Skidding Logs with tractor.

[bearthebruce]

... maybe I'm just an "experienced wimp"?? lol

SR

LMAO.. I think not sir... from what I see, you be a rodeo cowboy! Me? I'm rodeo clown they let get on the tractor! hehe

 

[gasmancwby]

sorry but i have to laugh. a farmall super a, with "big" rear wheels. through deep mud? i've never seen a farmall a go through deep mud not pulling something. they are a cultivator tractor and thats about it.

 

[fuchifarm]

The way I have done it in the past is to put the box blade on 3pt, back up to the butt end, choker the log and chain to the draw bar going across the top of box, pull forward till chain is almost tight, raise the box blade till the butt rises a few inches off the ground and then drive. Not the fastest way but with 4wd on my old mf1240 I could drag some really heavy logs as long as I could keep the butt out of the dirt. Never had any issues of the front trying to lift on me.

 

[John_Mc]

Well

It's a good thing I didn't drive up to buy the Igland 3501 yesterday. The dealer doesn't have any, and won't have any till after Christmas.

So is it A Fransgard 3507, or a 3004? Two of each in stock, and they have a $150 rebate! ;-) Or "wait till Chrstmas.........?

Dads4by I take it?

I had a chat with them yesterday looking for the smaller 2001/2501 Iglands. I'll likely be paying them a visit after Christmas when they get Igland 2501's back in stock. Essex Equipment sells Farmi's, but the prices on those were far above the Iglands/Fransgard.


For me with how hilly my area is there are few flat places to drive to pull logs, so a winch is the best/safest method I know of.

Champlain Valley Equipment in Middlebury, VT had logging winches in stock last time I passed through. I forget the brand and size, however. (They used to stock Farmi, but dropped them a couple of years ago when Farmi started regularly missing deliveries.)

 

[WranglerX]

Lots of really good arguments for using a logging winch and also being sure of draw bar pull is below axle line, but I can build a log arch which fits all the safety needs of a pull for a lot less than I can buy or build a winching system....

Other option for me may be to get a skidding sled where blunt end of log is placed on a sled with angled front to slide up and over any obstacle...

Yes for some who cuts many cords of wood a year a good winch is practical but for me when I may cut maybe a cord a year a winch is a big investment to sit idle maybe 360 days a year...

Dale

 

[John_Mc]

Well

It's a good thing I didn't drive up to buy the Igland 3501 yesterday. The dealer doesn't have any, and won't have any till after Christmas.

So is it A Fransgard 3507, or a 3004? Two of each in stock, and they have a $150 rebate! ;-) Or "wait till Chrstmas.........?

Lots of really good arguments for using a logging winch and also being sure of draw bar pull is below axle line, but I can build a log arch which fits all the safety needs of a pull for a lot less than I can buy or build a winching system....

Other option for me may be to get a skidding sled where blunt end of log is placed on a sled with angled front to slide up and over any obstacle...

Yes for some who cuts many cords of wood a year a good winch is practical but for me when I may cut maybe a cord a year a winch is a big investment to sit idle maybe 360 days a year...

Dale

Yeah, a logging winch really doesn't make a lot of sense for a cord a year. I only burn 3 cords/year myself. I felt I could not justify a winch based on that. It was only after I also became one of 16 co-owners of a group-owned conserved working forest parcel that I made the jump. Since then I've used it for a lot of different things on my land, on that group parcel, on friends' and neighbors' properties, and for our town's firewood donation program. It has also pulled the UPS van out of the ditch on occasion.

Prior to owning that, I'd just drive my tractor as close as I could get and drag out 4' chunks with my hand-held log tongs, or put a chain on a larger log and use the tractor to pull it out to where it was easily accessible. I'm also going to put grab hooks on the ends of some cut up lengths of one of my old winch cable. Hoping to get a good 50' length and maybe one of 75 or 100 feet. This would make it easier to use Brutus (my 1951 Dodge M37 military pickup truck) to drag a log out of some places that are too far to conveniently drive my tractor. I've done some of that with chains, but they get heavy when you need long lengths. The cable will also allow me to use my self-releasing snatch blocks when a straight-line pull is not in the cards.

 

[LouNY]

You have to take your foot off the pedal and I'm not sure what you take your hands off??

With a gear tractor I can just push in the clutch, no difference at all, it's all in what you are use to.

Truth is, I don't push in the clutch, I use the foot throttle and let up on that, also I keep my hand on the 3 point lever, and I have never had one problem, not one.

SR

I very seldom use the foot throttle on any tractor.
Many of the tractors that I use do not have one.
Especially when I'm working them hard or in tight quarters one foot ready to clutch and the other is ready to use the brakes either one or both.
I can reach up and adjust a hand throttle easily, then get my hand back to the hydraulics were it may be needed or the control box of the implement which is usually in the right of the tractors operating station.

 

[TractorGuy]

When I had my little JD855 I used a dirt scoop. I could scoop under the end of the log and lift it to attach the chain, then pull it wherever.

 

[s219]

If you have a lot of logs to move from a common area and the path is clear, setting up a fairlead with a bull rope is fast and easy.



When I was clearing a road, I pulled out about 24 pine logs with that rope in a day. Tractor was on our driveway, about 90 degrees to the new road, and I had lots of space to pull (from drawbar of course).

Years ago when I skidded a lot of logs with my smaller B2920, I'd use the skid plate on the 3-pt to lift the butt off the ground with a choker chain, then run a short 2' chain from the choker to the drawbar pull. With that arrangement, the 3-pt provided the lift and the drawbar provided the pull and reduced risk of pulling a wheelie.

 

[WranglerX]

When I had my little JD855 I used a dirt scoop. I could scoop under the end of the log and lift it to attach the chain, then pull it wherever.

View attachment 678853

The would be a great "skidder" or second cousin to log arch....

Dale

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

The would be a great "skidder" or second cousin to log arch....

Dale

+++
Somewhere I saw a series of posts on how someone converted the frame of one of these to a 4 wheel log arch... Very innovative..

 

[John_Mc]

Lots of really good arguments for using a logging winch and also being sure of draw bar pull is below axle line, but I can build a log arch which fits all the safety needs of a pull for a lot less than I can buy or build a winching system....

Log arches are great tools to have, and dramatically increase the weight of logs you can pull (especially with smaller tractors or ATVs) as well as helping to keep the logs cleaner. If I didn't already own other methods of bringing the logs out of the forest (hooked to my logging winch or loaded on my forwarding trailer), I would certainly build or buy one (the the purchase category, Logrite makes some of the best logging arches.)

However, arches solve a different problem than what the main benefit of a logging winch is. The real utility of the logging winch is in getting the logs to your tractor in the first place. Without some type of winch, you either need a tractor path right up to every log you want to pull out, or you need chains or cables to reach to the logs to pull them out from a distance. (Or, if you are doing firewood, cut into small enough piece to drag by hand, but that gets old really fast.) Yes, I can also skid with my log winch, but for me, that's just a side benefit to being able to reach 230 feet into the woods to twitch a log out.

 

[deezler]

sorry but i have to laugh. a farmall super a, with "big" rear wheels. through deep mud? i've never seen a farmall a go through deep mud not pulling something. they are a cultivator tractor and thats about it.

Seriously? The tires on my 14-hp Super A are a heck of a lot taller than those on my 30 HP diesel CUT. Be design - torque multiplication, obviously. We had them fully chained up, of course. Maybe exaggerated a bit on the "deep" mud label. But it was deep enough to suck your boots off, so. Anyway, I have no incentive to lie about it.

 

[LouNY]

Seriously? The tires on my 14-hp Super A are a heck of a lot taller than those on my 30 HP diesel CUT. Be design - torque multiplication, obviously. We had them fully chained up, of course. Maybe exaggerated a bit on the "deep" mud label. But it was deep enough to suck your boots off, so. Anyway, I have no incentive to lie about it.

It's hard for some people to realize that not that many years ago 14 to 20 hp tractors were something to be desired over a team of horse or ox or mules.
I was fortunate enough to not have to work with the last teams of horses on the farm, and can recall the Case VAC getting loaded on the same truck that brought the Farmall 400,
that took the Allis WD from being the "big" tractor to being the small one.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

sorry but i have to laugh. a farmall super a, with "big" rear wheels. through deep mud? i've never seen a farmall a go through deep mud not pulling something. they are a cultivator tractor and thats about it.

I guess you've never owned an Super A... And I guess you are right, you have never seen one in action... lol

I have an A and also the "update of a Super A", IH140. They will pull a pretty decent load, I've pulled some big loads of hay with them, sometimes through mud.

A Super A, is closer to getting out of the "tinker toy tractor" category than MANY of the cut's bragged about on this site all the time... lol

SR

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It's hard for some people to realize that not that many years ago 14 to 20 hp tractors were something to be desired over a team of horse or ox or mules.

We farmed a lot of ground with a BN, the cousin to an A, and our BIG tractor was an H...

SR

 

[deezler]

Exactly. While a one-bottom plow went easier... the A could pull a two. Fairly impressive for it's size/weight.

 

[sea2summit]

Just thinking out loud after reading the back blade comment.

30 years ago, my Brother-In-Law broke his back from a tractor flip while dragging down a widow maker...old tricycle tractor and was not there, so not sure how he was actually doing it...

If the 3PT hitch is really just providing up lift, (no down pressure) - then can it really stop or prevent a back flip?

Understand the sound logic of always carrying a load low, near the ground...to drop the weight quickly...

But the 3PH does not really act like a wheelie bar on a dragster - there is no real mechanical block from the 3PH preventing a back flip? (That's a question, not a statement).

Not asking this to question the poster or cause conflict, but rather to accurately understand the dynamics on whether a blade on the 3PH will actually stop a back flip.

I'm way behind and catching up but the 3PT arms should connect below the axles so while you might 'wheelie' potential it should stop you from going backward I would think.

 

[crazyal]

If any of you are fans of the old Top Gear you will remember when they would do an interview with a star. The star would drive a 4 banger around their race track after getting some quick lessons from the Stig (a race car driver). There was 3 classes of stars. Those who listen and followed instructions, those who knew how to drive and what the racing line is, and those who just wanted to get out on the track as soon as possible. The last group almost always was the funnest group because they were always missing corners and shifting at the wrong time. Skidding logs is kind of the same thing. If you just go out and try it without at least thinking about the forces you'll most likely be fine. But not always. The seasoned vets run into the mistake of not paying attention because they've done it so many times.

I have a friend with an old 8N who would get slack in the chain, pop the clutch, and either the log would go or he would be looking at the skyline. When that front end popped up he would stomp on the clutch and it would slam back down. This is how he was taught. 40 years of doing it that way and no problems. He knew what was going to happen and was prepared to act. Not saying I would try his method but I prefer to not treat my equipment that way and my standard for safety is different than his. If you are worried about it happening then you should take the precautions needed to prevent it from happening.

 

[FTG-05]

When I had my little JD855 I used a dirt scoop. I could scoop under the end of the log and lift it to attach the chain, then pull it wherever.

View attachment 678853

That's a dang good idea!

[beer]