i was just wondering what kind of skidders you folks use? why did you choose it? and what do you think is best grapple or winch? also who do you think makes best skidder? :) :)
Hi David,
To tell you the truth and I'm sure everyone will agree grapple and cable skidders both have there respective places.Grapple skidders work best when in operation with a buncher atleast thats how I feel,but they are also nice because you don't have to keep exiting the machine to hook chokers..on the other hand cable skidders are nice for where you can not gain access with a grapple machine,they work excellent in hilly terrain.Personally it all depends on what your doing and the terrain type.I like grapple skidders for clearing house lots and developments and logging,but usually if I'm logging with just a saw I'll use a cable machine just for the ease of hooking 6-7 chokers and driving off with a hitch.They both have there place.
Personally I have a TreeFarmer C4-D cable machine and use a 525 Cat grapple when needed.I personally think John Deere and Timberjack are the best skidder you can get,for cable skidders though I like Rangers and Franklins..The Rangers are really nice machines.If you have any other questions feel free to ask away.If you look through Rons post on Timber Harvest Methods you will see some excellent pics
Hey David,
I just noticed your from NH also shoot me a email sometime and maybe if you want we can get together..I see your looking to get into logging I maybe able to help you out there..I'm looking for a skidder operator.
Rob.
i've looked there are some great pics. i have yet to see a grapple skidder in this part new hampshire (sw) i have only seen one forworder around here also hey rob in the heavy equipment trader this week seems to be a good deal if you or anyone else is looking 2 1985 jd 540b grapple skidders 25000 i think going out of bus sale.
Yeah there are more grapples out here than cable machines,forwarders are nice I sometimes wish I had one instead of my skidder..Landowners like them better less ground disturbed..Well I gotta fly I'll email you sometime today.
Rob.
Right now we're running a little John Deere 440 cable skidder and a Tree Farmer forwarder. The forwarder is just used for hauling prebunched logs long distances. For awhile we ran a Franklin 170 cable skidder. It was too big to maneuver in a select cut, so we went back to the John Deere. The Franklin was good for hauling a large hitch a long distance, but we have a forwarder for that.
You have to match the machine to what you want to do. Little John does a good job on small and hilly harvests along with a chain saw, but I'd go broke trying to clear cut pine pulpwood down south, as I can't get the production out like a big grapple skidder. But a big grapple skidder couldn't work in some of the woodlots we have harvested.
One nice thing about Little John is that it is about half the size our Franklin was, which means it appears less imposing to a landowner. Most of the folks here on the forum understand that the operator has alot to do with the quality of work a machine does. However, when you show up with a loud, 24,000 lb. machine with 23.1 x 26 tires, many landowners wonder what have they gotten into, and how bad are we going to wreck the property? Little John is about the size of a four-wheel drive farm tractor, so it puts the landowner more at ease.
thanks frickman. let me ask you how big is a tj 208e. you know i thought more of you guys would have an opinion on this supject ;D
David, most of the opinions are out in da woods right now getting ahead before fall rains. At least around here.
Our woods crew has a grapple and a Forwarder. Depends on the situation which they will use. More and more movement is towards forwarders and processors for low impact. We have some pretty good hills around here though where a cable skidder would be essential.
Around here Timberjack seems to be the big name in skidders (although i've been told cat makes the best), I've seen a couple of deeres the odd tree farmer and ranger and not much else. My uncle used to have a JD 440, he used it in some really wet areas and where it had narrow tires it made a real mess of things. I haven't seen many forwarders used here as about 1/3 of the wood here is chipper quality hardwood. i will agree that forwarders are easier on the land but smaller dozers can do some nice work. the problem with dozers seems to be that production is quite low in many areas and maintainance costs are usually higher than with skidders. A TJ 208 is comparable to a JD 440 I beleieve.
jeff i have only seen one fowarder around here mostly everone around here seems to run cable skidders i would imagine it is like you say becuase we have lots hills around here there are pretty much two directions around here uphill or downhill. i do like the look of the forwaders though but i am starting to understand there not good on hills is that becuase of being top heavy.
thanks scott
anytime :)
hi gang. I'm running a TJ205c it is one of the little ones. It is a 1966, has a little ford diesel 4 cyl. moter, 58 horsepower. No I can't run up big numbers of loads a week like the big boys, Ilike to think of it as the rabbit and the turtle. I may finish slower, but it is cheaper to fix, still get parts easy enough, only burn 5 gallons of fuel a day, and it still looks like a bush when I'm done. You have to decide on what your output is going to be, the terrain you have to deal with, and what kind of cut you will be doing. I'm mostly a swamper, so I needed a light machine, select cutting, and multiple sorts at the landing makes along day on the old orange stair stepper. I like the 200 series Timberjack for that reason, you sit low to one side of the machine, so it is much easier on and off. I also like having the wider dozer blade on the TJ, for doing light bulldozing, and pushing snow. My only drawback is it has a real short wheel base, so you need to be cautious in steeper terrain, and when making tight turns with a full hitch. I've had this baby for 8 years now, paid $ 10,000 can.
thanks burlman these are the kind of things i want to know.
hi everyone
down here in tasmania,we use 2 john deere 748gs.they pull about 60-65000 ton each per year,manly tree lenth timber and a bit of old growth wood.i drive one of them it has 12000hours on it and still hasnt missed a beat.we have tryed the other brands but havent had much luck.the skidders we traded were both jd740a skidders they had 25000hours on them,
just my 2c worth ;)
thanks tiny everyones two cents count i want to learn best to learn from you guys that are useing them.
quess you guys dont like your skidders hey :D saw a jd 648g grapple skidder yesterday; big skidder. ;D
I like my skidder best, when its not broke down :D :D :D :) 8).
Ed K
ed what kind and how is it used?
Years ago I had a Garrett 15, one of the original skidder manufacturers I think. It used agricultural tires, had a 4 cyl. diesel and forks that I could load logs on the mill with or load lumber on a flat bed. Small machine, that could get the job done on the cheap.
Hey Ed,
How have you been lately ?? Staying busy I hope,things have slowed down out this way quite a bit which is putting a hurtin' on me..So how's the Taylor doing hopefully not broken ::) I just ended up buying a new 18.4X26 Firestone for my machine man was that expensive all together it totaled $822 I did'nt like that too much but it had to be done..Well keep in touch
Rob.
We have a JD 540c .It's an older machine but was not very old when we got her . We bought this machine because the skidding was fairly long it was faster getting back to the bush , although the parts on JD are more $ 's it was a good choice . If I where to buy another one to do what this one is doing now I would likly buy a TJ 230 . only because parts are cheapper and that they are easyer to repair.Our deer is not working hard now ... we use her on the farm to pull out maybe 10 laods a year and 100 cords of stove wood . It's like her being semi-retired....
I got an old 1973-TJ230 and I love her. But you can't hear yourself think at the end of the day. It's got a detroit dont get me wrong i like detroits but not in a skidder. Other than that it's very dependable almost never breaks and easy to work on.If you put 5 gal of fuel in every day thats a lot.
Been lookin at those grapple skidders and thinking about gettin in and out of mine all day long. Maybe they won't pull as many trees at a time but the time wasted hooking chokers and dragging cable has got me thinking. Ride and drive or drag and hook hmmm :-/
what do you guys think about the TJ208e with the GM diesel what size is it i dont know year but the motor is rebuilt is it worth 17000 S/N is 802897 also new tires and paint and chains.
Sounds a little high but it does have new tires and rebuilt moter the year would help. Is there a working hour meter on the moter ? It probably has a 353 Detroit paint don't mean so much chains is a plus. Drive it and see how loose the center pin is. Check for bad oil leaks in the rears and transfer case and winch a little is common all skidders get leaks after a while. Don't be worried to much about moter oil leaks if it's a Detroit they all leak a little
its in new york im in new hampshire i dont know year or hours/miles they say exellent condition but its been for sale for awhile though. how big is the 208.
The 208 is one of the smallest Timberjack makes but don't let that fool you. If your a small sawmill it will serve you well and is a nice size to get on a trailer and through tight spots in the woods. What size rubber does it have?
it does'nt say but from the picture it looks to have good ground clearence. what are some questions i should be asking
here is what else i learned today it is a 1985 has aproximately 200 hours the winch had new clutch and brake bands installed new tires all around one set of new chains. cleaned and painted new seat the people they bought it from spent 12000 on repairs. so what do you guys think.
Beginning to sound pretty good. I'm in north Jersey just where did you say this skidder is in NY ::) :). Seriously it don't sound to bad but with a lot of mills closing you can get some good deals on equipment.If your really interested take a ride and look it over hear it run and drive it. Don't buy it over the phone. NY isn't that far from you! Take your check book if you can and make an offer if they got 12 in it and want 17 there's a selling price in the middle but keep in mind it's 18 yrs old sounds to be in nice shape but still 18 yrs old. Like I said before you can get some good deals out there
thanks sawyer thats what i'll do.
Hey David,
If your looking at used skidders send me a PM or email I'll tell you where to go an look for one for a good price...If your gonna spend that kinda money I would suggest you go grapple just make sure you get one with a winch they're the way to go..Let me know..Oh yeah I may have a job coming up that I may need help on in Hancock I think thats towards were you are..Email me
Rob.
Those little TJ's are the way to go. I used to have a 330 with auto trans. nice little outfit Eaton winch. . . . good winch. It had a low wide profile so it was good in the hills too. I also had an old C4 at the same time it was nicer in tight areas. It was narrower but taller too. So it depends on the application.
Interesting thing about that old treefarmer I had. It had a 4 bolt 327 chevy motor in it. :o It was a screamer 8)
Gus
Check the yokes on the transfer case and make sure they are tight. the can come loose and let the oil run out. not a big deal if you catch it right away. if you would get one and have this problem new lock nuts and some lock titte will solve it.
I never knew of a 4 bolt 327
A logger here had a couple different C-4s that he put 302 Fords into. They came with a Ford four cylinder industrial and a Ford four speed tranny. A little work to the motor mounts and the 302s looked like a factory install. He'd run dual exhaust into the roll cage pipes just above the hood. No mufflers. They were skidding machines but would eat planetaries if the operator wasn't mindful of the extra power.
Another logger put a 350 Pontiac into an old Franklin. It worked too but once again the planetaries wouldn't take it if the operator got carried away.
Yes, exactly,
The C4 I had was originally a ford diesel. When I bought it It already had the chevy V8 in it with a 5 speed transmission.I was told the set up came out of a school bus.I bought this little darling cheap. 2 planetaries were out and one no-spin unit was barely catching.
It did not take long to realize that all that horse power had to vent somewhere. I took out another planetary not long after I got it. Eventually I learned that on the straight away you could run it to the wood. It was taking off and cornering that was hard on the planetaries.
I never did let anyone but my dad run that little skidder after that and we got along good with the little girl. Man those little Gearmatic 8" winches could be a headache tho. >:(
When I updated and bought that 330 TJack I thought I died and went to heaven. What a sweet machine.
Gus
I just bought a 1976 C4-D back in May and I like that little machine so far works great in hilly lots and smaller stuff..Mine has a 5 cylinder Deutz though so atleast I dont have to listen to the screamin Detroit all day,they are pretty good little machines though that can pull a good size turn to the landing day in day out..I just wish it had brakes,I still have'nt gotten around to fixing them yet but I will soon before snow flies..
Rob.
Rob you like to live dangerously no way would I think of running a skidder without brakes. I like to back up close as I can to my hitch and hook it up. With out brakes if that machine started to roll you could not get out of the way or you may never see it comming. BE CARFUL
My 230 tj I have owned since 1990 it's a 1974 the rears and planitaries is the only part I've not had to touch until now and only have to replace pinion seals at that.
Probably this spring I will up grade to a grapple skidder. Been looking at the 380/360 but they look to wide for me I seen a 240 with a grapple I liked but they tell me that model doesn't have a good trans. I also wonderd how much a 240 will pull with a heavy grapple hanging on the back.
Rob,
That Deutz motor is a sweet one and, yes, I can thank a detroit for the hearing aids I were now. >:(
ill agree wiht everybody that the detriots are loud but there is nothing like the sound of a detriot comin out of the hollow at 7 in the mornin. i love hearin the detroits in the mornin when you start em up and the smoke flies and IT LIVES. I ran a 240 this summer and i liked it alot. in my opinoin it is the best you can get. it is one of the older heavier biult 240s and it works great. we had two skidders on the job and the other was a 225. we prefer the jacks cause they are easy to fixand dependable machines. i would like to try a 380 witha six cylinder detroit because of the power shiftbut nothing bigger because the places we work you cant get big stuff through.
the 225 is ok but i like the 240 the best
ill agree wiht everybody that the detriots are loud but there is nothing like the sound of a detriot comin out of the hollow at 7 in the mornin. i love hearin the detroits in the mornin when you start em up and the smoke flies and IT LIVES. I ran a 240 this summer and i liked it alot. in my opinoin it is the best you can get. it is one of the older heavier biult 240s and it works great. we had two skidders on the job and the other was a 225. we prefer the jacks cause they are easy to fixand dependable machines. i would like to try a 380 witha six cylinder detroit because of the power shiftbut nothing bigger because the places we work you cant get big stuff through.
the 225 is ok but i like the 240 the best
When my dad had some of his land cut a few years back the loger used a 230, 350 and a 380, all of them Timberjacks. The 350 had a 353 detroit in it and you could hear that thing 2 miles away (literally). the 380 was a really nice machine and it had the 453 GM in it (i think) Anyways it worked really well and the logger really liked that 380.
hi guys,
i have been offered a C5-D treefarmer, but am still not sure.
Does anyone know how much it weighs? I need to know as i can't afford the overloading tickets.
its got a gearmatic winch - any problems usually associated with these?
its got a 353 detroit, i have heard these guys will run on the sight of an oily rag.
thanks
si
Sawmillsi, I run a taylor w/ gearamatic 19 winch. On the rt side theres a small teardrop cover, under it is the control for brake fluid to the clutch. There's some o-rings and rubbercup seal. 4 cap screws hold it to the center shaft which turns all the time. Keep extra's in your tool box, they don't last more than 6 months. If you look up gearamatic on internet you can down load a manual to work on the whole winch.