04/05/2026
Our small but mighty forwarder has certainly earned its keep!🌳🪵
Three years ago we weren’t sure which route of forwarder to go down for extraction but we decided and bought this small 5 tonne FTG/Forest FB50 trailer with 4.2m crane from Fuelwood to pair up with our compact John Deere tractor, after a few modifications to the tractor and a new hitch design built so the trailer runs level we were ready! For a 40hp 4WD tractor it has more than enough power and the hydraulics run the crane at a fast enough speed.
Depending on how far we extract, we average 25-30 tonnes a day of small hardwood thinnings on 2.5m. It might not seem much, but with only a small outlay compared to something much bigger and a fuel consumption of around 20litres of diesel a day, along with its very light impact on the forest floor, we feel it’s most certainly been a good investment and is never too far behind the hand cutters!
We extract around 500 tonnes a year with this and in 3 years the only issue we have had has been to replace the slew pot seals but other than that a well built, fast timber trailer.
If possible at some point we would maybe upgrade to the FB60 with the 5.3m crane just purely because the extra reach would be useful.
200 tonnes of Ash and chipwood have just come out of this block with this small compact forwarder. 🪵💪
Victoria has mastered the controls and takes pride in her stacking keeping it neat for the timber trucks to collect! 💁♀️🐕
