The skidder

[Curlycherry1]

Farmers will argue forever about weather tires should face in so as to pull dirt in under power or push the dirt out and dig down to solid ground under power. I don't think there is any numerical proof that one way is actually better than the other. It is just one of those things people like to debate over a beer. Bearpaw tire chains make the point mute.

 

[dancan]

Tires ,put chains on and use them to the end !
Here's a picture of a skidder for sale in a local ad , look closely at the tires .

 

[Blazin]

Oh yeah...bear paws go nice over bald tires and are waaay effective!

That's pretty kick ass.. a grapple on the blade, Never seen one like that in these parts.

 

[dancan]

It's the first one I've seen .

 

[johnzski]

If I'm not mistaken a set of forestry specials-Firestone?- for a skidder will run between 8 and 10K. A set of bear paw chains are way cheaper

 

[Curlycherry1]

I've seen skidders with chains covering tires with virtually no tread at all. I wondered what kept the chains from just spinning on the rubber there was so little of it there to hold the chains.

Plenty of operators I worked with had chains on all the time and basically never took them off. Sure they get some damage once in a while, but nothing that a good welder could not fix right at the landing.

I say skip the new rubber and just spend the money on a set of chains and be done with it. Besides, skidder tire chains just look so darn bad-a--!

 

[redprospector]

Tramp,
I don't know what size tires your machine has, but last year I priced 18.4 x 26 tires for my little 440 b. They were about $1200 each. You can get ag tires cheaper, but you'll pay for the difference in down time and tire repair.

Andy

 

[Jaredm]

what does that machine have for power? a little screamin' jimmy?

 

[discounthunter]

as long as the treads match on both sides ,ie both front facing or rear facing you'll be ok. but only have one on one side facing opposite,and you'll get real good at steeering,lol

 

[tramp bushler]

what does that machine have for power? a little screamin' jimmy?

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At the moment the Jimmy ain,t screamin ,, it isn,t even whispering .Needs a skidder doctor with a new engine , or alot of new parts .. that is being investigated soon ... I'ts a 453 ... For no bigger than it is , similar size to a 230 Timberjack ,which have 353s in them...It should pull well ...The reason I was asking about tires is , I don,t know if they are skidder or tractor tires .. One had a hole in the side wall that has been repaired ....
. In Maine growing up we called the ring chains like what Dan Can posted a pic of (Canadian Chains ) I really like the diamond ( chain male ) chains .. They really protect the tires ...I have a pretty good idea I,m going to swap around that backwards tire as I don,t think the rear right tire is mounted backwards ....

 

[tramp bushler]

Tires ,put chains on and use them to the end !
Here's a picture of a skidder for sale in a local ad , look closely at the tires .

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.Ya this number of man Clark is a nice looking machine .. I,de never own one . How do tires get that wore down and still hold air ???

 

[dancan]

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How do tires get that wore down and still hold air ???

There is a lot of ply on forestry tires and will still last a long time .
The asking price for that machine is 10 ,000$$ , I'm pretty sure it has a few hours of life left in it .
Here is a pic of a forestry tire from Northerntire .

 

[tramp bushler]

10,000 bucks .. Wow ... .. It was kept real nice and straight ... Not all bashed in ........Is it in N.B. ?? That tire looks gross , but I see what you mean about how many ply they are ....

 

[wvlogger]

should be a good machine

 

[dancan]

10,000 bucks .. Wow ... .. It was kept real nice and straight ... Not all bashed in ........Is it in N.B. ?? That tire looks gross , but I see what you mean about how many ply they are ....

A lot of older skidders have been popping up lately on kijiji in N.S. and N.B.(have not looked further away) at reasonable prices .It's a shame that shipping would be a lot of pennies .

 

[371groundie]

sahweet! if you find a copy of that baby call me! if you have two hyd circuits you can have a splitter on one and a small boom on the other for puttin the really big rounds on. or a conveyor run on a hydraulic rotor?

that clark doenst have tires, just rims and chains. if the chains slip around the tire you can run a short chain to a bolt through the rim that will keep the chain from spinning, as well as keeping the chain tight. what is the purpose of that grapple on the blade? if you try to drag a tree with it the tree will get caught under the tire.

so you are going to use the dual winches as a small skyline set up? my dad remembers IP using dual drum skidders in northern maine. one for spruce and one for hardwood.

 

[Redneck Ont]

tires ,put chains on and use them to the end !
Here's a picture of a skidder for sale in a local ad , look closely at the tires .

bad ass!!!!

 

[tramp bushler]

sahweet! if you find a copy of that baby call me! if you have two hyd circuits you can have a splitter on one and a small boom on the other for puttin the really big rounds on. or a conveyor run on a hydraulic rotor?

that clark doenst have tires, just rims and chains. if the chains slip around the tire you can run a short chain to a bolt through the rim that will keep the chain from spinning, as well as keeping the chain tight. what is the purpose of that grapple on the blade? if you try to drag a tree with it the tree will get caught under the tire.

so you are going to use the dual winches as a small skyline set up? my dad remembers IP using dual drum skidders in northern maine. one for spruce and one for hardwood.

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. Apparantly , the grapple on the blade on the Clark is also for stacking logs ...

.I have thot about a hydraulic run conveyor for the split wood ...........
.If I run 3/8th " haywire I can get a fair amount on there ... As the timber I,m logging is pretty light and I am doing limited volume I can use a mini butt riggin for High lead . or run 1/2 or 9/16th line for a skyline and shot gun or receeding line for downhill loggin .........

 

[joesawer]

I have never messed with a Skagit skidder.
Those gearmatic winches are a different story. I have messed with those way more than any one should ever have to work on any thing.
They are really smooth and slick when they are working right. Which is when they are nearly new or you have just completely rebuilt them. The rest of the time you might as well get used to taking the side cover off and "tuning" on them on a regular basis. Sometimes a daily basis.
One thing to check for is to make sure they are not leaking around the axle. If they are nothing short of a complete tear down will ever get them working at all.

 

[Gologit]

I have messed with those way more than any one should ever have to work on any thing.

LOL...Yup.