When looking for logging equipment, a skidder is a necessary component. Defined as “any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation”, they are used to pull cut trees out of the forest in a process called skidding. They also can be used for pulling tree stumps, pushing over small trees and preliminary grading of a logging path. Both cable and grapple skidders can be used in logging operations.
Early skidders were pulled by oxen, horses or mules. Gas-powered crawlers replaced the animals starting in the early 1920s. Early mechanical skidders were steam powered — the Clyde Skidder, built by Clyde Ironworth in Duluth, Minn., was a popular brand. Modern skidders are track or 4WD tractors with articulated steering.
Tigercat debuted a new skidder model at the Paul Bunyan forestry equipment exposition in Cambridge, Ohio.