Buying Advice Compact for new 43 acre wooded property

[crazyal]

I've done plenty of skidding with my 4240 and it's limited by the length of the log and the trees on the sides of the trails. I've pulled red maple 50' log and 2' in diameter with ease but normally I can't make any of the corners so I cut them in half and drag two or even three at once. I've never needed low gear. The MX5100 would be more than enough tractor to get the job done.

 

[newbury]

I really don't have any reason to skid as I'm only removing timber for a wood stove. My only reason to do so was to avoid the bush honeysuckle that has taken over my woods. I think a TLB package in the 40 hp range is what I need. I'd been shopping for something without the backhoe but feel like I'll regret it later with drainage and stump removal to take care of.

Wait till mission creep sets in. You'll find it's easier to skid a ways then cut it all where it falls.

A TLB package would be ideal.

I've got similar needs - moving logs, making trails and originally planned to do most with a B7610. However I found out that more HP drastically sped things up.

So I set a mark for a ~40HP, w/FEL, 4WD and ability to lift a ton on the 3pt (10' white oak, 24" diameter) for under $15K.

After several months of intense search I was just about to buy from Barlows one that fit my needs for $16K.

Then I shot and missed my mark by a wide range. I missed low on price (<$12K) and high on specs (51HP, lifts 2 ton on the 3pt and 1 ton on the FEL)

/edit - chipper was not included

It's working out well.

Now I just need to get my backhoe mounted on it.

So keep searching, eventually you'll find something.

 

[dave1949]

Wait till mission creep sets in. You'll find it's easier to skid a ways then cut it all where it falls.
<snip>

What am I missing here? What mission creep causes you to skid logs? Sawmill, firewood processor, selling logs?

Getting the logs out of the woods while the weather is good? That's lack of planning and getting behind, not mission creep. (Easy for retired people to say. :laughing

You usually don't skid them until you limb and top them, plus cut the too long ones down to manageable lengths. Pulling a tree down that is lodged, or just to get better access to it, okay. But all that work happens where it fell. Then you drag it through the dirt some for what purpose?

All I can see you are getting from that--for personal firewood purposes--is dull saw chains and skid wounds on other formerly healthy trees. You could have a net savings in root compaction due to fewer trips.

I think a TLB would be great choice. Like AKFish, if affordable, I would look for something like the Kubota construction-grade(lite) TLB units.

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree with others on cutting up your firewood in place and using the fel, small trailer or pickup to haul it out of the woods. Don't see the need to skid logs for a wood stove, you would likely damage more trees attempting this. In my experiences working your way in to the woods cleaning up and chipping as you go works pretty well. Reclaim an area and leave it picked up so you can maintain it with the least ongoing effort.

A tlb is a handy choice for alot of your plans though, I find mine to be most helpful for cleanup work and stumping.

 

[GManBart]

Some of it has to do with your lot layout. I frequently skid logs out, or lift them whole on the forks to where I'm going to buck them down because I want to keep the mess in a particular area. I've also got some pretty tight woods right near the house, and trying to limb, buck, then load and transport from there would be a pain, so I'll skid them out to the cleared area, which is part of my lawn, then pick them up on the forks, and transport to another part of the property to buck them down. I don't really want to cover my lawn with sawdust and branches I need to clean up later, so it's just easier to move everything to another spot where it doesn't matter.

 

[Grandad4]

Jgoehri1, maybe I got a bit confused about your "downed trees", which I took to mean blow-downs and deadfall timber, not trees you're felling for firewood. If you're only doing the firewood thing, it depends entirely on when you plan to do it. The guys up north do it in winter when the ground is frozen and has snow cover, and many of them skid the logs to their woodsheds for cutting. In other places, it can be better cutting what you've felled in-place, or at least nearby, so you don't get the timber all full of grit dragging it through the woods.

If you need to actually clear any amount of material for disposal - what I thought you meant - hauling it out as logs is way more productive than cutting it into firewood-sized pieces and manually loading/unloading it on a trailer.

 

[dave1949]

Some of it has to do with your lot layout. I frequently skid logs out, or lift them whole on the forks to where I'm going to buck them down because I want to keep the mess in a particular area. I've also got some pretty tight woods right near the house, and trying to limb, buck, then load and transport from there would be a pain, so I'll skid them out to the cleared area, which is part of my lawn, then pick them up on the forks, and transport to another part of the property to buck them down. I don't really want to cover my lawn with sawdust and branches I need to clean up later, so it's just easier to move everything to another spot where it doesn't matter.

Making firewood from trees near the house is the most labor intensive, and seems like it's about unavoidable. Those trees get more light, have very little competition on the lawn side, and brush piles are not allowed by The Boss. :laughing: Unfortunately, a lot of my wood cutting happens in that area. It would have been easier to clear 5 acres and selectively allow some trees to move back in. That would have been a hard sell with The Boss.

I don't burn enough wood to keep up with the growth. I also have some wild apple trees near the house opening that are remnants from an old orchard that I am trying to give some light and space to before they die off.

My long range goal is to clear that fringe area enough to make it mow-able with the bush hog and leave some nice trees. Then I would have three zones: the yard, the fringe around the yard, and the regular woods. Keeping it more open and less brushy, and less leaf litter, helps with the black flies, ticks and mosquitoes near the house. The birds like it too.