Sawmill Loader

[TimW]

Do those Lulls have the hydraulics to put a grapple on instead of the forks?

Just look for Lull or other telehandlers with aux hydraulics.

   That is what I did.  I haven't brought my adapter yet.  I love the Lull as I can reach over older logs and place newer logs at the back of the pile.  But with forks, I gotta move logs, in front,  to get to the one I want.

 
hugs,  Brandi

[TimW]

Newer "telehandler" style forklifts should have hydraulics, most do not. One older ('94) 644 that I've used had hydraulic tilt, which could be appropriated for auxiliary hydraulics, but it is not setup for quick detach of the forks.

But you can attach this........Tele-Tach Converts Your Telehandler To Skid Steer Attachments
and use skid steer attachments. WOW have the prices went up since last December!
hugs,  Brandi

That's pretty slick. Thanks for the link. Just have to make sure the skid steer attachment is up to the job.

FYI..............the price has gone up $700 since December.
hugs,  Brandi

[TimW]

I believe that to really handle the logs & lumber associated with sawmilling, a backhoe is the best option.  It already has the necessary rear ballast and the FEL hydraulics far exceed any normal farm tractor.

I know that my backhoe will easily pick up logs that will only (unsafely) lift the rear tires on my Kubota M4900.  Whatever you get with a FEL, I would absolutely not consider anything other than "4 wheel drive".

You are right on the ballast MM.  I only like to move logs with my backhoe on the tractor.  You would think the 8 foot wide landplane would be heavy enough, but I have felt the seat of my pants raise up too many times with it attached.
When I first got the tractor/loader/backhoe, I was moving a complete pine tree, stump and all.  To get any rear wheel traction, I had to extend the backhoe straight back to turn where I wanted to.  The Mahindra lifts 3900 pounds on the loader pivots and it takes every pound of the 1600 pound backhoe counterweight to allow that lift.  Oh yeah............new 8 ply front R1s work way better than the original 6 ply R1s.
hugs,  Brandi

[zippski]

I believe that to really handle the logs & lumber associated with sawmilling, a backhoe is the best option.  It already has the necessary rear ballast and the FEL hydraulics far exceed any normal farm tractor.

I know that my backhoe will easily pick up logs that will only (unsafely) lift the rear tires on my Kubota M4900.  Whatever you get with a FEL, I would absolutely not consider anything other than "4 wheel drive".

You are right on the ballast MM.  I only like to move logs with my backhoe on the tractor.  You would think the 8 foot wide landplane would be heavy enough, but I have felt the seat of my pants raise up too many times with it attached.
When I first got the tractor/loader/backhoe, I was moving a complete pine tree, stump and all.  To get any rear wheel traction, I had to extend the backhoe straight back to turn where I wanted to.  The Mahindra lifts 3900 pounds on the loader pivots and it takes every pound of the 1600 pound backhoe counterweight to allow that lift.  Oh yeah............new 8 ply front R1s work way better than the original 6 ply R1s.
hugs,  Brandi

It absolutely depends on the tractor.  My Mahindra 9125P lifts just under three (3!) tons at the pins (I've lifted more, but not really recommended) and it is still maneuverable even without ballast in the rears.  If I decided to load the rears, it would be rock solid.



Point is, the cost of this tractor was far less than an equivalent backhoe, and unless you require the hoe, a big FEL tractor works perfectly fine for moving logs. I am currently breaking down 400 logs from this winter's bush cleanup.  I am stacking 8' to 16' sticks up to 40" in diameter without any issues at all although a 12 foot 40" beech made 'er grunt for sure.
Now, if you are talking the typical weekend warrior-style compact that most of you on the forum seem to use as your main working /logging tractor, that's another story altogether.   ;D
Leigh
zippski

[Bruno of NH]

My Mahindra with loaded tires would lift a good load.
I had a backhoe on my Massey with loaded tires.
That helps a lot.
But the turning radius on a tractor while moving finish lumber isn't great.

[Bruno of NH]

For me I would like one of the wheeled excavators like they use in Europe. 
They have forks , buckets , rotators and can pull a trailer.
If money wasn't an issue.

[boonesyard]

I've had the opportunity to use many different pieces of equipment around the mill. Wheeled skid steer, track skid steer, boom truck, mini excavator w/thumb, JD 4wd tractor w/FEL, articulated compact wheel loader and a compact telehandler.

They all work, I think it's all about where you're located, what kink of yard you're dealing with (concrete, gravel, dirt/mud, in the trees/woods and capacity). If you buy something thinking that x lbs is the most you'll need, in short order you'll max it out and wish you had more. 

A wheeled skid steer is an all around swiss army knife. The quick attach and seemingly unlimited attachments make them very useful and cost effective. We have 4 wheeled or track skid steers on various sites for our construction Co. and my guys would not be without one on every site. The track skid steers do a better job doing dirt work and grading, and will generally have more capacity in the same frame sized machine. The advantage over a wheeled vs track is the ride, much better in the wheeled, the tracked machines are rough. Advantage goes to the tracked machine in the mud and less ground pressure/compaction. What I don't like about these machines around the mill are visibility, cab accessibility (although JCB makes a rig that is a mono boom and is accessed from the side), and they make a mess of my gravel yard. These issues make them a deal breaker for me in my yard.

The boom/crane truck was fun to play with. All kinds of capacity and reach, but it's not mobile for a mill yard, not practical.

The mini ex is an excellent piece of equipment, wish I could keep one around all the time. Decent capacity (ours is a 13,000 lb machine), decent reach, good in the mud, and just wonderful to have around the property. Down side is it tears up the yard, is slow travel and generally more expensive. Also may not have the capacity required for the big logs.

I would not be without my tractor. Quick attach FEL with forks and buckets, PTO, and all the 3pt hitch attachments we use around the property. It's maneuverable and access is excellent. Ours is small at 60hp with a capacity of about 2100 lbs, I really like the size for property work but it doesn't have enough lifting capacity for the mill yard. Larger tractors w/FEL and increased lift capacity can be a good option, but they're physical size is something to keep in mind. More capacity means a larger profile, something to think about when accessing buildings and possible getting around the woods.  Cost varies greatly with age, condition and options.

I think if all I was looking for was a sawmill yard machine, the wheel loader or compact wheel loader would be tough option to beat. Great accessibility, capacity, maneuverability and visibility. Quick attach options can include a bucket, forks, grapple and more. They're good in the mud and don't tear up the yard. Our compact Volvo has a 6,000 lb lift capacity, as much as I'd ever need. The height of the machine made it a no go for our kiln building. If looking for something in a late model or relatively new, they can be very expensive (I guess everything's expensive nowdays).

I landed on a compact telehandler for my mill yard. It has a small profile for getting in and around my kiln building, is maneuverable, capacity is excellent, accessibility is excellent and the squirt boom is used all the time. Ours is a CAT TH255, it's rated for 5,500 lbs but I've had nearly 7,000 on it  . The boom will extend 13' and I find I use this option way more than I thought I would. I could use more extension, but I don't think I want to give up the compact size. We have a quick attach on ours that will take any skid steer attachment and front aux hydraulics. It is one handy piece of equipment, but they're in high demand and even used can be pretty expensive.

Just thought I'd share my experiences, good luck with your choice!






 

[Peter Drouin]

Once you have a lull in the yard. You will tell yourself. I should have done this a long time ago. ;) 

[YellowHammer]

I've got a true Cat forklift for moving lumber in and out of buildings, but the majority of my outside work is done with a custom order, beefed up New Holland tractor, made for me in the European Style, in Belgium.  It took them 8 months to build and deliver it.  One machine to do everything, and anything, mostly :D.  At the time, there was only one other machine like it in North America.

It will lift bigger and heavier logs than my LT70 can load, (or saw), it uses a grapple that has enough power to crush the concrete off fenceposts, it has a root rake with a depth bar that will cut a road in the woods in a hurry, it has quick detachable forks, quick detach hay spear, 8 foot wide bucket, runs a double wide Bush Hog, an 8 foot landscape box, skids logs out of the woods  (breaks the occasional log chain) and plows, discs, seeds and sprays my fields.  It also has a root wrecker that will dig up some mega trees, or it they are small enough, just push them over, all while I'm listening to the radio in air conditioned comfort.  

American tractors and front end loaders are generally purposefully limited to only lift 2 hay bales, for safety reasons, according to my buddy who owns a New Holland/Kubota dealership.  So most people who want construction strength equipment move to a skip loader which is basically a backhoe without backhoe.  In Europe, the machines are put together to do pretty much everything, and like mine, even has a PTO, so they are a hybrid skip loader and farm tractor.

John Deere made an equivalent to mine, and it was a toss up between the two.  I can't tell you how many million pounds mine has handled, but it runs as good today as when I bought it.  It has a Fiat engine, of all things.  

Here's me a month or so ago pushing up a huge gum tree with about an 8 foot root ball.



 



Here it is carrying a few logs to the sawmill.






Moving 8 crossties at once with the grapple.





Emptying the sawdust bin.





Toting a big stack of 8/4 live edge slabs to the kiln.








 



  

[Walnut Beast]

Everybody has some pretty nice equipment and recommendations 👍

[Peter Drouin]

It all comes to do what kind of sawmill operation you have. 
This worked for me for a while.


 

 

 
Moving as much wood as I do was hard on John. And no reach.

[longtime lurker]

So old Bessie - the bigger of my wheel loaders - has been in dry dock for the last couple of weeks. Last week I had to go dig some stuff out from the back of a pile for a special order, required shifting maybe 100 tonne or so of logs. I take the smaller loader - she's around an 18000lb machine, lift capacity about 2½ to 3 tonne. In my head this is like a ¾ hour job... it takes a couple hours more than anticipated because well... one log at a time not 3 or 4. :D

Time is money etc etc, and sawmills make money sawing not sitting around waiting for the next log. I've played with pretty much everything from 4WD forklifts to telehandlers to backhoes to drotts. And I own two wheel loaders and a forklift. Not that that means it's what works for everyone but... as someone said commercial mills buy the things for a reason. If all you want to do is toss logs around I'd prefer a Patrick ARR8, but those are dedicated mill machines and you can't just hook on a bucket for sawdust & chips.... guess every choice comes down to trading between single task efficiency and overall versatility.

[Bruno of NH]

I find the European's have some great ideas on equipment. 
Look at all the compact loafers the tree services have now. All from Europe. 

[Brandon1986]

Living on the homestead that is base for our excavation outfit I have options from a warehouse forklift to a CAT 966G with 8' forks, or a self loading log truck, but these days I primarily use our VR842 telehandler.. 

[customsawyer]

As some of you have read on my mishap yesterday that I have been in the process of moving all of my equipment home from the big mill I used to cut for. Well since I have never had all of my equipment in one spot until today I figured I would take a picture for you. Everything except the forklift has quick coupler with a bucket to go on it. There is another skidsteer between the tractor and the forklift but apparently I didn't pull it up far enough. If you look at my signature at the bottom of my post it says enough rolling stock to keep it all moving. Apparently that isn't the case as I just added more in Feb.