A forwarder is a forestry vehicle that carries big felled logss cut by a harvester from the stump to a roadside landing for later acquisition. Forwarders can use rubber tires or tracks. Unlike a skidder, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it can move. They are typically employed together with harvesters in cut-to-length logging operations. It originated in Scandinavia.

Load capacity

Forwarders are commonly categorized by their load carrying capabilities. Other classifications include whether they are wheeled or tracked and the axle arrangement. The smallest are trailers designed for towing behind all-terrain vehicles which can carry a load between 1 and 3tonnes. Agricultural self-loading trailers designed to be towed by farm tractors can handle load weights up to around 12 to 15tonnes. Light weight purpose-built machines utilised in commercial logging and early thinning operations can handle payloads of up to 8 tonnes. Medium-sized forwarders used in clearfellss and later thinnings carry between 12 and 16tonnes. The largest class specialized for clearfellss handles up to 25tonnes. Forwarders also carry their load at least 2feet above the ground.

Manufacturers

• Barko Hydraulics, LLC

• Caterpillar Inc.

• John Deere (Timberjack)

• EcoLog

• Fabtek

• HSM

• HSM (Hohenloher Spezial Maschinenbau GmbH, Germany)

• Komatsu Forest (Valmet)

• Kronos

• Logset

• Malwa

• Neuson Forest

• PM Pfanzelt Maschinenbau

• Ponsse

• Rottne

• Strojirna Novotny

• Tigercat

• Timber Pro

• Zanello

References

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