Cable skidder Do's and Dont's ?!? Bought a skidder finally and could use some tips !

[Timberking]

Finally bought a skidder that's been much needed.

Up untill now I'v been skidding my timber with a small dozer.
Bought a Tree Farmer C4D in decent working shape this week and am excited to get to work with her this week.
I'm gonna run her a bit tomorrow and try and get used to her but could use some tip's from some experienced skidder operators.
I'm used to a dozer wich is much different as far as stability.
Most of the timber I cut are on hillsides.

Anyone have some pointer's for me as far as hillside operation ?
Any easy way of doing things ?
Any wrong way of doing things ?

I know it will come in time with experience but any info to save me or my machine from finding out the hard way would be of great help !
The winch is a little hard free spooling as well, was told to hook to tree and pull out.. Am I saposed to do this with winch break ingauged or just free spool posistion?

Thanks in advance fellas.

 

[Vigilant]

Watch out for those bees.

 

[skadill]

Be very careful (or don't) backing up a steep grade,especially while turning a bit,they tilt on their front pivoting axle and go over.Havent done it,but came close enough to know not to.

 

[Vigilant]

If your pull gets hung up on a stump, mash that clutch quick, or your world may soon be turned upside down.

 

[Hallback]

Go straight up and down hills, do not try and sidehill.

 

[Vigilant]

If you drop your pull in the mud, get to dry ground, and when you winch the pull to you, the skidder slides toward the pull instead, back up to a good-sized tree or high stump if you can find one, to chock the wheel closest to the pull. Then hit the winch.

And watch out for those bees!

 

[Timberking]

Ok fellas, I about upset this thing twice today ! How in the hell do you guys use skidders on hillsides and mountains instead of dozers ?
I mean, I understand travel up and down a hill but a man cannot log a 200 acre tract strictly traveling up and down ! lol

When the back tips to the side on one wheel and the front axle tilts as far as it will go, will it stop ? Do's a man have a little more left at that point before she goes over ?
I'm pretty sure that if I didnt have my blade down today while turning right off a level road to go down over the hill, she would be on her side right now! Scared the **** outta me.. lmao.

Can I flip the rims/tires around like an old tractor to make the wheel base wider ?

 

[Vigilant]

Some folks build skid roads with a dozer first, and then stay on the skid roads for the most part. Push the wood downhill to within cable reach of the skid roads, then set the chokers and pull.

And watch out for those bees!

 

[Timberking]

Lol, the sad part is... This was on one of my roads/trails I dozed in ! And I put my roads in to where you could take a Cadillac on em

Can the tires be loaded ? Would it help enough to justify it ? Has any of you guys done it ? even chains would add quit a bit of base weight I would think..
Just pondering...

 

[TimberjackTim]

Keep the loads light and lower on hills. Be ready to drop the load if the load is pulling the machine. This happens on hills. On steep grades, it is best to winch up the load if the machine is small such as a C4. Do this in stages if you can rather than one long pull.

And keep up with maintenance. Chokers and cable in good shape and all fluids changed and inspected per manufacturer's recommendations. Tree Farmers are decent machines and easy to work on. Good luck.

 

[old-iron-habit]

There has been many skidders dumped on there side when skidding while turning a corner and catching the choked trees on other trees at speed. If your back tires are lifting when winching turn the machine butt more toward the skid. Take it easy and things will get better as you learn how to pick your trail and learn what you can get by with. We skidded off ski slopes for a resort with a cable skidder and kept it upright although we had a pucker or two.

On your winch question, release it to pull out the cable with the machine in the morning. We would pull them out and then with the machine in neutral we would pull the machine back while winching in. A couple times and they were good to go. If you can even pull any cable out with the winch brake on with the machine, your winch brake needs adjusting. Another trick is to stretch the cable out and keep it tight over night. Helps keep the hard pulling loops at bay, especially as the cable wears. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Vigilant]

There has been many skidders dumped on there side when skidding while turning a corner and catching the choked trees on other trees at speed. If your back tires are lifting when winching turn the machine butt more toward the skid. Take it easy and things will get better as you learn how to pick your trail and learn what you can get by with. We skidded off ski slopes for a resort with a cable skidder and kept it upright although we had a pucker or two.

On your winch question, release it to pull out the cable with the machine in the morning. We would pull them out and then with the machine in neutral we would pull the machine back while winching in. A couple times and they were good to go. If you can even pull any cable out with the winch brake on with the machine, your winch brake needs adjusting. Another trick is to stretch the cable out and keep it tight over night. Helps keep the hard pulling loops at bay, especially as the cable wears. Good luck and have fun.

And watch out for those BEES!

Fixed it fer ya.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Some folks build skid roads with a dozer first, and then stay on the skid roads for the most part. Push the wood downhill to within cable reach of the skid roads, then set the chokers and pull.

And watch out for those bees!

They must work at a better margin then we have here. We could not afford to cut roads on our timber prices.