Rear/Center Tractor Drawbar // USE TODAY

[ThirdMan]

My SCUT does not have a drawbar (manual says it is optional), it does have a hitch down low. The manual gives some maximum loads for the hitch:
Vertical load : 400kg (882lbs)
Horizontal load : 1600kg (3527lbs)


I bought a chain with a working load above that for dragging logs (and the relevant clevis hook).

I am pretty sure that the tractor will spin the tires before it could pull a horizontal load of that amount on dirt. It has a 7-pole connector and information on towing a independently braked trailer, so those values are useful for working on pavement with a trailer.

 

[CobyRupert]

Here are rear/center drawbar photos during Hurricane Irene cleanup.

Shouldn't the cultipacker be hooked behind the stump to flatten all those ruts that dragging the stump makes ?

 

[John_Mc]

A log 6' long by 2' diameter even at an absurd 60#/cubic ft would only weigh 1150#, and from here it looks like at least the first stump is shorter than that and not as wide at the top, though it obviously spreads lower. How do you get 3000-4000# for that?

Actually, for Oak (which is what was referred to in the first post), 60#/cubic foot is hardly absurd. When green, Red oak weighs about 64#/cubic foot. If it's Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) which is native to the southeastern US, that weighs about 76#/cu. ft.

The rear tires shown in the photo are most likely 420/70-24 R4s. Their overall diameter is just under 4 feet. Using that as a scale, I'd estimate the top of the taller stump at 32", and guessing 36" at the mid-point. A 32" x 6 foot Live Oak would weigh over 2500#. 36" x 6' would be over 3200#

 

[DieselBound]

One thing to point out to folks thinking it's better to lift weight in the loader, and that's that sometimes putting a lot of weight on the front wheels isn't a good option, such as when on soft ground (which I'm very familiar with).

 

[jeff9366]

I put a steel cross bar that fits in the two lower units of the 3 point hitch. The arms on those are about 5/8 thick steel. Logs are chained to the cross bar to lift and then I pull the logs. Concerned that may cause too much strain on the 3 point hitch system as TPH was designed more for bush hog mowers etc, not heavy lifting and pulling.

The steel cross bar is known as a CROSS DRAWBAR. They are made of mild steel, so they will bend, rather than snap, if overstressed. In timber work, you rarely encounter a straight CROSS DRAWBAR. The CROSS DRAWBAR has two advantages: 1) It lifts one end of a timber, reducing friction over most of its length when pulled. 2) It lifts one end of a timber so that the timber is LESS likely hang up on a rock, root or a burrow, instantly pulling tractor up onto its rear wheels, especially pulling tractor loads uphill. (I have personally experienced this, skidding logs over flat ground with a REAR/CENTER DRAWBAR attached to a Deere 750.)

MORE: 3-Point Hitch - Tractor Three Point Hitch CROSS-DRAWBARS


TPH was designed more for bush hog mowers etc, not heavy lifting and pulling.

Tractors are designed to PULL over level ground.



a low receiver type opening that appears would be more substantial to pull on and with except that has no lifting capability so the entire log for the most part would have to dragged in the mud as opposed to just the end if it could be lifted in part above the mud.

The rectangular attachment which fits into this receiver hitch is known as a REAR/CENTER DRAWBAR. Receiver is attached directly to the tractor frame. Attached load is pulled at or below level of the rear axle. This is the correct point at which to attach heavy towed loads.
Tow slow so that the timber will not hang up on a rock, root or a burrow, instantly pulling tractor up onto its rear wheels, especially pulling tractor loads uphill.

MORE: Rear/Center Tractor Drawbar // USE TODAY


One reasonably SAFE way to skid logs up a slope is using a Three Point Hitch, PTO-powered log-skidding-winch. The tractor remains on flat, unchurned ground at the top of the slope.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=COMPACT+TRACTOR+LOG+SKIDDING+WINCH




I was asked to help skid heavy logs up muddy, fairly steep hills.

You cannot enjoy a tractor if you are dead.