Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Gordon Gould]

On the lighter side.......... Yesterday I picked up some tops that I had left last month when I skidded out the main stems.

gg

 

[John_Mc]

Gordon - now that you have been using that boom/winch setup a while, how are you liking it?

A local friend is debating doing something similar. Is there anything you would do differently if you were making a new one?

Tips or things to watch out for when operating it?

My father-in-law has a home-made boat hoist that is a similar set up (though larger - its probably a 12" I beam for the boom), he has guide ropes on the end of the boom which he uses to swing it left and right to position the boat once it's lifted. He's lifting a much heavier load, but on the other hand, it's always on a level plane, since it's a fixed position set in a large block of concrete.

 

[arrow]

Oh yeah, I definitely get it! In fact, my first tractor with an FEL was also a JD 750! But this tractor/loader combo has sufficient capacity to pick up my JD 750 with the forks.

Weight rating on the front axle of the 3033r is 3200 lb., obviously with some margin in that spec, and lift capacity is around 2200 lb. @ 60" height. Still possible to break things, if you bounce it around on rough terrain esp. given loader COG is forward of front axle a good bit, but I crawl very slowly and stick to level ground, whenever I'm anywhere near max loader capacity. I also hang about 1500 lb off the back of the 3-pt, the outer weights of which extend a good 5-6 feet aft of the rear axle, which really takes a lot of the load off the front axle.

Winter, do you skid logs out with your 33r?

 

[WinterDeere]

Winter, do you skid logs out with your 33r?

Yes, some. But since I have a Ford 3000 with proper ag tires at the property where I do most of my skidding out of the woods, we usually use that:



The 3033R is used more for lifting and stacking them, after I get them home:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Today my nephew and me, quartered some big rounds,

Now to find time to split them.

SR

 

[arrow]

Yes, some. But since I have a Ford 3000 with proper ag tires at the property where I do most of my skidding out of the woods, we usually use that:

View attachment 3255914

The 3033R is used more for lifting and stacking them, after I get them home:

View attachment 3256345 View attachment 3256901

Yeah what made me wonder is seeing the turfs on the 33r.
Was also wondering if you chained them up to go woods slogging

 

[Gordon Gould]

Gordon - now that you have been using that boom/winch setup a while, how are you liking it?

A local friend is debating doing something similar. Is there anything you would do differently if you were making a new one?

Tips or things to watch out for when operating it?

My father-in-law has a home-made boat hoist that is a similar set up (though larger - its probably a 12" I beam for the boom), he has guide ropes on the end of the boom which he uses to swing it left and right to position the boat once it's lifted. He's lifting a much heavier load, but on the other hand, it's always on a level plane, since it's a fixed position set in a large block of concrete.

I like it quite a bit. It is slow compared to winching and skidding out the main stems several at a time. But with small wood in muddy conditions or long skids it suits me fine. It is pretty primitive and not OSHA approved so there is a lot of room to make it better but my goals were to make something that was simple and inexpensive. I love running it in the woods. With the loader off and front weights it is more stable and I can turn around on a dime.

As far as operating goes you have to be careful. Position the boom so it will not suddenly swing when tension is put on the cable. Divide the lift into three parts. Apply the auto brake mode and lift log to height. Swing boom and log over trailer with brake locked. Turn off auto brake mode then release brake and lower log into position. Trying to hold the log by slipping the clutch is asking for trouble - always use the brake. As discussed before the boom hinge needs to be plumb or almost plumb in order to be able to swing a heavy log.

I can't lock the boom because it is on the winch/tractor not the trailer and would be to long making tight turns. When travelling on rough trails that tip side to side the boom will want to rotate to the down hill side. I compensate for that by tipping the boom back (extend hydraulic top link) so it will want to stay pointing towards the rear when travelling. I also restrain the side to side movement by fastening the cable to the back of the trailer.

That should give you an idea. My trails are very rough and it is totally manageable. Just to a while to figure it out.

gg

 

[WinterDeere]

Yeah what made me wonder is seeing the turfs on the 33r.
Was also wondering if you chained them up to go woods slogging

LOL... every tractor is a compromise! Yeah, I have chains for all four corners of the 3033r, and the rear ones are just stupid heavy, 5/16" HD 2-link configuration for 41" tires. I groan just thinking about hoisting them onto the tires.

So, I avoid situations which require me to chain up, as much as possible. But I do have them for those occasions when I need them. The rest of the time, that machine is moving logs on grass, plowing snow on asphalt, or loafing along spreading fertilizer or seed on my lawn. The turf tires work really well for those chores.

The Ford 3000 is a quiet and gentle little beast, but with calcium-filled ag tires, does pretty well for a manual-transmission gasser. It has the less common 4-cylinder configuration.

 

[John_Mc]

Yeah, I have chains for all four corners of the 3033r, and the rear ones are just stupid heavy, 5/16" HD 2-link configuration for 41" tires. I groan just thinking about hoisting them onto the tires.

No need to hoist the chains on if you drive them on. @LouNY started a thread here some years ago describing the technique (which is also the recommended installation procedure that came with my OFA EKO chains.) If I can find the thread, I'll edit this to post a link.

EDIT: Here is the link to Lou's thread:

Mounting tire chains

I put chains on one tractor yesterday, there are lots of ways to mount chains I thought I would share the easiest way I have found to do so. 1) lay the chains out with the outside, the ground contact side facing up 2) tie a short cord to the side chains, the length will depend on your tire...

www.tractorbynet.com

I use a slight variation on the technique: rather than tying the cord to the side chains, I tie one end about 1/3 of the way across the cross chain on one end, then loop through the rim and back out to tie on to the same cross chain 2/3 of the way across. This leaves the side chains free to connect before I untie the cord. (I loop the cord through the rim, since the tread on my R4 rear tires is rather worn: hooking the cord over the tread as Lou does sometimes results in it popping off before I have driven the chains all the way around.)

 

[WinterDeere]

No need to hoist the chains on if you drive them on. @LouNY started a thread here some years ago describing the technique (which is also the recommended installation procedure that came with my OFA EKO chains.) If I can find the thread, I'll edit this to post a link.

EDIT: Here is the link to Lou's thread:

Mounting tire chains

I put chains on one tractor yesterday, there are lots of ways to mount chains I thought I would share the easiest way I have found to do so. 1) lay the chains out with the outside, the ground contact side facing up 2) tie a short cord to the side chains, the length will depend on your tire...

www.tractorbynet.com

I use a slight variation on the technique: rather than tying the cord to the side chains, I tie one end about 1/3 of the way across the cross chain on one end, then loop through the rim and back out to tie on to the same cross chain 2/3 of the way across. This leaves the side chains free to connect before I untie the cord. (I loop the cord through the rim, since the tread on my R4 rear tires is rather worn: hooking the cord over the tread as Lou does sometimes results in it popping off before I have driven the chains all the way around.)

Thanks! Yeah, I remember seeing someone else do that method here more recently, and thought I should give it a try next time I have to drag those chains out.

Just lifting the milk crates that contain them, is a job I dread anymore. I have the rears in the bottom of each crate, with the fronts on top, one crate for "lefts" and one crate for "rights", probably 100 lb. in each crate. Lifting them and carrying them out from the shed to the driveway seemed like good exercise at age 30 or even 40, but now just hurts at age 50. If I used them more frequently, I'd have to come up with a better storage and handling method, but in the 6 years I've owned this machine, I think I've only installed them twice.

I had exactly the same chain setup on my 855, albeit a bit lighter due to smaller tires, and used them much more frequently on that machine, maybe 2x per year or more. But that was back when I was clearing trails thru our muddy woods, and also moving a lot more firewood thru deep snow, than I've had to do in recent years.