forestry tractors

[Log-ologist]

Valmets are used by scandanavian farmers as aricultural in the summer and farm forestry in the winter. They have fewer breakable parts hanging down that maybe poked by sticks. Since the demise of County they have become the ideal allrounder. Massey had a try with the 390T but as massey are now owned by the same company as Valtra(Valmet) their paths seem to be converging. The skid unit( axles, engine , gearbox) on some models is identical .

[treemedic]

When Werner bought all the tooling and rights to the mb trac they came up with the wf trac which was one of the first real attempts at a do it all forestry specific tractor. The older ones still bring big money and the newer ones are astronomical money but they are the mutts nuts for our job. ( I want one if anyone's got one. )

[elfinwood saws]

I think tractors are down to personal taste and how you adapt them for the job, we have a Zetor 6341 with underboy protection and a front loader with forklift tines which protects the cab from branches, it fits our needs perfect, also we use a David Brown 1412 2 wheeldrive it weighs 4.5 tons with water ballast in the tyres lots of ground clearance,very tight turning circle, and clutchless gear changes with the hydroshift and 90+ hp pump opened up. The DB 1412 is fantastic for pulling our forwarding trailer. Both these tractors fulfill our needs and did not break the bank. Any tractor can be a good tool for you.

[normandylumberjack]

Valmets offer reverseable seats which helps 100% when using it for forwarding, and with good all round visibility, it makes crane operation much more user friendly. I remeber the change when i was working on an estate in cornwall, they had a big Ford with a highland bear conversion, and forwarding trailer. the seat had no swivel function and you had to twist around in your seat. I pulled my back so often it wasnt funny. Then moved to a valmet 6400 with reverse drive and botex 560? it was in a different world. you could also opperate all the functions while in the reverse position. Its a shame that when county took over the uk sales in the 80's they didnt do an equal wheel conversion, as it would have floated over the ground!

[elfinwood saws]

so comfort equalls expense

[MattyF]

I think tractors are down to personal taste and how you adapt them for the job, we have a Zetor 6341 with underboy protection and a front loader with forklift tines which protects the cab from branches, it fits our needs perfect, also we use a David Brown 1412 2 wheeldrive it weighs 4.5 tons with water ballast in the tyres lots of ground clearance,very tight turning circle, and clutchless gear changes with the hydroshift and 90+ hp pump opened up. The DB 1412 is fantastic for pulling our forwarding trailer. Both these tractors fulfill our needs and did not break the bank. Any tractor can be a good tool for you.

 

Totally agree , down to personal taste.

[treemedic]

Comfort doesn't have to cost a fortune, i do think you have to be realistic. If your trying to run a forwarder trailer on the back of a gray fergi and expect it to be comfy you will be disappointed. I run a mb 1000 with a vreten 65/40 crane on a fixed bracket at the rear with a vreten 10 tonne combi trailer. When converted I will be able to swivel and operate from inside. I too have knackered my back many times climbing round to the rear seat to operate the crane.

[slack ma girdle]

i am not even going to mention my mighty Nuffield.......

[Brushcutter]

I've driven Valmet, Valtra , MF and JD forestry conversions. Down to personal taste really. Valtra do it all in the factory right down to putting the bullet proof glass in. They also have a reputation for being forestry tractors which is why they hold their value.

[harvey b davison]

without derailing, can i just ask, what is the reasoning behind water ballasting in the tyres and how do you go about it. Just interested thats all.

 

thanks.