[AT] Swamp loggers. A log skidder is a tractor isn't it?

[charliehill]

John I was ridding down a back country road once with a guy that grew up in 
the city.  We went by a field where a log skidder was sitting out by the 
road.  The guy looked at it and in a few seconds he said "I'm a city boy but 
I think I know what that thing is.  That's one of the 4WD swamp log 
go-geters"  I've driven them.  I've never actually worked them other that 
just for a few minutes but I've loaded them on and off of the low boy when 
hauling them from job to job.   Most of them have a steering control switch 
that goes from a normal steering feel like a truck or a farm tractor to a 
quick steer for working in the woods.  In quick steer it will turn from lock 
to lock with about 1/8 or less turn of the steering wheel and in about a 
half a second.   You want to make real sure you don't have it in quick steer 
when you get in high gear.   If it's a grapple skidder, instead of a cable 
rig it takes a bit of getting used to.  You try to back the grapple up to a 
bunch of wood and since it "articulates" (bends in the middle) when you turn 
the wheel the grapple is no longer where you think it is or where you wanted 
it to be.  You have to learn to anticipate where it will swing as you back 
up to the pull.  I guess it's not hard to catch on to but if you jump on one 
for the first time and think you can drive it, it will fool you.  If I were 
a rich man there would be one or two of them in my toy barn.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Hall" <jthall at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 1:52 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Swamp loggers. A log skidder is a tractor isn't it?


> Figured that was down your way somewhere Charlie. Personally I like the 
> old
> Pepsi truck they use to haul supplies!  I've run a little bit of 
> everything
> when it comes to machinery but the one I really want to run is a
> log-skidder. Those things make a monster truck seem like a go-cart!
>
> John Hall
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "charliehill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 7:54 AM
> Subject: [AT] Swamp loggers. A log skidder is a tractor isn't it?
>
>
>> If any of you happened to see that marithon of the Swamp Loggers series
>> last
>> night, I know those folks.  Well I say I know them,  back when I worked 
>> in
>> the logging industry we often worked along side of the senior Bobby
>> Goodson's crew and passed their trucks on the road all the time.  Bobby 
>> Jr
>> who runs the swamp logging show crew looks a lot like his daddy did back
>> then.
>> I also found it interesting in one of the episodes last night they
>> mentioned
>> working on Caintuck road.  That is where my grandfather grew up over in
>> Bladen County NC.  Interestingly enough he worked in the "log woods" in
>> those same Cape Fear River swamps that the Swamp Loggers are working now.
>>
>> Those shows might sound like they are highly exagerated with all of the
>> machinery problems and mill closings, etc.  However, from my experience
>> logging that is pretty much the way it goes.  Something is always broken.
>> It cost a lot of money to fix and when you get everything running it 
>> rains
>> too much and you can't get the wood out or the weather is good, everyone
>> is
>> in the woods, the mills get overloaded and shut down or put you on quota.
>>
>> That kind of work gets in your blood.  I wish I was still doing it.
>>
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