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Financial viability of small forwarders/tractor trailer


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I’ve finally got chance to sit down and add my two pence to this conversation. Nice to see Logbullet bashing going on as usual 🤣 don’t knock it til you’ve tried it!

 

I’m echoing others, but it really is like comparing apples and oranges. In first thinnings work, the bullet knocks the socks off nearly anything. It’s unbelievably nimble, and so quick through tight blocks of conifers etc. However, it has its limitations. The three big nemesis of the bullet are steep ground going uphill fully loaded, large timber, and long haul to stacking/staging area. It’s these areas where it falls down, and I am the first to admit that and do my damn best to avoid them at all costs!

 

But I can move over a wagon load easily in a day when the right site presents itself. And I have forged a business based entirely around that, and after 4 years hard work it’s a busy little outfit looking to take on its first full time employee. I added the AGT850 Alpine tractor and Igland winch to the fleet and it works amazingly with the small forwarder. 
 

If you can carve a niche like I have, and convince folks of the merits of low impact methods, you too can have a successful business. But you can’t go into it like you might with bigger machines and bigger sites, the logistics simply don’t work. Day rate only, I tried a standing sale once and got burned badly. I’m happy with day rate, my clients are too. But others may have more success in different ways. 
 

The vast majority of my work is for local estates, on lovely sites, away from the public, doing great and enjoyable work. I have a laugh every day, without doubt! I make enough to live comfortably, and the business is now self sustaining almost. I’ll never be Uber rich, but I don’t care! 

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I should also add the estates I work for pretty much all have large biomass boilers, and either use or sell their own firewood. So every last scrap of timber is utilised. They get the thinnings work done, and managed woodlands as well as a useable product (chip or firewood). They’re left with neat blocks of top quality timber, and they’ll reap the rewards further down the line without doubt. 
 

Also the bullet can come on for a days work only, as it’s towable behind a regular road going vehicle. This means you can get some creamy work for the likes of the Woodland Trust etc, when they want to be seen to be doing a nice tidy, environmentally friendly approach.

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Brilliant, thanks for all the replies. Certainly a lot to think about. 

 

 

Good to know plenty of people are making a living from doing woodland management on a smaller scale. From experience day rate can work well when quality of work is appreciated by the customer, there's less pressure to get the job finished and move on and more time to keep everything tidy as you go. 

 

I'll get some prices for cranes on their own and see if making my own trailer is a more affordable option. 

 

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That grab looks handy spud. What's it like for stacking logs in a pile or loading a trailer?

 

I've got a tilt hitch which I don't think would work with a grab like that. If I was gonna bother to take the hitch off I would probably rather put on a rotating grab but they are a lot more expensive and more to break. Hadn't thought about sharing a crab with a crane, could work.. think a rigid rather than floppy grab would be better for brash etc though 

 

 

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23 hours ago, Malus said:

That grab looks handy spud. What's it like for stacking logs in a pile or loading a trailer?

 

I've got a tilt hitch which I don't think would work with a grab like that. If I was gonna bother to take the hitch off I would probably rather put on a rotating grab but they are a lot more expensive and more to break. Hadn't thought about sharing a crab with a crane, could work.. think a rigid rather than floppy grab would be better for brash etc though 

 

 

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That grab is fine, I can do a lot with it like push, drag,rake and stack brash with it , rip stumps out with, reinstate ground we have chewed up a bit, moving and  stacking logs is fine with it, it does take a bit of getting used to but for the price which is about 1,2k I call it a good piece of kit, loading wise its fine and we loaded the trailer below in about 40 mins a few week back, front 2 bays 2.5mtr and the back was 5mtr lengths,, 

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On 12/03/2023 at 21:41, Malus said:

That grab looks handy spud. What's it like for stacking logs in a pile or loading a trailer?

 

I've got a tilt hitch which I don't think would work with a grab like that. If I was gonna bother to take the hitch off I would probably rather put on a rotating grab but they are a lot more expensive and more to break. Hadn't thought about sharing a crab with a crane, could work.. think a rigid rather than floppy grab would be better for brash etc though 

 

 

IMG_20230202_133043_096.jpg

I've got the exact same hitch as you. They don't play nicely with grapples as you rightly expect- the stack height means that the opening mechanism is very snappy with little grip.

 

Taking it off and fitting a rotating grab would be the best thing you could do for timber work. Grapples are OK, and yes, you can load with them, but a the difference between them and a rotating grab is night and day. I run both rotating grabs, fixed grabs and grapples so hopefuly an unbiased opinion.

 

If a small machine I'd go for a fixed rotator on the grab too- that's to say, one that is axially rated. Not only is it great for helping push over trees when felling but it gets around the problem of  dangle rotator on a small machine- that's to say that you can only handle short lengths, as long lengths hit the boom as you swing them. With a fixed rotator you just angle it away from you a bit as required.

 

If that's a 3t machine then you'd be looking at around £3500 for a decent grab and rotator, and the only one you should really consider is an Intermecatto Tigergrip with a Balfors rotator. For rotation, a quick and dirty tee into the offset pipework and extra pipes clipped to the boom is the easiest way.

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Edited by doobin
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