Ford County or Similar

[Stephen Blair]

i think it might just manage buzz, but i may need to beef up the outriggers on the bike lol

[Mr Ed]

J the tree - why not just run a purpose built machine?

[J The Tree]

J the tree - why not just run a purpose built machine?[/

Do too much roadwork between estates and sites, also got hydraulic DD igland on back, anyway that old Ford didnt cost the earth, is reliable,cheap and easy to fix.

Seen too many contractors with 80k plus forwarders broken down in the woods costing money on finance and facing huge repair bills:001_huh:

[Stephen Blair]

well maintained affordable kit is the secret i think, i had expensive kit that was costly to repair sitting about most of the time. i love the old fords with those bull noses. i love the huge 6 cylinder ones, you see them kicking about with low loaders, i dont know what model they are but they are real grunters

[Highland Forestry]

Some impressive kit there Mr. Ed - our friends over the water use the big grapple skidders alot don't they?

 

Think that would be a bit overkill here but would certainly work alright.

 

The thought behind the county is that we can use it for hardwood thinning, birch etc as well as skidding out the telegraph poles.

I cant use a forwarder because I cant afford one, and not all our polling sites are in woodland that has been racked so need a small machine like a county that can dodge about a bit.

[Stephen Blair]

i think you will be the only one who knows what you need for your different applications matt, but you will probably have to compromise due to budget like the rest of us. if you have a chance of a good contract and have been asked to take on more then get it in writing and go and see the bank. not many folk are in your position in the current climate, if you are not quick someone else might just do it before you

[Buzz]

Matt in my experience it was always best to have as newer machine as possible as well suited to the task as you can get.

 

I'd avoid county's because they are all getting on a bit and most of the ones I've seen you can barely see where your going for the hydraulic oil pissing in your eyes !

 

Better to spend 600.00 a month of finance on a 30k-40k forwarder than 3k every few month on repairs.

 

Downtime is what will kill you on those contracts so reliability should be up most in your mind.

 

Obviously I have exaggerated the figure !!

[Mr Ed]

County tractors were great in their day, but have reached classic status now, meaning they comand silly prices.

An ideal machine would be an MBtrac with mounted winch, as they have the ideal weight distribution for skidding - But have a small forwarding trailer for shortwood extraction.

Unfortunately MBtracs are hitting classic status too, so prices are going up.

Possibly a good compromise would be an older 135 Fastrac, and spend a bit on decent guarding.

[Buzz]

Didn't the older Fastracs have awful gearbox problems ? I nearly bought one but was waved off by a JCB mechanic.

 

AT Osbourne would be the people to speak to if your dead set on a County or MB TRAC.

[Stephen Blair]

Mog mog moggity mog