Forestry excavator?

[taff]

Hi Luftwaffe,

Sounds like you have a grapple skidder, what is it mate? They re hard to find in the uk especially for sale!

You never know how long you ll have to extract your produce but in my experience its getting further every year!

I'm very nervous of those older forwarders, the potential repair costs put me right off, rightly or wrongly. What do you forward with?

[taff]

Looking for a long term solution really, thanks Kernow

[taff]

Interesting big bolt,

What model of loading shovel is that? Your ground conditions look very good might be more challenging if its heavy and wet?

[luftwaffe]

Hi Luftwaffe,

Sounds like you have a grapple skidder, what is it mate? They re hard to find in the uk especially for sale!

You never know how long you ll have to extract your produce but in my experience its getting further every year!

I'm very nervous of those older forwarders, the potential repair costs put me right off, rightly or wrongly. What do you forward with?

 

The grapple skidder i had was a john deere 540b with a 16 tonne winch aswell as a grapple on it, superb machine, absolutly superb, would pull the timberjack up a steep hillside with no wheelchains on, whereas the timberjack would spin with wheelchains on, strong swift and efficient.

 

The forwarder I have now is a Valmet 840 12 tonne payload, again a very good machine, such comfort with air con, cd's, etc,, a far cry from some of my earlier machines.

 

Going back to your original question, I personally would go for a forwarder such as the ones on Ebay, yes you hear horror stories, but modern machines are pretty reliable, they are not that complicated, main thing is to get the hydraulics pressure checked before buying.

[Charlieh]

Kockums GP822 Timber Harvester Skidder Tractor | eBay

 

How handy are you in the workshop

[Chris Sheppard]

Kockums GP822 Timber Harvester Skidder Tractor | eBay

 

How handy are you in the workshop

 

Charlie - why'd you have to go and post that? I was happily sat here reading through stuff and now I'm full of big ideas

[luftwaffe]

I agree Chris, there is something about forestry machines that sets the pulse racing, trouble is though all this H+S, red tape, stuff takes a bit of shine off it though.

[taff]

Erase those thoughts Chris! I use to fell for a kockums in 1989/90 it was hopeless then and unlike fine wine I doubt age will have enhanced it!! Ours had the ability to breakdown on the low loader!!

[Charlieh]

Erase those thoughts Chris! I use to fell for a kockums in 1989/90 it was hopeless then and unlike fine wine I doubt age will have enhanced it!! Ours had the ability to breakdown on the low loader!!

 

i like the fact that the photo they have use in that advert for the main picture is before they took it to bits and it doesnt even have an engine, Im not sure its worth the £1500 as scrap

[taff]

The grapple skidder i had was a john deere 540b with a 16 tonne winch aswell as a grapple on it, superb machine, absolutly superb, would pull the timberjack up a steep hillside with no wheelchains on, whereas the timberjack would spin with wheelchains on, strong swift and efficient.

 

The forwarder I have now is a Valmet 840 12 tonne payload, again a very good machine, such comfort with air con, cd's, etc,, a far cry from some of my earlier machines.

 

Going back to your original question, I personally would go for a forwarder such as the ones on Ebay, yes you hear horror stories, but modern machines are pretty reliable, they are not that complicated, main thing is to get the hydraulics pressure checked before buying.

A 540b that takes me back, not long after I started on the timber I was pole lenghthing for Andrew Mcfee who had one of those skidders and it was brilliant.

Bit of an update I ve sourced an 860 which from the pics looks a maybe, I ve driven an 840s2 and an 840.4 both superb but never an 860 looks very big! I feel its definitely worth viewing. It s a black cab is yours?