10 minute read
SITE VISIT
COMPACT CLASS
Eoghan Daly reports on the latest Komatsu 835 forwarders acquired by County Laois-based harvesting and haulage company, Camross Transport
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IMAGES EOGHAN DALY
Camross Transport recognised the potential of Komatsu forest machines earlier than most other Irish forestry businesses. Following a long and successful relationship with the company, Camross founders Barry Cuddy and John Ryan have recently started a new chapter with Komatsu by investing in some of the manufacturer’s latest generation models.
The two new and almost identical 835 forwarders partner 901XC and older, six-wheeled 901 harvesters. In terms of technology, these machines are a far cry from Camross Transport’s first black cab Valmet 911 harvester and 840 forwarder used 15 years ago, but the newer machines remain robust and dependable. The Komatsus are proving their worth on Coillte plantations fulfilling long term harvesting contracts, and on jobs harvesting private forestry plantations over a wide area. They are as comfortable working in thinnings as they are clear fell operations.
Barry and John have much experience in timber harvesting and initially ran successive Komatsu 911s and 840s. The need for an eight-wheeled harvester was satisfied by a used Silvatec 886 TH (pictured right) fitted with a new Komatsu 350.1 harvesting head. The base machine was comprehensively refurbished to ensure maximum return on the investment and, thanks to its immense oil flow and capable crane arrangement, the Silvatec worked effectively as a front line harvester for a number of years.
However, from this point onwards Camross Transport vowed to purchase new equipment and to replace machines on a more regular basis whenever possible. The first addition was a new Komatsu 840TX forwarder, which was a popular machine at the time based on its special design considerations to ensure greater compatibility with thinning applications over a standard 840 model. Operating over 9,000 hours without issue, the 840TX was a real ambassador for the new generation of forest machines from Komatsu following
Above: The 105F crane offers a maximum reach of 9.5m.
Right: Silvatec 886 TH with Komatsu 350.1 harvesting head.
Below left inset: Barry Cuddy runs Camross with John Ryan.
rebranding from Valmet.
“The older, black cab Valmets may have been great machines, even in used form, but the new 840TX proved to us there are real benefits in buying new and replacing machines more often,” John explained. “That first new 840TX worked really well for us and it genuinely gave no trouble over the time we were running it, which made the choice of the 835 an easy one when the TX came up for replacement.”
GOING ALL IN
By this time, John and Barry’s appreciation for Komatsu’s base harvester units and harvester heads was growing too. This led to further fleet enhancements with help from Komatsu. While the harvesters have many positive attributes in their own right, the 835 forwarders are beginning to demonstrate how effective they can be over long term utilisation. Able to withstand intensive operation in all-round extraction roles while still having a high percentage of clear fell extraction often containing reasonable volumes of sawlog material over long hauls, the 835 forwarder concept is a mighty one. Barry operated the company’s first 835 for a lengthy period of time before returning to the timber haulage aspect of the company’s operations and fondly recalls the experience. “The 835 proved to be a fantastic all-round forwarder from the start. I don’t think there is another machine that has the kind of power and capacity it gives. Coming from the 840TX, which was already a good machine, the new 835 was just on another level in every way.”
Three years on and with over 6,000 hours recorded, the 835 (now operated by Adam Kinahan) is returning the same level of performance as it did when new. It has not suffered any major malfunction or difficulty on a job, and has just required replacement of typical wear parts and routine servicing.
With the first 835 initially serving as the operation’s main forwarder and extracting from two harvesters much of the time, the need arose for a second forwarder to create two machine teams. Once again, Camross Transport turned to Komatsu and purchased a used 830, which underwent reconditioning before entering service to ensure maximum performance and reliability. Performing admirably for two years, the 830 was then replaced by a second new Komatsu 835 during the autumn of 2019.
Practically identical in specification to the first 835, excepting a few minor refinements such as a levelling seat and marginally longer load bunk on the original machine, the second 835 has been operated by
Sean Cuddy, the nephew of Barry and John, who rates it very highly indeed. “The Komatsu 835 punches well above its weight for clear fells and is still a compact machine for thinning. Its first nine months have been trouble-free and it has worked really well in a big range of site types. Upgrading from the little 830 was a big step forward and even though the 835 is still a very tidy machine, the sense of stability it gives even with bigger hauls of sawlog in clear fell is just amazing.” To date, the second 835 has clocked up 3,600 hours in 18 months.
Despite being the smallest forwarder in the Komatsu range, the 835 offers an all-round timber extraction solution. The 11-tonne payload capacity is achieved within a compact footprint, which is all the more so with the shorter load bunks seen here, which aid manoeuvrability when turning into and out of thinned racks. This manoeuvrability is also assisted by the 835’s overall width of 2.85m, while the 710/45x24.5 tyres ensure its suitability for thinning. According to operator Sean, the 835’s stability is another plus point. “I started operating forwarders 18 months ago, beginning with Komatsu 830, which was a great forwarder to gain experience on. The new 835 is a big step forward from that machine and it is hard to describe how stable it feels, even with a full load. The 835 works at a level well beyond what is expected of it based on its size class.”
Running on unbalanced bogies, the 835 tackles terrain particularly well and does not dig in and cause ground damage on the more sensitive sites, partly thanks to its 600mm of ground clearance. Other benefits of the 835 include a transmission that delivers high tractive force of 159kN, allowing the operator to make the most of that awesome stability and advance forward with confidence. Backing the transmission is the turbocharged, Agco Power 49 AWF-4V fourcylinder engine, which provides 127kW of power and 750Nm of torque. Clearly, meeting the Tier 4 Final emissions standard hasn’t affected the engine’s performance. “We have always found Komatsu’s machines efficient and this hasn’t changed with the latest models,” said John.
The 835’s main MaxiXplorer system allows the operator to tailor the machine to their individual style and level of proficiency. Performancemaximising adjustments can be made to the integrated Komatsu 105F crane too, which offers 9.5m of reach in the single telescopic extension spec pictured. “The
835 crane has plenty of power and speed, and handles very well,” Sean said. “It has the speed for picking logs fast in thinning and power to handle sawlog in clear fell even when working on a slope.” The Komatsu forwarder concept has evolved little in recent years, and the cab lacks the slewing and levelling capabilities offered by some competitors, but these points do not mean second rate operating experience, as Sean confirmed. “Visibility is great, which is very important especially in thinnings, and everything is laid out the way you would want it – most controls are located on the armrest keypads.” The low set cabin windows provide an unobstructed view all around the machine and especially towards the load bunk and most importantly down to the front wheels, which is all too often a blind spot on some forwarder cabin designs. While most manufacturers present operators with a single display when they’re facing the load bunk, the 835 serves up two machine control screens strategically positioned within eyeshot TECH SPECS irrespective of the direction Komatsu 835 of travel. In addition, when facing rearward another WEIGHT 15,850kg monitor displays footage from LOAD CAPACITY 11,000kg a camera looking towards the WIDTH 2.85m on front, boosting safety.
710/45x24.5 tyres ENGINE Agco Power 49 AWF- HARVESTERS
4V four-cylinder turbo with Camross Transport isn’t just a intercooler fan of Komatsu’s forwarders POWER 127kW – the company is equally TORQUE 750Nm@1,500rpm impressed by Komatsu’s TRANSMISSION Computercontrolled hydrostatic six-wheeled 901 and eightwheeled 901XC harvesters mechanical and their accompanying TRACTIVE FORCE 159Kn HYDRAULICS Single-circuit load sensing with variable displacement piston pump OIL FLOW 280 litres per minute CRANE Komatsu 105F heads. The older 901 is fitted with a C93 harvesting head and has worked for thousands of hours without incident, as John confirms. “It’s hard to believe this 901 has now worked over 8,000 hours. Over that time it has
REACH ALTERNATIVES
18 SPRING 2021 FORESTRY MACHINERY 7.7/9.5/10m
Harvester operator Declan Delaney with Sean Cuddy who serves as operator on the newer 835 forwarder.
Above: Komatsu 901XC is Camross’ most recent harvester and is equipped with a C124 head.
Left: Short bunk of newest 835 can still accomodate 4.9m sawlog due to its adjustable headboard.
Right: Komatsu 901 with C93 harvesting head working in thinnings near Kilcash, County Tipperary. Above: The C93 head is seen as a dynamic performer in thinnings and has the aggression to handle roughly limbed spruce too.
Adam Kinahan extracts thinnings whilst taking advantage of the older 835’s compact dimensions.
Power for the 835 forwarder is served up by an efficient Agco Power four-cylinder engine.
harvested a lot of rough, coarsely branched timber, which has tested the build quality of the head. The C93 is a very sweet head in thinnings and still has plenty of power to handle rough timber, as it just powers them through,” he said.
“There are no signs of wear on the head anywhere and it’s still incredibly tight. There is no wear on bushings throughout the head and we only replaced the measuring wheel bearings for the first time recently. That’s a great return from the head after those kind of hours,” John continued. “It has never needed an encoder replacement either. The availability of parts is first class, too.”
When the time came to purchase a partner for the six-wheeled 901, Komatsu’s eight-wheeled 901XC with the higher capacity C124 harvesting head was a no-brainer for Camross Transport.
FROM SIX TO EIGHT
Offering much more than just two extra wheels, the new 901XC has brought with it a new level of performance with even greater compatibility with all-round harvesting situations.
The older 901 has never been fitted with rear wheel chains and still succeeds in climbing without rutting. Similarly, the new 901XC is running with band tracks over the front bogies, but is unable to run rear tracks without affecting its overall width. The additional floatation it offers with its eight-wheel design is consolation though, as John concludes. “Even though the sixwheeled 901 continues to work very well, the eight-wheeled 901XC has big advantages on some sites. They are a first class base machine and even though they have a more traditional cab and crane arrangement, the design has been honed over time and provides excellent levelling ability. The 901 also has a level of comfort that is second to none.”
