mini skidsteer show off

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Our Vermeer 600 has been a great investment:

- BMG drags brush and lift logs
- stump grinder attachment avoids trips with another machine
- bucket can haul rakings, stump grindings or snow
- forks load or unload stuff
- auger is great for planting

Here is a pic of the machine in the truck with the BMG and grinder. Got everything done with one trip.

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Hows the performance on the stump grinder atchment? I know when they first came out the were pretty poor, but now that some minis are pushing 35hp and that bandit actually offers a hydraulic dedicated grinder maybe the are getting it figured out?
 
It has a dedicated motor, Kohler 30hp. It ran ok, this year was our first with it. The main problem was the wheel was too light and it would jump alot. I just put a Greenwheel on it, I'm hoping it will make it smoother.
 
Here is a pic of our Zahn. Had it 5 years and love it. With the articulated steering you can do figure 8's and not tear up the grass.
 

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Here's another. Here we used half plywood sheets on the bottom, but since forks are 36" long we often use full 4' x 8' plywood on the bottom. Works great for moving huge piles of stump grindings or in this case old unwanted firewood. Considering making hinged flaps for the back panel to create sides so it works like a huge bucket.
 

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Another. This was a good size locust. This piece was over 3 feet long (it extended past the 36" forks) and probably about 36" diameter. Don't know what it weighed, but DW moved it with a 155 lb "counterweight". Notice the smiles on their faces.
 

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Here is a pic of our Zahn. Had it 5 years and love it. With the articulated steering you can do figure 8's and not tear up the grass. [/quote

Put dual wheels on front and rear. Fill the tires, and you can do so much more with it.
 
Tires are filled from factory they are heavy and we have the 50# wheel weights in the rear wheels. We run on a lot of level ground so the duals would not create a lot of benefit especially when we would need to get through 36" gates. We throw the quad tracks on when the snow gets deep. They are pretty amazing.
 
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Tires are filled from factory they are heavy and we have the 50# wheel weights in the rear wheels. We run on a lot of level ground so the duals would not create a lot of benefit especially when we would need to get through 36" gates. We throw the quad tracks on when the snow gets deep
They are pretty amazing.

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You are missing the point. Duals have little to do with the terrain being level. Think turning...wider stance..heavier loads....more traction ....more stable. Would never run our Zahn without duals...too tipsy on turns w /o loads. 36 inch gates...never had a problem.
 
How do they perform in the snow? I could see the duals providing stability on uneven terrain especially side hill and better floatation in wet conditions. On mostly level ground traction is never an issue, I'm carrying or dragging brush not pulling a plow. I believe I measure 34"-35" without duals, so how is it that you have no problem with a 36" gate?
 
The duals do make the Zahn incompatible with a 36 inch gate. Have never considered implications as it is hardly an issue on any of our sites.
We do NOT work when there is snow ( or during winter months if we can help it) on the ground so we cannot provide accurate feedback as to how it would work.

Just the added stability especially when turning and w/loads is a major asset for the machine and increases its abilities.
 
I took a short video to carrying a ornamental Honey locust log. The log was about 12' long, and 18" at the base...it was green wood.

As you can see I grabbed the log length wise, with butt away from me. This made me slightly tipsy, and being that I was going down a slight hill, I was rocking back and forth. But once on solid level ground, I was able to lift it to full height.

Video carrying log to the truck

Ps - I need to get a go pro cam...instead of a cell phone in bib pocket
 
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The duals do make the Zahn incompatible with a 36 inch gate. Have never considered implications as it is hardly an issue on any of our sites.
We do NOT work when there is snow ( or during winter months if we can help it) on the ground so we cannot provide accurate feedback as to how it would work.

Just the added stability especially when turning and w/loads is a major asset for the machine and increases its abilities.

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Thanks for the info. I priced out the duals last year as we have a client we work for every year with a steep wooded lot the duals would definitely help there. Probly like a lot of other things, once you've had it you never want to be without it!
 
I just found these photos a customer posted to a review on Yelp.




For us, mini's make more sense than full size skids. However everyone serves a different market and everyone has different needs. Ours accompanies us on almost every job. Saves lots of time dragging brush. We can feed some things through the chipper that never would have gone in normally. A mini skid pushing brush through saves a lot of time limbing branches.
 
This is our ASV RC-30, purchased the grapple and rotator but built the mount. My take is that this style of mini is less useful for typical tree work. A mini skid you are easily on and off to grab a saw, cut a limb, grab a rope etc.

You are also as an operator too close to the business end of things. As someone who has worked in the woods and knows about fatalities, it would be so easy to be concentrated on the grapple and miss something coming in to spear you as you move ahead.

Could put a front grill on the cab for protection but it is in the way for trying to get out when you have the grapple lifted at all. The RC is a borderline mini, larger rigs it would be easier to have proper protection.

I mounted a hyd motor on the carrier with a spool. The RC-30 has only one axillary circuit so I have a three way electric over hyd valve mounted on the grapple to switch between open/close, rotate and the winch.

Note the red switch on the top right of the cab. Allows operation of the winch with no operator in the seat,none of the other hyd circuits will operate. Punch on/Punch off, tension the line to get the pull you want.

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As someone who has worked in the woods and knows about fatalities, it would be so easy to be concentrated on the grapple and miss something coming in to spear you as you move ahead.

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Man, you got that right. I was using an old 700 Series Bobcat a few years ago to move a huge brush pile. Drove into the pile with a root grapple and didn't see the butt end of a long branch. Glanced off my side and speared the seat. We actually quit after that. Brought in a tub grinder, which was the right tool for the job.

That ASV is nice. Do they make the Green turf tracks for that model?
 
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