Woody skidder

[Twig farmer]

somone needs to make a cheap small skidder that people can buy new, at a reasonable price. the aswossos and its predicesor were both scary expensive. this woody will drain your bank account just lookin at it.

no one loggin with a 440, or C4, or 230 can buy a new comperable machine. parts arent hard to find now because so darned many of them were made, but nothing lasts forever. how many are lost every year to fires, scrap yards, and just plain neglect?

if you could make a machine with a 100hp, a transmission from a truck(so you can get parts and replacements), and a cab that will meet most states saftey requirements, and a price that doesnt require a second mortgage, you would be in business. it wouldnt be hard to use popular tractor components (engine, drivelines, axles, hydraulics, etc) on a tougher chassis. especialy deere, they are known for parts availiblity to begin with and they have the dealer network.

there must not be a demand, or its impossible to manufacture one affordably priced.

The Tigercat 610 seems like a perfect small machine, but the pricetag will send you to the cardiac unit.

[treefarmer87]

there is no demand anymore for small machines because all the big boys are about production,production, production 

[beenthere]

.....................
there must not be a demand, or its impossible to manufacture one affordably priced.

I think you are on to something there...

And maybe the business atmosphere like taxes, regulations, employment records, taxes, and laws, as well as the epa regs, and on and on adinfinitum play a role in how expensive good equipment is on the market.

[John Woodworth]

What a nice machine, just 20 years too late.

[timberfaller390]

A small machine could be manufactured cheaply. But as beenthere said there is probably alot of red tape that would drive the price up. I could build a small skidder in my shop with all new components and do it fairly affordable (compared to buying one from a dealer) but if I was trying to mass produce them for sale in a big plant there would be alot of overhead that would raise the price.

[SwampDonkey]

Percentage wise, I would say no. They would be produced on volume and more efficiently and many of the parts wouldn't be inventoried for long. Just in time (JIT) - an inventory strategy that reduces in-process inventory and associated carrying costs, only order what's needed just before it's needed and moved through the system. Plus even if your garage is paid for there is still cost carried forward. A $15,000 structure for a $5000 dollar item or a $15M structure with 500 $40,000 items. Besides a lot of regulation is industry driven like under the label of the CSA.