It costs more to buy, and it is a lot heavier reducing net turn payload ?
Another carriage question- on a radio controlled carriage, with a clamp, does the radio controller just operate the clamp or does it by chance have some sort of powered slack puller in there? Any idea what kind of carriage I might be talking about, I couldn't find any markings on it.
There are two kinds of motorized carriages.
One kind has a drum and a bigger motor. They are heavy and built flimsy to keep the weight down as much as possible. If you drop them or even bump them they are broke and a big bill but they are fast.
Second kind is what you're talking about. They have a hydraulic system in them to apply the skyline clamp ( two aluminum shoes) and the clamp on the skidding line/drop line. Also they have a live wheel in them that when the skidding line is forced into, pulls slack from the yarder. They are tougher then the kind with a drum but slower because you can only perform one function at a time where the kind with a drum in them you can drum a turn to the carriage while the yarder is skidding the turn.
Carriage is stopped at the turn, skyline clamp on, skidding clamp off. Activate slack puller by line being crowded into live wheel. Drop line powers off to you. Set your turn then skidding clamp off, pull turn up to carriage then skidding clamp on, skyline clamp off and turn goes to landing.
So what about the mechanical dropline carriage. Carriage is tough, you can drop it, bang it, what ever it's good to go but there are draw backs.
First you need a yarder built for it like a grapple yarder which cost more.
Second more work for the hook tender sometimes requiring a pimp.
To understand you have to know how much extra rigging there is. On a skyline you have to string one leg of strawline on the mechanical you need to string two legs plus the blocks. Skyline, one small tommy will do. On the mechanical you're using haulback blocks which are about 75 pounds and 7/8 or 3/4 straps plus you are most often rigging tail trees because you can't hang way back to get lift like you can with a skyline. Last one I worked on I had two 15 inch tailblocks and two 13 inch tree blocks for each road so that is 8 haulback blocks you're lugging around plus 7/8 straps, 3/4 tree chokers, 4 150'x1/2" guylines, climbing gear, pass rope, axe, saw and maybe some coils for twisters. That not counting the strawline to string the road line. My back starts hurting again just thinking about it.
Another thing the MSP carriages are very hard on line. I usually figured to splice on average one eye a day. They do go through haulbacks too. Steady logging, I'd say you would be lucky to get a year out of a haulback.