Garrett question

[terry f]

      Is there a conection between Garrett, Can-Car, Treefarmer?  They seem to overlap whenever I read something about Garrett.  The one thing I've noticed about Garrett is anyone who has one, loves them, and I've never heard a bad word about them.

[mad murdock]

Dwight Garrett invented the articulated skidder in 1949. TreeFarmer was trademarked by Garrett at least with the model 15, which Garrett sold to CanCar in late 1964. Garrrett continued production of the C4 in Enumclaw for CanCar until around 1966. Garrett continued to build and innovate their own line of skidders after the TreeFarmer with the model 20, 21, 25, and model 30. Van Natta Bros. has a web page that is very informative on a lot of older logging equipment. http://www.vannattabros.com/skidder.html

[terry f]

     Thanks mad murdock   So cancar made the C5 on up that everyone talks about. Are they still in buisness and are they mostly a east coast product?

[mad murdock]

I don't know if CanCar is still producing TreeFarmers or not. I think they may have quit producing new machines in the 90's like most other manufacturers. Someone else on here may shed more light on that question. Did some checking online, it looks like Franklin bought the tree farmer line in 1991 and is still producing skudders under Franklin. Franklin were good machines also.

[trooperTdiesel]

only two complaints about the Gerretts we have. one is the engines....the other is the trans....

the 172ci ford gas engine does not like to get hot.
they have 2/3 of the head bolts to one side, and the other 1/3 on the other side.

re-torquing the head bolts once a year helps prevent a head gasket failures, its very common for the bolts to rattle loose, blowing the gasket but not damaging the head or block......

we went to a stud with a fine thread nut on the head bolts it has helped limit issues, with more head gasket clamp force.


the issue with the trans is the ones with out the revers-er
the added time turning around with the very slow reverse takes a lot of time.

[timbuck2]

@ mad murdock, I read thru the link you had posted and it was very interesting.   I'm kind of a logging history nut and I did not know the influence of Wagner and the West coast equip.   I realize it was a west coast point of view and all is well with that.   But (isn't there always a but?)  I think the evolution of Timberjack and to a lesser extent Tree Farmer was glossed over,  the old Jacks ruled Maine, NH, Vt NY for a long time.  I got a real kick out of the authors description of the Timberjack trans.  out of an old Dodge truck!  Been there done that more than once. Currently restoring a 208E, won't be happy til I get an old 2forrrty.

[mad murdock]

Their site is an interesting read. We were working out of their home place a few months back, was even more interesting to see all the history they had laying around. Myself coming from N. Wisconsin, know that logging history differed a bit based on region, major species and size of timber, terrain etc. the way it evolved here in the PNW sure was a lot bigger than other regions, I am sure because of the shear vastness of the timber. Still tons of it here. 

[terry f]

     Other than Deere and Cat the other brands seem to be regional.