Winter roads, running costs and upgrades
Beat the thaw
Pine Heath, Spruce Slope and Mire Edge have different trees, slopes, soils and thaw windows. The same stand seed gives the same forest and thaw day. End work day moves the calendar. A work day also ends after twenty minutes of active play.
After the thaw, class C forest roads close to loaded trucks. Class B limits drop. Snow chains help grip, but do not cancel a weight limit or a road ban. Put them on while stopped. A full trailer also needs extra room at corners.
Protect the ground
Loaded machines make deeper ruts on soft ground. Slash left by harvesting helps carry them. Deep ruts over too much of the strip roads cost money at the end of a day. Finishing late also costs money. Check the date before planning another trip.
Spend at the workshop
The roadside workshop sells fuel, repairs and upgrades. An onboard scale helps you watch weight as you load. A bigger grapple carries more logs, a longer crane reaches farther, and larger machines carry heavier loads. The truck can get a bigger trailer.
An operator can work on a machine while you drive another. Operators cost money. You can stop their work from the workshop. Recovery brings a tipped or stuck machine back to the landing for a fee; repair damage before returning to work.
Deliver the right timber
The River Sawmill takes pine and spruce sawlogs. The Coast Pulp Mill takes conifer and birch pulpwood. The North Rail Terminal takes all timber at a lower price. Birch Hill Heating takes energy wood. These are fictional places and prices.
Mixed loads receive the lowest assortment price in the load. Overweight costs a fine, and the excess is not paid. Payment happens after weighing and crane unloading.
Larger machines have a wider, longer load bed. The larger truck also gets one more axle and a longer crane. These upgrades use more fuel. Watch the heaviest axle in the work display as well as the total weight.
