Advice on a skidder purchase

[BHMC]

I am looking for a farm skidder. I am looking to cut some pine and manage some land & pull my own firewood. Possibly clear a house-lot. What would be your advise in buying a used skidder. Some say the John deere 440 series are good machines...however they are expen$ive to service and they are tippy. I have looked at the Clark 664 & others, Timberjack 225 and 230 series and Tree Farmer C5D. What do you think are the pros and cons of the respective machines and are there some to stay away from.

[maple flats]

This is a good question, but you may find few answers on here. May I suggest you try The Forestry Forum, That is to forestry as this is to maple, with over 7700 members world wide (english is the official language. I am also there, same name as here. On there you will get answers from many , be sure you state your needs, own use, professional logger etc.

[jasonl6]

If you have a tractor i would suggest looking into a Farmi Wench. It's a 3point hitch that runs off your pto. We recently bought one and it's amazing. Keep an eye out on ebay and craigslist. We had to drive 13 hours to get ours but paid 3k less than new and it barly had a scratch.

link to farmi http://www.farmiwinch.com/ <- there are diffect sizes for different tractors. There are other makers as well but these are the origional and deff the best.

Jason

[wally]

I am looking for a farm skidder.

get in touch with tuckermtn (eric johnson) or parker (parker rowe). both are logging contractors here in nh, and can probably offer some pointers on what to look for. eric is also the program director for the nhtoa.

[TF Maple]

There is also one in the classified adds here on the Trader.

No, it isn't mine!:lol:

[farmall h]

BHMC, I had a Clark 664B for 8 years and loved it. They are powerful machines..allison automatic transmission, very easy to operate. The winch is possibly the strongest on the market. They do set up higher than most and are rather tippy unless it has the 30" rubber rather than 38". Timber Jacks are the most reliable and are very stable. I sold my Clark back in 2002 and am currently looking for a small dozer with canopy and winch. If you are cutting major acreage than a skidder would be recommended but if you are just doing firewood and a few loads of pine than a dozer would be my choice. We have 5 tractors here on the farm and do not use a farmi winch. My experience with them is that they work great for firewood..small lots but are dangerous only because the operator has no protection from branches and the occasional falling of a tree. I had dropped a large yellow birch as well as a large pine on my skidder and both times it didn't even leave a scratch. If that was a tractor it would have been squashed! Plus ...tractor tires tend to flatten since they are not forestry rated. Just my thoughts.., from somebody who has been there and done it. Although a 208 Timber Jack or 440A John Deere are nice little machines...usually anywhere between 10-15,000$ depending on year and condition.:)
Are you anywhere near Colbrook NH? You can always go look about their yard (Nash Equipment) and may even let you try one for a week...at least they used to back in Eddies day.

[tuckermtn]

I logged for years with a 1979 JD 540B cable- was the best piece of forestry equipment I've ever owned. The economics of owning an older skidder is that they have pretty well depreciated in value by the time they are 30 yrs old- so after you are done with the machine you can generally sell it for nearly what you paid for it. If your doing even a moderate amount of woods work, I would highly recommend the skidder vs. the farm tractor- built to be in the woods- lot more productive- but limited in that they do not have a loader...you can get a good skidder for $13-18K- not sure how much farm tractor you can get for that.

NH Timberland Owners Association (NHTOA) holds a "farm tractors in forestry" class a couple of times a year- good discussion about limitations and safety concerns about using tractors in the woods. check out www.nhtoa.org for the next one- likely in October...

I am partial to JD skidders having run 540B, 640D, 748G and now 848G - but yes they are tippy- the older TJ's are more stable and very simple to work on- but too many levers and reversers for me... I still think Deere makes the best skidders- (but Tigercat is a close second)

check out craigslist for skidders- I do know of a real nice 440B for sale in New London. where are you in NH? My choice top choice would be a 540B,D, or E or a 440C.

my.02 worth

my

[farmall h]

tuckermtn, good points all around! Although I miss the little Clark.....:(

[Rhino]

I agree with Jason about the Farmi winch, question is do you have a tractor already? We have a Farmi winch and love it. powerful, dependable and built strong. We use it on a 85 horse duetz allis and also on a 45 horse Kabota. On a side note i just picked up 2 old John Deere crawlers that i couldn't pass up on. One is a 1953 John Deere 40, and the other is a 1958 John Deere 420. Got both for $4900.00. Both run real well but the 40 has the steering brakes froze up. Does anyone have experience with these relics? sure are neat little machines. I know they are hard to find and i seen even parts machines go for close to $2500. Back to the brake issue.... I hope they are just froze up from sitting for a few years, and all i have to do is break them loose and lube them up. any feedback from Deere lovers would be a great help.

[3rdgen.maple]

How about some feedback from a deere hater? lol i got plenty of jd hate to go around.

[tuckermtn]

like the machines, don't like my dealer...they have you by the ball$ when it comes to parts...

[3rdgen.maple]

and alot of parts they need

[farmall h]

Rhino, go shopping for parts online...plenty out there. Also, the 420 is a better machine...you could say it is the upgrade of the 40c.

[wally]

I hope they are just froze up from sitting for a few years, and all i have to do is break them loose and lube them up. any feedback from Deere lovers would be a great help.

visit jdcrawlers dot com. plenty of information about the early crawlers there.