Tracked machine for skidding?

[bitzer]

Yesterday was the first day I was able to skid in weeks. The ground was soft from winter break up and I just couldn't do much. I've been trying to figure out how I can keep wood moving when a wheeled machine can't. There were a lot of days that I could not skid due to the non-winter we had and a wet fall last year. I'm thinking a small dozer with a winch although it may be slow as hell. I don't think a tracked skid loader would be heavy duty enough. I don't really know though. What I need is a tank with a winch! It rained all day today. It was really great to cut in compared to sunny, humid, and 80 degrees that we've been having, but there goes skidding for a while again. Any thoughts on tracked machines?

 

[RandyMac]

Besides Caterpillers?

 

[schmuck.k]

fmc makes a tracked skidder here is a video fmc skidding logs - YouTube

 

[paccity]

the fmc's are the only one's i've seen. seen with grapples or cablearch.

 

[floyd]

Tracked machine is as slow as the operator chooses to run it.

 

[sharkness]

Cat makes the 527,but it is a grapple type.

 

[palogger390]

Cat makes the 517 and 527 in different configurations. The most common that I see are swing boom grapples. But they make both models with a cable arch, swing boom, or standard grpple with a winch too. Before cat came out with the 517 and 527 they made D4H-TSK and the D5H-TSK, if you are looking for something more affordable.
Your other option is a kmc/fmc. They are very impressive machines. In our area they use them to herbicide steep ground. I have a hard time believing where those machines go with out upsetting. But I have been told they are expensive machines to maintain. Mainly the undercarriage wears out quickly, which would be the case with any track machine skidding in mud continuously.
I have a d4h that we use on hillside and for bunching tight spots. I try to use it for logging as little as possible because it doesn't lift the timber far anough off the ground. Dull saw and muddy logs all the time. It also seems to create more mud than rubber tired machine.
The best machine I've had for producing in muddy conditions was a Deere 1410D 8 wheeled forwarder. With eco tracks all around it would almost walk on water. In hind sight I think it was the way to go.

 

[HorseFaller]

My vote would be the forwarder also. You can get them with tracks or rubber tired with what we call ice tracks that go around the tires. Works pretty good.

 

[coastalfaller]

Cats are slower than wheel skidders, but definitely the ticket for soft or steep ground. I ran a D5 high track one summer, it was used in conjunction with wheel skidders in a fairly big show. My job was to skid all the timber to areas where the wheel skidders could grab it, or to the landing if it was close enough. You definitely don't want to long of skids with a cat. The D5 I ran had a grapple, but not the swing boom which was frustrating at times. Backing up a steep slope to grab your turn, just.....inching.....up......then just when you're reaching for your turn with the grapple...you slide a bit. F***####k. Back down the hill and try again! Swing boom would have been great!

Ideally you could grow your operation large enough where you can sustain both a skidder and a cat as both have their place.

 

[Joe46]

No more FMC's. Haven't been for several years. If they are still produced, they are now KMC's and made up in BC. They were fast as heck, costly and high maintenance. They'd get the wood out though.

 

[Humptulips]

Those FMCs were an incredible logging machine and equally incredible when everything started wearing out in less then a year. Bankrupt a guy trying to keep tracks and suspension on them.

 

[paccity]

that's probably why the ones around here are sitting all loanly in the corner of there lotts.

 

[Oldtimer]

The Caterpillar track skidders are so heavy that they wouldn't be hardly any better than the skidder.
My best advice is to buy a set of "swamp logger" flotation skidder tires. It's the cheapest and easiest thing you can do.
What do you run for a skidder? I forgot if you said.

Firestone 67x34.00x25 Tubeless Flotation Tires - Logging Equipment - Misc. Logging Eq. -

 

[natems361]

Yesterday was the first day I was able to skid in weeks. The ground was soft from winter break up and I just couldn't do much. I've been trying to figure out how I can keep wood moving when a wheeled machine can't. There were a lot of days that I could not skid due to the non-winter we had and a wet fall last year. I'm thinking a small dozer with a winch although it may be slow as hell. I don't think a tracked skid loader would be heavy duty enough. I don't really know though. What I need is a tank with a winch! It rained all day today. It was really great to cut in compared to sunny, humid, and 80 degrees that we've been having, but there goes skidding for a while again. Any thoughts on tracked machines?

i dont know the volume of wood your talking about or how far of a skid, but i use a mini excavator, bobcat 331 7500 lb machine that can do some work. i hauled out about 100 cord of firewood and five tri axle loads of mill logs, it took about a 150 machine hours . best part is the wood dose not get dragged through the dirt. ive been playing in the mud myself.

 

[bitzer]

Thanks for all the replies and thoughts guys! I am going to need a second machine regardless and I've just been tossing the tracked idea around a lot. I could see the skids making a lot of mud and long distance skids would be ####ty production though. I've thought about the higher float tires and haven't really figured out if I could run them. I've got a 1990 Franklin 132 single bunk forwarder. Its just killing me that I can't move wood more often. I've been running at about 50% since December or so. We never really had any frost in the ground and way too many days above freezing. Break up was quick, but its mud season for a couple of months now. I've done some digging and found some smaller dozers to the north of me set up with a winch and one even with a loader like my machine. I've got to get something in the works. With cool temps over the next few days I probably won't be moving anything until late in the week again as long as it doesn't rain. Thanks again!

 

[slowp]

This one did well.

[video=youtube_share;rVJ4DT9dEoI]http://youtu.be/rVJ4DT9dEoI[/video]

 

[slowp]

It is faster than the tree. Look, he's got blue wedges!

[video=youtube_share;PWwS85TXJGw]http://youtu.be/PWwS85TXJGw[/video]

 

[Oldtimer]

If you need another machine, a mid-west sourced 8 wheel forwarder is the best choice. One with the eco-tracks. Pricey though. Ponsse, Rottne, JD, Fabtek, Valmet...maybe even the 8 wheel Timbco / Timber-pro, but those generally bring big dollars even used.

Used Logging Equipment - Forwarders - Forestry Equipment Sales

 

[hammerlogging]

dozers are the norm around, whether bunching for skidders, or in rare cases, forwarders. The JD 650 is the best all arounder, an arch helps but is not required. Skid as short a distance as possible to main extraction routes. A 30 yo cat or jd might do you fine, really just winching to, almost no tramming. So when you can forward, weather permitting, it may be 3 18 hr days in a row but at least you've wood out, more wood. I'd say it'd be a good step, a real good step for you.

 

[Slamm]

dozers are the norm around, whether bunching for skidders, or in rare cases, forwarders. The JD 650 is the best all arounder, an arch helps but is not required. Skid as short a distance as possible to main extraction routes. A 30 yo cat or jd might do you fine, really just winching to, almost no tramming. So when you can forward, weather permitting, it may be 3 18 hr days in a row but at least you've wood out, more wood. I'd say it'd be a good step, a real good step for you.

There are a few in Southern Illinois that bunch up hitches with D4's and JD 450's and they pull about 400 board feet straight up a hill, but no more, or they are raring up in the air like a stallion, the logs are drug low with a small arch and get quite muddy.

My research had me wanting to get a JD650 with a grapple. The 750 is too big for serious mud work and the 550 is too small for serious use with a grapple.

My observations with cable skidding with a smaller dozer is simply just, acting like you are doing something in the mud, but in reality is sort of a waste of time, but everyone's level of productivity is different.

In our area the Catapillars are not the go to machine, the Deere's are easier to work on, easier on fuel and cheaper on parts.

I'm going the flotation tire route for my bottoms ground work that is always wet and muddy. I looked into those FMC?'s and they are expensive and hard to keep maintained, and they tear up a lot of ground.

I have skidded some 200-300 board feet trees backwards with my Mustang MTL20 track loader. I would spike the end of the log with one of the grapple bucket's teeth and then literally sit backwards one the loader arms cross bar and I could drive that machine backwards just as fast, as I could forwards, after a little practice, but again, it was slow enough that it just seemed like a waste of time, better off to mount good lights and work 22 hours a day when its dry, then muck around for 8 hours when its wet and slow, I've done both and 22 hours and dry is much more profitable.

Thats my take on it,

Sam