Skidder tires

[Tombstone]

Anyone know of a brand of skidder tire that doesnt cost an arm and a leg??  : The cheapest I have found are like 750$ each and they are some brand name I have never heard of, cant hardly say it either ;D

[Gary_C]

Sure, most any farm tractor tire will fit. So buy one of those cheap farm tires and then when you poke a stick thru one, the service truck can spend the first two hours of the service call just getting to where you left the skidder. By the time you pay that bill you will know what cheap tires are worth in the woods.

[chucker]

 there was a guy a few years ago that had a short wood skidder that used 16 ply aircraft tires on his machine ! just maybe you could find something that would fit from a bigger plane for a skidder... strong as heck and probably not weather checked.

[spencerhenry]

i agree with the first response

[Sawyerfortyish]

Cheaper is not better in this case. Just like was stated if your way out back when that cheap tire gives out and it will it will cost you. Way back when I got my first skidder the one front tire had 0 tread on it. I bought a mismatched set of tire chains for 350.00 and that added the traction I needed for the machine to do what it should. So if your skidder tire holds air throw a set of chains on it to get by. Don't replace it with a tractor tire there only 6-8 ply when skidder tires are 16 ply. They make them that way for a reason.

[John Woodworth]

Don't know what size you'r talking about but if you aks me 750 dollars is dirt cheap for skidder tires.

[maine logger]

smiley_chop                                                                                                                                               i use prime-x log stompers on my 170 franklin and my four other skidders which are john deere 740-d, 740-e, treefarmer c5d international s10-b turbo all run on 34inch rubber i use chaines on all four tires they last as long as firestones at half the price .

[arojay]

I am tire shopping for my old JD 440B.  Stompers are about $1100 can. and Firestones are about $1500.  I have a couple of Nokia forestry specials on the rear of the machine and I wouldn't get them again as the tread bars are narrow and they break down quickly.  They were a little cheaper.  I agree with the others who caution against cheap tires.  They are only a bargain on the day you buy them.

[Ron Scott]

Ditto! to what'e being said above. Go with the best "woods tire" you can afford. Tractor tires aren't made for woods work and won't last very long when used in the woods. A skidder flat tire can become a quite expensive fix on a job with remote access, not considering all the down time and production lose it may also cause. 

[redprospector]

You don't alway's get what you pay for, but you'll alway's pay for what you get.

Andy

[barbender]

I think it could depend a little on how much and how hard he's going to use the machine. Sure, if you're going to use it to make a living get forestry tires, but what if you're just using it to pull 10 cords of firewood a year? These guys that use their utility tractors in the woods seem to get by alright, they just have to be more careful I think.

[thecfarm]

maine logger,welcome to the forum.With that many skidders what's your company name and what town do you live in.

[ErikC]

  Just to reinforce the point-Yesterday I was running my backhoe on a job, and wrecked a tire. They are 12 ply, and about 85% still, but 12 is the most I could find for that tractor. Cut a big gash right next to the lug, and blew out with a cloud of dust. I took it off, saw how bad it was, loaded it up and went to see if it could be fixed. They said not likely, but tried a giant patch hoping it would give me enough time to clean up the road and get out of the way until the new tire is in in a couple days. A new tire is about 500 bucks. I drove out, put it on, it barely held 2 or 3 minutes, but I did what was needed,  took it back off,  loaded it up again and left it for them, and the machine is sitting on a landing 3 wheeled. That was a lot of work, and made me no money, just cost me some. I could have made $300 in the time I spent yesterday, plus work is done for a couple of more days while I wait. If I could have gotten 16 ply for a couple hundred dollars more I would. You should too.

[Kodiakmac]

Well, I know a guy runs nothing but tractor tires on his little C4 Treefarmer.  But he's always cutting in red pine and spruce plantations with nice access roads on sandy soils ... there's very little risk of puncture.

But that wouldn't work for me.  Used skidders are a dime-a-dozen up here and you can pick up used tires for a pretty good price.  I can get 4 used 60-70 % skidder tires for my 440 at $550 CDN each.   With new ones running at $1300 - $1600 (plus taxes), used rubber is a no brainer.

[Tombstone]

Thanks for all the great replies! I am going to look into the prime-x. I understand totally you get what you pay for, I was just hoping to spend a little less and still get some quality thats all. Thank you , arojay and maine logger.....