Wood Chipper Rental

A wood chipper rental turns branches, brush and small trees into chips you can spread as mulch or haul away in a fraction of the space. Pick the size by the largest branch diameter you will feed, plan how you will tow it, and compare a few suppliers.

What a wood chipper is used for

A wood chipper feeds branches through an infeed chute into a spinning disc or drum fitted with knives, then blows the chips out of a discharge chute. It is the fastest way to deal with the pile of limbs left after tree trimming, storm cleanup, lot clearing or a big pruning weekend. Instead of bundling branches for curbside pickup or making repeated dump runs, you end up with a compact pile of chips that works well as mulch for beds, paths and around trees.

Landscapers, tree crews and property owners rent them for brush clearing along fence lines, cleaning up after removals, and keeping trails and right-of-ways clear.

Types of chippers

Chippers are rated by the maximum branch diameter they can accept. A tree chipper rental for crew work handles much thicker limbs than a homeowner unit. A chipper-shredder, sometimes listed as a wood shredder rental or tree shredder rental, is smaller and better suited to light, leafy material than to solid limbs.

How to choose the right wood chipper

• Measure your biggest branches. Choose a machine rated comfortably above the diameter you plan to feed most often.
• Estimate your volume. A few hours of pruning debris is a small-machine job. A full tree removal or a cleared lot calls for a towable brush chipper.
• Consider feed style. Machines with hydraulic feed rollers pull material in at a steady pace and reduce operator effort.
• Think about chip disposal. Decide whether chips will be spread on site, blown into a trailer or truck, or hauled away.

Tips before you rent a wood chipper

• Plan towing. Most brush chippers are trailer-mounted. Check your hitch, ball size and wiring, and confirm the supplier's towing requirements.
• Wear proper PPE. Safety glasses or a face shield, hearing protection, gloves without loose cuffs, a hard hat when working near trees and close-fitting clothing.
• Never reach into the infeed. Push short pieces in with a longer branch, not your hands, feet or a tool you are holding onto.
• Feed butt end first and let go once the rollers grab the material. Stand to the side of the chute, never directly in front.
• Know the stop controls before you start, and keep children, pets and bystanders well away from the work area.
• Keep stones, dirt, metal and nails out of the feed. They can damage knives and become projectiles.
• Point the discharge chute away from people, vehicles, windows and roads.

How to use a wood chipper

Run through these steps in order every time you start a chipping session.

1. Park the chipper on firm, level ground, chock the wheels, and lower the trailer jack or stand so it cannot roll or tip.
2. Aim the discharge chute where you want the chips to land, away from people, cars, windows and the road, and lock it in place.
3. Put on safety glasses or a face shield, hearing protection, close-fitting gloves, a hard hat near trees, and clothing with no loose sleeves, drawstrings or jewelry.
4. Walk around the machine and find the emergency stop, the feed control bar and the engine shutoff before you start the engine.
5. Start the engine with the infeed clear, let it warm up, and bring it to full operating speed before feeding anything.
6. Feed branches butt end first from the side of the infeed chute, let go as soon as the rollers grab, and step back out of the way.
7. Push short pieces and leafy tips in with a longer branch, never with your hands or feet, and never reach into the infeed for any reason.
8. When you finish, run the machine empty for a moment to clear the chamber, then shut off the engine and wait for the disc or drum to stop completely.
9. Rake up chips and debris around the infeed and on the trailer tongue, and return the chipper with the chutes clear and nothing jammed inside.

Mistakes to avoid

• Feeding branches bigger than the rated diameter. The rollers stall or the knives take a beating, and you spend the afternoon clearing jams.
• Wearing loose gloves or a hoodie with drawstrings. Anything that dangles near the infeed can be caught and pulled in with the branch.
• Standing directly in front of the infeed. Branches can whip sideways as the rollers grab them, and debris can kick back out of the chute.
• Clearing a jam with the engine running. Shut it off, wait for the disc to stop and remove the key before you touch anything inside.
• Chipping brush that has been dragged through dirt and gravel. Stones and grit dull the knives fast and get thrown out of the discharge chute.
• Leaving the pile unsorted. Stopping every few minutes to untangle crooked limbs wastes the rental clock more than the chipping itself.
• Forgetting where the chips go. A towable chipper can bury a flower bed or fill a driveway before you notice.

Pro tips

• Trim side branches off long limbs first so each piece feeds straight instead of catching on the chute edges.
• Mix leafy, green material with drier wood. Feeding only soft, wet greenery can clog the discharge chute.
• Pull the feed control to reverse briefly if a forked branch hangs up, then reposition it rather than forcing it.
• Back a trailer or truck bed up to the discharge chute if you plan to haul chips away, so you only handle the material once.
• Keep a second person on ground duty to drag and stack brush, but only one person feeds the machine at a time.

If the bigger problem is what is left in the ground after the tree comes down, a stump grinder rental is the next step, and a chainsaw rental helps you cut limbs to manageable length before chipping.

How to find a wood chipper rental near me

Rates are set by each supplier and vary by machine size, rental length, location and delivery. Half-day and daily periods are common for homeowner cleanups, with weekly options for larger clearing jobs.

To rent a woodchipper, use the Browse equipment button to search by your city and rental dates. You will see live brush chipper rental listings from rental suppliers on the Derental marketplace. Compare a few options on capacity, feed system, towing setup, delivery and each supplier's terms, then request the machine online. Stack your branches with the cut ends facing the same way before pickup so feeding goes faster.