Pretty cool selective logging tool...

[385XP]

Where are these made >> What are their price range ????
. The area where I live and work now has pretty flat , but wet ground . Most of the time I can only work on frozen ground here There are some tractors on Payeur's web site there are some of these with the front wheels the same size. or at least much larger than standard farm tractor tires ... Do you have any experience with these ... big tires wouldn,t fall into holes as easy . Are they heavy duty enough for small scale logging .......
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. That Astor 8x8 forwarder looks real nice .....especially if they were available here !!!!!!!!! I would like to get one before they make them grow into something bigger than what I want or need !!
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.http://www.payeur.com/produits/usages/P1030681.JPG...

That one looks about like what my uncle had just a different brand except his had sweeps and screens.

 

[tramp bushler]

the tractor logging setups are more common up in NY and other flatter places. right of way setups are appropriate for logging, ROPS, FOPS. BUT, you pay a lot for the customizing for a machine that is not as good as a skidder. An older 548 with a swing boom grapple, thats a nice machine for what you need (I'd think)... or a real forwarder with a grapple saw. Unless you're moving a lot. But sonce forestry is ag., you can drive machinery between jobs if its not too far.

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. Real forwarders cost so much they are , short of a miracle a pipe dream for me ... hundred plus thousand dollars ..., Ya they are cool until I have to figure out how to pay the insurance on one while selling 200 cord of wood a year?????????????????????????????????? Doubtless an 071 Madill with a riggin crew ,and a drop line carriage , pre setting the snares ., a 320 or 330Cat shovel and 4 log trucks could pump out 50-80 thousand board feet a day , But I don,t need that either ... .. Or a 123 Madill swing grapple yarder can in the right setting put 200,000 board feet on a landing in a day ... Oddly enough a 123 Madill can be bought for close to the price of a Fabteck Forwarder . and it could pick a Fabteck forwarder up and skin er back clear to the tail blocks ................... won,t even start on the helicopters .........
. There are some ok looking Cat , and TimberJack skidders in B.C. but then I,m back to transporting the thing ....$$$$$$$$$$$$$ For my needs and abilities here the Forcat , or this Astor Forwarder is ideal ............ A grapple saw .......... I,m a Faller and a Bucker . Last thing I want is some operators saw yuk .... I need to get a new camera to illuminate all to my little loggin show .. Well it warmed up from -38 to 20 below .F. and I gotta go get a guy a load of wood ........... With a saw , a pulp hook , an Arctic Cat 440 Panther ,home built 1/3 rd cord sled and a 1 ton Ford crummy .....And my back ........... Boy that Astor 8x8 sure does look appealing today !!!!!

 

[tramp bushler]

That one looks about like what my uncle had just a different brand except his had sweeps and screens.

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. What is a SWEEP ????

 

[385XP]

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. What is a sweep ????

limb risers

 

[tramp bushler]

limb risers

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???
. Like a roll cage thing or something ???

 

[hammerlogging]

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???
. Like a roll cage thing or something ???

pushes the limbs over the cab and exhaust (sometimes integrated) you're driving through brush, tops, whatever. Can double as part of roll over and falling object protection.

tramp: the thing is that Astor probably costs as much as a descent used piece of conventional equip. And far less productive. Yes, moving costs, tract size, and "intangible" things like landowner preference, your preferences, and market differentiation, are somewhere invisible in the $/cord equation.

Sounds like you've found a balance in your system and much of any change will demand a significant increase in production. What that does for net profit is the question I guess.

 

[385XP]

yes what hammer said is right on the limb risers

 

[SWE#Kipp]

The Alstor is rather pricey here in Sweden but the guy that owns them are very happy with them and there are few to buy secondhand ,,,
But it's a handy machine you can use it as a smaller dump truck and use it for making trenches / ditch in wet areas with the grapple and the bucket accessory, there are a bunch of accessories for it that are cool and usable

 

[SWE#Kipp]

The Vimek mini forwarder is another nice 8wd machine that could be worth to take a look at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPPkzJ0Vks

 

[tramp bushler]

pushes the limbs over the cab and exhaust (sometimes integrated) you're driving through brush, tops, whatever. Can double as part of roll over and falling object protection.

tramp: the thing is that Astor probably costs as much as a descent used piece of conventional equip. And far less productive. Yes, moving costs, tract size, and "intangible" things like landowner preference, your preferences, and market differentiation, are somewhere invisible in the $/cord equation.

Sounds like you've found a balance in your system and much of any change will demand a significant increase in production. What that does for net profit is the question I guess.

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.Ya know how much they want for that Astor8x8 ,,,,,in England ----------------27,ooo pounds sterling ......

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I don,t know what the exchange rate is ... Maybe they get 5 $ a board foot for their junk timber there or something .. A grapple skidder would be great ,but I think it would make me sort of fat and lazy ............

 

[tramp bushler]

a 10- 20 K piece of iron is about what I,m after .. That will pay for itself ....

 

[ithica]

I'll stick with my forcat and log loader/trailer, this thing is not low impact , did you see the swale hole it produced, and he wasn't even loaded. I was on Tremzac's youtube and they have posted some new videos, check this out guys
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tremzac&search_type=&aq=f

Check out the one called in the mountains ,

 

[Meadow Beaver]

I'd like to have one of those timberpro whole-tree forwarder.

 

[Philbert]

Found this while looking up some of the others.

Philbert

http://www.deere.com/en_US/cfd/forestry/deere_forestry/forwarders/810d_general.html#

 

[slowp]

The mills out here won't pay as much for short logs. The only forwarder I've seen here was being used as a tailhold.

 

[Meadow Beaver]

Slowp ever seen one like this?

http://www.tanguay.cc/T800.html

 

[des170stihl]

Do They Take Trade Ins

That is pretty slick. I would,nt mind tradin my little Massy for one.:greenchainsaw:

 

[tramp bushler]

Big machines = big bucks .....
. Those arn,t mountains ... We have MOUNTAINS in ALASKA .vermont has little rolling hills .......
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. I think they need to work on safety first in the videos . Skidders arn,t made for riders ........ I would have liked to see them do some loggin with the Forcat ... the one tree they had sucked up to the arch was ok
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I do think the Forcat is about the best out there ...... for the money ... The Awassos is twice the money and it is just a small wheel skidder ...over 80 K US $ ....The little 8x8 is 27,000lbs Sterling , which is prolly alot of US dollars , and it would need a ship to get it here ......

 

[joesawer]

The sweeps are what is missing on the 230 Timber Jack.
I am not sure that I buy the whole soil compaction theory. Look at what frost does to maintained roads.

 

[tramp bushler]

Ah , thanks Joe !! In most places it don,t hurt the ground ,just the humans who look at it