skidders

[David_c]

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?

[Rob]

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

[Rob]

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.

[David_c]

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.    

[Rob]

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.

[Frickman]

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.

[David_c]

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

[Jeff]

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.

[Scott]

 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.

[David_c]

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.

[David_c]

thanks scott

[Scott]

anytime  

[burlman]

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.

[David_c]

thanks burlman these are the kind of things i want to know.

[tiny]

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 ;)

[David_c]

thanks tiny everyones two cents count i want to learn best to learn from you guys that are useing them.

[David_c]

quess you guys dont like your skidders hey :D saw a jd 648g grapple skidder yesterday; big skidder. ;D

[Ed_K]

 I like my skidder best, when its not broke down  :D :D :D 8).
Ed K

[David_c]

ed what kind and how is it used?

[Steve]

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.

[Rob]

 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.

[isawlogs]

 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....

[Sawyerfortyish]

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 :-/

[David_c]

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.

[Sawyerfortyish]

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