Small scale timber extraction

[TRADITIONAL LOGGERS]

What is classed as small scale extraction? Length of trees and distance in woodland and where is the wood going to?

[john k]

All good questions, to which I don't have any hard and fast answers. But roughly speaking I'm using "small scale" to mean anything that doesn't involve full size forestry machines. I'm also thinking in terms of forwarding to roadside as well as purely extraction.

 

Getting trees on the ground and cross cut doesn't seem to be a problem for most people, whether they do it themselves or get someone in. Road haulage is similarly easy to organise. However from what I have seen, and conversations I have had, getting the wood to roadside can be more of a challenge for small operations.

 

There would appear to be a level of demand for a service that falls somewhere between horse logging and using a full size tractor or forwarder. This could be a standalone extraction service for owners or managers of small or sensitive areas of woodland, or as part of a wider management package.

 

I reckon it needs to be road towable for easy and cost effective access to sites across a reasonable area. It also needs to have enough capacity to move a useful amount of timber.

 

I don't know yet whether it can be made to work financially, but part of those sums is seeing what is available and what the costs would be. The other side of it is to look at the demand in more detail, particularly in the south east where I am, and to decide whether it's actually something I want to get into.

[TRADITIONAL LOGGERS]

We used a couple of Clydesdales in the woods for years. (steep difficult ground with rubbbish trees no one else wants to work in) Then from the roadside a Mowi Skog 8 with 6 metre crane back to base. Towing vehicle could also move the horses to place of work in all weathers.

 

Horses are cheap to insure and run compared to small machines, reproduce the next generation, can be worked by voice,have high ground clearance,provide manure to mix with leaves to make tree planting compost. We make our own extraction tools which keep the methods modern.

 

We use special shoes for the conditions.

 

The crane and log trailer was expensive to purchase but has been reliable. Towing vehicle was sourced from the NATO sales and expensive but a long term investment.

[Chris Sheppard]

 

There would appear to be a level of demand for a service that falls somewhere between horse logging and using a full size tractor or forwarder. This could be a standalone extraction service for owners or managers of small or sensitive areas of woodland, or as part of a wider management package.

 

I reckon it needs to be road towable for easy and cost effective access to sites across a reasonable area. It also needs to have enough capacity to move a useful amount of timber.

 

I don't know yet whether it can be made to work financially, but part of those sums is seeing what is available and what the costs would be. The other side of it is to look at the demand in more detail, particularly in the south east where I am, and to decide whether it's actually something I want to get into.

 

This is pretty much what we do at the moment. We're running a 4 tonne trailer with a 40hp 4wd tractor, both of which are light enough to go on a trailer for transport.

 

We're not at the tiny end of the market, but definitely aren't full size. depending on size and spec of timber, we have had up to just short of 4 tonne of timber on it in one go (die straight pine sawlogs) but most of the time a fair bit less.

 

The extraction doesn't act as a stand alone business but we're not averse to going out just to forward out what other have felled, though there'd need to be either enough wood to go at or be of a reasonable value to make it worth doing.

 

It does have it's limitations, but does very well considering. The site we're on at the moment is varying between small diameter hardwood thinnings (where it will fit up the rows without cuttign racks), right through to Pine clearfell, handling sawlogs up to 20" or so diameter and 16' long - so all in all fairly versatile.

 

In the past I've ran tiny stuff (alpine and 1.5tonne trailer) and bigger stuff (county 1164 with 7 tonne trailer) and the current set up works well for us at the mo.

 

We do have another tractor, 4wd this time, to go on the front of it to replace the little nasher, but we're curently guarding it up. Hopefully a week or so and we're ready to rock

[Crazy Cutter]

This is pretty much what we do at the moment. We're running a 4 tonne trailer with a 40hp 4wd tractor, both of which are light enough to go on a trailer for transport.

 

We're not at the tiny end of the market, but definitely aren't full size. depending on size and spec of timber, we have had up to just short of 4 tonne of timber on it in one go (die straight pine sawlogs) but most of the time a fair bit less.

 

The extraction doesn't act as a stand alone business but we're not averse to going out just to forward out what other have felled, though there'd need to be either enough wood to go at or be of a reasonable value to make it worth doing.

 

It does have it's limitations, but does very well considering. The site we're on at the moment is varying between small diameter hardwood thinnings (where it will fit up the rows without cuttign racks), right through to Pine clearfell, handling sawlogs up to 20" or so diameter and 16' long - so all in all fairly versatile.

 

In the past I've ran tiny stuff (alpine and 1.5tonne trailer) and bigger stuff (county 1164 with 7 tonne trailer) and the current set up works well for us at the mo.

 

We do have another tractor, 4wd this time, to go on the front of it to replace the little nasher, but we're curently guarding it up. Hopefully a week or so and we're ready to rock

Who's the trailer made by and how much if you don't mind me asking?

[Chris Sheppard]

Who's the trailer made by and how much if you don't mind me asking?

 

It's a Weimer, Andrew Holmes is the importer still I think. From what I can gather, ours is a bit of an oddball special build as they don't list the 3000 crane (3m) or the smaller trailers.

 

The only bad thing I can think of with ours is that the wheel track could do with being a bit wider as I've tipped it over a couple of times now, oddly though it's always been only partly loaded when it's gone over.

 

It's built very much like the Farma ones that Jas P Wilson's bring in now.

 

We used to build similar sized stuff when I worked at Riko; reckon they probably still do?

 

Price wise, I dunno, we got ours second earlier this year. smaller ones don't tend to come up much used so we grabbed it.

Edited November 26, 2011 by Chris Sheppard

[Mike Hill]

I had no nose weight at all- the trailer was perfectly balanced. Was thinking some nose weight might actually help with traction but I think turning issues would still be the same.

 

Any more thoughts chaps?

 

If the Digger has Steel Tracks,weld a taller strip of Steel on every second Track plate.

[colwoodlandcare]

13hp Westwood with v treads and 12hp Westwood with grass tyres a little quicker than dragging stuff around the garden

[Theocus]

Just in case any body is looking to buy!!!

 

Road Registered Yamaha Grizzly 450 irs Quad, Winch, Snow Plow and Logic Timber Trailer ArbTrader Arborists Classifieds

[Big Bolt]

Chris i bought one of the first wiemer trailers of steve at Rico that was a 4.5 exellent trailer mine came with steering bar exelent and it is still going strong .