Cat 574 Forwarder

deastman · December 16, 2016, 05:30:04 PM

Looking at a '07 574 forwarder, anyone had any experience with this model forwarder? Pro's or con's?

bushmechanic · December 16, 2016, 06:23:05 PM

Wasn't that Cat's own attempt at a forwarder, before they overtook Fabtek? My buddy demo'd one of Cat's own version and he said it was the best machine he ever used. Sorry can't say how well it would stand up as the company bought a Fabtek after and that didn't stand up well at all.

deastman · December 16, 2016, 06:53:30 PM

Cat's first attempt was with Eco-Log in Sweden and that's what I have now. I think they partnered with Fabtek next and called it Timberking, this machine is all Cat based on the Fabtek design. Supposedly it's the same as the Fabtek 548C only with a Cat engine instead of a JD

bushmechanic · December 16, 2016, 07:06:55 PM

Oh yes another buddy got one of those last year, bought it from a local sawmill. Same thing as the Fabtek... trouble from the get go. Some of the things he has had trouble with it are, the dumping valve for the hydraulics upon start up gave trouble and he burned up a starter trying to fix it. Electrical issues that come and go. Something to do with the bogie axles and insufficient oiling to the boxes. That's only what I can remember, his is the eight wheel drive model. He likes it to use when it works for him, they should have stuck with the eco-log version.

1270d · December 16, 2016, 07:31:05 PM

Member @wannaergo has a 564, ask him how much they like it.

wannaergo · December 16, 2016, 10:09:53 PM

We have had our 564 (same as 574, but with 6 wheels) for almost two years, and can't wait to get rid of it. It's junk. The hose package is garbage, they are aeroquip hoses and at 4000 hours, I can't even count how many have dry rotted and burst. We replaced the oil cooler last fall at about 3500 hours, which was a full day job with a cat mechanic. It's a pain in the nuts to work on anything under the cab or in the engine, and you will have to. It's just how they work. The thing is unbelievably heavy, and is terrible in soft ground. If you cut tighter thinnings, I wouldn't even consider it. The turning radius is AWFUL. It's like driving a battleship. On top of all of that, the hydraulics are junk. They are jerky, and there is no multifunctioning. We will never buy another. But, I also have to say, it's very structurally sturdy and moves a lot of wood.

deastman · December 17, 2016, 12:18:08 PM

Thanks for the info, I'm thinking it's time to get something newer and the local Cat dealer has offered me a good trade-in value for my 554. I'm sure there's lots of different opinions but which brand forwarder do you think is better than the rest and most trouble free ?

wannaergo · December 17, 2016, 06:33:13 PM

I would look at Ponsse, rottne or Komatsu. My uncle bought a brand new John Deere 1010 last January and hated it so much he bought a brand new Ponsse buffalo this fall. He says he will never buy anything different. I've heard lots of good things about komatsu from another guy around here, and rottne seems decent. We are looking into getting one.

barbender · December 17, 2016, 07:29:18 PM

What was the problem with the Deere? I've never ran one, but guys up here that have them like them. A lot of them are switching to Ponsse, but that has more to do with the dealer (Nortrax) than anyth I ng else. I like Ponsse machines, but I've never ran anything else so take it FWIW.

wannaergo · December 17, 2016, 07:41:32 PM

He just thought it was jerky, didn't like the turning radius, and found it to be pretty unstable. He said the spinny cab was pretty jerky. Also it didn't have hardly any drive power.

CTL logger · December 17, 2016, 09:26:37 PM

DO NOT BUY A CAT 574. I owned one for a couple of years it had 4500 hrs when i finally traded it in. The grapple was constantly breaking the bunks would crack on it. It was gutless at climbing any type of grade loaded, loader wouldn't lift over 2500lbs. Only thing i remember good about it was the switch for priming the fuel filter when you serviced it. Hatred for that machine was long lasting.

barbender · December 18, 2016, 12:07:16 AM

Quote from: wannaergo on December 17, 2016, 07:41:32 PM
He just thought it was jerky, didn't like the turning radius, and found it to be pretty unstable. He said the spinny cab was pretty jerky. Also it didn't have hardly any drive power.

Did he adjust the controls for it? It surprises me how many operators don't know how to adjust the control settings in the computer. As you know, your Ponsse has adjustment for minimum speed, up ramp, max speed, and down ramp for all functions. I'm sure the Deere's do as well.

Ken · December 18, 2016, 05:41:54 AM

With respect to finding a newer forwarder I would think that dealer support is probably the most important thing to consider. Hard to justify a good deal on a machine if it takes hours for a service tech to come see you if something happens that you can't figure out on your own. I spent several weeks this fall looking for something in good shape. Good used machines are pretty hard to come by but then again I'm pretty picky. Good luck on your search

snowstorm · December 18, 2016, 06:27:06 AM

Quote from: deastman on December 17, 2016, 12:18:08 PM
Thanks for the info, I'm thinking it's time to get something newer and the local Cat dealer has offered me a good trade-in value for my 554. I'm sure there's lots of different opinions but which brand forwarder do you think is better than the rest and most trouble free ?

they should give a super good deal.your the only guy south of the county that is looking to buy

Mountaynman · December 18, 2016, 07:05:22 AM

my 546 fabtek has 22000 hrs and counting very durable and dependable slow climbing with the tourque converter but have scaled 2800 ft of hardwood logs of it lot of weight. you wont have the reach u had with the 554 but that year should be the last before they went to the C 6.6 engine in them which is good thing they need the preheater in this type of weather gd luck with it any questions pm me used to sell them before I went back in the woods

wannaergo · December 18, 2016, 07:41:16 AM

@barbender I don't know if he did or not. Most of the jerkiness complaints were about the cab, and I guess nortrax wasn't doing anything about it. Surprise surprise. They were another reason he got rid of it.

barbender · December 18, 2016, 09:19:03 AM

Nortrax are really shooting themselves in the foot. The Grand Rapids Ponsse shop looks lime a John Deere dealer, they have all green machines sitting on the lot guys have traded on Ponsses.

wannaergo · December 18, 2016, 09:32:32 AM

I think they are all like that. The salesman here said that the 1270e was the best thing that ever happened to Ponsse. I think it was the E anyways... one of em anyways. Nortrax is gonna have to change something or they won't last very much longer.

barbender · December 18, 2016, 10:15:41 AM

All the operators I have spoken too are happy with the John Deere machines, I haven't heard any complaints at all about the machines themselves. All the guys that traded in to Ponsses were because of service issues, the way I heard it. A less than year old processor sitting at Nortrax"s shop for a few weeks because they only have 1 guy qualified to work on it, and he was busy with something else. That 1270 turned into a Scorpion

deastman · December 18, 2016, 10:22:31 AM

I called Lakeshore Equipment in Michigan about a Fabtek 548C that looked really good but they wouldnt take my 554 in on trade, said it was hard to move the Cat/Eco-Log version, I can check with the local Ponnse dealer but I'll probably run into the same problem. Are the Ponnse's hydrostatic drive with a lot of electric-over-hydraulic functions and sensors?

1270d · December 18, 2016, 12:23:45 PM

I think the cat/fabtek is the only machine out there without a bunch of electronic stuff on it.

We looked at one of those eco log cats a few years ago, seemed like a nice machine but the cat dealer wouldn't support it.

We have a 346 fabtek. It's a nice yard ornament, or maybe if anyone is looking for a nice yellow boat anchor?

deastman · December 18, 2016, 01:43:37 PM

Quote from: Ken on December 18, 2016, 05:41:54 AM
With respect to finding a newer forwarder I would think that dealer support is probably the most important thing to consider. Hard to justify a good deal on a machine if it takes hours for a service tech to come see you if something happens that you can't figure out on your own. I spent several weeks this fall looking for something in good shape. Good used machines are pretty hard to come by but then again I'm pretty picky. Good luck on your search

I'm pretty picky too, where I'm working for the next 5 or 6 months is only 6 miles from Cat so that should save me on service calls!

chevytaHOE5674 · December 18, 2016, 02:35:22 PM

The Ponsse is hydrostatic and everything is electric over hydro. So far our ponsse's haven't really had any major electrical issues.

deastman · December 18, 2016, 04:46:38 PM

Quote from: 1270d on December 18, 2016, 12:23:45 PM
I think the cat/fabtek is the only machine out there without a bunch of electronic stuff on it.

We looked at one of those eco log cats a few years ago, seemed like a nice machine but the cat dealer wouldn't support it.

We have a 346 fabtek. It's a nice yard ornament, or maybe if anyone is looking for a nice yellow boat anchor?

My 554 is Cat/Eco-Log and everything is electric-over-hydraulic, I've had lots of electrical issues and sometimes even Cat can't figure them out. All of a sudden it'll go to working again and we don't know what we did to cause it to start working again. I'm getting really fed up with electrical problems, supposedly the 574 has a lot fewer electronics

Riwaka · December 19, 2016, 12:37:46 AM

Before you put any money out for a 574, look at the Tigercat 1055 and John Deere 1410D if you can find examples that are not too far distant, hopefully you might get a test drive. JD has the 6068H engine
You might be able to find forwarders in a similar price range to the 574.