Some Winter Days

[Autocar]

I went to the doctor to get my medical card renewed, just passed the blood pressure at 138/73 pretty happy . Came home to plow snow and got the little skidder started and here a branch had fell and broke a smaller limb off so when it took off it threw the branch though the radiator antifeeze running out like it was under pressure  : So I put the heater on the tree farmer for two hours and it wanted to run but wouldn't so I pulled the truck up to the blade and the jumper cables were ten inches short. Had a H of a time getting the hood up on the truck , theres not enough clearance to get my hand to flip that little lever . Well to top it all off I lifted the hood and had my hand laying on the edge turned around and the weight of the snow slammed the hood close . Yep on my hand I jumped around for a bit and went to lunch. Get to the resturant and check the time here when the hood dropped it broke the crystal out of the watch pluse it wasn't running  : I came home carryed wood in for the stove and said the heck with it today  ;D Did I learn anything from today ? Yep park the treefarmer where I can get along side of it  ;D

[tlandrum]

it must have a detroit in it,my cummins will start when nothing else will. i have more trouble out of the detroit in my loader than i do anything

[Mark K]

Good thing you had your blood pressure checked before all that :D. I haven't had much trouble getting my TJ with a detriot started when it's cold. Pretty much if I can get my Dodge cummin's started, which hasn't let me down yet, my skidder will start. I've started it at -10 F before without to much trouble.

[fishpharmer]

Here is a pic of Autocar's little skidder.  He will have to tell  you about it.

[Bobus2003]

Here is a pic of Autocar's little skidder.  He will have to tell  you about it.

Nifty lookin little unit..Homemade?

[thecfarm]

I'd like to hear about that little saw too.Looks like a handy skidder to have.Any pictures of it working?

[Autocar]

Thecfarm, I built it from a Vemeer trencher backhoe it has ford split axles and there was a 465 V Wisconsin air cooled and I pulled it out and put a 300 Ford in it with a four speed transmission. It runs on jack shafts with number 80 roller chain. I also made a grapple for it but on a 400 bd.ft. log the grapple would pull so far back that it was tuff to keep the front end on the ground so I went back to the warn winch to keep the loads close to the rear of the tractor. The grapple woked excellent on anything under three hundred feet and saved alot of time.I then made hub exstensions and put Gleaner Combine tires on it for better ground clearance. I once was pulling a tree lengh white ash and the butt end hit a stump coming down the skid trail and I broke it in half right behind where she turns in the middle. I can pick up alot of jobs from people that freaks out when they see a regular skidder on there neighbors place and remark that there never let there woodlot get torn up like that. But on the flip side of this tractor you always had to be very careful on tight turns the four wheel drive would made it climb on the inside turn and would want to flip over on her side I guess what I am saying you just new the limits of the machine.It has made me a ton of money but I will never use it for logging anymore , The extra time it takes to buck the bigger logs, fighting a cable under them I rather pass on the job and use my C7 grapple skidder. I would think the smaller pines and hardwoods in the eastern states it would work fine . Anybody can go to the junk yard and get parts for it or local car part place.I use to load it on a 1962 B120 International pick up with a flat bed easy to get around. About the only thing I use it for anymore is pushing snow off the drives ,well when I can keep sticks from going though the raditor  ;D.

[Autocar]

Today [ Thursday ] I pulled the bottom plate where you drain the oil and I put a 10 inch elbow on my torpedo heater and blew heat up there for a while and the old treefarmer started like it was summer . But I am planing on having it rebuilt this winter or early spring. But al least I have all the drives cleared again.

[CX3]

I like the little cfarm.  If I had a big shop I would start a project like that tonight ;D

[Tom_Averwater]

What model trencher did you use for that skidder ?

[Autocar]

Tom it was a Vemeer V465 trencher/backhoe the V465 was a four cylinder 65 horse it did a great job plenty of power but in the summer it would vapor lock so I put in the six cylinder ford engine.

[nhlogga]

Now that's a neat little skidder.