TECHNICAL RELEASE 11-R-21
Logging Systems: thinning
INTRODUCTION:
Fig. 1: Tigercat 822C tracked feller-buncher reaches into rows to thin, with minimal turning and rutting.Tommy Johnson, owner of Johnson Logging in DeRidder, Louisiana, uses tracked feller-bunchers and 6-wheel (3-axle) skidders to thin pine plantations on flat, seasonally wet terrain in southwestern Louisiana. These machines maintain high production while minimizing site and residual stand damage.
GENERAL FEATURES:
Johnson Logging harvests the trees with two Tigercat 822-C tracked feller-bunchers. These are zero tail-swing machines with tight tuck boom geometry to minimize residual stand damage. Two 6-wheel (3-axle) skidders, Tigercat 625C and 635C models, drag the bunches to the logging set, where the first-thin material is processed with a Chambers Delimbinator for small/young trees and a CSI 264 Ultra pull-through delimber with integrated topping saw for larger stems.
OPERATION:
Fig. 2: 6-wheel, bogie-axle skidder is productive, yet easy on the ground.
The tracked feller-bunchers with sawhead and ER boom system require much less maneuvering than a rubber-tire machine, minimizing soil disturbance. When the ground is soft, the highflotation 3-axle skidders with rear bogie axle can ride over the felled piles in each down row without breaking the trees or mashing the piles into the soil.
The Tigercat 635 model is equipped with a large, 150-inch maximum opening grapple; it only takes three drags of young plantation timber (approx. 11-13 years old) or 1.5 drags of larger plantation timber to fill a log trailer. Johnson’s one logging job produces 85 to 120 loads per week, depending on timber size and haul distance, with this thinning equipment setup.
Fig. 2: 6-wheel, bogie-axle skidder is productive, yet easy on the ground.APPLICATION:
During the winter’s wet, soft-ground conditions, Johnson mounts dual tires on his skidders, further improving flotation and pulling power. During dry conditions, Johnson supplements production of his tracked feller-bunchers with a rubber-tired feller-buncher.
The 6-wheel skidders improve production by 50 to 100 percent when compared with smaller skidders (model # 620, for example). Fuel consumption and maintenance are slightly more with these large models, but production gains offset the additional fuel and maintenance cost.
Johnson’s high-flotation equipment allows him to thin pine plantations many more days per year in southwestern Louisiana and east Texas, where pine plantations abound on sites not generally suitable for wet weather logging with conventional logging equipment.
SPECIFICATIONS AND COSTS:
Fig. 4: In wet weather, the high-flotation 6-wheel skidders can ride over the felled/bunched wood piles to reduce rutting, without excessively breaking or smashing down the bunched wood.
Tigercat’s latest 6-wheel skidder is the 635D model; all D models come equipped with a Turnaround™ seat with rearfacing drive control to improve operator comfort and to speed up backing in thinning operations. In general, a new 6-wheel, 635-size skidder may cost an additional $150,000 over smaller, 4-wheel models. See your local Tigercat dealer for details.
Jim McKnight, Harvesting Manager
Louisiana Timber Procurement Company, LLC (Boise Inc.)
P.O. Box 1060
DeRidder, Louisiana 70634
337-462-4079
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Reviewed by:
Rick Meyer
Appalachian/Southwide Region Manager