# best machine for loading wood at jobsite?



## jabuteyn (Feb 24, 2013)

i am in need of a piece of equipment to load and move wood at the jobsite and was wondering what some of you guys use and what you think is the best. for example skid loader or tractor or toro dingo


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## ATH (Feb 24, 2013)

I think a Gehl or Avant are the best options with a grapple attchment


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## timberland ts (Feb 24, 2013)

I have a 743 bobcat skidsteer with a full 66" bucket and grapple. I can easily move 28" wood 8' long. Nice thing with the bucket you can clean up rakings and stump grindings.


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## MackenzieTree (Feb 24, 2013)

Skid steers can tear up a lawn sometimes you could put plywood down everywhere but the better experience I've had are with tractors/loaders no bigger than 40hp, 4x4, quick connects in the front for forks bucket or grapple. The don't tear up the lawn from turning


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## Saw Dust Smoken (Feb 24, 2013)

A piece of equipment can be dual purpose. Up north in snow country. Get what works well for that also. 
We use a small skid steer. Wheeled type. Around 1,000lb lift capacity. Grapple for brush. Pallet forks for logs. Bucket for grindings and dirt work. Can load skid steer on one ton flat bed beside stump grinder. Or in trailer with brush \ logs. Larger machines will take a trailer by itself.


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## treeman82 (Feb 25, 2013)

I've been around mini-skids, track skids, tire skids, and TLB's of various sizes. What has worked best for me has been the ~50 hp TLB. It can pick up enough weight so that you don't get impatient waiting, doesn't tear up the lawns, and can be used for other tasks. The down side to the TLB however is that it's not as maneuverable as the track skid steer. I've had to rent those before to get into certain places that the TLB would never get out of.


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## RandyMac (Feb 25, 2013)

988


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## 2treeornot2tree (Feb 25, 2013)

One piece of equipment isnt going to be able to do every job. I have a dingo 425 wide track, and a cat 236 loader. I have used both of them on tree jobs depending on what was needed to be done.


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## Zale (Feb 25, 2013)

What is your budget?


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## TheJollyLogger (Feb 25, 2013)

We have a '91 Manuel, and an ' 88 Luis, they work great.


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## TreeLogic (Feb 27, 2013)

Love my CAT 232B with overlay tracks and grapple bucket. I cut logs 9' long by walking them off with my boots. I then grab the logs by the ends and carefully feed them into the chipbox on my dump, leaving a few inches to close the tailgate. Made sure when i bought the grapple bucket that it would fit inside the chipbox. Only the largest and heaviest logs have to be cut shorter. It's not optimal but it works. Skidsteers will mess up turf. Nobody operates the machine on a customers job but me as minimizing damage takes practice. Mats or plywood definitely help. Get the wood to the street 1st and do the loading there. However, the asphalt will limit the life of your tracks. Would love to have a Gehl. Heard some good things about Swingers too. If you have the dough, an articulating wheeled unit would be the way to go.


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## old_soul (Feb 27, 2013)

My vote is for a mid size skid loader. We use a 773 bobcat with forks to load out logs on the jobsite.

Best money I ever spent. One major benefit of having the loader is that you don't have to buck up the logs at the job. 90 percent of the time the logs go out in 6, 10 foot lengths.
Then you can process them, or dump them, wherever.

The downside is it won't fit through small backyard gates, etc. Just depends what your clients properties are like. Big loaders are heavy and will track up a lawn. Lay down plywood, or track in the same ruts to minimize damage.

I will price in restoration with the job. Especially if we are grinding stumps. If they will not allow a loader in for large wood, OK, on to the next job. My back is too old to be wrestling wood around by hand.

Good luck


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## mellonhs (Feb 27, 2013)

TheJollyLogger said:


> We have a '91 Manuel, and an ' 88 Luis, they work great.




Hahahahaha holy cow man Lmfao hahahahaha I can't stop laughing hahahahaha 

But they are cheaper than what everyone else is suggesting that's for sure.


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## flushcut (Feb 28, 2013)

mellonhs said:


> But they are cheaper than what everyone else is suggesting that's for sure.



Well not really. I have a Vermeer s800tx I bought for 33k and change with a BMG, broom, and scoop and I get about nine to ten hours run time per five gallons of diesel. So lets say you are paying your the amigos 15k each per year, on the low end, plus workmens comp. You can have a machine payed for in two years or less and never have to worry that they got picked up by Imegra or a blown out back and be ten times more productive and profitable.


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## mellonhs (Feb 28, 2013)

flushcut said:


> Well not really. I have a Vermeer s800tx I bought for 33k and change with a BMG, broom, and scoop and I get about nine to ten hours run time per five gallons of diesel. So lets say you are paying your the amigos 15k each per year, on the low end, plus workmens comp. You can have a machine payed for in two years or less and never have to worry that they got picked up by Imegra or a blown out back and be ten times more productive and profitable.



So that machine runs itself? You dont pay anyone to operate it?


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## flushcut (Mar 1, 2013)

mellonhs said:


> So that machine runs itself? You dont pay anyone to operate it?



No but I wish it did, and yes I pay myself handsomely.


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## logging22 (Mar 1, 2013)

Prentice 210. Works every time.:msp_thumbup:


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## Naked Arborist (Mar 1, 2013)

RandyMac said:


> 988



Come on now. Most of us don't move a half a house at a time.

Avant looks nice but poor website and attachment info.


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## Goose IBEW (Mar 2, 2013)

Has anybody been around the A series Bobcats? I hire my brother when needed, his A300 is very kind to turf, I was very surprised.


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## Fairbanks Stump (Mar 3, 2013)

*Gehl AL20DX*

I use a miniature articulating loader with a Branch Manager log grapple for those who have never seen one it wont tear up the grass like a Mini Skid it is 1/2 the width of a small bobcat and it Sill still lift 1800# it will turn around a pole and not damage the grass! 
check out this video

Gehl AL20DX - YouTube

this Little Machine is worth its weight in gold! it only weighs 2300 less than my stump grinder!


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## Goose IBEW (Mar 3, 2013)

Fairbanks Stump said:


> I use a miniature articulating loader with a Branch Manager log grapple for those who have never seen one it wont tear up the grass like a Mini Skid it is 1/2 the width of a small bobcat and it Sill still lift 1800# it will turn around a pole and not damage the grass!
> check out this video
> 
> Gehl AL20DX - YouTube
> ...



That's a sweet little machine, can't argue the usefulness of that.


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## Gerasimek (Mar 4, 2013)

*experienced comparison*

I'm a second generation treecutter. I've seen and used nearly everything out there.
We started out with a 40hp Ford tractor with a front loader. Next was a John Deere 310 backhoe. After that came a 753 bobcat skidsteer, then an A300 skidsteer(all wheel steer), and finally came the Bobcat MT-55 mini track loader.
The MT-55 turned out to be one of the best investments I've ever made for my business. It enables you to work in soft yards, it's only 44 inches wide, lifts nearly 700lbs. of anything you want, takes up little space on a trailer, easy to load and unload, awesome traction and power to pull over trees, and for a new guy starting out, it's a small investment (compared to the bigger equipment that I own.)
It's been very dependable. I bought it new in 2006 and have had only one breakdown (hydraulic drive motor needed replaced) in all of those years.
As far as loading wood. There may be an issue for you. I feed all the brush through my chipper with it then forward all the logs to a driveway or street where I then pick it up with my grapple truck. The mini doesn't lift very high but if you had a low dump trailer, you'd have it made. You'd be able to load logs, stump grindings, debris, etc.
Also, they make a bunch of useful attachments for it that can make you even more money.
Bottom line: I use the mini more than any other type of loader that I own.
I hope this was helpful. Good luck.
Gerasimek


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## Youngbuck20 (Mar 4, 2013)

Me


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## DirtDawg (Mar 7, 2013)

A small tractor does the trick. I've had the pleasure of getting to use a little 4x4 Steiner with a bucket on the front and that thing doesn't tear up lawns at all and has a lot of power and strength for the size. Great for working in small or hilly yards!

http://steinerturf.com/global/440/billboard/7.jpg

wish I had one!


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## capetree (Mar 7, 2013)

I know most here seem to be against mini excavators for tree services Anyway, I have a bobcat e-32 excavator we just set up with a valby 50hd log grapple with a RX120FFT ridged rotator. I still have the factory hydraulic thumb on the machine use with bobcat buckets or 3 tine grapple. There are times the machine is used to pull stump or load logs to heavy to lift with the rotating grapple. The grapple set up disconects like a normal bucket and 2 sets of quick connect couplers for the hydraulics. The grapple set up is heavy so in the next few months I will be buying the counter weight kit for the machine to give it better lifting capacity. I also made mounts on a quick attach 4' mini mower so it has 360 degree constant rotation. I find the bobcat excavators with a hydraulic thumb and 3 tine grapple very usefull for brush, logs, and feeding the chipper. Other than clearly being slower tracking on long hauls the speed of gathering debris is far faster. A skid steer cant reach 15' to side of track so you can ideally pick up debris in 30' path with out turning. Ill try to put up some pics.


Sorry for the rambling
Dennis


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