Tigercat 1165 harvester

[Riwaka]

The Tigercat 1165 (smaller version of the 1185 configuration) harvester is in the woods and being dialled in.

Woodland Equipment/ Mich demonstrating in various places this coming week according to their FB.

Machine weight around 59K lbs with lunchbox and liquid for operator hydration.

House levelling 24 degrees backward, 18 degrees forward
Climb 40 degree (84 percent) slope 

[barbender]

I saw their demo videos on FB, I wasn't very impressed. For one thing, it didn't look like a very experienced operator (or at least they weren't very familiar with the machine). It looked kinda slow, too.

[Skeans1]

Sounds like it should of been set out here like it's big brother more of a slope machine.

[wannaergo]

That was what I was thinking too barbender. Looks like some of the settings need to be dialed in better as well.

[Riwaka]

The blurb on the 1165 prototype

https://www.tigercat.com/1165-prototype/

[Riwaka]

Tigercat 1165 with H8 head in Oregon, thinning in an area thicker than the hairs on a dog's back.

Apparently, a slow job with the big machinery when the small trees are that numerous.
What is the story with pre-commercial manual thinning (with people with brush cutters with a small saw disc) of wilding regrowth trees in production forests/ tree farms in North America? What are the reasons the pre-commercial thinning is left? Too big an area to cover with people with brush saws, too costly (quoted in Virginia vid $135-$200/acre), no available labor, not enough money, H & S - workers comp, too many snakes, ticks etc?

Tigercat 1165 Oregon - thinning
L&L Inc. Tigercat 1165 Ponsse H8 - YouTube 

Pre-commercial thinning - Virginia brush saw example
Fifteen Minutes in the Forest: Precommercial thinning - YouTube  

[nativewolf]

Sounds like it should of been set out here like it's big brother more of a slope machine.

I wonder the same.  Have they sold many of the 1085?  Overall they have chosen a different form, something new, and I respect the move.  However they always seemed slow to me and ...big...like something for clearcuts.   
I would compare that to the Scorpion/Scorpion Kings of Ponsse which were also new.  However, those machines can put wood on the ground very quickly, visibility is good, etc.  They can't carry the largest heads but still, in a thinning they'd do very well.  Maybe they can't handle the slopes that the 1065 can?  
TSI in Virginia is a slog.  There is so little labor.  Farm workers are making 20, 25 if good up in our area.  Every trucking company is screaming for help.  etc etc.  So the contract crews are usually immigrant short term visa work crews and they do good work but only finish a small percent of the work that needs doing.