Timberpro TF 830B information

[CTL logger]

I am thinking of updating my forwarder, i need something with a little more capacity. When the processor is eight days ahead of you it's a little overwhelming trying to catch up. Just wondered if anybody owns or operates one and what you have to say about one. Good or bad

[1270d]

They re huge!  Ken crawford says they re very nimble though.  If the cab fits the bunk fits it is said.   What do you run now?

[Bobus2003]

Have had a little experience with a Timbco 820 Forwarder. Big machine, Easy to run, 20 ton Capacity.. Just a PITA to get moved job to job..

[CTL logger]

I am currently running a 574 Cat forwarder it's very under powered for any type of grade and the loader struggles to lift much

[snowstorm]

is your fowarder the cat eco log or the cat fab tech?

[CTL logger]

It's a 09 Cat Fabtek forwarder

[lumberjack48]

I am currently running a 574 Cat forwarder it's very under powered for any type of grade and the loader struggles to lift much

Have you opened the valve bank up, this is the first thing my father did when buying a new loader. He wanted all the lifting prudential it had.

[CTL logger]

Yes I have adjusted the valves for Max lift capacity I could live with the lack of HP if the loader had greater lift could put bigger main boom cylinder but don't want to put 2 grand into something I don't want to keep.

[Jamie_C]

I believe that Verboom Grinders has one, they were running their harvester 7 days a week and only needed to run the forwarder 5 days a week to keep up.

Cat forwarders never gained much of a following up here, there are a few around but John Deere has the lions share of the market. If you can't get the Timberpro i would be looking at a big John Deere, they will move wood in a hurry.

[CTL logger]

Thanks Jamie c I've looked at Deere they have attractive financing rates but have heard they had problems with the cab rotation but I do like the concept. Also like the Komatsu forwarders but wouldn't have much dealer support down here Anderson Equipment is a joke when it comes to forestry equipment.

[Jamie_C]

I haven't heard anything bad about the cabs up here yet but most guys are still running the old "conventional" cabs.

[1270d]

Only problems iv e heard of with the new jd cabs is the a/c hoses were rupturing from the twist.  I believe there was a factory update though.  You would also find the john deere to be much, much more manuverable than the tank like cat.  Course anything is more agile than a cat.  The 1910 jd is 20 ton capacity I think, also propably 400k plus

[bushmechanic]

Yep my money is on the John Deere also,pick up a 1710 and that will run circles around those Fabtek Cat's.We have a 1263 Deere harvester and a 1010D forwarder and the forwarder is parked a lot of the time waiting for wood to be cut.

[barbender]

Those Timberpros look like beasts, I don't know of anyone running them in the woods up here. They are widely used on the pipeline work for hauling and placing mats, they are slick because of the 360° rotation, they can drive out on the mat road with a load on, and place the mats at the end. I run an 02 Ponsse Buffalo, it's the only forwarder I've ever ran so I don't have anything to compare to, but it runs up hills with a full load no problem, the crane is strong as well. You can grab 2 20" 16' pine logs and lift those without it grunting. I think they are rated for 18 metric tonnes.

[Jamie_C]

I ran a Ponsse Buffalo King for a little while and found it's hill climbing ability almost pathetic when compared to Rottne or John Deere machines. We had the dealer out and set all the driveline pressures to maximum and it still wouldn't climb hills with a full load like other machines would. It would go over relief and just sit there, once you figured out how to work around this it was a good machine. The loader power and speed are fantastic and the comfort level is second to none.

[barbender]

That's odd, Jamie. These machines have a lot of power, sounds like something was definitely wrong with that machine. The dealer up in your area is a private company, not the Ponsse company itself? Just curious.

[Jamie_C]

It wasn't a lack of power, they have tremendous "power" ... it's the way the set the pressures for the hydrostatic drive. The hill climbing ability is hampered by relief settings that don't match the machine size in my opinion. In the maritimes the Ponsse forwarders have a bit if a reputation as poor hill climbers. I have run Rottne and John Deere forwarders on hills so steep that when you approach the bottom of the hill the nose digs in and when you are climbing the hill you have to stand up if you want to see the ground in front of the machine and they didn't struggle at all with full loads. Put a Ponsse in that position and you won't get 10' up the hill. Now on more "normal" hills they do okay and will hold there own. Even with a new drive pump and all settings set at factory maximum i used to watch the regular operator have to back down a hill with a full load on because it would go over relief and just sit there. It made for some interesting times and i was glad i was in the harvester seat most of the time.

[CTL logger]

I have only owned one forwarder probably got the worst one first don't want to make the same mistake twice I haven't really talked to my Deere dealer yet I think the Rottne is a good machine but know a guy who was broke down a month or better because the only mechanic in the country was in Sweden and not to keen on all the metric hydraulic fittings and bolts but they're solid machines. I know  komatsu or valmet puts sae fittings on their forwarders. I have had my cat stop on a hill before it won't spin the tires it just stops and won't go have to back down and find a better way up and it wasn't that steep

[barbender]

That sounds maddening Jamie. I'll have to find some bigger hills to try, I'm still pretty new to this forwarding gig. Not to mention,northern MN isn't known for real steep terrain :

[1270d]

Come to think of it, ponsse has some machines set up with a winch in the bunk frame to pull itself back up steep trails.   Saw it on youtube somewhere. 
Has anyone ever heard of a 6 or 8 wheel forwarder tipping over forward?  The guy that skids behind me worries about it alot.  Im pretty confident that if my 1270 will go down with the crane and head hanging off the front, he s safe.

[newstick]

I have rin the tp on thw pipeline and they work great. I don't know how they would be in hills though. A little hard on fuel but realy lift and operator friendly .

[Jamie_C]

1270d ... if you can get the harvester down the hill safely then the forwarder should safely follow. Keep your stumps as low as possible on the really steep hills and keep your trails as straight as possible. If there are any sudden hummocks on the hill then fill in around them to smooth it out. Tell him to put on the seat belt, it will help him feel a bit more secure when your not bracing yourself to stay in the seat. The machines get easier to roll over on their side on the really steep hills so be a little more careful.

barbender ... when your running a tracked harvester and have to have your seat belt on all the time to stay in the seat and the machine is "on it's toes" as we call it when working down the hill then you know you are in steep country. I have cut a lot of hills that you have to keep building "level" spots for the harvester to sit so you can safely cut the trees around you and then put the head on the ground to ease yourself down the hill similar to what an excavator oparator does. Makes for a fun day

[1270d]

The hills we re operating in now are steep enough to make the rear of the harvester lift at times.  Ground is sandy and fairly smooth.  I've worked in hilly ground quite a bit, but these are the steepest I've been in.   We always run straight down on the steep ones

[barbender]

Yes that sounds a bit steeper than what I am used to There are pockets of steep country around this area, but I haven't ran in them. I know the Ponsse machines that are working in the western US drive up the mountain empty and load and haul down hill. Doesn't work if you have up and down hill terrain between you and the landing though. How did the transmissions etc. hold up on the Deere and Rottne forwarders? If you are running straight up hills that steep with a full load on, it maybe wisdom to have the relief say enough ;D. Your conditions sound like they are on the far fringes of extreme

[Ken]

I have cut a lot of hills that you have to keep building "level" spots for the harvester to sit so you can safely cut the trees around you and then put the head on the ground to ease yourself down the hill similar to what an excavator oparator does. Makes for a fun day

Jamie C 
You and I have different ideas on what constitutes a "fun day".  Rubber tired or leveling cab machines would sure be nice on days that you are working on a steep hill with a tracked machine. 

[treefarmer87]

that timberpro is a monster 8) i love those things. they will tote a big load 8)

[snowstorm]

8 days behind? how long dose it take to make a round? how far are you pulling your wood?

[Jamie_C]

Ken ... maybe fun was a poor choice of words ... interesting, exciting, nerve wracking, heart racing and a few expletives would be a better description .. lol

I went from running rubber tired John Deere's on some pretty rugged ground to running a Tigercat 845B ... it took awhile to get used to running the tracked carrier on steep hills ... its a weird feeling when you are pushing the limits of pitch poling a track harvester forwards down a hill ... you soon learn the right way to put the head down so it will hold you upright

[CTL logger]

The job I was cutting that I was 8 days behind on was a red pine clear cut the haul wasn't long I was getting 150 to 175 ton a day we moved to a 25 acre row thinning pine and spruce job with part of job having a long skid the forwarded started the day after the processor and just finished it we cut 64 loads in 14 days took 4 days after cutting was done to clean up job it was completely flat ground.

[Jamie_C]

With a forwarder that size it should have no trouble hauling 150 to 175 ton a day, thats only 10 to 12 forwarder loads a day. With a haul in the 400 yard range you should be getting that as a minimum in a 10 hr shift. Bring that down in the 300 yard range and 15 loads a day shouldn't be out of the ordinary. This of course assumes you pile the wood decently with the harvester :p

[Tree Killer]

Ken ... maybe fun was a poor choice of words ... interesting, exciting, nerve wracking, heart racing and a few expletives would be a better description .. lol

I went from running rubber tired John Deere's on some pretty rugged ground to running a Tigercat 845B ... it took awhile to get used to running the tracked carrier on steep hills ... its a weird feeling when you are pushing the limits of pitch poling a track harvester forwards down a hill ... you soon learn the right way to put the head down so it will hold you upright

Ken ... maybe fun was a poor choice of words ... interesting, exciting, nerve wracking, heart racing and a few expletives would be a better description .. lol

I went from running rubber tired John Deere's on some pretty rugged ground to running a Tigercat 845B ... it took awhile to get used to running the tracked carrier on steep hills ... its a weird feeling when you are pushing the limits of pitch poling a track harvester forwards down a hill ... you soon learn the right way to put the head down so it will hold you upright

I wood agree, working on steep ground keeps the day pretty interesting. My machine levels & it keeps u on ur toes.  Im always thinkin 3 steps ahead,I definetly have my seat belt on for the steep stuff.

[lumberjack48]

Getting 30 to 40 cords a day with this kind of equipment doesn't seem like much wood.

[Jamie_C]

Getting 30 to 40 cords a day with this kind of equipment doesn't seem like much wood.

According to my calculations he is getting about double what you figured ... 150 to 175 tons a day is a heck of a lot more than 30 to 40 cords

The Cat 574 Forwarder has a theoretical capacity of about 7 cords, in realitly it is likely about 6.5 cords

[1270d]

Some jobs 30 to 40 is all you can get.   Now in that nice aspen lumberjack48 talks about sometime 100 cord would be reasonable.  I've met guys who have done 150 to 160 cd in a 10 hr shift in red pine.    This is cut volume, not skid.

[barbender]

When I watch a harvester working in limby hardwood, running the head back and forth to delimb, it reminds me of the old cartoon where a log goes into a big sawmill and comes out a matchstick at the other end