tiger cats

[redneck logger]

i was wondering if anyone out there runs tiger cat skidders because i never hear tell of anyone using them.

[Ed_K]

 I think they are more popular down south. Saw a picture of one with triple tires on all three axles. Used for clear cutting in Florida.

[Maineloggerkid]

ONe crew around here uses a 620C grapple next a 648GIII . The tigercat will out pull the Deere by far. almost on a 2 to1 ratio. The hydrostatic tranny combined with a big grapple and slightly higher horsepower is a recipe for a pullin' machine.

 My uncle works for Ralph Proctor in Florida, and they demoed a 635 with the 6 wheels. He could out pull it 3 to 1 with a regular timberjack 560 or 660. The tigercat gets so much weight in the grapple it can't steer, so always are crabbing over on corners, which slow productivity way down.

[Don K]

I am starting to see more and more Tigercat equipment around here. The big thing seems to Knuckleboom loaders. Still see a lot of Cat skidders on lowboys.

Don

[WDH]

The Tigercat fellerbunchers and loaders are very popular.  The skidders can pull more than most, but they are a good bit more expensive to buy.  Also, a big issue with the Tigercat skidders was significantly poorer fuel economy than their competition.  They (Tigercat) have been working to improve the fuel economy, but they have a ways to go to improve the market share.  Not so with the fellers and the loaders, though.  They are top of the line.

[Reddog]

Redneck L,
The Tigercat's started out for Boreal forest harvesting. The first place I heard of them in North America was Quebec.
They do large clear cuts and haul very large twitches out at a time.
The flotation is very important, every time you go into a low spot it would be muskeg/swamp.
So that is why they seem to do well in the southern U.S. like Florida. Lots of water and low ground.

I think they will have a slower time overtaking and getting a foot hold in the hardwood market. But we will have to wait and see.

[vtbuckslayer]

i seen a guy in northern new york running four 620 tiger cats. things are animals but suck down the fuel like its going out of style anywhere from 75 to 90 gallons a day per skidder.  i watched them in operation and they just wanna pull stand themselves up on the back wheels. impressive machines. where i am in vermont only usually see cats and deeres. hard to handle a fuel bill like that for a small time logger.

[Ron Scott]

Just too much machine for use by most of out loggers here. Most private landowners wouldn't allow them on their property due to their huge size. I believe that they have the largest grapple built.

They were built for working large clear cuts in the boreal forests of Canada as previously stated.

[Reddog]

Redneck,
If you are not on dialup, here is 625 grapple with tracks showing what they do best.

[wi woodcutter]

WOW-That is one heck of a skidder!

[pineywoods]

DanG, why not just hang a grapple on the back of a D8

[beenthere]

Impressive how that operator picks up additional logs in the grapple, until finally it is full up. 

[Reddog]

D8's are to slow and ride rough.

[semologger]

I ran one for a guy a few years back and i loved the way it ran. he had a 525 cat also and the tigercat would pull it in half. It wasnt as big as the one in the video.

[Maineloggerkid]

Impressive how that operator picks up additional logs in the grapple, until finally it is full up. 

Thats how we run grapples around here. Double and triple bunches. A lot of times the grapple won't even be closed. The only thing holding the wood in is the pressure. Very common on sites where they are pulling chip wood.

[SouthernRumRunner]

All of my logging equipment is tiger cat . Most of my logging equipment is set up for swamp logging.The skidders that i used are the 620 and 630.The only complaint i have is the bad fuel economy you can thank cummins for that.But they will out pull anything on the market except a dozer.

[Reddog]

The only complaint i have is the bad fuel economy you can thank cummins for that.

I think that has more to do with the hydrostatic transmission. Cummings has always been one of the better fuel miser engines in the past.
But that drive train is what allows them to pull so much.

Has anyone done a side by side on the same terrain. At the end of the day compared tonnage hauled to fuel used?

[Maineloggerkid]

Deere did a comparison on a 748H and I think a 620.  The deere won, but it was designed in the deere's favor. It was more like a race, with the distance being a 3/4 mile yard, and they didn't list all of the details about the test, that I saw. If anyone else knows more about this or sees where I am wrong, please add to/correct my statements.

[SouthernRumRunner]

I think you can check over at tigercat's website they have some information about the test.

[Maineloggerkid]

Ya, thats where I got some of it, but I didn't have time to sit and read the whole thing yet.