There is little doubt that forestry work is a tough job. From felling and collecting trees to loading and then transporting them, it is a job that requires skilled operators and specialized, heavy duty equipment. As with any job, using the right resources is essential, especially when doing such heavy, potentially dangerous work. To efficiently and safely perform all of these tasks, there are numerous types of forestry trucks that lumber companies use, each one with its own job in the assembly-line process of harvesting the forest for lumber, paper, and other wood-related products.
Fellers and Feller Bunchers
As the name implies, the feller takes down trees, holds them in place with its felling head, cuts them at the base, and then stacks the logs aside to continue working. Feller bunchers are useful for holding many smaller trees together and cutting them all at once, making such an arduous task go much faster. Most fellers and feller bunchers are equipped with chainsaws for cutting, although there are some that have grapples which are useful for cutting many trees with smaller diameters all at one time.
For larger trees as well as those that need to be cut to lengths that are short enough to transport on forestry trucks, harvesters are used instead of fellers. The harvester has the same grabbing mechanism as the feller; however, it only holds and cuts one unit at a time. While the tree is still being held in its grip, it is processed through the harvester that measures it for length, then cuts again at the required spot. These machines usually include de-limbing knives as well, functioning to slice off branches and limbs as the tree passes through the grip of the harvester. The end product is a stack of cut-to-length logs that have been harvested and de-limbed without having to be released after the initial felling.
Harvesters are great time savers when working with large trees; it also provides a safer option when it is necessary for a single worker to operate the machine. Harvesters are usually built onto regular construction vehicle bodies; however, for extreme terrain circumstanced it can be equipped as a “walker” that actually walks up inclines and rough terrain rather than being driven.
Forwarders and Skidders
Forwarders and skidders are tractor-like vehicles that move timber from a cutting location to a pickup point to be transported. Skidders basically grab heavy, felled trees and drag them to a pickup point to be loaded onto transportation vehicles. This vehicle is convenient for single or very large trees but can unfortunately damage the ground within the harvesting area from dragging them on the ground and from tracks made from the huge tires. For this reason, forwarders are more preferred. Forwarders grab cut-to-length logs from the stack piles left by harvesters, load them onto the back of transportation trucks or a trailer, and then move them to the pickup point. Forwarders are much more efficient and create less damage to the ground of the forest; however, there are still occasions when a skidder is necessary such as when working with larger sized trees.
The loader is equipped with a giant claw that picks up cut logs either from the forwarders or from the ground, loading them into trucks for over the road transport.
From the start of the process of felling the first tree to ending it with loading the last log of the day, it is easy to see how all this equipment makes forestry work safer, faster and generally more efficient. What used to take many workers long hours to complete can now be done in minutes with the help of the right forestry trucks!