Skidders Dismantled Machines

Staples of the logging industry, skidders and yarders began seeing increased usage in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In part, this was due to the greater ease they allowed for moving logs from the stump, or where they were cut, to a landing area where they could be piled and towed away. Evolving from animal- and then steam-powered equipment, modern yarders include mobile grapple yarders and tower models that use a cable-based system to pull logs to a landing.

Skidders are heavy-duty wheel or tracked tractors built specifically to pull, or “skid,” logs or entire trees using grapples, cables, or a clam bunk attachment. Manufacturers of new and used skidder and yarder equipment include CAT, Clark Ranger, John Deere, Franklin, International, Thunderbird, Tigercat, Timberjack, and Tree Farmer.

Yarders for sale may variously use drums, winches, carriages, and other components to haul logs and may be mounted on trucks, trailers, and other platforms. A yarder’s tower can measure anywhere from 20 feet to more than 100 feet tall. Unlike smaller swing yarder models in which the boom swings, the tower on a tower yarder model is generally fixed.

Modern skidders for sale, meanwhile, are four-wheel-drive tractors that include a small push blade on the front. John Deere’s 300 HP 948L is an example of a modern grapple skidder with a two-speed winch, articulated steering, and grapple that spans 22.3 square feet.