to check on the status of my machines. Now I am trying to get refunded for extra parts I ordered to have on hand. Again they aren’t answering their phone, texts or emails.... hopefully the folks who need service or parts have a better method of contracting them.

 

[searcyfarms]

i have used a Vail X Series, they are built stout - spendy but worth every penny - I have heard of jenkins iron/steel, havent heard any bad things about them. neighbor/friend from church sells prime cutters, agreed some of their other stuff is Meh....lower quality but their 8" cutter 412lb center rotary hub with four blades is impressive. Similar to Vail but with 1/2 " blades compared to 3/4" on the vail. Vail also has the short cutter blades on the center spindle/hub.

I am going to be testing one of the prime units the week of the 26th. Maybe someone else has used one of these prime cutters and can chime in

 

[Reuben Frazier]

I agree Vail is the only way to go, best customer support in the business as well. I had a mishap on blade pricing from a dealer and without saying a word, getting upset or arguing they sent me a brand new set of blades “About $700 Worth” free of charge. If that’s not good customer service I don’t know what is... And did I mention those X Series are tough as nails?? Chopped a rail road track clean in to and didn’t bend a thing, sharpened the blade and kept on going. The unit that hit the track is a 2016 model and the blades were finally replaced after god knows how many hours on them and chopping a track up lol. Buy once cry once is my motto...

 

[LostBoulder]

I have 2 brush cutters from MTL, I agree they are not that good at communicating.
The products do seem to be better, in my experience, than many of the imports that occupy much of that same price range. For me, it's been a balance of pretty decent quality to cost/value. I've only had the brush cutters form them. My last order took over 5 months, even though when I ordered, the site said the unit was in stock, it wasn't, it was backed up do to COVID supply issues etc... I had the same issue with no response via email so I called, I did get a call back from the owner who, yes, is rough around the edges but was at least honest about the their supply chain being a mess and very unpredictable (as I have also seen with attachments I've ordered from CAT, KUHN, Kubota and others recently).

So for me I'm not a fan of the bad communication but heck I get that from giant outfits too, Customer Service just continues to decline nearly everywhere I go. For me nearly everything is a gamble these days.

 

[Day Radebaugh]

Guys:

This is a very interesting thread. I've been looking for a good brush cutter. My CAT dealer demo'ed a Virnig V60, which looked great, but was almost $14K. What would you get with Virnig at $14K that you don't get with the lower-priced stuff? Anyway, I went Internet shopping. The BS level in brush-cutter land is very high out there.

Came across MTL which looked great on paper, and was about to pull the trigger. Then I came across a post on AgTalk (https://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1032009&mid=9358496#M9358496). The short story is that a rave review of MTL was posted there by the company owner, which is his only post. I dumped MTL immediately.

I have a high-flow (32 gpm) CAT 246D3 with 76 hp. I'm looking for a cutter that would handle 4" trees at most, and will be durable. I've got a lot of fence lines to clear on the farm in which volunteer trees have infiltrated. I'm not a contractor, and am retired, so high productivity is not critical--I can work on this as time allows--but need a machine that will stand up to the demand. The significant buzz words i see out there are "piston pump", "direct drive", "flywheel weight" and of course a pump that matches your machine's hydraulics. One conclusion I've drawn so far is that claims that a unit will chop down 8" trees--or whatever--look like hype. I don't think these units are intended to be mobile chain saws, and suspect that such usage will just tear up your equipment.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks

 

[Tyler d4c]

Guys:

This is a very interesting thread. I've been looking for a good brush cutter. My CAT dealer demo'ed a Virnig V60, which looked great, but was almost $14K. What would you get with Virnig at $14K that you don't get with the lower-priced stuff? Anyway, I went Internet shopping. The BS level in brush-cutter land is very high out there.

Came across MTL which looked great on paper, and was about to pull the trigger. Then I came across a post on AgTalk (https://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1032009&mid=9358496#M9358496). The short story is that a rave review of MTL was posted there by the company owner, which is his only post. I dumped MTL immediately.

I have a high-flow (32 gpm) CAT 246D3 with 76 hp. I'm looking for a cutter that would handle 4" trees at most, and will be durable. I've got a lot of fence lines to clear on the farm in which volunteer trees have infiltrated. I'm not a contractor, and am retired, so high productivity is not critical--I can work on this as time allows--but need a machine that will stand up to the demand. The significant buzz words i see out there are "piston pump", "direct drive", "flywheel weight" and of course a pump that matches your machine's hydraulics. One conclusion I've drawn so far is that claims that a unit will chop down 8" trees--or whatever--look like hype. I don't think these units are intended to be mobile chain saws, and suspect that such usage will just tear up your equipment.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks

I'm not to up to date on the matcher heads but you need to show us that old mack a bit.

 

[f311fr1]

I have a CID piston motor 72 inch cutter for my own use and have sold 3 more and one bent axis piston motor one ( I am a small non stocking dealer) . They work great. I do not sell the bush hog style with the coupler and right angle gear box. I was a hydraulic engineer for 40 years and the gerotor / geroller style LSHT motors are not up to the rigors of the spin down against a closed center loader valve. Be sure and order with a larger than 1/2 inch hose package. This will help with hydraulic oil temp.

 

[Day Radebaugh]

Thanks f311fr1. Don't believe I understand the jargon on the pumps...what are the gerotor / geroller style LSHT motors that are not up to it? Which is the most durable motor?g

Here's the old Mack.

 

[Reuben Frazier]

From someone that lives and dies by thr equipment you get what you pay for. I run Vail X Series and they are around $14k and they just keep going and going, Ive tried the cheap crap and they will run a while and something brakes every time, usually when you need them the most. If you can live with breakdowns of weeks to months then buy the cheap stuff, if you want quality equipment with fast service then go with high end name brand stuff and my moneys on Vail but I’m sure others are as good. I will never talk down about a company but as in life you always get what you pay for,,

 

[Day Radebaugh]

Thanks. Will check out Vail. I'm in Kansas, but didn't know about them.

 

[XSKIER]

I am happy with my Virnig V50 78 incher. I don't know what the advertised tree diameter cutting capacity of it is. I have found to limit it to about 3" due to the amount of back and forth it takes to munch it up acceptably. However, on 2" and down dense stuff, it really shreds. I also think that its 42 GPM MAX piston motor might be oversized for my 33 GPM cats, I bought it second hand so it was not spec'd to my machine. It has unstoppable torque, but not blow you away speed.

 

[OTG AuGres]

I’ve got an Eterra Typhoon from skid steer solutions as shown in my profile pic. Very heavy duty and excellent attachment. Its got a removable plate on the front so you can run it open as shown or closed for more mulching effect. The push bar setup is very stout. Also have an Etrra flail mower for my mini-ex. Both have been great and trouble free. Blades are very easy to change on the Typhoon which is another bonus. The people at skid steer solutions have been great to deal with. Highly recommend.

 

[Day Radebaugh]

Thanks, XSKIER. I like the Virnig, but better at used prices. Hard to find, and in this market, even used ones are high-dollar.

 

[Kn1ghtWolf]

Thought I'd share my experience of MTL on this thread.

bought the 84" xt demo grapple from them because its the cheapest hd grapple I could find for my 100hp ctl. I've seen Idigit4 on youtube run it and he said there wasn't anything to complain about, just standard cut of the mill. I did read this forum and their google reviews first and knew what I would get into if there was an issue and decided to order it anyway. I honestly only used it once so far but everything seemed in order other than the "powder coat" flaking off in some spots, if you can even call it a powder coat.

The real kicker is the shipping company XPO logistics. What a joke that was trying to have them deliver it, I think it ended up taking an extra 2 weeks of calling them and getting a new answer every time; "its still on the dock"; "its out for delivery"; "oh now its back on the dock again"; and finally they dumped it on my boss's driveway an hour after we called and they claimed it was stuck on the loading dock again. They were supposed to call me when it was out for delivery but at least it showed up in one piece.

I think if you order something basic like a grapple or something that isn't likely to break you are less likely to regret it but if you don't want to give money to someone who clearly doesn't care for your business then there are probably safer options out there.

Virnig, Jenkins iron and steel, skidsteersolutions, and quick attach all seem far more trustworthy but they charge for it.