Timber Haul advanced tips: beat the thaw, earn more

Once you know the basics, Timber Haul becomes a planning game. The biggest wins are: get your crew working in parallel with hired operators, keep truck loads under the forest road limit, take each kind of timber to the mill that pays most for it, and finish your deliveries in Spruce Slope and Mire Edge before the thaw.

The numbers on this page come from the game's own rules. Some of them are not shown on screen. For the basics, see tips for new forest workers.

Beat the thaw in Mire Edge

You arrive in Mire Edge only 3 work days before the thaw, about one hour of play. After the thaw, loaded trucks cannot leave the landing. A plan that works:

1. Get ready before you move. Buy the upgrades you want in Spruce Slope, fill every tank and repair every machine. Moving costs $1,200, so keep that much money too.
2. Haul the waiting timber first. Every new forest starts with 12 logs at the roadside. Deliveries made early still count towards the 8 m³ goal.
3. Keep all three machines busy. Hire a harvester operator, keep the forwarder driver from Spruce Slope, and drive the truck yourself. Or choose Watch operators and let the whole crew work at once.
4. Save the final haul for last. Mire Edge only ends with a paid delivery made after the cutting and forwarding goals are met. Make sure some timber is ready at the landing for that last load.
5. Do not end work days early. End work day moves the thaw one day closer.

If the thaw arrives before you are done, open Pause and choose Restart this chapter. You go back to the start of Mire Edge with your money and upgrades as they were then. See the three forests.

Plan truck loads around the 38 t limit

The landing is on the smallest forest road, with a gross weight limit of 38 t. The truck weighs about 19 t and the empty trailer about 8 t. So:

On the standard truck, keep about 8 t or less on the truck's own bed and put the rest on the trailer. That keeps every axle under 10 t, so there is no fine at the mill. With the Onboard scale, the Load display shows tonnes, which makes this easy.

Because the road limit stops you first, the Bigger trailer rarely lets the standard truck carry more timber. It is not the first thing to buy.

Is the Larger machine worth it?

It depends on the machine:

• Forwarder: often yes. Its load bed grows from 9 m³ to 12 m³, so you need fewer trips from the forest. It is heavier, though, so after the thaw it makes deeper ruts.
• Timber truck: only if you unhitch. The larger truck is 4 t heavier. With the trailer hitched it can only carry about 7 t at the landing. Without the trailer it carries about 15 t on its own bed with no axle fine.
• Harvester: rarely. Its standard head can already fell every tree in the game.

Every larger machine uses 20% more fuel.

Pick the best mill

The trap: at River Sawmill, one pulpwood or energy log in a load of sawlogs makes the whole load pay the lowest price. North Rail Terminal takes every kind, so a mixed load there keeps 75% of each log's value. Better still, keep loads clean: Roadside pile only reaches piles your chosen mill takes.

Earn the special order medals

• Spruce Slope: deliver 4 m³ of spruce sawlogs to River Sawmill. Spruce Slope is mostly spruce, so this comes naturally if you take your sawlogs there.
• Mire Edge: deliver 6 m³ to North Rail Terminal before you finish. Any timber counts, so send mixed loads and energy wood there.

The job card shows your progress, like "Extra challenge: 2.1 / 4 m³".

Use hired operators well

• An operator costs $100 to hire and $24 for each hour they work. One good truck load pays far more than that.
• Operators only work machines you are not driving. Drive the machine that needs the most care, usually the truck, and let operators run the others.
• The forwarder operator stops when enough timber waits at the road for your deliveries. The harvester operator stops when the tree goal is met. That saves wages.
• In Spruce Slope the forwarder driver comes free when you finish cutting.

More on hired operators.

Keep machines healthy for less

• Condition drops about 0.6% for each hour of work, plus damage from bumps. A repair costs $12 for each % you add.
• Below 30% condition, a hard crane bump can break a hose, and the machine stops until you repair it. Repair before you get that low.
• A full 180 L tank lasts a long time: even the truck uses only 25 L an hour while it works.
• Recover machine works anywhere for $150, so a tipped machine far from the landing is never lost.

Protect the forest floor

There are no ruts while the ground is frozen. So do your heavy forest driving early, before the thaw. After the thaw, drive the forest strip roads less, carry lighter loads there, and use the branches the harvester left on the ground. Each new work day with more than 5% deep ruts costs $180.

Cut for value

Next cut chooses the length that earns the most for each metre of trunk. The bottom of a thick, straight pine or spruce gives the best sawlogs. A crooked part can only become pulpwood or energy wood. If a chapter's tree goal is all you need, the harvester does not have to clear the forest: extra trees only take time. Full rules are on felling and cutting.

See also

• Mills, weighing and pay: all limits and prices.
• Winter, thaw and money: thaw timing and costs.
• FAQ: quick answers.
• Enjoy planning? Try the Building Town guide or the Lofoten Catch guide for more work-and-earn games.
• Play Timber Haul and put a plan to work.

• About Timber Haul
• All game guides