Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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I’ve run both tracked and wheeled a lot and tracks are better 95% if the time. One nice thing about wheeled ones is they don’t freeze up if left outside after plowing snow
I've also been told by Brett, Big Sean D and also by others not on the forum that track maintenance can get very spendy once they have a considerable amount of wear!
 
Rule of thumb is the undercarriage will need rebuilt on a skiddy at 3000 hours. I probably wouldn’t buy a used one with over 1000-1200 hours.

My father in law bought one in the states once. Low hours x pics from the dealer looked really nice. Got it up here and the bastards and repainted it right over the mud and rust and the hour meter hasn’t moved in the 10 years he has had it. Pretty much had to rebuild the whole thing since then. It breaks every time you start it.
The CAT I had posted a picture of was just recently serviced by CAT themselves. A 6-7k$ maintenance full service. That was a big selling point fir me because CAT warranties their repair work and its done by certified CAT professional wrenchers. I didn't ask but Im assuming they went through the track assembly and undercarriage.
 
Just because it's rated a specific weight doesn't mean you can balance a load of that weight in/on it. I've hauled loads that were way more than a trailer was rated for and it hauled great, and I've hauled loads way less than a trailer was rated for that weren't nearly as pretty :surprised3: . I hate seeing a truck/trailer going down the road either loaded heavy on the tongue or to the tail.
Roger. I understand. As a mariner I'm all about focusing on stability and a safe secure load. Driving down a public road under a heavy tow with other traffic involved and school buses and such. Is way different than pushing the War Wagon limits being "OVERLOADED" and working by myself in the brush without anyone else around to get hurt but myself! I really don't know how that bigger Kubota would sit on the trailer. I would think either backed on it or loaded on it facing forward? One direction would be more stable and balanced over the axles than the other. However, dosent really matter at this point because It dosent fit the trailer anyway! 🤷 I'm definitely tasting your BBQ though Brett and a good taste it is. 👍
 
Redid the seat for my 68 today . Not at all happy with the results . The stitching is causing wrinkles in the pleats . No amount of heat and working corrected it . Also the pleats are off center back to bottom . The side I started on I lined up but it gradually goes off center to the other side. I called the company and they asked for pictures I’ve used their products before on other car and truck seats . Usually top notch stuff 02499E7C-DAE1-4F6F-B453-4715506164CB.jpeg3CE9E8D2-C78D-467C-8D35-026017F76925.jpegD433D756-6BB0-4EC0-B4D7-A5C61E3C1A4A.jpeg71314AFC-1379-4224-9EEB-BBA49D73C367.jpeg
 
My Equipment connection just found me a Bob Cat S175 with less than 300 hrs 240 to be exact. Heated inclosed cab and pre emissions . 48k delivered to Tacoma WA fir shipping North. What do you guys think?
Probably not big enough for what you are wanting to do. I think thats only about a 45-46HP machine and I would guess the rated load would be under 1800lb. I probably would not want tires for forestry type work either, beat the crap out of yourself running that around a claim, and easier to get hung up and stuck.
 
I've also been told by Brett, Big Sean D and also by others not on the forum that track maintenance can get very spendy once they have a considerable amount of wear!
This can be true, goes back to my comment earlier about the 3000 hr rebuilds.
 
Probably not big enough for what you are wanting to do. I think thats only about a 45-46HP machine and I would guess the rated load would be under 1800lb. I probably would not want tires for forestry type work either, beat the crap out of yourself running that around a claim, and easier to get hung up and stuck.
Yeah, the S175 I think its rated to pick up around 1750? Im looking to be able to pick up a 16' Spruce log 24" at the scale end, 20' long 20" at the scale end or 10'-12' long 36" at the scale end. I bucked a log not to long ago around 10 long 36" at the scale end it was less than 1500lbs. I do believe. Im definitely going to research the S175 more before I make a decision.👍
 
I've also been told by Brett, Big Sean D and also by others not on the forum that track maintenance can get very spendy once they have a considerable amount of wear!
IMO, I won't own another wheeled Skid Steer. A flat tire is essentially a stopper to any productivity. Heck, even airing it back up may be an issue if you dont have a large enough volume and pressure to deliver said air.....

Tired machines are really unstable in rooty ground, and ride like a carnival ride, absolutely will shake the fillings out of your teeth and make for a long day. Not really having any "low Ground pressure" with Tired machines either. I put ten k hours on a Kubota powered Bobcat 763, and it was work to get 2000 h on a set of tires, and thats not a cheap date either.

Undercarriage Maintenance is a function of you are going to get what you give. GREASE is king. I just replaced the front torsion axle on my RC 30, and I learned alot the hard way- I wanted to try and save the axle to put under a custom trailer, and it would have been somewhat useable for that, but getting the rails off both the front and rear axles wasn't happening, with the front stubs being bent, plus dried grease and rust, and a couple of wear rings on each stub. (1.25d x 8"l) . I cut the stubs off when I had cleared about three inches off, and the rails just slid off the rear, went back together nice. ASV patented the torsion axle application that Made Cat buy them, now everyone has a torsion axle independant suspension on their CTL's.

I plan on upping my grease-ing. The back end has a reciever, and I will make a tee bar about 2 feet long to stick in there, that will have two legs just about tall enough to touch the ground. Then when I want to grease front and rear axle/rails, I will jack the whole thing up with the bucket on the ground, rocking the rear end up onto the legs in the back, and take the pressure off the zerk and get grease in the axle socket from the top down where it needs to be. (No grease track cut into the axle stubs, just smooth and solid, seems kind of dumb?) I can use a pair of floor jacks, but this would be quicker.

While you may have said, maybe you didn't. What are you planning to do? Some grading, some firewood collecting? Then you need to consider the terrain. I see your pics of collecting wood, and I wouldn't want to run a tired machine there. you'd be spening a bit of time moving the tops and schrapnel so the ride was smoother as you collected stems. PLUS, you will NOT like hitting the stumps with one side front tire, it will give you a dark star in your shorts. The tracks are a longer "wheelbase" and give you greater stability.

Broaden your search to an ASV RC series, and even try to get a (national) rental yard sell off, if you can;t find a private owner.

I just can't help offering my 2 cents. for your remote location, and the terrain I see you flogging around in, I wouldn't buy a Tippy Tired machine, {PARTICULARLY for the punctures you might get going over stumps or blowndown. thats an immediate replacement tire, and you have no idea how not fun it is to try and drive one with three tires back to the trailer, let alone onto it.) Caterpillar can be spendy on parts, and can be hard to source AM parts, you gotta be crafty, Bobcat is slightly better on parts but equally proud.

Tell us what you are aiming to do with it?
 
Compared to a decent sized tractor, I wouldn't own another, ANY BRAND skid steer.

A tractor is just so much more versatile!

SR
Tractors may be versatile but they don't lift weight efficiently lb for lb a skid loader lifts more then a tractor. He's not worried about plowing fields or pto implements then the tractor makes no sense. Having said that, I have a tractor because I need the versatility and have access to much larger equipment if I need to move something heavy.
 
Tractors may be versatile but they don't lift weight efficiently lb for lb a skid loader lifts more then a tractor. He's not worried about plowing fields or pto implements then the tractor makes no sense. Having said that, I have a tractor because I need the versatility and have access to much larger equipment if I need to move something heavy.
I got rid of a skid and bought my loader tractor, it's been a HUGE improvement!

How do you tow a loaded trailer, or skid logs a half mile out of the woods, or skidding them home. I can go through deep mud or snow towing that load, a skid would be stuck there. My tractor has a bigger bucket and lifts more, rides better is easier to work on and uses less fuel. The list goes on and on and on....

I don't use my loader tractor to plow fields with, but I DO use it with a "skidding winch" on it, and it works great for that! A tractor is FAR better for logging saw logs or for firewood collection!

SR
 
Here’s a tractor brand I don’t see mentioned. I don’t have personal experience with them, I only know that this brand was one of the two main companies that merged in 1902 to form the International Harvester Company. They’re made in Italy now.

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https://www.mccormick.it/us/
 
Couldn’t get to the hiking trail my group volunteers on yesterday, I pulled three rocks out of the way with my Travelall and moved many others by hand. Also cut a couple small trees. Then I turned around and came back. The Forest Service has its hands full already, and opening a dead end dirt road with a hiking trailhead at the end isn’t a priority.



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This didn’t stay on, I had to rig it different.
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Some of yall need to look into some of these, or you'll wind up old and decrepit...... A few of these are less than half what you pay for a new saw. Just saying. I see you guys hucking logs and rounds from the ground into your trucks and trailers, and onto a splitter from the ground, by hand, and it makes MY back hurt.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-to...MIhtzl8-zU_AIVTxTUAR1AbgUyEAQYAiABEgJS5PD_BwE

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...VTxTUAR1AbgUyEAQYAyABEgJtgvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Heres one thats fit into a reciever hitch. but I bet any of them could be scabbed onto a splitter.

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/81039/10002/-1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwPzByO7U_AIVOxXUAR3SlwXPEAQYBiABEgL71PD_BwE
 
Some of yall need to look into some of these, or you'll wind up old and decrepit...... A few of these are less than half what you pay for a new saw. Just saying. I see you guys hucking logs and rounds from the ground into your trucks and trailers, and onto a splitter from the ground, by hand, and it makes MY back hurt.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-to...MIhtzl8-zU_AIVTxTUAR1AbgUyEAQYAiABEgJS5PD_BwE

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200672545_200672545?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Material Handling > Hoists & Lifts + Cranes > Truck Cranes&utm_campaign=Ultra-Tow&utm_content=52534&ogmap=SHP|PLA|GOOG|STND|c|SITEWIDE|OOT||||10028976390|109460915708&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhtzl8-zU_AIVTxTUAR1AbgUyEAQYAyABEgJtgvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Heres one thats fit into a reciever hitch. but I bet any of them could be scabbed onto a splitter.

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/81039/10002/-1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwPzByO7U_AIVOxXUAR3SlwXPEAQYBiABEgL71PD_BwE
That jegs one is sweet, it's not permanent or requires installation
 
Compared to a decent sized tractor, I wouldn't own another, ANY BRAND skid steer.

A tractor is just so much more versatile!

SR

I got rid of a skid and bought my loader tractor, it's been a HUGE improvement!

How do you tow a loaded trailer, or skid logs a half mile out of the woods, or skidding them home. I can go through deep mud or snow towing that load, a skid would be stuck there. My tractor has a bigger bucket and lifts more, rides better is easier to work on and uses less fuel. The list goes on and on and on....

I don't use my loader tractor to plow fields with, but I DO use it with a "skidding winch" on it, and it works great for that! A tractor is FAR better for logging saw logs or for firewood collection!

SR
Going to have to disagree to a high Degree, Sawyer....... A TRACTOR is not more versatile. I think the number of implements is greater for skids, but even if they were capable of an even number of attachements between them, the speed and manouverability and fitting in spaces is not even close. Perhaps a wheeled skid steer- the proper term being skid steer, yeah, maybe if thats what you had and got rid of because of the limitations of suspension-less skid steers, sure. They can get stuck, they dont have tractive power, you are right.

Have you ever owned a CTL?

But you will never convince me a CTL or Track loader such as we are talking about, you're going to get left in the dust, claiming a tractor is more versatile. My machine is rated a 1000 pound lift capacity, and I know I've taken 1500 on a weighed pallet off semi trucks multiple times with just a 100# of counter weight on the receiver out back. ASV was invented by some guys in Minnesota that do alot of business in Canada, and they invented the CTL with rubber tracks and independant suspension to have both high flotation in mud and snow, AND have traction in the same. I have Gumbo, and I can carry a fresh cut green stick 30" on the butt end 10' long through a Gumbo mud puddle. I dont drag my firewood logs. I can load the 12k dump trailer 20 acres away full of logs I load with the CTL, and hook up to it, and drag that tandem axle through the same Gumbo patch. I didn't NEED to get rid of my wheeled machine, but it was worthless with Gumbo stuck to the treads. I have a Mitsubishi Compact Ag tractor, and she is a one trick pony- bush hog only, no FEL. I do have a box blade with ripper shanks, but why use it when I have a rootrake and grapple? and a GP bucket, and a grading bucket for my CTL? Google Gumbo, then imagine dragging a log through it, you'll be calling a CTL to come pull you out, or hunting up a bunch a chain and cable and hoping to find a tree to attach to.

A tractor more versatile than a CTL? Not even.

I dont have snow, but I do have Maritime Hammock, and claey sand, and quite nearby, Gumbo. And, Cypress Swamp.

And, I have both a CTL and a tractor.
 
That jegs one is sweet, it's not permanent or requires installation
Did you see the prices? I can't believe how inexpensive they are, as in why try and fab something compared to that low price. And really, not all of us have a scrap pile or a welder either, these things can be bolted down or like the receiver mount, just slip it on?. Im half tempted to get one and put a tube on the tongue of my dump trailer, yet be able to put it on a truck or any other trailer with a few pieces of tube. (That can be bolted on with U-Bolts)

( I admit, I was looking for the pics to fab something up, and had no idea it could be that cheap to buy- I dont need to spenda day fabbing one, I can just go buy it, I have all the saws I need. ) Dang, now one of them is going to crap out on me for that comment......

I just cringe when my bros on here are doing all this work to get it TO the splitter, just to have to lift it up ON the splitter, so I was trying to be helpful toooooo.
 
Couldn’t get to the hiking trail my group volunteers on yesterday, I pulled three rocks out of the way with my Travelall and moved many others by hand. Also cut a couple small trees. Then I turned around and came back. The Forest Service has its hands full already, and opening a dead end dirt road with a hiking trailhead at the end isn’t a priority.



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View attachment 1050028

This didn’t stay on, I had to rig it different.
View attachment 1050029

Nice old International!
 
I got rid of a skid and bought my loader tractor, it's been a HUGE improvement!

How do you tow a loaded trailer, or skid logs a half mile out of the woods, or skidding them home. I can go through deep mud or snow towing that load, a skid would be stuck there. My tractor has a bigger bucket and lifts more, rides better is easier to work on and uses less fuel. The list goes on and on and on....

I don't use my loader tractor to plow fields with, but I DO use it with a "skidding winch" on it, and it works great for that! A tractor is FAR better for logging saw logs or for firewood collection!

SR
For my wood processing, a tractor is way to clumsy. I like to see bucket cutting edge. And for moving snow it is way faster, than my loader tractor. Also is way easier to get though the woods. I do haul it in dump trailer.
 

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