Hello, thinking about getting a trackloader for moving trees from where a excavator drops them to the burn pile. Would a deere 755c or cat 963 with a 4in 1 bucket be able to clamp down on a big tree and carry it around with no problem? I didnt know if the bucket is even designed or able to clamp down this good and not damage things. I see on ritchie specs that both machines have a lifting capacity of around 30,000 pounds. Does that sound right to you? Seems like alot but maybe these machines are alot more powerful than i think they are. thanks
Could they do it? Yes, but carrying one tree at a time in a 4 in 1 is horribly inefficient. Let your excavator turn em over and then push several trees at a time to the pile. This also let's you roll the trees to tighten them up to burn. My first loader had a 4 in 1 and it was OK for some things but I don't really miss it now that I run a GP bucket. John
Thanks for your response. What advantages do you see with your gp bucket over the 4-1 bucket? When I referred to carrying a tree I was referring to larger ones that you would only handle one at a time even with a dozer. Sometimes with the larger ones by the time you roll one all the way to the pike you have one heck of a mess of sticks. Also a lot of the time you have to back up several times and reposition multiple times with dozer. Thought if you could just grab them and walk to the pile it would speed things up and make cleanup easier. Thanks again
A 4 in 1 bucket is heavier by nature, has a reduced capacity, and is shallower. The only time I miss a 4 in 1 is clearing little trees less than 4-6" depending on species. Normally they are limber enough to want to bend over when pushing them. With the 4 in 1 I learned to pluck them out of the ground pretty easy. With big trees the weight of the tree in comparison to the "bite" you can get on it with a 4 in 1 I think makes them hard to hold on to. Even with a 4 in 1 when moving big trees I either roll them to tighten them up for burning or "scoop" them up under the log to carry them. I have carried a lot of trees with a GP bucket, just takes a little practice to be able to get under them and get them positioned on the "sides" of the bucket in balance. I think to effectively "carry" big trees you would need more of a grapple like this. http://www.rockanddirt.com/equipment-for-sale/CATERPILLAR/963C/invnum=36943359 John