Hauling logs off hillside, Kubota or Power Trac?

[m5040]

Had a large oak kill by the caterpillars on a hillside boxed in by a lot of other trees. Cut it down and needed a way to carry the larger the better pieces out. I have a Kubota L2850 with 2400 lbs lift at the 3pt and 1800 lbs 24" out from lift ends. So I figure the Kubota has better/even traction and technically more lift. So I put a 3pt adapter on, then fork lift forks. Slid them under a portion of the tree and after a big fight, tractor can barely lift it, front end coming up, steering with brakes etc. Well I tried the Power Trac, with only 1200 lbs lift. Had the front hoe attachment with a thumb, so now lifting 36" away from quick attach plate. What do you know, the PT lifted and carried the log out better then the Kubota even know the specs for the Kubota exceeded the PT. Guess they rate the PT very conservatively. Wish the drive system was a little more even, if I start out slow and easy the front wheels spins. If I start out aggressively, they all spin but very little, go figure. Guess it is the way the tram pump controls the flow.

 

[Rebeldad1]

drag them out. easy peezy

 

[m5040]

I prefer to carry, easier on the turf and erosion control and it doesn't get dirt stuck in bark that screws up my chain saw blade.

 

[MossRoad]

Had a large oak kill by the caterpillars on a hillside boxed in by a lot of other trees. Cut it down and needed a way to carry the larger the better pieces out. I have a Kubota L2850 with 2400 lbs lift at the 3pt and 1800 lbs 24" out from lift ends. So I figure the Kubota has better/even traction and technically more lift. So I put a 3pt adapter on, then fork lift forks. Slid them under a portion of the tree and after a big fight, tractor can barely lift it, front end coming up, steering with brakes etc. Well I tried the Power Trac, with only 1200 lbs lift. Had the front hoe attachment with a thumb, so now lifting 36" away from quick attach plate. What do you know, the PT lifted and carried the log out better then the Kubota even know the specs for the Kubota exceeded the PT. Guess they rate the PT very conservatively. Wish the drive system was a little more even, if I start out slow and easy the front wheels spins. If I start out aggressively, they all spin but very little, go figure. Guess it is the way the tram pump controls the flow.

Nice that you had both machines to compare. :thumbsup:

 

[cqaigy2]

Interesting the geometry effects on you job. I'd have thought the Kubota done better than the PT.

 

[m5040]

Me too, maybe the pressure is low as it could only lift it about 1/2 way up, but just the same the front of the tractor was up in the air so it shows that the rear was real heavy. I was going to add weights but then it still had trouble lifting it, so why go through the trouble. At that point I figured to just try the PT, and as it has done many times, it impressed me.

 

[SpringHollow]

Mine certainly comes in handy for carrying logs either in a mini hoe or grapple.

 

[johara1]

I prefer to carry, easier on the turf and erosion control and it doesn't get dirt stuck in bark that screws up my chain saw blade.

If your going to cut them do it where they are? a set of forks will pick them up easier and will pick a lot more weight than way out at the end of hoe attachment..... jim

 

[m5040]

If your going to cut them do it where they are? a set of forks will pick them up easier and will pick a lot more weight than way out at the end of hoe attachment..... jim

I thought the forks would work better too, but the L2850 would only get it about a foot off the ground and then there was the front end lift that was problematic, end up dragging the log anyway. All logic aside, even with 1/2 the rated capacity, the Power Trac lifted the log and climbed out of the work area.

It is difficult to cut on the hill because after the log is cut off it tends to roll down the hill and they end up all over the place. And even if it didn't roll away, I can't fit that many cutoffs in the bucket as I can carry in one long piece.

 

[johara1]

I thought the forks would work better too, but the L2850 would only get it about a foot off the ground and then there was the front end lift that was problematic, end up dragging the log anyway. All logic aside, even with 1/2 the rated capacity, the Power Trac lifted the log and climbed out of the work area.

It is difficult to cut on the hill because after the log is cut off it tends to roll down the hill and they end up all over the place. And even if it didn't roll away, I can't fit that many cutoffs in the bucket as I can carry in one long piece.

First I would go up hill and put the log on the forks and back down hill, Second, I was talking about the PT with forks..... jim

 

[m5040]

There is a septic field at the bottom of the hill and out of an abundance of caution, I elected not to drive any tractors loaded with 1,200-2,000 logs balancing on one axle over the leach fields. The forklift forks I have are authentic and together with the carriage, weigh about the same as the small front hoe. The front hoe has a smaller cross section (10") and to me is easier to pick up the log and slice off ends alternating to keep somewhat balanced. The forks would be spread out for better control, and I would end up with a 40" length (verse 10"). Yes, the heavy log would be closer to the lift point with the forks, but I find it worth the reduced capacity for the convenience of the front hoe. Even after the log is cut to length, the hoe/thumb then quickly lifts them into the truck.

 

[MossRoad]

There is a septic field at the bottom of the hill and out of an abundance of caution, I elected not to drive any tractors loaded with 1,200-2,000 logs balancing on one axle over the leach fields. The forklift forks I have are authentic and together with the carriage, weigh about the same as the small front hoe. The front hoe has a smaller cross section (10") and to me is easier to pick up the log and slice off ends alternating to keep somewhat balanced. The forks would be spread out for better control, and I would end up with a 40" length (verse 10"). Yes, the heavy log would be closer to the lift point with the forks, but I find it worth the reduced capacity for the convenience of the front hoe. Even after the log is cut to length, the hoe/thumb then quickly lifts them into the truck.

I've found similar with trying to cut firewood-length pieces off of a log balancing on forks. I think the mini-hoe with thumb would be great for this.

What I'd really like, though, is a single finger grapple on my forks. That would be ideal for my situation, as I could also pile and then grab lots of branches to push/move them around. I've seen a couple grapple forks here on TBN and they look great!

In the mean time, I'll keep using my $29 logging tongs from Northern Tool to lift one end and drag them out.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's another one later in the day. Driving up a hillside and dragging the log down. Excuse the one-handed tractor operation while I record with an iPhone. I need to get a gopro. :laughing: Note the vines on this log. That's typical poison ivy in my woods.

 

[m5040]

Roger that, a lot of options to make work easier. Everything adds weight, I wanted a wrist on the front hoe to pick anywhere in a 90 deg arc. instead of just across the front. They make them for Gradall and other large machines. That would make it perfect for me.

 

[m5040]

I spent most of my tractor owning life working tractors that didn't have the aux hydraulic feature. I worked my Kubota L2250 with an antique version of your Northern Hyd grapple. Unfortunately with the standard tractor configuration (loader bucket in front of engine/tractor) I couldn't see crap! There was no way of gracefully hooking up the logs from the seat. I would have to get off, put the grapple on, try to lift, half the time it falls off, go back and repeat. Now with the aux hyd on the PT combined with great visibility, I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE MY SEAT.... Every think has to be hyd for me. After years of use, the attachments are still worth something, so to me it is no waste to buy what you really need, if you can.

 

[MossRoad]

Yep! The view from the PT seat is outstanding for this kind of work.

 

[johara1]

Yep! The view from the PT seat is outstanding for this kind of work.

Yes it is.... and the engine is in the back where it should be, for weight. .... jim

 

[woodlandfarms]

Is it just me or did I see a bunch of widow makers in your video

 

[MossRoad]

Is it just me or did I see a bunch of widow makers in your video

Yep. It's a spooky woods.

The property is 20 acres, and kite or diamond shaped. There's a 10 acre strip of trees cutting down the property's centerline, which is a varying slope with a 60' change in elevation to the east, and a 30' change in elevation to the west. The forester counted 20,000 trees in that 10 acres. Overly mature multi-trunk cherry, locust, maple, and oak dominate, and then about 20-30 other species. The cherries are nearing end-of-life with multiple trunks in the 24" range. They are spaced about every 75-100 feet. At some point in time, (the forester suspects) someone introduced the locust trees to control erosion. He estimates 10,000 locust. In the northern section where I'm taking these pictures there's about 4 acres of up to 12" maples (several hundred) mixed with locust and those cherries. I'm removing the locust for firewood, which frees up sunlight for the maples. I have dreams of tapping for syrup when I retire in 2027, but that's just a whim. We'll see how that goes. So far, I've pulled about 600 locusts out of there for firewood in the past 11 years. Any under 4" get cut and left to rot (which they don't, because, well, they're locust).

The rear half of the woods is more of a cherrie, oak, locust mix. I haven't touched that yet, and probably never will get to them, as the locusts are 16-20" in size and so heavy it's not practical to haul them out in small pieces with my little machine. No R.O.I. when comparing labor to time to heat savings at home. And, it's a deer factory, so the neighbor hunts it and gives me venison. Win-Win.

Every time there is a weather event, we lose a few cherry trunks, and they bring down the younger trees, leaving them leaning/spring-poled under the larger cherry trunks. More times than not, there's stuff left that could kill you. I'm savvy enough to know not to mess with them and stay away from them. We let nature bring most of them down on her own time table. No one but me and the neighbor have permission to be on the property, and he knows enough to stay away from them as well. We kind of like it that way.