Went to a local fair today. Wondering around and ran into these "Dream Toys". Ah if only we had the $$$$ for toys................
I have owned a couple skid loaders, and they are a dream to have. But the most versatile piece of equipment I have had yet was a 32hp compact tractor. Big enough to do real work, small enough to get in and out of my yard without making a mess. That winch on that case is real neat, but I think a 3 pt. grapple would be the real cats meow for pulling firewood out of the woods in log length.
Good lookin equipment there ! Both nice pieces . If you wanna move a ton of material quickly... Go for the skid. If you wanna do everything else... Get the tractor .
Buddy of mine used to have a small skidder winch like that. We used that for a whole lot of things other than trees. If you just want to drag a tree the grapple is fine, but if you need to do a lot of winching the skidder can't be beat. Can't tell you how many hangers we were able to pull down with the winch.
That JCB skidsteer has the single lift arm offset from the cab. Never seen one of those before. Does that arm extend? similar to a Lull?
[/QUOTE] I saw that single arm and wondered the purpose as it can't be as strong as one on each side.
Yes that's an option. They're info claims a single boom allows for a larger cab as well as side entry.
Seems like a lot of strain could be placed on the cab side of the bucket. Lulls have offset cabs but the boom point is centered
That winch isn't going to be as fast as a grapple for sure but a whole heck of a lot more versatile. Would drag logs up/down steep terrain too.
The worst part of my wife's day at the fair is when I walk down the aisles and see all the commercial vendors. I do the same thing as Rotti, I put on my bib and drool, take pics and talk to the reps.
I'd hate having to climb all over muddy tires on that JCB. Side door is nice though, can leave the arms up and get out and not have to worry about it. I did that once in my machine to hold something up. The arms bled down a bit overnight and I couldn't get the door open.
I love the fair. My wife and I take the monday of the fair off every year. Its woodsman's day. It doesnt matter whats going on in our lives, we always drop everything and go together. My boss knows I will be out that day, I don't even have to put in for it every year, its understood. It is one of the best days of the year. I think I like it more than christmas and thanksgiving. Every year it is the same thing, and IT IS AWESOME! I drool over the same stuff every year, watch the same demonstrations and eat way too much of the same food. My favorite is watching the old time equipment operate. The sounds, the smells, chainsaw hotsaw competitions, skidder races. Im getting all bothered just thinking about it!
Love hearing the hit n miss. Love those hugehit n miss motors iI have seen on youtube run pumping the smoke!
I hate the fair, but it happens to be almost across the road from my house so I have to deal with traffic, loud crappy music/sounds, and idiot people from Anchorage for 2+ weeks. AND the fair is $$$ for what it is. It costs $5 to park, $15 to get in, and it costs to see most anything, $15-60 depending on what. Food is stupid expensive. The last time I went was 4 or 5 years ago and it cost me $46 in total to be able to watch the tough truck racing and we were "lucky to be able to get a seat" as the money taker claimed. A $0.50 bottle of water was $5, not sure on the food as I just went home to eat.
That would definitely be nice, something I didn't think of. Grapple would still be my cup of tea though, just from the speed and being able to keep the wood off the ground a little better. Heck I would settle for either one to be honest with ya!
All the newer skid steers have a lockout for the boom, to prevent that from happening. There is also an emergency release in case you have a mechanical failure, you can still get the boom down enough to get out of the machine (don't ask me how I know that lol).
