looking to buy in the future

[cycledude232]

hi im starting out with my own logging business in Maine. im just a one man band, with some off and on help. i mainly cut firewood right now, i have my own truck and splitter, and i have a homebuilt skidder made out of an international with a pto winch and an arch on the back.
im looking to up grade to a smaller skidder nothing too big, but big enough to keep one man busy monday through friday sun up to sun down.
i don't have the budget for anything like this right now, but within a year id love to buy a used one. what brand and size do you more seasoned guys suggest?
im just a young buck trying to make an alright living in my home town.
thanks for the help!

 

[Cletuspsc]

Timberjack only name in my book. 240's are a really dam nice machine, simple and easy to run and maintain. but cat and JD both make a good machine. i would look at what you have for dealers in you area. make shure you have a good parts and service source for what ever you get. you should also think about how much your gonna cut a day footage wise. if your gonna move a load a day (6000-7000 bdft) then i would look for somthing a bit bigger like a TJ 360, cat 518 or a JD 640. but if you gonna do less a TJ 240 or JD 540 would be both nice machine. I personally run a 99' 460 timberjack cable machine but i must move a tad over 1000bdft per hour for that machine to really pay for its self.