Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[andy1981]

Sawing up wood I dragged out last winter with the farmi.hoe makes it much quicker and cleaner sawing up the rounds 5 cord one day by myself!

Nothing like holding a log waist high and not having to bend over , or saw getting pinched or running the chain in the dirt.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

As far as I'm concerned, it's the ONLY way to cut them!!

SR

 

[/pine]

Promise to post some pics tomorrow...but I have a quandary and I hope the experience of this thread's readers will enlighten me...

I have several large, downed white oaks I would like to process into lumber or firewood...It is steep terrain here and I will have to move either logs or cut rounds down a steep (probably 35+%) hill on what can barely be called a road (larger till)...
My tractor is a B1700 w/FEL, loaded rears...but still just barely maybe weighs a ton...

I have a single axle 6'x12' trailer and I have pulled it loaded with logs up almost as steep of a hill...but I have never moved a (loaded) trailer down a steep grade...The B1700 is the heaviest vehicle I have that is capable of getting up the "road"...and I am concerned about it pushing or pulling the tractor depending on if I try to pull or back the loaded trailer down the hill...What is the best technique?...There are a few sections of the "road" that raise the pucker factor up a bit but those sections are not near as steep and I'm OK with them...it's the big hill that I'm concerned about...

My only other easy (slower) option is moving cut rounds in the FEL bucket and strapped on a pallet down the hill to where I could stage the trailer and offload onto it...all this on the side of a mountain and still a good distance on down to the splitter...
Please advise...!

 

[MossRoad]

If you cringe thinking about it, that's good! Its nature telling you something... :thumbsup:

 

[John_Mc]

If it's a 4WD tractor, leave it in 4WD - you'll get the benefit of engine braking in all 4 wheels. Drive down the hill in at least a low a gear (or lower) as you would drive up it with that same load. If you are concerned, I would not fill the trailer all the way up on the first few trips until you see how it goes. There is a rule of thumb to not pull more than the weight of your tow vehicle (I'm not sure how much I believe that rule) - in your case, that would be about 1/3 cord of green white Oak. If the road is full of leaves, beware of loss of traction, especially if they are wet. Chains can be a big help if you are concerned about traction and are going to be doing this regularly.

If you are going more or less straight down the hill. Remember your FEL can make a great emergency brake.

 

[rekees4300]

Promise to post some pics tomorrow...but I have a quandary and I hope the experience of this thread's readers will enlighten me...

I have several large, downed white oaks I would like to process into lumber or firewood...It is steep terrain here and I will have to move either logs or cut rounds down a steep (probably 35+%) hill on what can barely be called a road (larger till)...
My tractor is a B1700 w/FEL, loaded rears...but still just barely maybe weighs a ton...

I have a single axle 6'x12' trailer and I have pulled it loaded with logs up almost as steep of a hill...but I have never moved a (loaded) trailer down a steep grade...The B1700 is the heaviest vehicle I have that is capable of getting up the "road"...and I am concerned about it pushing or pulling the tractor depending on if I try to pull or back the loaded trailer down the hill...What is the best technique?...There are a few sections of the "road" that raise the pucker factor up a bit but those sections are not near as steep and I'm OK with them...it's the big hill that I'm concerned about...

My only other easy (slower) option is moving cut rounds in the FEL bucket and strapped on a pallet down the hill to where I could stage the trailer and offload onto it...all this on the side of a mountain and still a good distance on down to the splitter...
Please advise...!

Don't like the idea of pulling a loaded trailer down a steep slope. It will be pushing on your small tractor with the help of gravity. If you start skidding you will not be able to stop and most likely the tractor will go sideways and overturn! Needless to say that's a situation to avoid. I would suggest pulling the logs with a chain one at a time and not using a trailer. Don't lift up on the logs since you want as much friction as possible so the logs don't slid and ram the back of your tractor. Start with a small log and see what happens then work your way up to larger logs if you feel safe. I would remove the FEL because on down slopes it will tend to lift your rear wheels and that could result in a loss of brakes. Under no circumstance would I fill the FEL then go down the slope, that would suicide!

Another plan would be to take the splitter to the logs. Do your cutting/splitting on top of the slope then use a carry-all on the back of your tractor to transport the wood down the slope. Granted it would take several trips but would be a fairly safe way to move the wood from point A to B without risking your life.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I sure as heck would NOT remove the loader! That's weight you need on the tractor!

You could take the bucket off, to get rid of the front end weight though...

Just haul one log, and see how it goes... IF it feels fine, try two...ect..

SR

 

[John_Mc]

I would not remove the loader or the bucket. He's got filled rear tires. A loader with an empty bucket is not going to be a problem as far as weight on the rear tires. If you are concerned, dragging logs is an option, however, I would lift the leading end. It dramatically decreases the energy required to move the logs. It also decreases the amount of damage you are likely to do to your trails. If you have a problem, you can always drop

Speaking of trail damage, dragging logs down a steep trail is a great way to start erosion problems. A small groove in the road can rapidly become a gully or wash out the road if you don't stay on top of it. Heading straight down a steep slope makes it even more likely to become a problem.

 

[square1]

If for firewood, leave the wagon at the bottom of the hill. Drag the logs to the top of the hill, buck them up and let the rounds roll down hill. Drive down hill. load the wagon and head for the woodshed.

 

[tman1020]

I would definitely not take my loader or bucket off. Dragging the logs to me sounds like the safest option. If you insist on using the trailer I would mount a ball and receiver on the top of your front and loader and I would let the trailer back down the hill while you're driving forward.

You should be able to drop the Bucket if things start to get away from you. I would also keep some type of box blade or straight blade on the back of your tractor if you have it available for extra weight and you could also lower it if things start to get away from you. But again dragging logs one at a the time slowly down the hill sounds safer to me.