what is your favorite skidder?

[treefarmer87]

whats your favorite skidder and why, post pics if you want

[IMOWOOD]

proably a TJ380C cable or a 450 but its gotta have the cummins

[4genlgr]

my tractor

[Reddog]

One that runs ;)
Other than that I can work with about anything.

[Bobus2003]

I love the JD 440, Have One now thats been tweeked over the years.. Brother had one a few years ago. There just nice for there small size and not all that heavy making transport easy

[Corley5]

One that runs ;)
Other than that I can work with about anything.

That's what I was gonna say  ;D

[Maine372]

one i dont have to fix.

the best skidder has no seat and no steering wheel. for the logger who has lost his @$$ and doesnt know which way to turn.

[treefarmer87]

haha i like that maine372,  i wish i had enough money for the 440 deere down the road from me it has a brand new motor on it that hasnt even got any grease or oil on it it is just outta my price range :-[ :-

[Mark K]

I like my old TJ, been a good machine. Costs me about $600 a year in wear parts to keep it going but the money it makes me, I can't complain. Uses about 10 gallons of fuel a day and a quart of oil because Detriots love to drool :D. I do like the old 440's and 540's, they are alot more user friendly and have a better ride.

[chucker]

deere 440........................

[forest.c]

deere 540A

[treefarmer87]

i like TJ too i had a chance to get a 230 for $2800 but i passed on it the tires were terrible and it had milky stuff in the radiator :-\

[timberfaller390]

The condition of the tires would be a big selling point for me. A set of tires can cost as much as a good used skidder

[GRANITEstateMP]

treefarmer87, what's your location, I'd be interested in a milky TJ...

Matt

[wi woodcutter]

John Deere 440D

[mad murdock]

Until I moved west, I thought that nothing existed outside of TJ, JD, Gafner, Clarke, Pettibone, CanCar, IH, and Franklin.
I would have to say the Garrett 15A I have now is the best for what I need.  Like was said before, if what you got works for what you're doing, then its the best one.

[Twig farmer]

John Deere 648D dual arch with a winch. Simple and tough as a coffin nail. Don't need a PhD. in physics with a minor in mechanical engineering to work on it. Pulls like mad, can push up a log pile with ease. Best skidder JD ever made.
If my air cooled Twig Farmer had lock in/out axles I'd say it was the best..

[nhlogga]

Love my old Clark 664C but really love the 648G I run. 'Ol Clarky needs lotsa TLC.

[tlandrum]

i tend to like clarke machines, i have a 667 line skidder for sale if anybody needs one  and am running my f66g grapple skidder now. clarkes seem to be tough as nails

[Twig farmer]

I have a 667 line skidder

Some years ago there was a good sized woodlot being cut right next to the lot I was on, both of them had some steep ground.
The feller cutting the lot had an old (1977?) Clarke 664 cable...3-53 noisemaker and an auto..
One day I drove in to see how he was doing, and he had a shiny new 667 cable machine there...and it was a monster compared to the 664 and my Twig Farmer..
I asked him how he liked it, and he smiled wide and said "Makes life awful easy..."

[tlandrum]

my 667 is an 84 model and my f66g is an 88 model and its considerably bigger than the 667 most guys around here use smaller skidders in these mountains, but for me i like to move as much wood as i can at once

[bushmechanic]

I would have to say hands down a Timberjack 230D or a 230E must have a dirty,noisy,and loud Detroit Diesel and a Hercules winch and preferably Eaton diff's.

[ford62783]

ive gotta say a tj 240 dsnt matter what model a through e as long as u get dirty looking at that detroit under the hood and a gearmatic winch and eaton rearends. ok im kinda partial to the 240 e lol

[a old timberjack]

any old timberjack with a screamer in it!! just like the one i got, a 225c. just like i say, its a  " a old timberjack "

[Wild willy]

TIMBERJACK 225

[thumper]

John Deere 440D

i second the 440D,, i think the D stands for dream. i know im sick.. but have love for most others. my first favorites are 440s 540s, tree farmer C5s, TJ 207/208, then clark 664. lol

[logloper]

What? No Cat fans? Gotta love an old 518. Starts when its 20 below,dependable,great parts availability when it does break,and man can they pull in the wood.

[thumper]

the caterpillars came into the scene around here when the big guys went grapple. they seem to be very popular now, and tigercat as well. the john deere dealer around here is now tcat.

[graves logging]

1973 tree farmer tough as hell...

[Mike_M]

Mid 80's Cat 518 grapple with winch. We have a newer Timber Jack 360 grapple, winch, A/C, heater, CD player. But the 518 is a little faster and easier to get on and off. Living here in the Pacific Northwest we use the winch as much as we do the grapple. I would take the doors off (ALWAYS WORE MY SEATBELT) and wouldn't have to fight them when parked on a slope. The 518 was just a great skidder and had very few problems, plus great visiblility. Just my 2 cents.

[timberjack240]

im w for 1984 240E 4-53 detroit eaton rears gearmatic winch w the brake fliud control not hydraulic control w 18-4 34's w bear claws on the front i ran a 240B w a cummins for a whiel it was ok to had the 23-1's tho not big on them . and im gettin onto our 225E  its not to bad ..
dad was sittin here he was a fan of his 440 C

[mr T]

I am Thinking of buying jd 440 skidder Any big diff between A B&c? Any ideas appreciated

[thumper]

I am Thinking of buying jd 440 skidder Any big diff between A B&c? Any ideas appreciated

they improved as the years went by. there are the first 440s then a,b,c then d. people have their likes/dislikes on each model, i have a wore out 440a (does good though) and if our ground ever freezes enough to work this winter i may buy a 440c in nice shape. i think all models would make a nice machine if it is in good condition.

[mr T]

Thanx for comeback Thumper No winter here at all Been getting out firewood with my old 340 dozer not enough snow to cover rocks hard to keep tracks on  30degrees this am 20+wind good day to finish up wood &dream of skidder

[thumper]

mr.t,, are you partial to the 440 only? i think theres alot of 440s some 540s and a real nice tree farmer c5 in central/southern maine (uncle henrys and craigslist)  the 540 is just a little bigger (taller wheels more hp) .

[mr T]

Afternoon Thumper     No not really  a lot of people around here have good luck with them  c5 is good not real keen on detroit tho Will keep checking unk henry not much in this wk About give up on wood this wk 40. this pm

[timberjack240]

id go w the c or d model all the way you can pull mroe w about the same fuel . biult a lot tougher and a better cage . just a lil higher to get in .. my pap was a timberjack guy but always said that the 440C was the best pullin trctor pound for ound you could get. btw my family we had 3  ;D

[rickywashere]

i would say unless your in to high production a 540 deere would be all ya need i like them a lot tough as nails

[Bobus2003]

Whast your Opinions on a Mid '90's TJ 450 Grapple Skidder? Unsure on what engine or Hours..

[thumper]

nothing too bad about a timberjack.  if it is a detroit just get a nice muffler and spark arrestor. hey bobus does that tj have the old tranny and transfer layout, or did they set them up heavier duty like clark or deere?

[Samuel]

You really can't go wrong with the JD 748 eh?

[mad murdock]

The bigger the better, as long as you got the room to move!  http://www.vannattabros.com/skidder.html
check out these old wagners, HUGE machines for their day.

[mr T]

   Been checking out jd 44o;s I noticed a lot of different tire sizes on same models Were these options? or just later years? 54o has big rubber any change in axle ratio?

[aksawyer]

Nothing as tough as the clarks.been around vthem all,clark is tougher climbs harder and with a detriot breaks a large drag loose much better than the rest.We are still looking for our next mach.Up here in Alaska they are hard to come bye.Looking at an older Mountain Logger now.Basically a clark in dequise.Got to get one soon have about 50 acres of spruce and birch to log off.Aksawyer

[treefarmer87]

my treefamer c5 353 detriot

[timberjackrob]

timberjack 200 series,work by myself alot easy to get on and off of

[Shetland Sheepdog]

Here is a picture of 2/3rds of the Eastern White Pine logs that we have salvaged from blowdown. we have piled 2/3rds of what has been salvaged, and salvaged 2/3rds of what was damaged, so we're about 1/2 done with the operation. The logs will be sold as piled.



Here is a picture of the tractors that we use for skidding. Both tractors are Fords with 2 wheel drive. The one on the left is an '82 5610 with home-made boom and grapple. The one on the right is a '74 5000 with a Norse 3081 winch and a Ford 772 loader.

[ford62783]

i love any tj that is orange 240e or 350 with a detroit and gearmatic `

[Woodhauler]

I have run tjs ,john deeres,clarks,and cat cable skidders and hands down the most powerfull skidder i ever ran was my dads 825 case skid king! 3 skids and you had a tri axle load of hard wood! 9-10 cords!And also the most akward of the ones i ran! But had to love the power it had with the gearamatic winch!

[barbender]

Samuel- who manufactures the brush grapple attachments that are on the skidders in your pictures?

[oldseabee]

I might be a little prejudiced since I worked for Clark, but the Clark 880, as far as I know is still the biggest skidder although mostly used for site prep in North America. Made to pull large hardwoods in East Asia.

[Frank H.]

I know I'll probably be the only one in this category to love my IH, even though it is small, old, and I had to update to Rockwell axles to get rid of the Hough junk.  But, like all IH stuff I own, it is easy to work on, simple as a brick, and things for me are placed where I expect them to be.  If I actually had a bank account with money in it, I'd be partial to Franklin stuff, even if they are out of business.  I just like their iron, when it is next to other equipment, it is just designed better in my opinion.