Hello, We are in the logging business in the Northeast, currently cutting large hardwood by hand, skidding with wheel skidders. I was looking at buying a D4H TSK III grapple/winch machine, thinking it would be good for soft ground conditions. It's not an lgp but I believe it has 24" pads. These arent very common in my area and I was wondering if someone could let me in on the positive/negative aspects of the model. Would appreciate any input.
Fun Fun Fun... I've spent a little time in the saddle of a D4H. Boy are they a fun ride. Easy to operate, excellent visibility, and fast fast FAST!! Having spent a few years in the saddle of a D8, you have to forget having lots of power....you just don't have it.You have to use finesse. The grapples can pack more than the Cat can pull if you are adversing your logs, so you do the po go routine. Raise your grapple full of logs, go till she wants to spin, let your grapple down as you advance, repeat.These things will back up faster than you can run, so you really have to watch for stumps. If you hit a stump while backing up in high gear it is painfull. Parts are easy, Cat is famous for their parts availability.......expensive but available. These things are tough, the weak point in my opinion is the undercarriage.... sort lifespan and horribly expensive. That being said, I would still choose the D4H over ANY other tractor of the same size.....hands down...........I currently own a John Deere 650...I love it, but I still drool over the D4H. There were not any D4H's available in my price range at the time so I bought the 650. I don't regret it for a minute, but I still drool heavily when I see a D4H with a big turn of logs headed for the landing........... The D4H will out produce the 650 by at least 40%. Good luck to you, and have fun.
JWinter.... the D4H were built with a couple different engine's... 3204 and a 3304.... the 3304 is the engine of choice topping out at 105 HP. Hope that helps.... Gramps
Thanks guys, does the series III have the 3304? Also were there undercarriage improvements with the later model? I read they weigh around 28000, do they float pretty well with that single arch configuration? Are the winches reliable? I really appreciate the input guys!
From what I remember of driving those little Kitty's the winches were not very strong and would break if you tried to drag a very big turn.but I was a lot younger then and I thought finesse was something girls put in there hair not something you used in the woods
The D4H TSK was replaced by the 527 which was purpose built for logging. The D4H started as a high drive with a winch and got modified over time with a stronger and thicker rear frame and the option of an extra roller on the backs of the track frames. There were other improvements as well but I've had a beer or two and the brain doesn't recall real well the bad things I've had to do on many jobs. Any logging machine of that vintage will have many aches and pains and lots of welding rod expended into the stress places. The machines will go places a rubber tired rig couldn't even attempt. As Redwood Climber has stated, the undercarriage is very costly so you only want to use these machines where nothing else will work. You also have to find out if the government will even let you run one of them. Here in the west it depends on which government entity has oversight.