Rolly ll versus Fabtek 4-roller

deastman · March 21, 2016, 08:46:33 AM

Wondering if any of you have run both heads and how do they compare in power and limbing in hardwood. Thinking about goin to a little heavier carrier than I have now at some point, a 415 Timbco looks to be the size that might work good for me. Have seen one with a Rolly ll and the other with a Fabtek. I currently run a Fabtek head and it's been tough and very reliable, curious if the Rolly ll has more power and is more productive in bigger hardwood. Also any pro's or con's on a 415 C Timbco? Looks like a good rig, more hp and should have more lift power and be more stable than my 130 Samsung.

wannaergo · March 21, 2016, 03:16:51 PM

We used to have a timbco 415 and it was a great carrier. Plenty of power. I run a fabtek head and I've watched rolly heads run. I would never buy another cat/fabtek head. Ever. You will see huge gains in uptime if you go with a rolly head.

logging pete · March 21, 2016, 07:59:12 PM

I worked next to a logger this past winter, I stopped to talk with him when he was working on his Rolly. It was about 6 months old, he had one previous to this one. I asked him the same question, he said he felt production was about the same. His brother has a 4 roller on a Fabtek with 16000 hours, he said the rolly is faster but is down more, so it was a wash.

snowstorm · March 21, 2016, 08:49:19 PM

there was a red timco...valmet... working on rt 9 dixmont newburg town line 2 weeks ago. that had a rolly with a dis saw. woodhauler knows him he may be able to get the phone #

Corley5 · March 21, 2016, 09:12:52 PM

The Rolly's valves are in the head instead of on the carrier so instead of a mess of hoses there's a mess of wires. Hydraulic leaks are easier to spot and track than electric "leaks". For me anyway ;D

Guy that does my trucking says he's had to trim a lot more wood from Rolly heads than others :-\

BargeMonkey · March 23, 2016, 10:44:00 PM

I've never owned 1 but seen them work. A rolley with a disc saw is kind of limited on diameter if trying to cut the real big stuff without tracking all the time. 4-roller heads are a hose monster from what I see. I recently watched a Logmax 7000 dangle work, I was sold quick. If I bought a rolley it would come from Woodland, they are such awesome people on the phone.

CTL logger · March 27, 2016, 07:06:27 PM

Quote from: BargeMonkey on March 23, 2016, 10:44:00 PM
I've never owned 1 but seen them work. A rolley with a disc saw is kind of limited on diameter if trying to cut the real big stuff without tracking all the time. 4-roller heads are a hose monster from what I see. I recently watched a Logmax 7000 dangle work, I was sold quick. If I bought a rolley it would come from Woodland, they are such awesome people on the phone.

I have a Rolly 2 head with a disc saw haven't cut a tree down with a saw in years. Biggest I can think of was 48" ash tree the butt needed trimmed up but it got it safely on the ground. Those log max seem great but I couldn't go back to bars and chains again. A couple guys near me run them and the forest service forester asked me why don't you guys have 5 plus damaged trees a week and we have a couple in a entire block. Only thing I can figure is they have dangle heads and mine is fixed. I know log max now offers a fixed head now maybe that would make a difference.

snowstorm · March 27, 2016, 07:50:14 PM

Quote from: Corley5 on March 21, 2016, 09:12:52 PM
The Rolly's valves are in the head instead of on the carrier so instead of a mess of hoses there's a mess of wires. Hydraulic leaks are easier to spot and track than electric "leaks". For me anyway ;D Guy that does my trucking says he's had to trim a lot more wood from Rolly heads than others :-\

i see having the valve on the head as a plus

Corley5 · March 27, 2016, 08:09:35 PM

Quote from: snowstorm on March 27, 2016, 07:50:14 PM

i see having the valve on the head as a plus
[/quote]

It's a matter of personal preference. Personally I don't like either one ;) ;D

BargeMonkey · March 27, 2016, 08:16:53 PM

Quote from: CTL logger on March 27, 2016, 07:06:27 PM
Quote from: BargeMonkey on March 23, 2016, 10:44:00 PM
I've never owned 1 but seen them work. A rolley with a disc saw is kind of limited on diameter if trying to cut the real big stuff without tracking all the time. 4-roller heads are a hose monster from what I see. I recently watched a Logmax 7000 dangle work, I was sold quick. If I bought a rolley it would come from Woodland, they are such awesome people on the phone.
I have a Rolly 2 head with a disc saw haven't cut a tree down with a saw in years. Biggest I can think of was 48" ash tree the butt needed trimmed up but it got it safely on the ground. Those log max seem great but I couldn't go back to bars and chains again. A couple guys near me run them and the forest service forester asked me why don't you guys have 5 plus damaged trees a week and we have a couple in a entire block. Only thing I can figure is they have dangle heads and mine is fixed. I know log max now offers a fixed head now maybe that would make a difference.

I've only seen 1 rolley disc work, it struggled in big spruce. The head and timbco where tired, so maybe that was some of it. It threw a track down over the bank and sat there almost 1yr till they got it out.
If I put on 2 chains a day is alot, personally I think 3/4 pitch is better than sliced bread. :D
My timbco is only 185hp, Woodland said it would run a rolley but wouldn't get the full power, said 260+ is really what's needed. I'm looking at an older 6wheeler dangle that I can run behind my buncher when I can do CTL.

Mountaynman · March 27, 2016, 08:39:58 PM

having sold the stuff and run a bunch of it both have their places if one was to go with a disk saw processor the quadco 5660 is an animal with the swing blade it can handle a larger tree than the rolly but for the money the fabtek head is very reliable and easy to work on with the valving on the carrier it reduces a lot of the shock that the valves take being on the end of the stick also a lot less chasing around with a multimeter

CTL logger · March 27, 2016, 08:42:46 PM

I've run woodland computer systems on my last 2 heads the current set up only has 4 wires going to the head a case drain a high pressure and return pressure line. If you can run a multimeter you can figure out what's wrong with it. I like not having so many hoses going down to the head but I suppose that's personal preference.

Duhnis · March 28, 2016, 06:58:26 PM

In this day & age of technology , Why don't more manufacturers run the head via wireless blue tooth , The main computer on the machine talks to the one on the head, that way only a high psi hose , case drain and low psi return and a power source wire and ground wire are all you need. I only know of one outfit doing it , but it seems like a big plus. Maybe cost?

Duhnis

1270d · March 28, 2016, 07:30:28 PM

Pretty sure Southstar has a system that communicates via Bluetooth.

JLeBouton · March 28, 2016, 09:59:25 PM

I'm partial to the FABTEK. Our new heads operate with only 4 wires mounted on a slip ring allowing 360 unlimited rotation. Problem with the bluetooth/wifi is reliability and battery life.
https://www.facebook.com/jpskidmorellc/ We also provide many replacement parts for FABTEK heads, including bolt on replacement towers.

http://youtu.be/QL-cWCBLe08

deastman · March 29, 2016, 07:20:20 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I definitely prefer disc saws after having two disc saw feller bunchers. Either a Rolly ll w/disc or Quadco 5660 would be ideal but those require larger carriers than what I'm looking for. I would like to have something a little bigger than my 130 with more h.p. that's why I like the size of the 415 Timbco. If I went with another Fabtek head I'd have two so the parts would be common for both. Never seen a Rolly ll work up close but am going this week to check out a 415 with one work. I had the impression that the the Rolly was a more powerful head. I had two Rotosaw buncher heads and loved them, lots of power and very few problems. I know my Fabtek head really well so there wouldn't be any new learning curve needed with it, both in operating and repairing, probably would take time adapting to a different head. ??? :P

deastman · March 29, 2016, 07:31:54 PM

Quote from: JLeBouton on March 28, 2016, 09:59:25 PM
I'm partial to the FABTEK. Our new heads operate with only 4 wires mounted on a slip ring allowing 360 unlimited rotation. Problem with the bluetooth/wifi is reliability and battery life.
https://www.facebook.com/jpskidmorellc/ We also provide many replacement parts for FABTEK heads, including bolt on replacement towers.

http://youtu.be/QL-cWCBLe08

That new head looks great, the 360* rotation would be awesome. I also like that there are two rollers instead of four, does away with the roller chains and associated maintenance. Each feed wheel having it's own cylinder to open and close looks like it would have more power clamping the tree.