Low price Valmet 911

[nativewolf]

It'll stay in the collection before it goes cheap ;) ;D

Ahh, missing a joke here I guess.  Corely, did you buy a mechanics wonder and are selling?  

[mike_belben]

Could it make sense to rent a machine or contract with another operator on some jobs?   thereby gaining the merits of mechanical harvesting while avoiding the risk of time and equity loss potential from buying a lemon.

[Corley5]

  All old cheap harvesters are mechanics wonders.  No joke   There's a reason they're being sold ;D  An old piece of equipment can cause a bankruptcy just as quick as a new one. 
  I'm not wrenching on any production woods equipment anymore.  We're keeping the 132 Franklin forwarder for farm use.  No more production for it.       
  I'm done logging.  We had a five year plan with exit at five years.  It's been five years.  We're right on schedule.
  My Fabtek has been listed here in the for sale section for quite some time.  It's got some major new parts and could use some additional TLC just like every other old harvester ;) ;D.   

[barbender]

Wise words from someone who has been there👍

[Riwaka]

Nativewolf - remember to take the time to drive around a few yards from time to time (the yard cruise). Sometimes you see a better condition used machine before it is listed on the net or elsewhere.
Yard cruise and logset forwarder (plus a few cat etc comments)
Caterpillar equipment and new logset! - YouTube

[Corley5]

The outward appearance of a machine means very little.

[Skeans1]

Nothing like the Ritchie Brothers old worn out machine with new paint and hour meter.

[Gary_C]

Thanks everyone. Seems we'd have to look at them. Mostly we want a way to speed up production and get people off the ground to the extent things allow.

There is another side to this story. If your careful, you might have the chance to buy a harvester that is capable of a lot of production for less than 1% of the original cost of the machine. Those Valmet 911's were a good machine in their day. Both Cummins and Sisu are still in business today and were good engines.

Sure, you have to do a good inspection and make sure it doesn't have any hidden issues and everything works. But for that kind of investment, you should be able to get a good return on your money. Plus the salvage value of the iron, engine and tires can get most of your money back.

Key to success is to look the machine over good, make sure it works and even talk to the previous operator.

As far as it being Valmet, that company was bought and still serviced by Komatsu so many parts are still available. 

[nativewolf]

Could it make sense to rent a machine or contract with another operator on some jobs?   thereby gaining the merits of mechanical harvesting while avoiding the risk of time and equity loss potential from buying a lemon.

Love to rent one for a week or two.  Haven't found any to rent but I've seen my first CTL in northern VA.  Need to find out who did it.  
Mostly shear and fixed saw feller bunchers and skidders.  Not working for me in our client base.  A forwarder will be perfect and that's the first purchase, thank you king walnut for keeping us out of debt.

[teakwood]

The outward appearance of a machine means very little.

That's right but it is a very good selling point

[Ken]

Using an old harvester to learn the ropes of ctl is doable but unless you have local support from dealers or others with knowledge of that particular piece of equipment you may end up in a mess.  I started with a wore out harvester that allowed me to get some experience but if I didn't have quality mechanics in the area and friends that had operated the same type of equipment I would have lost my shirt.  Good luck with your decision
Cheers
Ken

[nativewolf]

Thanks Ken.  Mechanic is really top notch, from diesel locomotives to airplane engines he's done it; might be a steep learning curve the first time and diagnosing issues but I see that as doable.  Dealer support and operating experience that's the issue.  Someone around has a processor, we've seen a tract they cut so I know they are there.  State foresters should know who they were though so we'll find out through them.  

[Skeans1]

You might look at your state's logging association they might be able to help you get setup too. The couple heads I've been are pretty simple some of it will depend on where the valves are, like a Fabtek 2000 the valve for the head are on the boom where their dangle is 24 wires down to the valave in the head body. There's also can bus for some of the newer heads where a cheap multi meter or test light will not cut it and possibly fry something. Isn't Roland equipment in your area?

[nativewolf]

No Roland here.  JD is represented well by james river in Virginia, Barko is rep'd by several folks,  otherwise not much support locally.