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County for forwarding


Dave110
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Hi all,

 

A question for the County owners and operator's.... In the past I ran a 764 as a winch tractor, Igland 5000 and a blade on the front. For its age (and lack of mod cons) it was an excellent machine. I have heard a whisper that a machine I know (unsure of model) is coming up for sale. The machine in question also has a highland bear roofmount crane.

 

Are the County's with roof mount any more stable than other newer machines?

 

Will the tractor unit and a trailer for forwarding be unproductive on sites other than clearfell? Whilst i know County's are actually very nimble machines I cant see them doing well with a trailer on anything but a gentle turn..

 

Any input appreciated or just post some images of your County set ups!

 

I also know there are other machines available and they are brill but its about budget for me.

 

Thanks

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16 minutes ago, Dave110 said:

Hi all,

 

A question for the County owners and operator's.... In the past I ran a 764 as a winch tractor, Igland 5000 and a blade on the front. For its age (and lack of mod cons) it was an excellent machine. I have heard a whisper that a machine I know (unsure of model) is coming up for sale. The machine in question also has a highland bear roofmount crane.

 

Are the County's with roof mount any more stable than other newer machines?

 

Will the tractor unit and a trailer for forwarding be unproductive on sites other than clearfell? Whilst i know County's are actually very nimble machines I cant see them doing well with a trailer on anything but a gentle turn..

 

Any input appreciated or just post some images of your County set ups!

 

I also know there are other machines available and they are brill but its about budget for me.

 

Thanks

Some of the roofmounts had stabiliser rams fitted to the front axle to help with sway when loading. I suppose it depends who did the build.

I ran them for a lot of years, mostly as skidders, and tbh you could turn them pretty tight on the independent brakes. Water in the wheels helped a lot to keep wheels on the ground. 

If i could find a tidy one at the right money i would buy it.

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There are several ways to look this,

1) Countys where and still are very capable machines, and some one will correct this if i am wrong they are the only true 4 wheel drive there was for many years and they could get the traction down, thats why they where so popular in forestry,

2) If you buy a county today and dont anything to it it will be worth £100 more next wk, so buy it use it, and you will have a capable machine that will be going up in value every day, they never gave much trouble if any, good solid reliable work horse that you would never loose a penny on, 

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Steering drawbar on the trailer is a big help reversing up racks and getting around tight turns etc.

I ran a 764 /highland bear back in the 90s, I never found stability to be an issue, it came with water filled wheels    but I preferred without as you could keep the crane on the high side if you needed to and you could lift one side if you got stuck.

A county and crane was a huge step forward from loading logs by hand but I’m not sure I’d like doing long days in the same machine nowadays.

Some of the later ones had more comfortable cabs with flat floors etc.

i also remember the fumes from the (usually glazed) ford engine being pretty bad in the old cabs.

 

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19 minutes ago, s o c said:

Steering drawbar on the trailer is a big help reversing up racks and getting around tight turns etc.

Yes I never had one and managed but a steering drawbar would be good for early thinnings, a roof mount is slightly less convenient in early thinnings as you need to travel with the grapple loader over the trailer bunk.

19 minutes ago, s o c said:

I ran a 764 /highland bear back in the 90s, I never found stability to be an issue, it came with water filled wheels    but I preferred without as you could keep the crane on the high side if you needed to and you could lift one side if you got stuck.

This too, crane deployed on sidling ground if there is space.

19 minutes ago, s o c said:

A county and crane was a huge step forward from loading logs by hand but I’m not sure I’d like doing long days in the same machine nowadays.

It certainly was and I seldom did more than an 8 hour day whereas it's not unusual to work 12 hour shifts in a modern machine but B* that for a game of soldiers.

19 minutes ago, s o c said:

Some of the later ones had more comfortable cabs with flat floors etc.

Flat floor means the loader mount is higher.

19 minutes ago, s o c said:

i also remember the fumes from the (usually glazed) ford engine being pretty bad in the old cabs.

 

Yes very much so with an engine driven pump as the big old 6 cylinder lump is ticking over to run the crane for much of the day. I have a slight breathing problem which I put down to this and chainsaw smoke as I never smoked tobacco (or much else after I was 20)

9 minutes ago, ESS said:

1174 onwards ,in the six cylinder , and i think 974 in the four cylinder were flat deck cabs , which meant a rotating seat could be fitted.

Yes, my 1164 has a rotating seat but the hydraulic valve chest and lift yokes have been removed to facilitate it. Also less functionality than a Valtra with reverse drive as you have to turn around to drive.

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5 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

There are several ways to look this,

1) Countys where and still are very capable machines, and some one will correct this if i am wrong they are the only true 4 wheel drive there was for many years and they could get the traction down, thats why they where so popular in forestry,

2) If you buy a county today and dont anything to it it will be worth £100 more next wk, so buy it use it, and you will have a capable machine that will be going up in value every day, they never gave much trouble if any, good solid reliable work horse that you would never loose a penny on, 

Twin prop shafts to front wheels, so when rear diff lock is in true 4 wheel drive

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8 minutes ago, miker said:

Twin prop shafts to front wheels, so when rear diff lock is in true 4 wheel drive

Yep we had a 1174 reg BEX 330T different machine when you put the diff lock in it just pulled for fun even on wet ground, most of the time it was moving stone and soil with a 12 tonne dump trailer behind it, if any one knows the where abouts of this tractor i would love to see it again,

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