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450 lgp capabilities

Started by OH logger, June 15, 2014, 06:32:05 PM

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OH logger

how many board feet of oak will a deere 450 LGP pull at a a time in flat ground. thinkin a bout one but maybe should be thinkin of a 550 or 650. I think an LGP is necessary for soft ground? that way I could log more in the spring of the year so I am not so weather dependant. are LGP dozers more "floatable" than regular ones?
john

BargeMonkey

 Which series 450 ?  Ive got 2, and the J stays on dirt work jobs only because of computer issues from basically day 1. A dozer is going to tend to sink anyway, depends how soft of ground your skidding on. Throwing a track off a wide track or LGP is alot easier, especially if her feet are worn. A 450 is a single reduction final, a 550 and 650 are double in a JD. I have 3 sliders on mine. Skidding long distance with a dozer is cost prohibitive, unless your cutting awesome stuff all the time, plus you get beat to death in the cab.

OH logger

all good points. I am just bouncing ideas around in my head cause we are 2 wet to work. I do generally stick to good quality wood and I know that the shorter the skid with a dozer the better. I would probly only put 200 hours AT MOST on it a year so I need nothing fancy. I would like it to have a log arch cause with our size timber a 10 foot choker is needed and I want to keep it out of the tracks. basically I need it when the woods are soft in the spring but the well drained and tiled fields are fit as a fiddle. I have no idea what series I need or is the best. any help on that end would be great. which of the final drives are better, single or double reduction? I don't want to spend more than around $35,000 on it to only use it 200 hours. I also could do dirt side jobs if I got good enough with it. I would think that a 450 would be lighter maybe more nimble and big enough to pull 1000 feet at a time but what do I know. thanks again.
john

OH logger

also how long have they been making the LGP's? I would be ok with an older one but they are hard to find. maybe just an older non LGP would be just as well because I would assume it is lighter to start with but we know what assuming does......
john

BargeMonkey

 Deere has made wide tracks for a while, the "LGP" came out with the E or G series, G series started in 89-90. If your pulling huge stuff with a small dozer with an arch prepare for alot more wear on your finals and sprockets, plus looking for the sky every once in a while. The deere fairleads on the 4000 winches do a good job of keeping them up, and your not going 100mph bunching with the dozer. All on how the operator is personally. You can find a decent G-H-J for around 35k. There is a 450J with a woods package in PA right now, 3500hrs for what you spending. Personally im not a fan of the hydro dozers but thats the way they are a going. My cousin has a 650J with a woods package and bunches to his 540G2 and puts out 2 tractor trailer loads a day with 3 guys, thing is 5 yrs old and is tired already.

BargeMonkey

 If you go to deere's website you can download 90% of the equipment brochures for just bout any of the machines. You want to stay out of the 9-10k hr range unless the machines been well taken care off. A G dozer will accept a winch pretty easy, a H-J require a different pump with a shaft, so be careful if you find a bare dozer and go to add a winch to it. I know where there is a 450G with a woods package in NH for sale right now, exactly what your looking for, PM me if you want the number.

OH logger

thanks for all the insight. I am not ready to buy right now, I am just looking to narrow the search down for when I am. what is the alternative to hydro called?  is it a powershift? maybe I should be looking at a larger dozer though???? I will be running it myself so I can maybe get by going a touch smaller. but I know that if the machine is always maxxed out things can go south in a hurry. I thought I wanted a log arch to keep the logs out of the mud for easier bucking, but if its harder on the machine it might not be worth it. opinions???
john

OH logger

john

Bobus2003

I've got a '94 550G and have used it for some skidding (not much though cause thats what my skidder Is for) it'll pull a fair bit behind it, but truly I think it makes more of a mess than a skidder, I mean your having to "skid steer" so in soft ground you break through the sod easier, rough riding, slow. In the end the few times I've skid with mine I was making less mess with the skidder to start with.. IMHO

shinnlinger

Does it have to be a Deere or would you consider other machines?
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

BargeMonkey

 What size skidder are you running ? How big of timber do you tend to cut ? I find that a 450 is just narrow enough to go 90% of places without running stuff over. How much dirt work do you plan on doing with it ? The arch looks cool, but they dont belong on a small dozer. The newer cats and deeres are hydrostatic, single joystick with a thumb pad to shift speeds.       

OH logger

I see what you mean about "skid steering", but I am just looking to get in the woods a bit earlier. there is always a time in the spring when the woods are wet but the fields are fit because the fields are tiled. I would have to cherry pick the jobs that would be feasible to log with a  dozer(short skids, nice trees, etc) .also some jobs would be easier due to ditches , wet crossings, etc. with a dozer but not too many.  VERY flat here. but if I needed to I could get into a  little hill country if I had one.

I would prefer a deere cause there is a deere dealership every 5 miles around here so parts and "some" service is available.

currently I have a 548 g111 and our trees prolly avg. 400 feet give or take but they can get to 1000 feet here fairly regular. I will do dirt work with it in the summer if I get good enough with It or if I need the work. see this is farm country and a  lot of the woods are cropped in in the summer and a dozer could help "fill some holes" so to speak. last few years I have had plenty of summer work but not to long ago the summers were sort of lean.  but now the ash are all dead and I feel like things are goin to be different in the future. lot less trees out there to cut :(.  it seems to me a hydrostat dozer would not be as good but what do I know, im just a logger ;D.  I would like to get away from more of the electronics that are great when they work and every time they aren't working you want to blow the machine up >:(. seems like a hydrostat would be harder to work on???? :-\  that's another reason why I had in mind an older machine. thanks for letting me ramble!
john

barbender

Personally, I think you are just going to tear your sites up skidding with a dozer given the conditions you describe. If it's flat ground and too soft for a rubber tire skidder, the dozer might float across the real soft spots but it will trash the ground. A six wheel forwarder might be a better option.
Too many irons in the fire

Gary_C

Quote from: OH logger on June 15, 2014, 08:44:07 PM
I am just bouncing ideas around in my head cause we are 2 wet to work.

If it's too wet to work, a dozer is just going to make a mess. Trust your instincts and don't work!

No matter how good a job you have done previously, you make one mess of someones woodlot and you may not get another chance.
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

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