A BIG MACHINE!
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK ON PUMICE for a change in Southern Kaingaroa. The prescription for my regular logging job further north states that the soil type is “mud”. Literally. Although talking to Spud earlier he mentioned that with the recent record rainfall, even here on the pumice things got so bad that the wheel loaders were parked up as they couldn’t operate effectively on the skids. Trucks couldn’t get on the skids, so for a few weeks there it was just loading units at the edge of the skid with grapple loaders. The big heavy-duty tracks on this new Sumitomo 5040 machine mean it will operate in far worse conditions if required, and as we can see from the dirt on the track frames there is still a fair bit of walking required through soft ground here to get from one skid to the other and crossing the cutover is the shortest, most efficient route. During that record rainfall an older earthmoving tracked machine probably would have struggled to get out of some of the gullies in this forest for sure.
First impressions of the Sumi 5040 are it is huge, it has a very large presence on the skid with that high cab and 820-litre fuel tank in place of some of the counterweight which is up from the previous SH350’s 580-litre fuel tank.
It’s a very big machine to get into, and that’s not a negative, it’s just part of having a big machine. Sumitomo have put an extra step on the track frame to help with that access issue though.
The toolboxes Spud has had fitted front and rear for bars and chains are in really thoughtful places too.
I can’t get over how stable this machine is. I have never run a 50-tonne processor before. Not that long ago it was common for them to be on a 370 or something like that and you just got used to them rocking and swaying, but this thing is so big that it just doesn’t move. Once you get in it and run it for a bit, you realise you could be as rough as you wanted to and it still wouldn’t move. Maybe in bigger wood it might be different, but it is so much easier to operate a machine when it isn’t giving you feedback and just sits stable like this. They have obviously set the point of balance very well because it does feel like it has been concreted to the ground and then when you go to walk it, the power is impressive.
The PFS cab is so much better than the previous Sumi I drove. The placement of the seat is spot on. With the older one it always seemed like the seat was too far back in the machine, it just felt like the seat should have been way further forward than it was. That’s just my personal preference though. Operator comfort is far better with the PFS cab. This new model looks nicer as well.
The camera is a crucial addition as you can’t see a lot behind you with that impressively large tail on it. Good quality camera… having the increments of distance marked is great too.
This machine is fitted with all the newest generation of Waratah computers and the genuine Waratah sure grips which are primo… way more comfortable than the knock offs I have seen in some machines.
Picking up the head to get the first log doesn’t affect the machine stability at all, you just don’t feel it. No lag in power either. Heaps of power. Multi-function power is awesome, like your boom and feeding at the same time is better than I have experienced previously. It would be good to get this unit out falling actually. A bit of a buzz to operate for sure.
The Waratah main saw cuts quick and the log feed speed and strength is awesome. These 25-inch heads are nice. It’s a shame they are looking at stopping making them.
These guys have a primo cut selection here as well, makes my job easy as I am used to tethered felling on a JD 959 off a Falcon/Sany and don’t spend a lot of time on processors these days.
The reach at over 13 metres is just wicked – this explains why fuel consumption is so much better as you are slinging a 5-tonne head versus pushing a 50-tonne machine around. I imagine the track gear on this machine will last a bit longer as well because of that.
What I found surprising as well was with its reach, stability and power, it is also
really quick. That is unusual.