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best all around skidder

Started by sawhead21, April 14, 2014, 02:13:58 PM

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sawhead21

im looking into buying a cable machine. what would you guys suggest for a all around good pulling, good on fuel. and reliable. i was thinking along the lines of a 440 or 540

sawhead21

and also do you belave the machine would run for up here in nh a 440 from a few places go for 17k and up seems very steep to me

Firewoodjoe

It seems these days older and smaller is more money. My vision of a perfect skidder is a torque converter machine under 9foot wide, low ground pressure, parts close by and good on fuel. But if buying one soon ,cheap ,close by and ready to work any color is good to pull wood!

sawhead21


Firewoodjoe

On a more serious note I had a 440. Gas (original from Deere) and it worked good but the early ones are a little light for pulling in my opinion. Never ran a newer style. Like a C or D. I want one though. Parts aren't cheap though. Timberjacks and treefarmers seem to be more of a "napa" friendly machine. Good luck

BargeMonkey

 I have 11.5k hours on my 440D.  The winches on the older deeres are their downfall,  I just needed parts for my 3325 winch, deere couldnt get a few of the shafts anymore. Save your money and go buy a 240C or 540E-G.

Nemologger

I have ran and owned several different skidders. tj 240, tj230, tj225, franklin 170, 105, s8, s10, deere 548e, deere 540, 540b  440a, 440d...if someone told me I had to pick just one it would be deere 440d or 540b
Clean and Sober

Corley5

One that's paid for is the best  ;) ;D :)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Firewood dealer

440s run cheap but as the old saying goes, you need to run them with one foot on the ground because they are quite tippy. The old donkeys ( 225/230/240) are lightweight and will pull good but they are locked up all the time, so when you are pushing up in the yard they tend to chowda things up pretty good. Except for getting on and off, which you can't beat the tj, the 540b with 23-1-26 rubber is a nice machine.

logging pete

I had a 440b 440c and 540b, had 18.4s on all of them 540b was easily the best. it would out turn the others, longer better on hills, more power,2 more chokers, don't believe you will get much of a deer under 17k

Maine logger88

Quote from: Corley5 on April 14, 2014, 09:49:29 PM
One that's paid for is the best  ;) ;D :)
X2. I really like both my 225 and 540b they both work well!
79 TJ 225 81 JD 540B Husky and Jonsered saws

shawn55

I run a tj225 with a 3-53 and love it. Run it hard and I'll put maybe 7 gal of fuel in it.Easy to work on and easy to get parts. all around easy to get in and out. Not top heavy good in the hills.
Just my 2 cents.

thenorthman

I must be spoiled, a guy can pick up old skidders all day long over here for under 8k...

Paid 4500 for my deere, looked at one for 4200 sold before I could get to it,

there was a garret for 4k,

a clark 666c for 7k is still for sale

an ol boy has 2 international s8's? for real cheap like 5k

There is a mountain logger near here for 5k think its a 150 or a 200 6v-detroit-something loud...

I'm sure there are more, that I don't remember off hand

Any way it all depends on how big of a skidder you want.

So far I like my Deere, its a bit tippy but it will pull like a bastard ox, and the winch while it does have some brake issues, it will pull a mountain if I can ever get any traction :D, and its easy on the ground.

The Mountain logger I ran when I was a kid pulled anything and everything but I do remember it tearing up the ground a bit.  Not as bad as the cat mind... (read Dozer ;D)

As far as getting parts for the Deere, seems about half the things I can get at Napa, just some of the weird stuff I have to go to Deere for, like bearings and ujoints, filters etc are all napa available.
well that didn't work

HiTech

I like my C4, but for most it is too small especially for the production logger, for me perfect. I think if a guy could get a C5 with a 5 cylinder Deutz and didn't mind the manual shifting you could pull a lot of wood. The Deutz is really a good starting motor, good on fuel and has lots of low end torque/power. Parts are still readily available and you don't have to mortgage the farm to buy them. Tree Farmers are good skidders, just not fancy enough for todays logger. I watched a C8 pull once and it was awesome. Talk about filling a truck...that machine did it every time it came to the landing. I had both hands counted and my shoes n socks off and had 20 sliders accounted for and there was more on the cable. I think they had 26 on it. If you buy a skidder and it doesn't break down no matter what make it is...that is the best all around skidder. 

David-L

I have had good luck with the Timberjacks for production logging, simple to fix and parts are available. Some think detroits are loud and drippy but IMO it is a very cheap economical motor to run and maintain. I have had a 225 jack with a Duetz motor and that was a good machine also with low fuel consumption for a 5 cylinder. I think the Older 200 series are one of the cheapest machines to run and maintain in the woods today and they are now 30 plus years old for most of them, they also hold there price if taken care of. oh, and the getting on and off is quite easy if you have any knee or leg issues as I do. i had a 440B JD and nothing turned in the woods like it but parts were pricey and some were hard to get. also was tippy on steep ground if you weren't paying attention. the bigger 540 might be better, never drove one so I cant' answer to that. good luck in your search. be thorough in your search cause fixing can cost alot to put a marginal machine into the woods.

                                                          David
In two days from now, tomorrow will be yesterday.

BargeMonkey

 Brand isnt as important, will the machine do the job. Buy something decent from the start, laying out in the woods fixing stuff and pulling axles is expensive and just costs you more down the road. I recently sold my Franklin 405 to a newer logger from Oswego NY. He knew he wasnt getting a new machine but he looked it over well, ran it in the woods and I did my best to show him what was what. Buy a machine that way, if its run into the ground your buying a headache from the start. There are still a few good older jacks out there, but realize that most are 30+ years old and have probably been rebuild 2-3 times already.

240b

With a 30 year old machine what you are buying is the chassis because all the pieces parts are going to need to be replaced at some point. If the frame is junk though, don't bother..  there is a tj around here the like that, new motor/ transfer case  but the rest is just smashed or cracked or bent or welded(poorly). this would be for looking at a cable skidder. start looking at newer high hour grapples and they are just plum wore out..

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