The winch assist developed by Ecoforst has been used with a Logset in South America.

Slopes are challenging within the forest industry, as forest machines are heavy and may damage the ground surface. However, there have been constant advances in forest machine technology, and solutions currently exist for extracting timber on steep slopes. Logset indicates that if the machine works daily on sleep slopes, an independent whinch is sometimes preferred. The TWinch solution was used with Logset’s largest forwarder, the Logset 12F GT in South America, with impressive results.

Logset indicates that the T-Winch makes the machine more versatile, because the cable can be either attached to the front or rear of the chassis. The T-Winch can also easily be transferred to another pulling spot by remote control. Logset delivered the 12F GT forwarders with clambunk configuration to Biofor in Chile in mid-2016. On steep slopes, the weight distribution between the eight wheels is uneven and therefore the T-Winch can assist. The synchronized T-Winch is automatically connected to the operating machine through radio control. For example, if the driver of the machine stops, the T-Winch also stops. Therefore, the cable always remains tight and secure.

The Logset 12F GT forwarder has a tractive effort of 250 kN. Combined with the T- Winch’s pulling power, the machine operator has 350 kN of tractive power available. The 12F GT combo can operate safely on a regular 45 % slope. On a few occasions, the 12F GTs were performing on 80 % slopes. This winch option is really recommended if you constantly need to forward or skid on slopes and are looking for maximum efficiency. Because the T-Winch assistant has its own engine, it doesn’t take power from the operating machine.