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[justinb]

I was cutting wood this past weekend with a guy who has a skid steer with a grapple and I was blown away.  Picking up huge oak trunks and cleaning up the ground with the rake on the grapple was a big time saver.  Naturally, I want to buy one now.  I have a John Deere compact tractor that I use to drag wood out of the woods, but it doesn't have the power to lift large logs.  I need to sell this before purchasing a skid steer.  My question is: how do you like your skid steer for working in the woods, and other yard type projects?  My john Deere has a backhoe and mower that I'd be giving up, but I think it would be worth it.  Would you buy a skid steer again for gathering firewood?

[farmboythegreat]

no skidsteer for me thankyou very much , maybe one of  articulated loaders .  I have crapty back (herniated disc ) and they a helluva struggle to get in and out of  and  ruff bouncy ride

[mlappin]

Have a tracked 864 Bobcat and love it, will go thru stuff you can't walk in.

Today was moving the portable silage bunks with a tractor and got hung in a snow drift, couldn't move a few inches either way, finally unhooked and almost didn't get the tractor out. Grabbed the tracked skid steer and used a chain, didn't even slip a track moving them.

[Trint]

Don't know if could justify one for just wood, have ours do to farm and livestock, couldn't function without it.  For woods only tracks of some sort would be preferred (don't have any) a wheel machine can sink and spinout fast, would consider over the tire tracks if it weren't for barnyard use.  That being said its a life saver moving and splitting wood, have a splitter don't have a grapple but considering one.

One wouldn't have to give up the backhoe and mower they are available as attachments, at least rough cut mowers.

[atvalaska]

I don't have one ..I rent one on my 3 day weekends  I can grab up 5 logs or better 20' long and pile'em up where I need them .....I have better than 100 hours in it over the years ,and I can rake the woods clean.. ...a little "side to side" action and the logs are branch free to ! they rent me the same one (as good as my bbq can butter them up)  the grappler is the best thing since slice bread....... tracked ones here go for 50000.00.... 

[Roscoe]

Love mine. I have a root rake grapple with dual independent thumbs. Tracks would be better in the woods but it's all about what you can afford. Remember.....when they break, they are expensive!

[userdk]

A skidsteer is a huge improvement over a loader tractor, but only if you get a track machine.

[mlappin]

Love mine. I have a root rake grapple with dual independent thumbs. Tracks would be better in the woods but it's all about what you can afford. Remember.....when they break, they are expensive!

Yes and no, goto Bobcat and yah, gets expensive. A lot of stuff is available aftermarket though, we installed aftermarket tracks on ours about three years ago and they still look practically new.

[juddspaintballs]

I want to get a grapple for my tractor (MX5100).  It's got the size and power to lift some good sized logs. 

[mlappin]

Don't know if could justify one for just wood, have ours do to farm and livestock, couldn't function without it.  For woods only tracks of some sort would be preferred (don't have any) a wheel machine can sink and spinout fast, would consider over the tire tracks if it weren't for barnyard use.

Yah, only time we take ours into the barnyard is if it's froze up good. Any other time it should get some poo in the tracks we wash it out before it dries.

[justinb]

Thanks guys!! I wasn't considering tracks until you're suggestions.  I didn't know realize that it was easy to get them stuck.  I'm just trying to figure out an easier and faster way to get wood out of my woods.  This is my first year burning, and it has been a chore.  Loading the OWB isn't a big deal, but spending every weekend lumberjacking is getting old.  Trying to find ways to expedite the process. 

[mlappin]

Thanks guys!! I wasn't considering tracks until you're suggestions.  I didn't know realize that it was easy to get them stuck.  I'm just trying to figure out an easier and faster way to get wood out of my woods.  This is my first year burning, and it has been a chore.  Loading the OWB isn't a big deal, but spending every weekend lumberjacking is getting old.  Trying to find ways to expedite the process.

I drop em, then drag em out wit the skid steer to either the field or a clearing. Much easier and safer to cut if your not working in brush and briars.

[justinb]

I drop them and drag them out now as well.  So I guess I won't be saving much time as far as that's concerned.   Where I struggle is loading them by hand into my small end loader and making countless trips back and forth.  I'm hoping that with a grapple, I can easily grasp a pile of logs and make fewer trips, while saving my back.  Is my reasoning wrong for making this decision?  Seems like I can purchase a decent used machine for $20K.  Hoping to sell my setup for $12-15K.

[mlappin]

I do it one of two ways, either find a big ugly log and leave it, cut all your wood and use the ugly one as a backstop so you can get a full bucket of wood then dump it in a dump truck. I've also used the grapple to handle the cut stuff, using a backstop and a bucket is faster than the grapple. Either way beats the heck out of loading by hand and wearing your back out.

[Bud Man]

I use my skidsteer nearly every time I cut wood. I would hate to be without it. I have a standard bucket, pallet forks, root grapple, snowblower, mower and currently building a log splitter for it. I bought it new around 1999 or 2000 and haven't had any major problems with a Bobcat 763. It is a tire machine, no tracks. I get along fine with the tires and probably wouldn't spend the money for tracks. I'm sure they would be nice but certainly not a necessity. The one time I got it stuck was in snow and that was my own fault. If you also use your tractor to move snow you will be amazed how much faster a skidsteer is.