Tractor loader backhoe advise

Is an I400 or 615 smaller in size than a WD? Cause even the WD is a tank in the woods compared to the B....

@littlemarv; Just from perusing this site it appears to me that parts for A/C construction equipment is almost nonexistent. Also, if your WD isn't quite nimble enough in the woods, I would think that a backhoe would be even worse. Does your budget allow for maybe a used mini excavator that you could maybe find/rig a grapple for? That might be a way to go. Just my two cents. 

Skidder and winch is a better choice, not gonna find that multi duty fits all in a TLB.  TLBs tend to be butt heavy, get stuck easy but easy to unstick with rear arm, front ends are always light until overload them then bust axles.

Thank you all for the responses, good ideas.

We do not skid logs.
Reason 1: Dad would never ever ever allow it. All you do if fill the bark with mud and that dulls chainsaw chains.
Reason 2: It is very dangerous and I ain't dying for a block of wood.

You can't take the loader off a backhoe tractor, cause there goes all your counterweight for lifting. And from what I can tell even a small tractor loader backhoe goes around 10,000 lbs. You aren't going to take a 10,000 pound two wheel drive tractor through my dad's woods unless we have a hella drought.

I think we will just stick with log arching them out to a clearing, then loading them onto the log wagons to get them home. Simpler is better, and it works for what we do.

It was just an idea...

Lord knows a bobcat would be handy for pretty much everything we do up at dads. I wonder how good it would do in the woods, but bobcats slog around in the mud on construction sites every day. Something else to dream about, cause from what I can tell, bobcats don't come cheap.

I'm totally with you Marv about not dragging the logs across dirt or mud as you dull the saw chains in short order. My mini-excavator with a thumb is great for loading but a bit slow on forest trails. What I use mostly is a WA-40 Komatsu articulated wheel loader, 5' 6" wide (6000 lbs.) for picking up the logs and dumping onto the truck. I only cut 90" lengths, back up my truck to the 3 point, PTO operated, firewood processor, slip each piece onto the table. Then cut six 15" rounds that fall into the splitter and up the belt onto the trailer. This has made the pursuit of firewood so much more fun this year, not to mention the saving in time. Not being used to a Bobcat I would find it too much like a bucking bronco on rough forest trails with rocks and stumps but the trained 'cowboys' can likely handle them no problem. 

Small Gafner or Prentice log loader might work as well.   Early AC literature illustrated a Gafner log loader attached to the back of an H-3 HD3 Crawler. I believe the log loaders could be ordered as optional equipment for the H-4/HD4 machines as well.   

I fully agree with John that you can end up investing a lot of $$ before you have everything working ideally BUT... good used equipment is either holding value or going up. I bought my 028 mini excavator and my WA 40 Komatsu wheel loader 15 years ago, 1996 & 1992 year models respectively. They would both sell for more $$ today than what I paid for them back then. This means that with decent usage (no abuse) and good maintenance you have owned the machines at really no capital cost. Coming up with a year's worth of seasoned firewood on an ongoing basis is not for the lazy or faint of heart but it can be fun, at least we tell ourselves it is . I would far rather get my blood moving by working with firewood than having a gym membership just staring at a wall while you sweat. I totally agree about the enjoyment of 'playing' with man-size toys. I also use 5 old Allis tractors, each with different implements but that's what makes tractor collecting fun with some purpose to boot. I'm sure you, like me, have heard your wife say "why do you have to have so many tractors???" 

Edited by Eric B - 18 Sep 2021 at 3:02pm