FLEET FOCUS | SIMON RICHARDSON Right: Extra guarding by Carlton Engineering
Right: The Doosans have quiet and comfortable cabs Above: Highly productive trench mounding with the Doosan DX160 high track
Right: The Doosan High Track design allows easy negotiating of tree stumps and other obstacles in forests, traversing sites much more easily the forestry work we do, from preparing ground and mounding work to drainage and building forestry roads. “Unlike our previous excavators, which were specially modified, the Doosans are purpose-built machines for the forestry and rough terrain work we undertake. We initially tried out a DX160-5 HT from Gordons and it performed really well and our operators liked the machine. So it was an easy decision to purchase more of them, particularly when they are part of the excellent package offered by Gordons that combines reliable service and maintenance with their fast response times.” Operator Grant Swan explained the mounding technique, which starts by excavating a shallow trench, from which the soil is side-cast in small mounds at 1.9m spacings. Later in the process saplings will be directly planted into these mounds. To undertake this work a special mounding bucket is used, for which Richardson uses Lammer Engineering’s attachments. The sides of this bucket are tapered so that the excavated soil falls out quickly; this is not a truck-loading operation. In addition, two teeth are fitted to the external back wall of the bucket, to help move the brash residue from the site.
Often this feature of the bucket is used to clear the way for the excavator to undertake mounding operations, but in any case they tend always to be used to push brash into the shallow trench.
CLIMBING ABILITY
Above: The majority of the adaptations were undertaken by Carlton Engineering based in Moffat. To finish the machine Simon Richardson has fitted additional LED work lights to the cab
“THESE EXCAVATORS ARE WELL BUILT, FIT-FOR-PURPOSE MACHINES”
Grant said, “Doosan has done a very good job making this forestry excavator; my only gripe is the seat is too hard for me, which I believe the dealer is going to address. The machines have great climbing ability and, for extra traction, we can fit bolt-on track-grips to the 800mm-wide triplegrouser pads. When these are attached, I’ve had her on steep 40-degree slopes and, with its lower gearing and very powerful travel motors, it just wants to keep climbing.” Fellow operator Paul Warwick was equally enthusiastic about the Doosan high-tracks and said, “This is a fantastic machine for mounding and other types of forestry work. The high track clearance means our workload is reduced by at least 50%, as you can leave most of the tree stumps in situ to track up and down the run. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s the best mounding machine I’ve ever operated.” Apart from the issue with a hard seat, both operators praise the standard features in FORESTRY MACHINERY SPRING 2020
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