Running loader without trailer

[woodduckhunter]

Just curious to what extent anyone has done this and how stable it remained?  I saw a loader coming up in an auction that was being ran like this, and I would be able to stack out a lot more logs at our mill if that trailer wasn't there.  Loader is a prentice knucklebom, and it would be easier to everything more clean around it also.  Any input appreciated, thanks!

[nativewolf]

Could you give some more insight?  What type of mill ?  what type of loader do you currently use?  Rather than being helpful I'm curious.

[BargeMonkey]

I've never seen it done but I don't see why not. Wanna make sure the cylinders don't drift, I don't think your going to have 100% pick capacity, be interesting to see what happens if you blow a leg cylinder hose.  Weight of the trailer helps keep the loader anchored, fwd legs / gear help. My little loader will pick the nose of the trailer up, stack some wood on / around it and the loader sits alot nicer. 

[Riwaka]

Sure the truck with a 5th wheel and the trailer knuckleboom loader is the central theme of this video.

Slow it down and see what the mill is running in the background. Multiple rubber tire log loaders with log grapple forks and self-propelled knuckleboom log loaders. (One of the self propelled KBs has a log bunk added to the front to perhaps carry logs around.)

Rotobec Evolution 960D Log Loader - YouTube

There are a few other videos of various size sawmill/ mill log yards and what they use.

Old tigercat tracked log loaders T250, old anything that still runs truck mounted knuckleboom  log loaders , Timbco forwarders, Giant rubber tire load loaders in tropical mills, Wagner/ Allied logstacker, 

Andi AI log crane (running a log crane without an operator)
Metris ANDI â€" the Autonomous Crane AI - YouTube

[mudfarmer]

Riwaka one of the yards I sell to runs a fleet of tigercat self propelled loaders with bunks, they are handy as a shirt pocket. They can be unloading a TT and I pull up, they unload my little trailer from behind the 1ton in a snap and just put the logs on the bunk and go back to unloading the TT without mixing our logs together. Once they are done with the TT they can go put my handful of logs where they belong.