Wheel Feller Bunchers Logging Equipment Dismantled Machines

About Wheel Feller Bunchers

As with track feller bunchers, wheel feller bunchers fell trees and bunch them in piles in a staging area where other equipment (forwarders, skidders, and so on) take them away. Using rubber tyres instead of tracks to move, a wheel feller buncher drives up to a tree to secure and fell it unlike a track feller buncher that moves on tracks but operates from a stationary position using a swing boom to move trees. Both feller buncher types generate considerable time and labor savings, and both are used for clear-cutting, thinning, selective harvesting, and other applications in forestry, construction, logging, and other industries.

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Deere 643L Wheeled Feller Buncher

Making The Cut

Also referred to as “drive-to-tree” fellers, wheel feller bunchers generally use a chain saw, disc saw, or shear cutting head that is directly mounted to the machine. While a track feller buncher uses the same cutting head types, the head is attached to a hydraulic boom. Each type is best used in a particular set of conditions: Whereas a track feller buncher is more stable when operating in loose, wet soil conditions and on slopes, a wheel feller buncher is generally faster and more manoeuvrable and saves a considerable amount of time when used on jobsites with relatively even terrain in dry, stable conditions. Models of both types include ROPS (rollover protection systems) and FOPS (falling object protection systems) to add a measure of safety for the operator.

Into The Woods

Logging equipment developer Erv Drott is commonly credited with designing the first feller buncher in 1968. The machine reportedly featured an excavator base and shear-like felling head mounted on a knuckle boom that could clear the equivalent of 100 trees per hour. Today’s wheel feller bunchers feature engines in the 175- to 270-horsepower (130- to 201-kilowatt) range and can weigh as much as 13,600 kilograms (30,000 pounds) or more. Deere’s feller buncher lineup includes tech tools such as a quick-dumping ability, JDLink Telematics systems for remote monitoring, and TimberNavi Jobsite Mapping that provides GPS-mapped views of operation areas. CAT models, meanwhile, provide customizable terrain selection and include creep control and easy-to-engage speed and sensitivity adjustments.

Find The Right Forestry Equipment

You’ll find a variety of new and used wheel feller bunchers for sale on ForestryTrader.ca, including models from Deere and Caterpillar, as well as from Prentice, Tigercat, and other manufacturers.