which is better?

[treefarmer87]

which is better for logging skidder or tractor

[chucker]

for large tracts ? skidder... for lot clearing 5 acres and smaller tractors work best!!!

[thecfarm]

Can't even compare the 2 in my eyes.I suppose you are talking a good size skidder?A tractor will not move no wheres near the wood a skidder can in a day.I have a tractor and it works great for me.BUT I am on my own land cutting.I don't have to make a living with it either.Takes more time to get around through my woods with my tractor than a skidder.Trails have to be laid out right,and kept free of brush.

[bill m]

What is your definition of better? Faster? Move more/bigger wood? I do all of my logging with a tractor,grapple/winch and a forwarding trailer.




I can move between the trees better than a skidder. My roads are a lot tighter than a skidder road. I cut about 2 to 4 mbf a day and use about 10 gallons of diesel fuel a week.

[treefarmer87]

is that a metavic trailer? i like that grapple/winch on your tractor too

[Mark K]

Skidder is made to log. That is what it was designed for. I logged with a 85 hp Belarus for a couple years, done pretty good with it. My skidder is around the same horsepower and will skid 3 times as big a hitch and do it safely. I can crab around trees and turn shorter than I could with a tractor.

[bill m]

My tractor is only 72 inches wide and I can put it places a skidder will never go with out cutting more trees.

[Mark K]

My skidder is 7'6" wide, has narrow rubber 16.9 -30, not much wider than your tractor and is narrower than the tractor I was using. He asked what is better for logging, a skidder is designed for it. You can put a dozer blade on the front of a trator too but it isn't a bulldozer. It doesn't matter what you use in the woods, it's the operator that decides the outcome of what the job is going to look like in the end.

[Ed]

Need more information..............you are being way to general with your question.

Ed

[donny hochstetler]

my opinion is it depends what the job is like around here if you go north you might find some terrain you could work with a tractor  but the problem you would run into is most of the trees would be to big for a tractor last week my bro. and i cut and skidded 25000 ft of poplar in a day and a half with a skidder we had a 100 mile drive one way if you drive that distance you have to move wood .if you go south from here it gets rough and a tractor would struggle on most jobs in fact anything smaller than a 640 is considered a small skidder in these parts  but on the other hand if its relativley flat with small to medium sized timber local work a tractor would be alright  a skidder is built for the woods  i personaly would be afraid to operate a tractor on a logging job also a good solid skidder can be had for about the same price just my opinion  remember always look up

[Tom]

Usually it is the other one. 

[Ed_K]

Both are best. I use the tractor to winch and bunch then go a get the skidder and pull the hitch to the landing. I can pull the smaller winch cable up a hill a lot easier than the skidder cable. There's not many large logs the tractor can't get to a skid road,but if i need it the 9 ton skidder can. I'm thinking of getting a fowarder but I'll keep the tractor in the woods with it too. If you use a tractor get it with forestry tires and build a bellypan for it.

[bill m]

Yes a tractor can handle big wood.


This log is 12 ft. lg.  630 bd. ft.
As for price comparison my tractor was less than 30G brand new. How many new skidders are in that price range?
I'm not suggesting a tractor is better than a skidder in all cases  but a tractor can effectively be used for logging.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Yes a tractor can handle big wood.
This log is 12 ft. lg.  630 bd. ft.

But a skidder will handle a few trees that big not just one 12' long log.

For a pure production stand point a skidder will outpull a tractor all day long. But a tractor is more versatile and can be used for more than just moving logs. They are also easier to transport, operate on small tracts of land, etc.   

[Twig farmer]

If your trying to make MONEY, then you want a skidder. If you want to play around in the woods as a hobby, then  a tractor is fine.
Saying you are "logging" with a tractor is misleading. You aren't logging, you're playing logger.
Now, a guy with 100 acres behind his farm can make due with a tractor just fine. But that isn't "logging" either.
Logging is about moving wood- lots of it- as fast and safe as possible. A skidder is just a minimum baseline...

[bill m]

Twig farmer - Your right , I'm just playing logger. I also made enough money last winter to take most of the summer off. How many loggers do you know did that? As for small jobs the one I am on will cut over 250mbf this year and when the rest of the timber gets marked and cut it should finish at about 500 mbf,, but I guess thats a small job compared to what everyone else does.

[Twig farmer]

You're using a trailer with a log loader. Basically a forwarder. I meant just using a 4x4 farm tractor by itself...even with a farmi winch.
Not to mention that the wood you are cutting probably isn't 2 miles up on the side of a Mt., or on the other side of a 400' swamp hole..
Stop being so sensitive.

[tlandrum]

skidder all the way, a jd440 it not much bigger than a tractor but will out work it 10-1 imho. the 440 will log 5 acres with ease, or 25 acres. like most guys i started out with a tractor and after my first skidder i never looked back.

[beenthere]

If your trying to make MONEY, then you want a skidder. If you want to play around in the woods as a hobby, then  a tractor is fine.
Saying you are "logging" with a tractor is misleading. You aren't logging, you're playing logger.
Now, a guy with 100 acres behind his farm can make due with a tractor just fine. But that isn't "logging" either.
Logging is about moving wood- lots of it- as fast and safe as possible. A skidder is just a minimum baseline...

Is this coming up with THE official definition of "logging" ?   

 

[bill m]

I've run enough skidders in my lifetime to know I will never own another one. Yes ,you can move more wood with one - you have to to be able to afford the upkeep and fuel.