which one is better and why , john deere skidders mainly
My opinion is TQ is hands down the best. I've run Deere's in 548,648,748 and 848. Timberjack 360,460's in all types of years and models. From dragging chip wood to logs. Building rd to pushing trucks. Ones bought new and used. The TQ is smoother easier and more enjoyable. You can make it pull by not letting it spin. Lug it. Every direct drive I've run was like a grabby clutch drag car with bad tires. Digging holes, won't climb hill sides and banging off the backs of trucks. Some like them. But I haven't figured out why yet.
☝️ what he said. I'm shocked your talking about anything but a NEW tigercat 😆
Quote from: BargeMonkey on September 27, 2022, 12:13:26 AM
☝️ what he said. I'm shocked your talking about anything but a NEW tigercat 😆
Yeah isn't a tigercat like a hydrostatic one gear snowmobile type deal. That would be better than shifting. That's one machine I've never sat in is a tigercat. I'd like to some day. Hopefully it will be a buncher.
What Joe said.
Barge we all know I'm not you and my pockets are no where near as deep as yours , my credit card has a limit unlike yours . I have been inside tigercats but never skidded with one but have drove 440,540,640,and 740 john deere skidders but all direct drive . Timberjack 230 and 450 and clark 664 and 666 and 667. I like the auto type better than a clutch . My wife says do find a skidder with heat and air , your not getting any younger and forsure not any better looking . I believe tigercat is a better machine but also carry's alot higher price tag. A skidder life here is about as easy on a machine as it can be , the belly pans most likely will never get touched by ground and by chance it does its sand . Pretty much zero rock where I am
648Glll dual arch with winch. 28L, 24.5 or 30.5. 30.5 is best in my opinion. By some extra heater relays change filters regularly and save money for a 10,000 +/- hour engine rebuild. And just use it.
Ed if you compare a Tigercat to a Deere, they are just rugged. Friend of mine bought one, was running his 360 and 460 next to it, walk the dog with a 460, what sold me on one. Plus dealer support.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/6528.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1664280101)
dial there on the dash controls the trans high-stat, EHS is what they call it. You can feel it shift to high speed. Everything is on that joystick, grapple, diff, throttle. I didn't want a winch. It's not going to win a speed race with a deere, my 460 would out run it but it will drag about anything you grab, 19sqft grapple.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/FB_IMG_1647215545813.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1664280229)
Now how much bigger vs 648?
Dimensionally, no bigger than a 648G3 on 30.5s, that 620C is spec-ed out to be between a 748-848H.
you will never see a hitch that big here as its to far between trees and you are not going to drive around to find enough trees, Most times I got 2 or maybe 3 trees on . Tigercat is built right here but dealer support is not the best cause no machines here , Hydro company has the most by far of tigercat , A lot more up north where tigercat is out selling deere bad now . Its quite hard to find a newer skidder with a winch , they are all just grapples
602 I guess would be the answer but that price tag would have to come down a lot to make it work , with a high $300,000 or $400,000 price tag the only person winning is tigercat and the bank. The 548 jd would work well here as well but at $150,000 plus for a 2014 machine thats got 8 to 10,000 hours on it seems a bit crazy as well
And the 548 is direct drive. The 360 timberjack is your best bet but not easy to find.
I agree torque converter is better but I bought a 548 anyways. Wanted a new skidder so obviously timberjack was out. Plus around here is all
Ag so John Deere was my pick for that reason too. The 360 jack I used to run would out pull my Deere anyday in my opinion. But in select cuts my 548 is WAY more nimble and easy to maneuver. Like your area skidders have any easy life here. Big trees but short skids and I baby that machine because I can. The creature comforts on the 548 is great too. Not to be a candy a$@ but the work is hard enough. The least I can do is relax a little while I'm skidding right?!?! 😂
Quote from: OH logger on September 27, 2022, 07:55:35 PM
I agree torque converter is better but I bought a 548 anyways. Wanted a new skidder so obviously timberjack was out. Plus around here is all
Ag so John Deere was my pick for that reason too. The 360 jack I used to run would out pull my Deere anyday in my opinion. But in select cuts my 548 is WAY more nimble and easy to maneuver. Like your area skidders have any easy life here. Big trees but short skids and I baby that machine because I can. The creature comforts on the 548 is great too. Not to be a candy a$@ but the work is hard enough. The least I can do is relax a little while I'm skidding right?!?! 😂
That's a good point. And if your not pulling big drags bad ground or heavy trucks you prolly wouldn't mind the direct drive. Idk equipment is a live hate thing.
which 548 did you buy ? I'm thinking if I do buy a bigger machine it should have a turn a round seat so I can back into the bush , a lot easier on the trees that way
And your neck!
yes but big thing here is not having to turn around and hurting the bush . I think I put 13,000 hours on a 740 and most likely the same on the TJ 450 but the 450 was smaller and shorter than the 740 . I cannot see why JD does not come back making the 548 again
I out a text out to a salesman up here that his brand is to be making a smaller skidder so will see if I hear anything back from him
I bought a 2007 548G111 new ran it for 7 years had electrical issues. Traded it in on one of the last brand new 548G111 available in April 2015. It's a 2014 model. No issues with this one. For what it's worth my son backs into the woods on a lot of drags unless they're way back in the woods. No turn around seat but he's only 13
😂. My neck hurts just watching him. But he's real fussy like me but even more so
And he don't like to turn around in the woods if he dont have to. Either I've trained him well or he's scared to turn around in the woods around nice young trees with me watching
My machine is shorter than yours as a TJ 230A and I hate turning around your 2014 machine is worth more today than you paid for it .
I agree the prices for used 548s are crazy. I wish I woulda kept my old one in the barn instead of trading it in on the one I have. Woulda made more than money on the bank or stock market.
Ed you could put 23.1 tires on a 648G3 / H single arch and buy a nice machine for 1/2 the money. Red oak just took a drop, HM just went down 300 across the board, going to be ALOT of cheap iron.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/received_534775248455915.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1664397154)
Picture is horrible 🤦♂️ but that's Deeres smallest cable skidder now, no real size diff between that and my 620C.
Yeah I feel bad for the full time log guys. But there's mills here that rarely shut down and that's all they do. I was moved to pine and aspen 🤷♂️
ya in the bush I'm cutting right now my machine at 102 or 103 inches wide and its hard enough to get threw the trees , Bush is 50 acres and they only marked 327 trees so its a fair ways between trees
the 602 is narrow enough but its fairly long so that hurts snaking threw the trees that you donot touch and the price is pretty high for this old slow fat man
I honestly don't think you'll find exactly what you want. Just find a good machine and have it redone. So it has a/c and this things you want. Buying exactly what a person wants also generally cost more money.
I sat in a tigercat 602 at the Bunyan show by a few years ago (last couple years all tigercat skidders are locked 👎🏿). Wow nice machine I think their machines are WAY more rugged than deeere. But wow all the buttons and switched dang. Lots to go wrong in the future.
Sure grip handle. Honestly not much to go wrong in the cab. Filters are easy to get to, cab tips like a dream. Believe me I'm a deere guy, after going thru one I was kind of sold.
why is there so many 648L for sale and some are under $100,000, Is there a problem with that machine ?
Quote from: ehp on September 30, 2022, 07:40:05 PM
why is there so many 648L for sale and some are under $100,000, Is there a problem with that machine ?
I have two guesses. Don't mean much and prolly isn't true. Big money operations want new. Prolly run them tired. So cheaper. Or emissions trouble. All guesses but that's how I look at it. These emissions engines are running to hot and not lasting.
I was thinking myself that most of the L's got 8 to 10,000 hours on them now or more so time to rebuild , With the way they are setup that they scream all the time that has to be hard on them . They are pretty heavy in weight and wide , yep if you run dual on them your good but there is a Zero chance of that happening here
Just my opinion here so don't beat on me too badly. It is select cut tracts here also, much like you have there. I would suggest finding a 360 Jack or 548g3. There are stems that the 548 won't drag here regularly. And the 648h is nice for those, but much like you we aren't dragging firewood or small garbage. The H is a computerized nightmare. Our H has a blade that is as wide as the wheels on 30.5, talk about skinning up trees... Buck the huge trees to a manageable skid and go with either a 548 or 360. Earlier 360 would be my pick due to the cummins
I looked at a 360 jack about 2 years ago . It was beat up pretty bad . Bottom frame at the center hinge was busted right off and scrap welded back together.. was to be woods ready but you would need to put 10 to 15 gallons of hdy oil in it a day to keep ut going and the guy wanted pretty big money for it
It's crazy the garbage people will put up for sale, and for lots of coin too!
I'm no meachanic AT ALL so I may look at things a little differently than some. Also their are almost no loggers around here (no trees) so no one else knows how to work on skidders much either. In 2007 I was looking high and low for a decent used 548g111. I drove to Alabama and Georgia (wild goose chases) and looked in every magazine I could find.
Im very perticular with equipment and soon realized most used skidders are junk. I would of had a pretty decent sized payment AND had work to do on it to get it woods ready for ME and it still
Wouldn't have been as reliable and dependable as I'd like. So I opted for a new one. That way I have a big payment BUT no down time and NO surprises. I was only 27 full of pee and vinegar and I made it work. My point is for me I'd rather be in the machine workin, not UNDER the machine. Around here the woods lay wet and the good working days are numbered. I need a reliable
Machine that can work EVERY DAY.
I know most people say well with that kinda payment you HAVE to work every day. Well I would anyways Cause that's just the way God built me I guess I love my job. I smell a new tigercat 602 in your future 😂
ya but I'm not really in love with the 602 , they sure are not very nice to get in and out of and I think they are going to be quite heavy on 23.1 by 26 tires to get them narrow enough , a good 548 I could make work here I think. Right now I'm pulling hitches of around 900 ft in them and I can move fairly fast with that . I told the wife last night that I'm not in a rush to buy junk and my machine works great , just put fuel in it and go to work, I pulled the winch a part last night and cleaned everything inside and checked stuff and bands are like new so I set them a touch looser for this winter and the way we go , Not all bushes is like this bush , 120 inch wide machine would be very hard to get around and a 132 inch wide which most of the new machines are just is not going to happen . I had a older 450 short frame TJ back in the later 80's and earlier 90's , If I had that frame and put a cummins motor in it and then a clark or jd winch that would make a good machine for this timber .
I don't know why the L series is cheap but guys love them. Friend of mine bought a new L2, just bought a 2nd straight L, 3500hrs.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/received_5792918514072391.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1664587632)
Ed the problem is manufacturers aren't making "small" machines anymore, even that 604 I looked at was bigger than a 548G3.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/received_454223660020856.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1664673402)
that was my G3, I will admit that thing was a razorblade in the woods.
I've noticed also that the 648 L series Deere's have terrible resale value. I see a lot of them for sale with 4-5k hours , and they want maybe 120 000. I've also wondered what is wrong with them.
I sat in one at a timber show and it looked like it had a nose longer than my extended hood Pete
Ehp. Are your skids too long for a dozer? Narrow, easy to spin around, short. seems like it would be a good fit
I have skidded with a dozer before and no thanks , right now I'm skidding quite long for me here at about 5/8's of a mile . I will just have to talk to my banker in the USA you know the guy that spends time on the tug boats and logs
You know what I like about skidding with my dozer? NOTHING lol
I can't say that I do either but my only experience with it is with the b and d series lever steer deeres I have owned. Was thinking maybe a much newer one would be a lot more pleasant
Around here a dozer would not be that bad skidding as pretty much no rock but the sand would not be nice to the rollers or pads, I skidded up north with a dozer and it pretty much busted my back in half playing in the rock .
I will have to talk to my banker south of the border , you know the guy that's talking about buying a chipper . I read on the internet of 2 of the big money guys that say Canada is in for a hard go for the next few years so have to see what kind of interest the banker is going to charge LOL. The way they were talking I'm thinking I maybe sitting at home next year if things go as they figure they will up here
There will be a lot sitting at home... and they'll only come out for cash under the table. There was always an underground economy, but after two years of this covid nonsense everyone is doing it. And I can't blame them one bit. It's the only avenue most people in the private sector have to register their disgust against our putrid governments.
Keep in mind I'm no logger. I have never driven a skidder. I have owned a dozer and used it for planting pine trees. My thinking is the wear on the tracks of the dozer would be a good bit higher than the tires on a skidder. What would be the reasons for skidding with a dozer over a skidder? In my mind it would eat up most if not all of the profit.
So what is the hours you put on a machine like a 648 L or L11 before your suppose to rebuild it , Is it 8,000 or 10,000 hours as I see a lot of these machines for sale cheap , some that look pretty good online at $75,000 . So is the low cost because of these machines cause rebuilding is very costly cause to me someone is loosing a lot of coin in a short period of time when they bought that machine new
I heard a John Deere salesman say that they were expecting 50% less engine life when they switched to tier lV. My honest question is, when these calculations are made for allowable emissions, if an extremely expensive component like an engine has it's lifespan cut in half, are the inputs of energy, materials and emissions to build that new engine considered? What about the run time that it will take to pay for a $30-$50K new engine? It seems to me like it is going backwards. And that's before you factor in decreased fuel economy.
I like clean air and I value the environment a lot, but some of these solutions that are foisted on us make me scratch my head. I would like to see a scientific study of the real cost of these emissions standards in terms of both money, and actual emissions.
One thing I read in a building construction magazine once, on the topic of "green building", energy efficiency and all of that, was that ,"the greenest house is the one you already have". People don't consider how much embodied energy there is in anything manufactured.
Quote from: barbender on October 06, 2022, 11:18:29 AM
One thing I read in a building construction magazine once, on the topic of "green building", energy efficiency and all of that, was that ,"the greenest house is the one you already have". People don't consider how much embodied energy there is in anything manufactured.
I agree, mass consumption has way more impact on the environment than anything else. That low mileage 5 year old car being traded for a electric car is not a move that is better for the environment.
I agree and totally believe 99% of this clean air stuff is all about money , the more you spend the more the govt makes from the taxes .
Quote from: customsawyer on October 04, 2022, 07:11:32 AM
What would be the reasons for skidding with a dozer over a skidder?
While I'm also not a logger, the main advantages that I can see would be frame size, maneuverability, and floatation/reduced ground pressure. With a smaller frame dozer you can squeeze into some tight places.
Barbender - No, there was no common sense figured into any emissions standards. It's all robbing Peter to pay Paul and the masses aren't smart enough to see it.
You guys think DEF is bad in trucks, wait till you see it going into boats. Watch them put in 2-4x 275gal totes every little bit.
The logs would have to about load themselves for a man to not go broke skidding fulltime with a dozer, when we use one it's ground you don't wanna walk and it's the shortest route possible just to bunch, no production in it.
Emissions is all a money grab passed a certain point, look at the reliability issues. All the new Ford trucks tax payers in this country bought and just sent to Ukraine didn't have ANY on them.
there was a reason I went with a garret 15 its small enough to work on and simple every thing can be seen and reached, not real big or fast but neither am I
My vote is a older Skidder. And have it built. Could you imagine a old Tj with a full carpeted cab and a/c! Just throw the money at it 😂
Woodland Equipment had a brand new 602 sitting out front when I drove by today. Nice looking machine haha.
Now if we could get our favorite boater/logger to buy it for me I would gladly test it out
Ed, you might've mentioned it in the past, but is there a reason you aren't also considering a small forwarder? Not talking a big 8 wheeler but if you could find a small 4 wheel machine. Probably nothing newer available, but they do have some pretty nice forwarder trailer and tractor options. Get an armored up newer tractor and you'll have heat/AC. We don't use one for high production, just a nice thing to have at work but we can put 2-2.5 cord in it, reach is over 20', it has trailer brakes and frame steering to really snake around stuff. But you need a pretty big horse to tote it around. Flat ground like you have wouldn't be a problem. Just a thought!
in alot of places you cannot get near the stump to get the tree so machine has to have a winch , The 548 makes the most sense but the huge price tag on a machine that already has 10,000 hours on it does not cause its time to replace the motor and tranny . 602 I'm sure could be made to work as well but I'm not making Barge kind of coin so I cannot see that happening
Some of those Euro machines look like they would work well for what you are in Ed. Except they are in Europe🤷♂️ There's the ones that have a double drum winch, a forwarder crane and a clam bunk. I think one of those would be awesome for a hand falling operation.
This one here even has a pto powered mulcher option. Bi-directional operation.
PrÃbeh jedineÄného stroja - EQUUS - Cesta za dokonalosÅ¥ou - YouTube (https://youtu.be/7hxxr6F3aNQ)
After spending many years in Euro equipment, I honestly get irritated by how backwards a lot of North American equipment is. Forestry equipment being a prime example of that.I get that a lot of the difference owes to different forests, tract size, and methods of operation. But European equipment has so much more of a focus on the operator, and efficient layout.
Welte i think how that is spelled had one of those machines you are speaking about at the forestry demo in Nova Scotia i went to 15 years ago i sat in it and ran the crane thought the really would take off pretty handy for a hand cutter like you ed not sure if many made it to the us or canada. That machine was set up just like you said dual winches with hydraulic butt plate that rasied and lowered about three feet as i recall clam bunk and a crane that would reach 30 ft. Even had a grapple on the blade a real swiss army knife believe they were german built
Ya I'm just going to sit for abit and wait and see how things go , I could be sitting at home watching the Flintsons by spring . It's not good out there right now and the log price is still going the wrong way which is down. I know one place that buys just higher grade timber for export and their not even going to start this fall
That does not sound good at all.
I watched a few videos of 548's pulling good size timber and having trouble doing it , the timber they were pulling is pretty much the size on average for me so that is not good to see . Grapple just puts the tree to far out behind the machine so it always tries to lift your front wheels when you pull
All I can say is Thank You Barge . Bought me a skidder . Timberjack 460D so same as a 648G3. Torque tranny with 400 hours on it . Reman from John deere . Motor has 1500 hours . Its reman as well. Single arch on 30.5 tires with winch
What??? Eric got you a skidder? Need fotos! Did it came with a inoxidable pole on it????
I'm glad to see you jumped, can't argue with the price on that. Stuffs going so cheap across the border right now it's sad. I'm going to see about getting you a set of the master books one of these months I get home for more than 96hrs. 😆
Yes Barge bought me a skidder . What a Friend . Will post picture of it once I get back home and post off my computer . Now to return this great favor I'm to get Barge 10,000 new subscribers to new only fans channel so people get over there and sign up . Hope to have skidder home in a week or whenever . All depends on my float guy
What would be the first year TJ that has an enclosed heated cab in their smallest model?
Ed how wide is that 460D with them
Tires on it? I thought you had to be narrow to keep the by law happy ? Or is it more about floatation? And what year is that skidder? I'm assuming it's a Deere skidder that says timberjack right?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11195/20221112_122420.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1668355487)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11195/20221112_122444.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1668355734)
its 10 ft 6 inches wide with 30.5 on it but Im either going 24.5 but most likely cutting the centres out of these rims and narrowing the width up but still have the low ground pressure
For what Barge paid for it I cannot see how it was a bad deal , I'm sure he can scrap the machine and double his money and just so you guys know , that is my wife , not one of Barges ladies and it was fairly cold where that machine is sitting
You didn't do bad on that at all especially if the heavy components have been done. I would try it a bit before you narrow it up, honestly even 10-6 isn't a bad width. You buying that right has me convinced that one in Manitoba is going to go cheap.
Yes I'm sure you can buy that machine for alot less than you think Barge . Money talks . Bu$%$it walks . Things are tough up north of tge border . As far as the motor goes its to have 1500 hours but I know where there is brandnew engines sitting quite cheap
Nice machine and I can see why you moved south😉
WF, you got that correct . I moved south and it was not to cut good timber ;D
Barge is also saving up for new equipment as everyone knows he is The Equipment King on here . Anything and Everything can be bought by him. Now if your Barges girlfriend quit reading at this point as this is only meant for us guys but I think he is also buying a piece of gold that has alot of diamonds in it . Just make sure you give me lots of time before that special day so I can plan on getting down there
They are talking again on starting this covid crap again up here . I hope not cause I already paid for a trip to Vegas for new years and if covid hits I cannot get my money back
Ed 🤦♂️ I told her white or some version of white for the house, she got a hard demotion today.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/received_444982174458597.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1668532358)
I called Toromont Cat in Winnipeg yesterday, ran that machine # thru the system, they are going to find out about an inspection / samples. Guys are going to starve to death out here the minute logs really drop off, fuels killing everyone, going to be ALOT of decent iron around. Bought 2 more jobs last Monday, forester gave me 2yrs so I'm in no rush. Working 3-1 / 7-1 I will just keep parking more iron on my lawn.
Yes sir, prices dropping back on decent iron and land. Bring it :snowball:
You ever feel like life is just a big game of musical chairs?🤔
that happened today, logs took a big drop across the board , skidder is to be here tomorrow if no problems . I paid for it so no payments
well I'm going to try newer skidder tomorrow , first I want to see what problems it has and what it's going to take to fix them, next I'm still on 30.5s so see how it sinks in the ground before buying new tires in a different size , yes 24.5 by 32 would be narrow but I'm thinking I will sink in this light sand so as of right now I'm thinking 28 by 26 and move them in as narrow as I can, will just cut the center bolt pattern part of the rim and reweld it so less offset , thats if I cannot find a set of rims with the offset I want
when I went up to look at skidder it was in the bush pulling timber , I followed the owner in to machines and he sees pickup tracks to his other machines and yep they stole all the fuel out of them , the hood slasher had a bigger tank on it so who stole the fuel must of had a 250 gallon tank in the back of their pickup , the cat skidder and the one I bought they could not get close enough to steal the fuel out of them but they tried
just to wide for here , need to knock at least a foot off the total width but more would help ,
Cut the wheels. You won't gain a lot going to even 23.1 unless you cut the wheels. Sweda axles?
machine weighs alot for 23.1 , its a couple ton more than my 230 which is on 23.1 with rims turned narrow . the clear cut got approved so I will run the grapple on that job
Oh I know 23.1 is way too small. I've ran many of those machines. I wouldn't go any smaller than 30.5.
problem is I cannot even drive down the trails in the bush here the machine is way to wide . If I take a foot off the outside measurement I'm still to wide for my liking . I may go 24.5 by 32 and cut my 30.5 rims to fit the 24.5 tires and turn the rims or cut the center bolt pattern so I'm as narrow as I can get , Problem is I will loose lots on the traction part with less tire on the ground . Other problem is my old skidder works pretty good and pulls hard as I got it setup to pull and its fast in the bush , after driving the 648 I'm sure its not as fast as the old 230A is in the bush
I also like the idea of 28l by 26 and reweld bolt pattern as narrow as I can go , ground is flat here mostly and I donot skid in mud so it should be ok
well log truck buried itself right at the log pile in this blow sand , the 230A would not move the truck loaded but the 648 did move it , just a small load on truck 10,500 to 11,000 feet
Just 11k feet 😂. We Virginia boys just cry at our 4K loads.
2 of the loads that left here this week were over 12000 feet Doyle. Back trailer was 24 or 26 foot long timber beam logs . Front was solid wood . Zero air space
@ehp (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=1195) cmon! Pics man pics! 12000 ft Doyle!
I have shipped 10000 ft int/1/4 inch load of ash all 17 ft. Long logs add up big-time!
Sorry no pictures on the internet of trucks . Strict rules . Have shipped lots of loads bigger than 12000 feet is just takes the right trees to make that . 9000 to 10000 is a average load here lately . Cutting timber at $50 a load your not going to get rich here .
50$ a load? Who what and where?
That is insane, 11MBF of hardwood what do those trucks gross? Gotta be 170,000#?
170 is quite common and in winter time its higher than that
I cut for a guy a while ago like years ago and he paid $50 per load, that was $50 to cut , $50 to skid and $50 to buck a load up , Sp the trucks got alot bigger but the pay rate didnot change . Then I ended working by myself so I was doing the cutting, skidding and bucking so I figured I would get $150 a load cause I was doing all 3 jobs , Well they did not see it that way and tried to pay me $50 a load , it didnot go well for them
Quote from: ehp on December 02, 2022, 07:32:59 PM
170 is quite common and in winter time its higher than that
Don't you guys run tridems? They can legally gross that? I've had 11k on a self loader. Weight unknown. Most good loads will never be weighed.
Well we run lead so kind of a tandem then a trailer. Couple trucks have 2 steering axles with tri drive out back and the pup trailer can have 3 to 5 axles with most being 4 or 5 axles . Never said they were legal loads lol. I'm close to the mill so most times if the logs can fit they go for a ride
what is the smallest width tire I can run on this skidder , I have not drew a single tree with it yet, I drove it in the bush and turned around cause its just way to wide to pulling timber here , I got 30.5 on it and 10 ft 6 inches wide , I planned on cutting those rims and putting 24.5 by 32 on machine but zero tires in canada in that size from Firestone but they do have enough 23.1 by 26 in 20 ply here in stock
There is 640s with 23.1s. Depends on your ground. But you'll be sinkin and or spinnin. in my experience those Skidders need rubber or you might as well just get a smaller machine. Even the small Skidder swill roll a 23.1 if you have a big hitch. Back tires blow twice as fast on a 360/548 with 23.1.
I agree but the mill bought a 548 with 28l on it and its pretty much the same width as this one is , What my small weak mind thinks is this , I tried pulling 2 good size whitepine in the grapple and I did move them but as soon as I started up a easy hill my front wheels came off the ground so I released the grapple and parked it and used my little skidder to pull both trees at once to the landing . This skidder needs tire width and weight to pull anything so some how I got to figure out the narrowest way to do that , I know I can cut these rims and go in 6 inches on total width and still run chains if I need to but have to really look if I can go in any further than that , All I got to worry about is when the front axle swings up will the tire with chain on it hit the engine panels . 28l would be a touch narrower but alot of cost . I thought hard on 24.5 but zero tires in Canada so thats out . The other plan is wait till Barge buys me that new tc 602 grapple for me . The 602 is about 5000 pounds heavier than this machine and you can buy it with 23.1 by 26 on it but I'm thinking your going to be plowing steady on soft ground
You should be able to put your grapple/arch hight so it won't pull the front tires. But I see that's a single arch also. Dual 18.4-34! 😂 narrow when you need it and wide and heavy/wide puller when you need it.
A TC 602 grapple is still 5000 pounds heavier than a Deere 648?!?! Wow I didn't realize that. I knew the 602 are stout compact machines but dang
I think that is what is now known as "thicc"
That is compare a 648 g3 single arch to the 602 dual arch and it's over 5000 pounds difference . The 602 is not a small skidder like most people think
If guys are looking to buy skidders and other logging machines look north of the border , with our 73 cent dollar and low prices you can buy a good machine quite cheap but there is still people that are dreaming on what they think their machine is worth, There is a john deere up here that the motor is total junk in and they want more than one thats running , oil pump quit working so thats a big seize so I would never use that motor ever again but they will learn or end up sitting with a yard fixture unless Barge comes along , Barge buys everything so their hoping
I see a lot of cheap machines online listed. But I don't think they'll let me across the boarder lol And I'm not asking. If I could find a trusting dealer that would handle it all it would make it much easier. Although I'm only buying parts and cutting wood right now. Then I'll be listing my iron for sale. Sells, great, don't sell that's fine to.
And then your going to buy all new tigercat equipment so you can just be like Barge
I'm just a hobby logger Ed, come here to watch everyone else.
The Canada deals are decent but not great, I've been hunting for a FF member on a decent skidder and buncher, alot of the stuff is ROUGH. TN-WV-PA, further south every day I'm watching stuff come up for reasonable money. She's headed up north right now to look at a house / small farm, I'm done iron shopping for a while 😆.
So when is the Big Day for you guys and when is the little one or twins coming . There are good deals but you have to watch which guy you deal with , Some guys are like snakes so just have to watch