awassos skidder

[timberfaller390]

Hey just wondering if any of yall have ever ran one of the awassos mini skidders. How big is it compared to a John Deere 340 or a 440 I have ran a 440 and really want one or a 340, With my one man operation and limited hauling capablities smaller is better. I would go with Deere no matter what but I was just wandering about those little skidders.

[bkellyvtme]

I haven't ran one, but I got inside one here at the local expo. Nice little rig, and it is alot smaller than a 440. Not a production machine by any means and an 80k price tag. They are coming out with a grapple skidder too. I got the brochure on it here in the house somewhere. 100k for that one they said. Alot of money for the size machine.

I was really looking at getting one and I like that you can haul it with a one ton. I am not a full time production guy and the price scared me off. Couldn't swallow the price and I can pick up a good skidder for 20-40k.

[zackman1801]

these look like quite a bit of fun, although for logging i would say no way. its soo small i would worry about getting it stuck. second its so low to the ground that the winter around here would kill that poor thing. plus its 80 grand. for that price i could buy 3 used skidders that would outpull, outhaul, and outwork this little thing. but the one thing i do like about them is the fact that they are small enough to be used by a private woodlot owner, and the fact that they have a remote controlled winch unit. it can imagine it can get tiresome having to walk 120' back to turn the winch on and off.
if this was cheaper i think that alot more people would have gotten one, but whats the point when you could essentially do the same job with a tractor and a farmi winch for loads less money and then have the tractor be able to do more things after.

[ScottAR]

They look like an awesome machine that could be useful for many
operations...  at 30-40 thousand. 
At 80 thousand they look like a hyper specialized machine
that would take many one of a kind jobs to pay for.

I really don't understand what is so expensive compared to other
farm/construction machinery? 
Economy of scale is the only thing I can think of. 

[ADAMINMO]

I think it is entirely too small. There videos were cutting off when it would spin out or stall.Not good to show the machine up to the point of failure. If you had completly flat land and on open forest it would be neat to have. Looks like it would not be good if you had any hills with any amount of mud. It looks like it would be useless on muddy/hilly terrain.I would deffinatly go for a "real" skidder.You can get a good used one for 20-30k easy. I would keep looking if it was me.

[timberfaller390]

I wouldn't buy one over a Deere anyway but I was just looking for some info from folks that had seen one in person. I do like the fact that you can haul it with a 1 ton but thats about it, I certainly don't see 80 k in one especially when there are "real" skidders on the market lots cheaper. It would be a cool toy tho.

[timberfaller390]

So does anybody know why these things are so expensive? It seems like cost and physical limitations of the machine would keep the company from selling enough machines to stay in business

[bkellyvtme]

The only thing I can figure is that the are made in Roxton Falls Quebec and it wouldn't be so bad if the exchange was still 65 cents on the dollar. Everthing is more expensive in Canada.

[Woodhog]

It is just one of many things on the Canadian rip off list.

From 10,000-12000 more for a diesel pick up to 14 bucks vs 10 for a box of round saw files.

We are used to it and are glad to cough up the extra bucks to help companies with their bottom lines.

This skidder looks like a nice little piece of gear for a small operator, they upgraded their old Turbo Forest Model to this one. It should easily out perform a farm tractor in the woods by the look of it, has 20 inches of clearance for one thing.

I dont know how a fella could ever pay for it, would have to put it on the list with all the other pieces of gear you cant make any money with in the woods, but are fun to use.

[jokers]

It`s a neat looking little machine but the price is flat out prohibitive. Frankly what their videos show is what the local tractor loggers do, and nothing more. Even the wireless remote on the winch is in the tractor logger`s domain.

Woodhog, I know what you mean about the "Canadian rip off list" and this skidder`s price is no doubt influenced by your national economy and taxes, but I also believe that economy of scale must play a significant role in the high price of this machine.

[Sawyerfortyish]

I went to a job to pickup some firewood that this guy had pulled out with his turbo forester. He had it across a wet snow coverd field there was about an inch of snow and he wanted me to take my tri axel to the wood pile. "Yea right" he says I'll pull you in you can load and I'll pull you out. Well I knew better but I let him try I figured it was a slight down hill slope comming out. If I could get to the wood pile get weight on the truck I'de be alright. This little toy couldn't pull me empty no matter how he tryed. So he says i'll bring the wood to you. I knew it was going to be a long day. If I hadn't come such a distance I would've left and come back latter.He started pulling 2 firewood logs at a time. Now I'm talking about trees that were 8-12 dia and 20 something feet long. That machine struggled to pull them to me and to turn them so they were along side my truck. After I got about half a load he blew a hydraulic hose and that was it. This machine was hydrostatic drive and was about as slow as a snail. With all the good used skidders out there I wouldn't even think of trying one of these toys. I'm not a john deere fan but a 440 would be twice the machine these toys are.

[zackman1801]

sometimes when it comes to skidders bigger is not better, but even in a select cut where you wanted minimal damage done to surrounding trees, and soil you would still be better off with a JD 340 or 440. they are small enough to fit into tight spots but they have tons more power than these little things.

[jokers]

sometimes when it comes to skidders bigger is not better, but even in a select cut where you wanted minimal damage done to surrounding trees, and soil you would still be better off with a JD 340 or 440. they are small enough to fit into tight spots but they have tons more power than these little things.

You`re absolutely right zackman, btw, you seem pretty sharp for a pretty young guy, just like mainloggerkid.

[zackman1801]

well going to school to learn logging and overall forestry helps get you started!

i do remember i wanted one of these little skidders untill i saw the price tag. scared me. it makes me wonder if someone is stupid enough to actually buy one of these should they really be working in the woods? if you have got the money for one and want one that bad i guess you could throw it away, but why not get a decent skidder and some accesories, for the price of a used JD 440 or 540 you could get one of those and a decent truck to haul your wood with too!

[jokers]

I was looking at a Goldoni articulating tractor at Boonville the other day. 60hp for $27,000 and the guy selling them says that he can outfit one with a decking blade and forestry package for another $5k + the cost of a winch. The point being that a person looking for a small skidder could be out the door for less than $40k new, far cheaper than the Awassos.

[Maineloggerkid]

Joker- thanks for the awesome comment! I like to think that I can hold my own. I have my 540B skidder, and now I am doing the numbers up on a stroke delimber, as I am going to be hiring another person on in the spring.

[Maineloggerkid]

I think with these mini-skidders you would cause more damage because you would be spinning your tires more. Due to the lack of power, weight, and clearance. ONe thing I learned from the tractor pulls is you can only pull your weight. You can have all the power in the world, but if you don't have your weight to match it, you will break traction.

Just my thoughts.

[zackman1801]

its really not economical to even get one of these machines. they have the power of a tractor in the body of a skidder. why not just get a tractor and be able to actually do something with it when your done logging, or when you cant log. these also have such low ground clearance that in the winter time, forget it, here in maine they would swim. they would hang up on the belly pan and the wheels would turn, useless. if your going to spend the 25-30K on a machine, buy a nice used JD 340-440, if you have to go small. or just get a 50-60hp tractor for half the price and stick a winch and a bucket or plow on it. for 30k you could get a nice kubota with a farmi winch, and a bucket, and still have money left over to get stuff like a mower or other PTO attachments.

[jokers]

Good points Mainelogger!

Zackman, I think that most everyone has already agreed with you in this thread, I only pointed out the Goldoni as a half priced alternative to the guy who absolutely feels like he has to have a mini skidder. A few points however.......the Goldoni has downright impressive ground clearance and approach angles and a low center of gravity that makes it so much more like a skidder than an ordinary farm tractor although standard implements for the Goldoni include a FEL and 3 point hitch, it`s a neat little machine.

FWIW, if I were to be looking for a low impact alternative I think that I`d be looking for a good team of horses.

[Maineloggerkid]

A good team of horses is an amazing thing. I have a couple freinds that use horses. I won't, however, because the idea of using an animal smarter than me scares me.