John deere 648 skidder

[mike_belben]

i understand and agree.  im just like everyone else, trying to make sense of how the world has somehow become a whole lot of things that just dont pencil out for the middle class or normal business man yet somehow never stop breaking records on the forbes list among the elite.  

i think the crash that weve all awaited is actually going to be limited to us middler classers.  slowly but surely income levels will slide toward two divisions, section 8 or filthy rich. haves and have nots.  im trying to build systems that make me a have who appears to have not when the tax man or hungry mob come around. 

[BargeMonkey]

Ed you tell me how much you want to spend and I will hunt around. I paid 65 💸for mine, 7700hrs, he bought it for almost 90 3yrs prior. There's one like mine on 24.5s for sale near Glens Falls and honestly doesn't look stove up for 38. The one thing I will say about the G3s is the parts are around, river ridge supports them, deere still has everything on the shelf, alot of them around. 

[Walnut Beast]

Dealers I've talked to on bigger equipment new and used are selling like crazy, hard to get or lead times on what you want are a long time 

[BargeMonkey]

Dealers I've talked to on bigger equipment new and used are selling like crazy, hard to get or lead times on what you want are a long time

Yeah but I've seen this going both ways where the dealers almost try and incite panic saying how "rare" something is going to be to get, certain thing yes, some no. Anyone who spends 120-140K on a 548G3 with 7khrs needs to have their IQ questioned and a drug test 😆 We just ordered a new 18 bale Kuhn system and can't get it till next spring at the earliest, 12-15 bale we could have this week if we took a show demo. Try and order a new slasher saw disc right now, 10-12wks MAYBE and you want to be sitting down extra hard when you call. I've been looking for a 135 ish class zero swing with a blade / thumb and good luck finding anything reasonable, go to a 200 class + and I can buy a 4khr machine almost cheaper than a comparable 120-160. When we bought that low hr 750J the dealer gave us 20mins to make up our mind because he had it sold to someone else already if we blinked, but go on the FB equipment pages and look at the yahoo's trying to sell a painted up G series dozer for 40-50-60k with 10k hard frame hours and guys buy them all the time🤦‍♂️ Alot of junk out there floating around. 
Firewood processors right now are worth STUPID money, I'm going to clean this 2040 Multitek up, hang an absurd price tag on it and I'm 110% sure it won't sit long. 

[ehp]

Barge , I'm going to say a 100 grand is about my top and really do not want to spend that if I do not have to , big machines here are hard to find in anything cause they never brought any new ones back in and with this computer chip shortage its sure not making anything easier to get machines . 

[mike_belben]

The buying frenzy in everything out there is the whole world simultaneously agreeing 'if more covid prints another huge round of stimulus i will never be able to upgrade my machine.'  I was pretty close to a skidsteer upgrade then covid and poof.  They doubled in price and sell immediately.  

Inflation always causes shortages and deflation always causes abundance.  


When theyre printing money you better have already exchanged dollars for stuff.  When they are burning money you better have already gotten out of stuff and be sitting on cash.  

[ehp]

Mike , its not like I'm going to borrow money to buy machine and the way things are going up in value cash really is doing nothing cause a million bucks in cash 2 years ago will be lucky to buy 60% of that today . And I need write off's for income tax . My gmc dealer does not even have a pickup in stock where normally its way over 100 in stock, My wife figured we needed a new oven on Sat. so went to the big store here and saleman came over and said what are you looking for and I told him I wanted to buy a stove that was in stock. I bought the last stove they had and lucky it was the one she wanted. He had no true idea on when they were getting more but at least 3 months  . Things are going to get worse for sure before it ever gets better and that could be a long long ways away 

[mike_belben]

if youve got 100k on hand to buy a machine, god bless ya.. but you better buy it soon because youre losing purchasing power every day that you wait.  canadas central bank looks to be doing exactly what the fed is here.  print print print.   who knows how much more they will print when the stock markets start to wobble again. american economy will drag canadian one right down with it. 

[ehp]

Mike , your guy has nothing on the fool we have in power but maybe just maybe he will be gone by the 21th of this month, He has spent or given away more money than all other prime ministers added up in Canada, its just plain crazy.    

[ehp]

But I'm not holding my breathe as all the younger people like his way of thinking, he gives them money to sit at home and smoke their dope 

[mike_belben]

i understand.  if i say anything more than that itll just turn into a rant. 

[ehp]

Barge what your saying is the same thing going on here. The equipment companies have created this equipment shortage just to drive prices up but as soon as there is going to be new equipment for sale and more than the demand just watch the prices fall

[ehp]

Prices on a new firewood processor is just plain crazy up here and that's where most are built and quite a long wait time to get one

[ehp]

There is a 450C a ways from me that's to be pretty nice but have to see . Asking pretty big money for a 450C thou I think but it is a non computer type of machine which is nice

[BargeMonkey]

A 450C is a nice machine, honestly they pull a little harder than a newer 648 BUT miserable to work on. I see a 648 like mine with 13k hrs and clapped listed for 60 today and I just laughed. 

[Firewoodjoe]

If your willing to spend the money look in lumbermans online. There a few places doing rebuilt/remanufactured 648s for $80+. But that's American money. 

[Ed_K]

 The Log Street Journal has a number of 548s 648s an a couple of 748s.

[BargeMonkey]

If your willing to spend the money look in lumbermans online. There a few places doing rebuilt/remanufactured 648s for $80+. But that's American money.

River Ridge has some H's for sale, didn't really see anything he wanted. The good stuffs around but doesn't sit long. 

Prices on a new firewood processor is just plain crazy up here and that's where most are built and quite a long wait time to get one

Bells prices on a new machine are NUTS, it's like yrs ago when CRD had the videos making it seem like they had invented a product like NASA. Even with steel prices up I don't get the jump in prices and 6+ month lead times. Processors are just like sawmills, guys get into it and 80% of them get back out in less than 3yrs. 

[ehp]

Problem is guys I cannot cross the border to look at machines, you guys can come here but were not allowed to go over to you . I looking for a machine that will most likely be my last skidder as I'm old and busted up pretty good . Which grapple on say a 648H works the best to skid stuff like 24 to 36 inch average on the stump 

[ehp]

Thats is why I asked Barge on his machine , if he says its good then it is good . I trust him .  I watched the lastest and greatest new machine from Bell that the son has put out, alot of the ideas are multitek but maybe not as well thought out on the angles. Price is crazy for it thou and like Barge we did firewood for alot of years in big volume and yes there is money in it but once everything gets paid for its not great . Logging here you make more coin and I feel less work if you watch what you do 

[ehp]

Well left at 3.30 this morning and looked at 3 skidders . There idea of woods ready and mine are sure alot different . The 648H  was ready for wood. About a face cord of firewood and 5 gallons of gas . The TC were no better

[BargeMonkey]

I brought it home, service and grease, tightened the chains, 🤷‍♂️ on stupid ground 30.5 would be better but she goes like a razorblade on decent ground. 


  that one has a 748H arch and 648H grapple, from when they took the cable reel off, she will grab more wood that the skidder wants going uphill 😆

[ehp]

this 648H had 30.5 on it but grapple was busted up pretty good, whole machine was busted up pretty good . Blade was busted right off on the one side and they welded the pin to the blade . I never even started the 648 as I had seen enough 

[BargeMonkey]

 

 
 Ed I'm telling you they are around and not clapped out for decent money, I will throw a post up on FB and hunt you one down if you want. That machine ☝☝ could probably be bought for 25k, 30pk of natty light and half a bottle of oxy. 

[BargeMonkey]

 

 

 

 
 24.5s, winch. Doesn't look clapped. It is direct drive 🤷‍♂️  That machine is 1.5 hrs from me.