Right now I use a tractor and winch to do some part time logging but am thinking about taking it a step furter and maybe sometime getting a small forwarder (and keeping the tractor/winch). Any recomendations ?
A used TJ 215 forwarder would be a nice little machine. At one time dad was thinking about getting a Bombardier tractor with a track trailer.
Long Url (http://www.autoseller.ca/trader/result/affich.asp?rubno=4800&r=%27ATL%27%2C%27NSC%27%2C%27NBR%27%2C%27PEI%27%2C%27NFL%27&ste=&sid=&issr=1&yfr=0&yto=0&kfr=0&kto=0&pfr=0&pto=0&dm=1&dp=8&mk=&md=&kw=&or=0&oby=7&pg=18&vid=1875322)
Maybe you could put a bogie wheel forestry trailer with
a loader on your present tractor, if it is 4WD....and has the
pump capacity flow rate to run the loader...
That would be a cheaper way to haul the wood out and still
have only one power unit to spend the dough on....
Patu etc..
http://www.logloader.com/features1.html
Loads of them up around Windsor at Nova or Lawrence Harts..
The other make is Nooka I think....never can spell that right
wow something is too wide on this post. Check out www.payeur.com I have one of there forester packages and it is da bomb for me.
theres a guy down this way, (lower valley NS) that's using a mini skidder that's made in Que, it's a nice little machine, all hydro drive and controls, and 2 winches.... he's had very few problems. his company name is CTL Forrestry ( i think)
he seems very happy with it. i'll try and find some info on it
We use really low impact skidders in our bush lot at the farm, they have 4 hooves..... but the exhaust :o is another matter.
Quotea mini skidder that's made in Que,
That might be the Berfor 2000.
I want one but not at 29k. :-/
http://www.radinter.com/radtech/anglais/berfor/1berfor.html
Production, types of timber, and landscapes that you will be working in, as well as a nearby servicing dealer should be some of the considerations.
Check for what is recommended by local loggers and dealers in your service area. There are some low impact specialty machines being made for "hobby type' logging but any of the small rubber tired forwarders such as Timberjack, Valmet, Iron Mule, John Deere, Franklin, Ponsee, etc.would serve you well for reliability if purchased new or in good used condition.
Some small units such as the Iron Mule are shown in the Timber Equipment and Harvesting Thread.
It was maybe one of these yellow skidders by Turboforest
of Quebec....Model TF-42C
http://www.vannattabros.com/skidder6.html
There was a good article in "Atlantic Forestry" about a chap
in a Park in Maine who was using one of these small skidders in the park.
I dont know if they still make them or how many may have been sold.
They have a 9500 pound winch, 14 feet long, 6 feet wide,
24 inch wheels, and a 50 HP Perkins 4 Cyl...
woodhog, that's the machine. it's a nicely built little machine, and he seems very happy with it. the dual winches are nice, but they have a weakness in the brake bands. i've had to fix them a few times, but haven't seen them on the machine to know if they could be made a little heavier.
Anyone have a web address for these guys? Every link I've tried is either nothing at all or it's porn...
Didn't the article on the guy in Maine say the company went out of buisines?
It also depends if your making a livelihood or just puttin away on a small woodlot. Buying a forwarder big or small costs $$, and the average 100 acre woodlot doesn't justify the expense. I saw a small forwarder from Quebec 4 years ago at our local woodlot demo and it was $80,000. Well, I wouldn't get that much $$ if I clearcut a 50 acre woodlot, when all expenses are paid. Since, I'm against clearcuts for the most part, I guess I won't have a forwarder. ;)
One of the most popular choices for a small 'forwarder' around here used to be a small tractor, like an 8N Ford, with an extra axle just ahead of the rear tires and half-tracks around them. If the snow was deep the front tires were replaced with skis.
Most of these units were home-brewed, built in the barn creations. They worked VERY well, were very low impact as long as there was even just a little snow on the ground, and soince most farms had a small tractor anyways the only cost was a few scrounged bits & pieces and some time & effort.
A few hours north of here were I have a cottage they are still a common sight in small family run firewood or Maple Syrup operations.
The first Rottne's were modified Ford tractors. They came without the front axle, and they would basically install a midjoint with a trailer in the back. The PTO was used to power up the rear axle. They would also change the clutch to a hydrostatic unit. Interestingly enough, the machine weight 9000kg and would pull 10000kg of wood. Most machines nowadays weight more then what they are capable of carrying.
Sorry for babbling on, I have pics from a Forestry Show that I'm currently modifying to fit on the site (yes I'm slow ;D) that include a small forwarder. I found it to be interesting and a fast little worker. I'll try to read what model it is, because I forgot the name. ::)
The small forwarder is a Vmek.
Here is a picture:
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/mini-forwarder.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/OLD%20TRACK%20FORD2.jpg)
Hey, this what your talkin bout Murf? :)
Dom,
That's the forwarder that I spoke of at our show. And $80,000 later ???
i was talking to the guy with the mini skidder today, and he said that the company has closed out, but there is talk of another company building the design....
he also said he'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
SwampDonkey,
I hadn't realized that it was 80000$. That places it in a odd market in my opinion. Its too expensive for a small forester, and the machine is too small for a contractor. ??? It did work well from what I saw though.
Dom:
Its not very productive, but would be ideal in young stands for semi-commercial or a commercial thinning in smaller wood. But, its way too expensive. For some of these older PCT thinnings it would be dandy, if your on crown lands. Not enough landowners would be willing to have you commercial thin their woods. They think one thinning (PCT) is enough, then they plan on clear cutting it again. ::) And with fir and poplar being a large component of the private thinnings I can't say I blame them, they are short lived species and fast growing.
cheers
Buzz, that's just about smack on.
Those little things will go ANYWHERE.
I've really enjoyed this discussion. As a new guy here, I'm interested in these websites that demonstrate small logging equipment. If anyone has additional resources they'd care to post, I'm definitely up for looking at some more of them.
Alan
Hmmmm, that picture of the Vmek gives me an idea... :P
There are plenty of old 2wd tractors around here, nobody wants them anymore. If I removed the front axle completely and mounted a pivoting joint to the back of the axle and the loader mounts then made a tandem walking axle frame out the back, viola!!! A small low-impact forwarder. I think though that for economy I would use a pto winch through a block on an overhead arch to load & unload.
Thoughts, ideas, critisism, or just plain laughter, let's hear it.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/skidder.gif)
Hmmm I got LOTS of IDEAS!! 8) 8)
Buzz, I think that unit in your picture would look waaaayyy better with a good used Prentice on the back .... :D :D :D
O.K
Heres the plan........use 2 two ton truck rear ends and frames cut down so they can hook to a pivot point in the middle, as an articulated vehicle, gather 4 large combine tires and cut the centers out of you steel 2 ton truck rims, weld them into the combine rims,then instal 2 hydraulic motors to drive the seperate rear ends , insta a winch with hydraulic motor and there it is an unstoppable small skidder-super farm tractor ;) :)
Why go to all that trouble?
Mount a log loader with padded grapple on a hay wagon and power it with a small gas engine.
When you want to travel you just grab a tree and pull, when you get to the tree grab one farther away. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Guaranteed to never spin a wheel, and the environmentalists will love it too because it's a 'tree hugger' too... :D :D :D :D :D
Ohhhhhh, I slay me sometimes, occasionally somebody else even finds it funny.
buzz, that's very similar to how our skidder is built,
2 ton rear ends, articulated in the middle, but uses an old duce and a half t-case, then a 4 speed chev, then the orginal 3 speed, from the vauxaul that the motor came from.
she's a tought little machine, and has been working for 38 years now. it's used daily as a yard crane, then we switch booms and head for the woods.
here's a link to a pic of it
http://machinebuilders.net/absoluteig/gallery%2FPowered%5FProjects%2Fskidder%2Ejpg
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/skid.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/skid1.jpg)
It reminds me of this one ;)
One question, whty cant anyone in our world produce a simple inexpensive and indestructible machine like this???
You guys did 8)
my new project looks alot like this one! ;)
thanks guys, the only problem is, that it would be hard to build a machine like this for someone else. some ppl could use this machine daily, but most would beat it to death in no time. by the time you had one built strong enough for forrestry duty, the price would be to high, and the buyer would be stuck with a low production machine, that spart parts would have to be custom made for, like the machine it's self.
Now, if someone walked in our shop tomorrow, and wanted one, and the price didn't scare them, there would be no reason that we couldn't build one.....
I bet your price wouldnt be over $80,000 U.S
like these other small skidders , eh? ;)
i would hope not, but honestly, if i was building it for a customer, i know that 80,000 $ wouldn't be far off. there's alot of labour involved in building a comercial grade machine. not to metion a drivetrain that would stand up to the abuse.
When someone asks me for a price to build something my second question, right after "When do you need it?" is always, "Do you want a warranty on it?".
As Bull alluded to, the cost of idiot-proofing something is very high.
On the front cover of the Sawlog Bulletin theres a pic of a double drum TimberJack skidder. Bet it ain't cheap tho :o.
I checked out the website for that Forcat 2000. Can anyone hazard a guess as to the price on it with the trailer & log loader?
Alan
Quote from: ScottAR on October 01, 2004, 12:10:59 AM
Anyone have a web address for these guys? Every link I've tried is either nothing at all or it's porn...
Go to http://www.awassos.com for all info you need (this version is in french by now, but an anglish vertion will be soon available
The next time History Channel runs "Logging Tech" take careful
note of the devices called...
the "high winch line,"
the "mast tree," and
the "Donkey."
(Hey all you need is a 150 ft.+ tall tree and you can get those
logs right up there where you need 'em.)
:D :D :D
Phil L.
P.S. Don't call me to top-out the mast tree.
And aren't those radio controlled choker cable release systems neato!