Borfor Forcat 2000 track skidder ?

[tramp bushler]

I found it , it,s kindof cute , but I,m not too sure it would work for my application . and for the price I could find simular here .... Thanks tho .!!!!!!.

 

[tramp bushler]

bombardia

No doubt a small machine would work vastly superior to a 4 wheeler or sno go .. ... It seems like all the nice small work machines are no longer manufactured and every thing is either for play or big loans ....Even the Forcat , when I started this search it was the Forcat 2000 with a 27 hp engine and 2700Lb weight ... for around 27 K $.... Now it is the Forcat D36 for 43 K $ and it weighs 4 K lbs ....... It isn,t important that the D36 will pull more as the 2000 model would do every thing I needed perfectly ..... All the bigger machine is is more debt ....Still a great machine .. But the 2000 model was just the cats meow for me ...... Especially in the light foot print area ....

 

[Hddnis]

Keep you eyes open for a used one. Maybe tell the salesman that if they have someone who wants to upgrade you want their old machine. You might need to overhaul it, just to be sure it will be reliable, but you'll get what you really need for the work you do.



Mr. HE

 

[Metals406]

Tramp,

Here's a few pics from the Kila yard. . . Locked up tight, so I couldn't walk around and take pics.

Their Columbia Falls yard has much more equipment.

This would be a neat small unit. . . Remove the backhoe while skidding, put it back on when needed.

A small dozer with a really wide stance!

Nicer looking old skidder. . . The rubber looks pretty dang good.

 

[Metals406]

Small old military dozer. . .

Another small one. . .

Not really relevant, but I'd like to have this Komatsu for about a month. . .

Again, little relevance, but I thought it was a cute old Motor Patrol. . . This would also be nice to maintain my driveway in summer and winter.

 

[Metals406]

I'd like to walk both their yards with the camera, and see if they've got any neat tracked vehicles that aren't a dozer. I know they get in some neat stuff that you don't see every day.

I'm aware of guys that hit surplus yards for older equipment and restore it for a fraction of the cost of buying newer. My brother's father-in-law did it for years with military surplus. He'd get Hummer parts and build complete Hummers.

Doug's uncle in Colorado does that with big old excavators. . . Buy's them super cheap and redoes them.

 

[tramp bushler]

Wow !! That looks like a 230 Timberjack that someone painted yellow It looks just likre the one I ran in 78 ... The 230 had the taller wheels and tires than the 225 ... I really appreciate you taking the time to take some pics ... That stuff wasn,t on their web site . But that Timber Jack would work great for my purposes ...... The track loader ,/ backhoe would also .. Like you say , take the hoe off it for loggin and put it back on for construction ...... A guy with his thinking cap on should be able to put a small hyd. grapple on the hoe instead of the bucket ... Take the out riggers off and plumb those lines to the grapple and rotor ..... Just an idea

 

[tramp bushler]

The big problem with Mechanicin is if I,m turning wrenches I,m not cuttin logs ........................ That Timber Jack does look nice don,t it ...!!!! I wonder where the front roll bars are ??? .. It prolly has a 353 in it ...

 

[PB]

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I want one of these.

 

[Metals406]

The big problem with Mechanicin is if I,m turning wrenches I,m not cuttin logs ........................ That Timber Jack does look nice don,t it ...!!!! I wonder where the front roll bars are ??? .. It prolly has a 353 in it ...

Not sure where the bars are? I bet you could wheel and deal on this stuff too.

That small dozer/backhoe is a Japan unit, but oh well. I think that one could be very easily set up to be a multi-purpose unit.

I really am curious to see what equipment oddities are lurking in the Col. Falls yard.

As far as the grapple switch to the dozer/backhoe, I'd be willing to bet they have a grapple somewhere in one of the yards that could be retrofit.

 

[tramp bushler]

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I want one of these.

Ya , it could have it,s uses , if it cost a few grand , but not 10 k or more ...... My Polaris 500 Sportsman will snap alot more wood out than that ......I think one of those log loarer trailers , forwarder trailers and a 4 whle on Matt tracks would get alot done ... But it would have to last A LONG TIME TO REALLY PAY FOR IT SELF .

.this is 80 cubic feet of spruce as I recall . about 3/4th cord , of 2 cubic meters roughly...

 

[tramp bushler]

Oh and the other thing , I brought it 3 miles down the Richardson Highway @ 45 mph ... These Sportsmans are FAST ...

 

[estrees]

Iron Horse way better than 4 wheeler

Saw this post and had to chime in. I have owned an Iron Horse, 9hp model for the last 3 years and can tell you firsthand that it is better than a 4 wheeler for skidding logs or pulling a trailer of wood, rails etc. I have used an atv before and they can do ok on some flat ground but hook up a log to it and put it on a hill or in some snow or soft ground and the 4 wheeler is worthless. That is with the end of the log suspended so it doesn't dig in and putting weight on the back tires. Lots of damage to the ground and too much abuse on the machine, if it can even do the job. The Iron Horse will drag big logs: 1000lb rated skidding, although I've gone beyond that, and 2000lb when trailering, and I've been closer to 3,000. Sometimes that's a 30" 8 footer and sometimes it's a 50footer that's 16" at the base, or 3-4 smaller tree lengths, depending on green or dead). You can manoeuver it anywhere. Mine has a winch with 75 feet of cable that will pull in trees and bundles of brush faster than any winch you've seen. And you can be dragging a log/logs up a soft hill, stop to take a brake, then start again without losing traction. Try that with a 4 wheeler. I have. Goes good in snow and can run over slash and run up hills. And if it can't climb the hill, you can winch your way up the thing. Iron Horse wins hands down. The 9hp with winch does cost $14k new, but it will outlast the 2 atv's you wear out trying to do the same job. Easy to fix if you can turn a wrench. Fits in the bed of a pickup. Spend about $5 a day in gas to run it.
A 4x4 farm tractor works well too, depending on hills and rocks etc. I use a 40 hp tractor with farmi winch for skidding and piling brush etc. It will obviously skid more than the Iron Horse but it also costs more (but you may be able to find a used one for about the same price) too and can't get into half the places the Iron Horse can without making a road or cutting more trees down than you have to. And you have to trailer the tractor as opposed to hauling the Iron Horse in a pickup with a trailer of wood behind you. I would also like to get a Forcat, but the price on the new Diesel one scares me right now, but it does have front and rear quick attach. Just imagine the possibilities. If you do get a forcat, let us know how it works for you. Or you can buy my tractor and Iron Horse and I can go buy the forcat, or Oxtrac...whatever it is now.

 

[tramp bushler]

Ya , I think you are right , but the 14K is a bit much .... When factored out it may well pay for itself, but it isn,t as much of a production increase as I,m looking at over my snow go and sled as I need for the cost ..... I can get a Komatsu 40 horse dozer for 11 K , but the Skagit wheel skidder I,m getting will only run me 5 K or less time I get it here ...... .... My target yarding production is 4- 10 cord a day with me doing the falling and yarding both ....... The Forcat will do that well and the wheel skidder will easily also ..... My tenitive plan is to make the cash with the Skagit to cash out the Forcat ......

 

[estrees]

I've seen a couple used ones around for 8-9k. I've considered selling mine. As far as production, a cord an hour is about average, depending on how far you have to skid, tree size and if you don't have to clean up all the slash. Over 200 yards and that goes down. But this thing will pull a log trailer that holds a healthy cord per turn. I use a tandem axle off road trailer for mine when there's lots of smaller stuff where I can load a 10-14 footer by hand. But when you can skid a whole large stem at once, or multiple smaller ones, it's just easier than loading them onto a trailer. A dozer is strong, slow and heavy. It would probably give you the production you need and be able to do other things like plow, build roads etc. If it's always parked on the same lot, no problem. If you have to move it around and trailer it a bunch, then it's not as fun. Depends on the size I guess. Whatever you decide to get, I'd make sure you have winching ability.

 

[dancan]

Here's an option that might work for you

It's on craig's list in Fairbanks .
http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/rvs/1568727274.html


Woops ! I need to clean my glasses and pay a little more attention with the 0's on the price .

 

[dancan]

This is much lower in price but a lot further away

http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/cto/1608387290.html

 

[tramp bushler]

I wonder what it takes to wear out or break a distributer bushing ??????...
.
.
. Ya , the first Bombadeer . costs about what 4 of those triple 6 Clark Rangers .. Granted it is probably quieter but thats about it ........... Also those rubber tracks would not be so great on slick blowdowns under the snow .. where as the Forcat has steel grousers ...!!! and the Forcat has a winch , arch , blade , and is a skidder by design .....

 

[ithica]

Personally the Bombardier units were good, parts are hard to find and these units are expensive to maintain they were bought out by Camoplast and then Camoplast was bought out by Prinorth so getting new OEM parts for the old bombies is tough, plus I hate fixing other peoples junk !

 

[tramp bushler]

Ithaca ; We NEED PICS !!!

.. Come on .. You have one ,,,, Please . Just some digital snaps ..........please , please , please !!!!!