(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/20140520_114700.jpg) With the bark slip being horrible right now I had enough with losing them out of the grapple and broke out the cable cutter yesterday. Hooked 10 sliders behind the 450C, she seems ok with about 8 good ones before they start catching a tire. Time for fenders.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/20140519_110224.jpg)
My help started crying, "I thought we where getting away from pulling cable"... 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/20140519_110953.jpg)
3/4 mile rocky nasty skid, cant wait to be done with this job.
Bet if you could keepem off the tires it would pull one heck of a hitch!
400 bucks for the tube and service call for a 24.5 tire. I can see this getting to be an expensive toy. That skidder has power, takes 8-10 in 2nd and goes. Loves fuel... 8)
If I was the help I would be crying as well. Nice wood. Is it a lot of hemlock? 3/4 of a mile skid is a long ways. Would it not be cheaper to put in a road at least part of the way?
When you get your hitch pulled up behind you grab them with the grapple,you might not get all them in the bucket ,but it will keep them from coming into the tires.I used to have a dozen cable chokers on my franklin for long pulls. ;D
Yeah the grapple justs kinda sits open on the drag, isnt working out to bad. Yeah a fair amount of hemlock, mostly pulp and a few good sticks. Ive got a half way decent road knocked out, just sections with rocks I cant push out. Waiting to hear if im cutting next door or not, about 25- 3' red oaks in just the one spot. About 100yds from where im cutting is some 5' hemlock, that and rock is all we grow down here.
the ash iv been cutting is bad even putting a notch in them on the top the chocker slips some times and by the time I get them to the log buyer there is no bark on them i wonder how many more logs you can put on a load when there is no bark on them
if you running with the grapple open just resting on the hitch you will be buying a bunch of tires !!! that grapple can swing around on a corner and get into the tire chains,tire!!!!! not a good thing, grab that bundle ;D