The skidder

[tramp bushler]

.Well here,s the skidder to be ...

.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Looks like it could be a diamond in the rough. At least 2 tires (the ones I can see) in decent shape yet. You don't want to know what Ag rubber costs these days... Self leveling system on the loader forks is nice. Looks to be some pretty stout axles underneath. I'd be looking to reroute the hose sticking out on the dump cylinder, looks ready for a tree to grab.

What sorta powertrain does that critter have?

At 10 tons you ain't gonna trailer it behind a pickemup truck are ya?

Best of luck with it. Old iron can be gratifying to use if it ain't constantly breaking.

 

[Metals406]

Cool! I love old stuff. . .

I found ya something here for $600.00. . . Guess I'll have to get it now.

It's a Chevy truck that was converted to a skidder I guess? I need to go look at it -- I bet it's a Frankenstein from hell.

 

[tramp bushler]

What did you find for 600 bucks ??..
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No doubt Skagit #1 will need a good amount of TLC ...But it,s not too wide , and tho it,s heavier than the pickup wants to control going down a big hill , it would be easy to move with a 10 wheeler dump truck and a pintel hitch trailer ......Cheaper than a low boy and an over wide load ..And yes I need to make sure the hoses are routed so they don,t get tore off ...This machine hasn,t been in the brush like most skidders do .in it,s recient history ......

 

[Metals406]

What did you find for 600 bucks ??..
.
No doubt Skagit #1 will need a good amount of TLC ...But it,s not too wide , and tho it,s heavier than the pickup wants to control going down a big hill , it would be easy to move with a 10 wheeler dump truck and a pintel hitch trailer ......Cheaper than a low boy and an over wide load ..

Word tell, it's a Chevy truck that had a loader put on it and a P.T.O (or hydro) winch on the back. I guess it was used for skidding logs for quite a while?? 6 cylinder engine, chains on tires, etc.

I should go look at it tomorrow and drag the camera with me.

 

[Metals406]

Well, less Chevy "truck", but more of the frame, etc used.

 

[tramp bushler]

This is a pic of the double drum winch and fairleads

..I just wish I didn,t have to wait till this summer to get it up here .....

 

[tramp bushler]

Tires ??

Does it hurt them to be mounted opposite the direction the arrow points ?????

 

[Blazin]

Nice ole piece of iron!! It looks to be in pretty decent shape. Mounting the tires backwards won't hurt anything, it's done for traction advantages. You can always just swap them rears around if you wanna see the difference.

 

[floyd]

So the back tires are mounted backwards for more power in reverse?

Educate me, please.

 

[slowp]

I like the boat.

 

[bullbuck]

put a snowmobile track on backwards and it will climb like hell,but dont expect to slow down on the way back down the hill,thats my simily

 

[HorseShoeInFork]

So the back tires are mounted backwards for more power in reverse?

Educate me, please.

Depending on the individual manufacturers, most DIRECTIONAL tractor tires are 30% to 40% more effective than a non-directional tire going forward and about the same amount LESS effective than a non-directional in reverse. The thinking is that the driver can back out of a bad situation and the directional tire would benefit from the engine weight.

Not sure if that explains it, but I tried.

 

[tramp bushler]

So the back tires are mounted backwards for more power in reverse?

Educate me, please.

.

. That6s my ? ... Why do some people put tractor tires on backwards ???

 

[tramp bushler]

Not sure if that explains it, but I tried.

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.OK . sure . Does it hurt the tires ?? Anyone have any rough idea how much these tires cost new ?????
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.Slowp , your funny ..Ha Ha
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. See to me this is the coolest machine because I can regular skidder log with it . I can rig a tree and rig a high lead or Polock .or shotgun ,or receeding line cable show , I can load logs , Tho it takes a couple hours to swap the forks to the bucket, I can load gravel ect with it .......And you guys just wait till you see the splitter I make for it ...I,m thinkin I can make a mechanical lock for the bucket/forks tilt and rig a gate valve from their hoses to 2 other hoses for a splitter ram and some other thing ,not sure what ......By the time I get it up here I will still have alot less into it than just goin out and buying a skidder used and I will have it running and operating where it is in warm weather ...Notice the lack of snow .....Wierd as they get LOTS of snow .

 

[bitzer]

10 ply tires similar to those in size for a backhoe run around $500-$600. Those may be more than 10 ply tires though. I don't really know. Do they fluid or foam fill those for extra weight? I would guess foaming them would be ideal. That can be another $500+ per tire.

That thing looks like it will be a good machine once you get a hold of her Tramp!


Talkin to my tire guy, he claims the treads will wear faster when on backward, but your rear traction will definetly be better.

 

[cuznguido]

When you try going backwards up a hill you will be glad those tires are on backwards. It is much cheaper to fill the tires with calcium or water (50-50 mix of water and anti freeze will keep them from freezing and cheaper than calcium) but foam, although expensive, will prevent flats. Biggest disadvantage of foam is when it comes time to replace the tires, you will need to set em on fire and burn them off.

 

[floyd]

Neighbor retreaded a Mountain logger for $3K bout 10 yr ago. Firestones.

I don't think it will wear tires faster but foward traction could be compromised.

 

[Blazin]

It's actually an old military trick of puttin the front tires on backwards, for more traction in reverse....but they do have to be a directional tire to begin with. As far as wear, I don't think it'd be a huge problem unless you plan on doin alot of highway miles with a skidder. LOL!

 

[Steve NW WI]

Tramp, I'm not sure what size you've got there, but for an example, about 5 years ago I put a set of Goodyear 15.5x38 bias ply tires on my Massey tractor. They were just over $500 for the pair. When oil shot up a couple years back, the price of tires skyrocketed as well, and didn't come back. Today, I'd be lucky to get one for $500. Add 30% or more for radials, but the radials will get you better traction, and therefore lower fuel use per acre when farming, so it's usually worth it.

On a machine that heavy already, I wouldn't fill the tires, unless you want to foam them for flat proofing. Cal chloride is corrosive and hard on rims, there is better stuff out there, but even more expensive. Also, fluid stiffens the tire, and doesn't let it flex to bite as well.

RE the rears on backwards, yes they'll pull better backing uphill, or backing out of a wet spot, at the expense of less forward traction, and the fact that they will fill with mud quickly if you're working on wet ground. I'd leave em as is until you get a handle on what it does and doesn't do well, and if you're unhappy with forward pull, switch em out.

I'd not worry at all about road wear. Years back I worked for a vegetable cannery, and we put literally thousands of miles on the road a year. Tire wear was there, but negligible.

Whats that thing got for a motor and trans?