Loader Offers Smart Alternative For Working in the Woods

Mike Reber purchased a Bobcat skid-steer loader and changed the way he handles logs.

The Oregon logging industry is characterized by big trees and big equipment. That’s why Mike Reber attracts attention when he shows up on the job with his Bobcat® 763 skid-steer loader. “When guys see my loader for the
first time, they laugh,” he says. “But they don’t laugh for long.” Not after they’ve seen this fast, nimble and hard-working machine in action.

The loader is a key part of Michael Reber Logging, which Mike and his wife, Shirley, operate in Rogue River, Ore. They specialize in removing second-growth trees, mostly Douglas fir and pine, and brush from tracts that range in size from 5 to 40 acres. The harvested timber not only provides valuable lumber, but reduces the threat of forest fires.

“Our 763 has totally changed the way we do business,” Mike says. At one time, like most of their competitors still do, the Rebers relied on a dozer to haul logs to a landing and to push slash into a burn pile. However, in piling up the slash, the dozer also piled up lots of dirt. The dirt not only reduced the burning efficiency of waste timber and brush, but it still had to be re-spread over the area once the fire was out.

Seven years ago, the Rebers took a different approach. They bought the Bobcat 763 equipped with steel tracks and an industrial grapple fork. They chose the Bobcat loader over other brands, Mike says, because of machine quality and the service and support of their dealer, Bobcat West in Medford.

The dozer is still used for skidding logs, but then the 763 with the grapple fork piles the waste without the dirt.

“I can carry the slash to a safe place to burn it. When it burns, the fire is hotter and burns better and I can do a much cleaner job. In fact, we get a lot of referrals just because of that.

”Also, the grapple fork saves an incredible amount of time. Previously, if I was working close to a house or in a confined area where I couldn’t use the dozer to pile up the slash, it would take me two or three days to do it by hand. With the Bobcat loader, I can do that same amount of work in just two or three hours.“

He also uses the loader and grapple to load logs onto a log truck. That’s eliminated the need to hire a trucker with an expensive loader-equipped rig to load and haul the logs to the mill.

The decision to add Bobcat equipment to their operation has proven to be a wise one. As falling timber prices have forced mills to close, Mike notes that some of their competitors have dropped out of the business. However, the efficiency and speed the Rebers have gained with the Bobcat loader and grapple has enabled them to hold their own and more. ”Our profits have doubled,“ says Mike.