Your opinion please?

Deerlope · Dec 10, 2003

I am designing and building a 3pt hitch logging winch and as yet I am undecided whether to go with a pto winch or a hydraulic. Each unit will cost about the same. e-bay has hundreds of them for sale. I figure that I will have around $650 bucks in the whole thing. I already got the frame made out 3x3x1/4 hollow square tube so all I need is the winch and to mount it.

wroughtn_harv · Dec 10, 2003

hydraulic, period, paragraph, page, chapter, book.

ges · Dec 10, 2003

Opinion....I agree with Wroughtn harv, hyd.

My brother went through the same thing, alot of thinking, research, and then fabracation.

He mounted it on his 3pt., bought the hyd. remote kit from Kubota, installed the kit himself, and runs it from that.

He also has a woods hyd. boom that he uses with it at times. Works good. He had alot of thought as to what size verses speed for his use.

In the end he bought a new hyd. winch, and with the remotes it was more than $650.00.

Oh, it's set up on a Kubota 4310. If you want more info, let me know and I will track him down and find out for you. George.

rambler · Dec 10, 2003

I have no experience with winches, but 30 years of farming makes me pick a hydraulic unit of 'something' over an electric unit for durability & service about 99% of the time....

--->Paul

Youare · Dec 10, 2003

I have not operated a hydraulic power winch, only experience is with a PTO driven unit so my comment is more of a question.

Having used the same winch on two different horsepower tractors I have noticed a difference in operation which leads me to my question.

One tractor an older gas powered engine which generated more torque at lower RPM vs. a diesel powered engine which required higher RPM to develop the about the same torque.

I currently operate my winch with the tractor RPM's around 1500, 30 hp. Kubota.

If you are running on the tractor hydraulic to power the winch at what RPM would you have to run the tractor to get the proper hydraulic flow rate and pressure?

Randy

Deerlope · Dec 10, 2003

At this point in time I am looking at Milemaker hyd. winch rated 10,500 lbs. on e-bay. I guess from what I have researched so far they hook up to the power steering on a vechile and require 3.5 gpm. My tractor produces 4.9 gpm but I would not hook to the steering I would go to the remote which is 8.3gpm. still doing my home work.

Deerlope · Dec 10, 2003

Ges,
I agree that having to buy the Bota remote would put the price well over $650 but I had the remote put on a few months ago and it was not cheap.

missourihick · Dec 10, 2003

I never used a winch on a tractor,but I have used both hydraulic and pto driven winches on rollback car haulers and tow trucks and there is no comparison between the two.
GO HYDRAULIC!! GO HYDRAULIC!! GO HYDRAULIC!!

AndyMA · Dec 11, 2003

Clearly the tone of most of the responses is to go hydraulic and I am a hydraulic fan myself. That said, why do you think most of the commercial logging winches use the PTO setup with a large clutch that resembles a car clutch? I myself use a Farmi 501 PTO winch and find it works great. Speed is very variable and it never fails to get the logs out.
Rember you need slow speed and a lot of pull to get the logs moving and then you need some speed to pull them in the 150' feet or so to the tractor.

Andy

Deerlope · Dec 11, 2003

Andy, I agree that the PTO winches are very nice and do work well, but they are just a little bit out of my budget. Also I like to design and build things.I am retired and have the time . I am not into logging any long. I do fire wood for myself and don't want to have to string out 50ft. of chain. I got a lot of dead Tamrack in hard to get at places and think that a wicnh would be just the ticket even if I do build it myself. Thanks fo your input.

Deerlope · Dec 11, 2003

Then a hyd winch it is . I am putting a bid in on e-bay for a hyd one rated 10,500 lbs. and 2 speed. I welded up the frame for the 3pt hitch today, using 3x3x1/4" hollow tube. when it is done I will post pics. Thanks for every ones input.

Taylortractornut · Dec 11, 2003

Andy Ive built a few from old golfcart rear ends. espescially those old worm gear type because they don unwind when you are skiddin and have the brake on the opaside side of the drum locked. Im making a post driver the same way now. I usually just fbuild a brake band to go arond the rims/drum.

Deerlope · Dec 24, 2003

The logging winch is done. I used a 10,500 lb Mile Marker hyd. winch. Just as soon as I figure out how to make the pic small I will post some.

Deerlope · Dec 28, 2003

I still have to make a blade for the ground cause it slides the tractor. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

5030 · Dec 28, 2003

Deerlope:

Looks like my 5030 without a cab. Why don't you weld some angled V shaped spikes to the bottom feet of your attachment. If you angle them rearward, the force of the pull will embed them into the ground, the harder the pull, the better penetration.

On the blower subject, I see why I like the cab, can't beat it for blowing snow. Can't beat it in the summer heat either.

Henro · Dec 28, 2003

Deerlope,

Love those chains... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Deerlope · Dec 28, 2003

I just thought that a blade with a 50 drg digging angle would offer more resistance also I could use it to push the logs up in a pile. I love those chains also. Only had to use 4x4 once this year and that was when skidding an 18 inch x 50' tree with all the branches still on it.

wroughtn_harv · Dec 28, 2003

That picture brought back some memories. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Some years ago a bud was removing glue down carpet during a building renovation. He came to me and asked if I coul come up with something to help make the job easier. The way he explained it to me his crew of laborers were wore slick by lunch. It seemed they would each take a piece of carpet and pull it up six inches across at a time. It was all grunt.

Your winch shield looked a lot like the one I made for my solution to his problem.

It looked a little like a dolly ( hand truck). But what would be the handles was actually the base that was put down on the carpet at one side of the room. It had four feet to rest on made up of carpet stretcher pad's teeth.

The guard that protected everyone from the teeth was removed prior to placing down. It fit into slots and was pinned to protect the operator who sat on a chair facing the far wall. He sat behind the guard on a chair attached to the handle shaped bottom with the teeth for feet.

He operated a remote control for the hundred and ten volt winch. The cable was freewheeled out to the far side of the room. Probably the hardest thing to design for this rig was the slip lock grip to grab the carpet.

They would cut the carpet into a three feet wide strip. The end was cut to a point and the slip lock grip installed onto the pointed end of the carpet.

The operator then winched the carpet to himself. When it got there he moved over three feet and they started all over again. Turning the device ninety degrees allowed them to remove the piece they'd used to rest the contraption on while doing the bulk of it.

I don't know if they've ever had a piece of carpet break while using the winch. But I made the guard the same reasons you made yours.

cmsedore · Dec 28, 2003

That winch set-up looks great. Speaking from my own experience, I'd make sure your frame is adequately strong before making the tractor too immovable.

I adapted a dozer winch to be PTO powered (for size reference, it came with 100+' of 5/8" cable). After pulling out many thornapple trees with it (sometimes 2-4 at a time), I was pulling one group of trees out while braced against an immovable object. It bent my welded-up frame (essentially the equivalent of 3"x3"x 1/4" angle) like nothing was there /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. I subsequently rebuilt the frame with 3"x3" 3/8" angle and extra bracing and have not had a problem, but I also try to make sure that the tractor can slide if it needs to. It doesn't take but a second or so to twist the frame out of shape. Of course, having a 20,000lb winch on a CUT is probably not the greatest idea /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif.

-Chris

OkeeDon · Dec 28, 2003

I like that design. I don't skid logs, but I do pull things, like dead vehicles, up onto trailers. I could rig a winch for the trailers, but the tractor-mounted winch makes sense to me because it can be used for other things. Add a hitch receiver to the bottom of your frame, and it would be perfect for my use. Thanks...