Skidding Winches

[motownbrowne]

Got my new to me tractor yesterday. Ended up with cousins Kubota M7040. It has three remotes, so I'm good to go on the hydro front. Unless anyone has a good winch they want to trade for a 73" hydro snowblower, I'm going with a Wallenstein 110. Looks like the best deal I've found is $4400, including shipping. Sound about right?

Congrats on the machine!! That's a slick unit. I can't say if that Wallenstein is a good price relative to other options (though they usually are a value leader when comparing features to other brands). What can tell you is that while $4400 is a decent chunk of change, you will never regret that purchase. These three point skidding winches are seriously the cats meow!

I'd never want to be without one for cutting firewood and doing small-scale timber harvesting.

 

[LouieJunior]

I just got a Igland 4501 with 165ft of cable, 3 chokers

A beauty - what is that in the top right corner -- attached to the safety screen?

 

[Glrret]

That is the pulley for the pull rope to activate the clutch, its on a swivel so you can pull from any angle.

 

[carlhwv]

Thanks for the info. Looks sweet. I will check into this. I've got a 73" hydraulic snow blower I'm going to sell to help cover some of the cost. Only a storm every few years would warrant its use here on the mountain in MD...where we are building in TN it will never get used.

 

[CobyRupert]

Still checking out different pto winches and noticing no one's using an improved latch hook. Everyone seem's to use those same stile choker hooks, I see one guy using a choker chain with a ring instead, not for ME. I'm running 5 chokers, 4 years ago I got so fed up with those choker hooks unhooking when I hook on another tree and even worse is trying to unhook 5 hooks at the landing, I had to unhook 2 then winch up again and release...............

For the last 4 years I've been using 3 of these> Tulsa Chain Hooks, (GRADE 100 CLEVIS SLING HOOK WITH FORGED LATCH) for 5/16 chain and 2 regular choker hook on shorter chains, 5 chains in all. At first I didn't think they would hold up, but they take a pounding and it's a lot easier to unhook, just press the latch, no more fiddling diddling piddling...........

Clevis Sling Hook -

Those look handy. Like it's been said, nothing to make one cuss when you drop the first log on a 4-5 log hitch, and have to redo all the slider-choker connections so that you can pull out more cable to go grab the lost log with the end of the cable. I have one choker hook with a snap like that, works well until the snap eventually gets bent/busted/pushed through by the forces that will eventually reach it.
I found that putting the hook under the log, making the hook connection on the far back side of the log, with the open side of the hook facing the far end of the log works best. .....most of the time.

 

[Oldpath05]

Those look handy. Like it's been said, nothing to make one cuss when you drop the first log on a 4-5 log hitch, and have to redo all the slider-choker connections so that you can pull out more cable to go grab the lost log with the end of the cable. I have one choker hook with a snap like that, works well until the snap eventually gets bent/busted/pushed through by the forces that will eventually reach it.
I found that putting the hook under the log, making the hook connection on the far back side of the log, with the open side of the hook facing the far end of the log works best. .....most of the time.

Clevis Sling Hook - <<<<<<I've also had latch hooks LIKE THAT, and your right the first hook-up, bent, broke and busted, BUT BUT BUT, not these Tulsa latch hooks, I've hooked those hooks upside down, inside out, back wards, forwards, wrong way, right way, rain, snow, hot cold and in sunshine, for 5 years now= way over 100 cord of firewood and logs, therefore if I cant break the latch/hook no one can, but in case I do, I have two replacement latches ready to to go on, bought five years ago because I thought those latches wouldn't last.

So the moral of the story is the wood stays hooked and it's easy on, easy off= less speaking in tongues.

 

[Oldpath05]

I just got a Igland 4501 with 165ft of cable, 3 chokers and the same pulling power as the Wallenstein and I only paid $2995.00.

View attachment 471142

I got it from this guy in VT. kevin@reedsupplycompany.com

Good deal, if that winch has 6000# of pulling power, your going to want atleast 5 chokers for getting firewood.

 

[Gordon Gould]

From my experience when I lose log in a hitch It is not because the chain came out of the choker hook it is because the chain loop slid or was pushed of the log. Most times I have to unhook the chain from the choker and make a new loop around the log. If you lose a lot of logs try taking two wraps of chain around them before going thru the hook especially light logs where you don't get much bite or slippery logs like beech. Or choker them father back behind a bulge or flare. You can also lock the choker on with the slider but it might be hard to unhook at the landing. Another thing to think about is try to make the free chain lengths on each log such that the slider tightens your choker before the trailing log comes up along side and pushes the loose chain off. Hard to explain but look in the picture and you will see the hook log is well back behind the chain on the top log so the hook log can't come up and slide against the top log and push the choker off before it is tight. Also the top lop has two wraps. Every one looses a log once in a while but if it is common place try doing things different to lessen the problem.



gg

 

[Oldpath05]

I run 5 chains, 2 are still the regular choker hooks that everyone uses, for the most part they didn't slide off the trees, but many to many times I've winch up 4 trees, pulled ahead 50+ft, drop the 4 trees, take the last choker back to another direction or hook on extra tree, winch up with 4-5 trees I already have on, pull ahead with the 5-7 trees I thought I have, look back and one or two trees is staying behind because the second or 3rd, 4th choker chain came UNHOOKED, try re-hooking that is a pain in the ---! It's probably one of those, you'd have to be there to believe it things.

Then once I make it out to the landing, drop 5-7 trees, what a pain that is to reach in between trees and move the choker hooks just right so they can be un-hooked is another night mare, out of 5 choker chains, 3 have the hook with a latch, those I just reach in and flip the latch, and wah-lah, unhooked, easy peasy.

 

[Oldpath05]

By the way nice pic. Gordon, let me guess, that wasn't taken today was it. What we doing with Popular, boards or post?

 

[Gordon Gould]

I believe you, really do, but I don't see that here. I wonder if you are using the right size chain for the choker hook you have. The right type chain too, with very short links that have to be lined up just right to slip free thru the slot ?



I have only used the cheap latched hooks and the latches get mangled or the chain is in the way when you try to open the latch. Seemed to be a two hand job for my block fingers. I should try one like you have to be fair.

gg

 

[Oldpath05]

I believe you, really do, but I don't see that here. I wonder if you are using the right size chain for the choker hook you have. The right type chain too, with very short links that have to be lined up just right to slip free thru the slot ?

View attachment 471255

I have only used the cheap latched hooks and the latches get mangled or the chain is in the way when you try to open the latch. Seemed to be a two hand job for my block fingers. I should try one like you have to be fair.

gg

My chains looks like yours, two of them still have the same stile hooks, also they are made in China, maybe all hooks are, not sure.

I have also tried the cheap latch hooks and they are crap, one twitch like you said, get's mangled. Tulsa latch hooks are not cheap, $30.00/pc. to get them at my door, I manage to afford 3, and after 4 years haven't mangled any of those yet. There's no more lining up the links to hook or un-hook and when hooking on a tree, just wrap the chain around it and slam the hook anywhere on the chain. It's a strong latch and can easily be hooked un-hooked with one hand and send a text with the other.

I'd have to say if you don't have a hooking or unhooking problem, then it would be a wastes of money to buy them, what works for me might not work for you. Any how for me it seems like the darndest things happen when I get wood out, like self unhooking chain hooks.

 

[Greenland South]

Found out the hard way, a new use for the skidding winch this past weekend. Went off to the cabin property and got caught in a major rain event about 4km from the pavement. Had to unload the tractor and tow the truck and trailer seperatly another 2km to where I could get them turned around. Then back to the pavement. Took about 7 hours. Things were pretty muddy by the time it was over.

 

[Oldpath05]

That's a muddy mess, least you didn't have to get someone to pull your tractor out. The weather here has been on the dry-ish side for two months with some really nice sunshiny days, unusual for Maine.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Found out the hard way, a new use for the skidding winch this past weekend. Went off to the cabin property and got caught in a major rain event about 4km from the pavement. Had to unload the tractor and tow the truck and trailer seperatly another 2km to where I could get them turned around. Then back to the pavement. Took about 7 hours. Things were pretty muddy by the time it was over. View attachment 473025View attachment 473026

That must have been worse in person. Looks to me like any 4wd truck should be able to drive thru that. Or is it a considerable slope being in BC?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've been cutting/raking/baling hay, and picking and delivering it...

As I don't want to take my skidding winch off, here's how I pull my trailer to pick bales and deliver the hay,

The winch cable holds the tongue up and the chain pulls the load...it works perfectly!

OK, you safety police, tell me how bad that is, bla bla bla...

SR

 

[motownbrowne]

I've been cutting/raking/baling hay, and picking and delivering it...

As I don't want to take my skidding winch off, here's how I pull my trailer to pick bales and deliver the hay,

The winch cable holds the tongue up and the chain pulls the load...it works perfectly!

OK, you safety police, tell me how bad that is, bla bla bla...

SR

I've done that myself with the winch. Works just fine on back roads for short trips, as long as the load doesn't start trying to go faster than you.

 

[carlhwv]

I got a tentative start date of July 18th for our TN project. It is going to be epic, for me anyway, as we are looking at 2000-3000 feet of road going side hill on a 1:1 grade with 80-100 year growth. Have a Kumatsu 120 trackhoe that is doing the cut and I'll be dragging and grading. I'm going to start a thread to capture the journey. I'll post it when I get up and running.

 

[Oldpath05]

I've been cutting/raking/baling hay, and picking and delivering it...

As I don't want to take my skidding winch off, here's how I pull my trailer to pick bales and deliver the hay,

The winch cable holds the tongue up and the chain pulls the load...it works perfectly!

OK, you safety police, tell me how bad that is, bla bla bla...

SR

This is not the bla bla safety police, but how come you dont hook to the trailer hitch?

 

[Jim Timber]

This is not the bla bla safety police, but how come you dont hook to the trailer hitch?

Got no balls?

Sorry Rob, you left that one wide open.