i have a chance to buy a 648d turbo charged john deere skidder has a grapple on it and the winch is busted on it has powershift on it and tires are fair but i own a timberjack 240a cable skidder rite now that runs good with new tires and has 4 speed and detroit powered i would like to know everyones thoughts on which is better and i would like to know all the advantages and disadvantages about them im wanting the good and the bad so fill me in on what you all think about them both thanks for helping me thanks alot. 8)
Both are very respectable in my opinion. Iknow in another thread you were looking at making your 240 into a grapple- do you want to know the benifits of each manchine in grapple configuration? or Cable vs. grapple? If you still want a grapple, I'd just buy the 648. As long as the tranny is good, along with all the other normal checklist stuff, that should make a real nice skidder.
648D pros- already a grapple, easier to operate, a little quicker on its feet than a timberjack ( IMO)
240A pros- you already own it, it has a cable winch on it so you can cutt by hand if oyu want/need to, easy to get in, parts a a lot cheaper,the tires are good.
I think if it were me, I would stick with the 240a. MY friend runs one, and is running behind a feller buncher right now, and he likes it. It can pull A LOT of delimbed wood when cutting by hand. When cutting small pine ( 12-18") the put 10 to 12 behind it. Quite a sight.
Depends on your needs, production, etc....no need to invest in more than you need to suit your purposes, but seems you have a real interest in moving to a grapple. If you want a grapple skidder, the 648D is one heck of a good machine. If the machine has been taken care of and the price is right, I'd snatch it up. We ran one for years, and in my opinion it was much better, stronger, and more mechanically durable than the later E models. Had the opportunity to run a D beside an E for a period of time and our D would run circles around the E (perhaps it was a lemon). I've never had experience with the 240 TJ, but you know all u need to know about what it will do. I do have experience with 460 TJs and 648 JDs, which are the same class skidders, and the 648 is quicker on the ground. That's typically the case with the JD skidders, they are fast compared to most everything else. You will have lots of power and pulling capicity with the 648, but if you aren't using a feller buncher it may be more skidder than you need. Also, if you are cutting small stems with chainsaw and planning to bunch up with the 648, you need to realize that very small diameter pulp stems won't stay in the 648 grapple when gathering one tree at a time...you have to get creative and put the stem up under the skidder or some other method of holding the tree, because there will be a gap in the grapple that allows small stems to slide out. Its designed for multiple stems already bunched. Now if you just cut big timber, not an issue. If you deal with small diameter pulp and you wanna build drags with a grapple skidder, the 548 JD class size is more what you need. Very fast on the ground, can really get into tight places, and can gather smaller stems without losing them than the 648.
we cut big timber and i have a feller i follow but he usually gets a 2 day headstart on me so i think i will buy it the guy is going outa business and he wants 6 g for it and it looks and runs great i have watched it run for 3 days now so let me know thanks
Buy it. Without a doubt. For that price, that machine- well worth it.
Maineloggerkid is right missouri_logger, jump on that machine for 6g. We sold an 86 648D a few years back that needed an engine, tires, and center section redone for 12, and sold a good tight 87 548D for 18 and been wishing we hadn't sold it ever since! You will be well pleased with that 648, its a great machine. Don't need it myself, but if you decide its not for you I might be interested!
YA, even if you buy it and the motor goes( not saying it going to, just making a point) you could sell the tires and tranny and have come out ahead.
post up pics when you get it home.. ;D
Buy it for that money and keep your 240 for the hard places . Have the best of both worlds.
Stonebroke
Ya for that price buy it and fix what breaks along the way if anything does. Thats a pretty good deal.
why can i never find prices like these. :'(
every time i look in the for sale mags they want 25g for way used junk that sometimes dont run.
nice find though, 6 grand is well well well worth your money. even if you put double into the machine its still going to be a nice buy.
i have bought it i will post piks of it when i get it home thanks for the advice guys it really helps alot thanks
you got a hellava buy if it's any good at all----I have owned both and I doubt you'll ever go back to a timberjack
i put some hours on it today everything worked great on it anything i should be aware of on the 648d to go out or keep an eye on thanks
Never go back to a Timberjack....until you get a repair bill for a JD!
If it ever starts bogging down and smoking the back brakes or the brakes locking down altogether, don't panic...you can fix it for 84 cents. It only took us a few thousand dollars to figure that out though! Our old 86 648 started seizing up...would run fine for a while and then just seemed to lose its power. Everything was running fine, just no power, then eventually smoke from the back axles. After sitting a while it would run fine again...eventually got where it would lock down completely, and if you weren't quick to catch it would even ring the drive shaft. Had techs out checking pressures, diagnosing this and that but no fix. When we finally found it, was a small spring and bb sized ball bearing in the differential pedal in the floorboard. After all that troubleshooting and downtime, the parts were 84 cents, tax and all, lol.