Forestry/skidding tractors, Wheeled or tracked?

[drinksloe]

Alright

 

I'm just wondering if many on here have much experience of using the more modern type of tracked tractors/crawlers (with aggressive rubber tracks)

 

I know the old Ford Counties have for decades and still are the go too forestry tractor for serious forestry work, but i'm just wondering if these new sometimes quite compact tractors with pretty low ground pressure could start replacing them?

 

Was 1 onsite the other day topping some wettish ground and it hardly marked it. But a normal twin wheeled tractor would probably have coped too.

But i have to admit i'm generally not a great fan of rubber tracks on greasy or steep ground after getting plenty of mini diggers stuck over the years, and it really doesn't take much to get the tracks spinning on wet greasy ground.

But their tracks are nowhere near as aggressive.

 

The other thing about tracked tractors is how do they handle steep ditches etc? With a digger u can put ur bucket accross to support the nose from pitching in, with just a tractor and no jib i'd imagine they could get stuck fairly easy? but i've never reaaly seen them in real action to be fair