# CAT D7, Hyster winch question



## Philobite (Mar 1, 2008)

I have a D7 with Hyster D7D winch that is used for skidding redwood logs. I set my own chokers at times and was wondering if there is an adjustment to that winch that would allow me to set the spool resistance when in neutral low enough that I can pull the cable out by hand. There is the spool brake but it seems to me if I loosen that much I won't have enough grip on the spool to prevent it from spooling out when I'm skidding heavy logs.

Right now I have to put the winch in gear, let out 15', get off and drag the cable out, remount and put out another 15', dismount and drag the cable out, etc. Exhausting and hard on the legs.

Any specific help for me?


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## Gologit (Mar 1, 2008)

Philobite said:


> I have a D7 with Hyster D7D winch that is used for skidding redwood logs. I set my own chokers at times and was wondering if there is an adjustment to that winch that would allow me to set the spool resistance when in neutral low enough that I can pull the cable out by hand. There is the spool brake but it seems to me if I loosen that much I won't have enough grip on the spool to prevent it from spooling out when I'm skidding heavy logs.
> 
> Right now I have to put the winch in gear, let out 15', get off and drag the cable out, remount and put out another 15', dismount and drag the cable out, etc. Exhausting and hard on the legs.
> 
> Any specific help for me?



First of all, how old is your winch? And how long has it been since you've taken it down and cleaned it up real good? Winches take a hell of a beating and one that runs free and true is rare if they've been used very much. You should be able to back the brake off enough to free-spool if everything isn't all worn out inside.

If time and/or money don't permit getting it checked out maybe you could get a couple of kids to set chokers for you. Do kids still do that?

LOL...if not, look at the stories you'll have to tell your grandkids "I used to set my own chokers"...if you survive.


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## Gologit (Mar 1, 2008)

*Winch*

One other question while I'm thinking about it. You say you're pulling out 2 fifteen foot shots of bull line? That plus whatever length your chokers are must make for a plenty long drag. Are you working on real steep ground? I can't quite picture why you'd need that long of a drag....especially with a 7.


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## Philobite (Mar 1, 2008)

Gologit said:


> One other question while I'm thinking about it. You say you're pulling out 2 fifteen foot shots of bull line? That plus whatever length your chokers are must make for a plenty long drag. Are you working on real steep ground? I can't quite picture why you'd need that long of a drag....especially with a 7.



Thanks for the reply. I'm often out to 50-70' of bull line. First, most of what we do is on some sort of steeps. The other is our NTMP is SmartWood certified and part of that is we're really careful about the quantity and location of skid trails. We're trying to do a light touch on the forest floor and that makes for a lot of longer winch pulls. This season I'll be out at 120-130' fairly often as we're reaching down into a steep bowl. For that I'll have some help.

And no, around here kids would rather drive the SUV's their parents' pot money bought them.


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## Philobite (Mar 1, 2008)

Gologit said:


> First of all, how old is your winch? And how long has it been since you've taken it down and cleaned it up real good? Winches take a hell of a beating and one that runs free and true is rare if they've been used very much. You should be able to back the brake off enough to free-spool if everything isn't all worn out inside.
> .......
> LOL...if not, look at the stories you'll have to tell your grandkids "I used to set my own chokers"...if you survive.



I don't know how old, but I'd imagine 30 years +.

The oil bath (right) right side is in good shape. Just had the cover off yesterday. The brake (left) side I was poking around in yesterday and things look ok but I didn't take the whole side plate off.

What is under the center plate on the winch, the one just ahead of the spool?


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## 2dogs (Mar 1, 2008)

Philobite said:


> I have a D7 with Hyster D7D winch that is used for skidding redwood logs. I set my own chokers at times and was wondering if there is an adjustment to that winch that would allow me to set the spool resistance when in neutral low enough that I can pull the cable out by hand. There is the spool brake but it seems to me if I loosen that much I won't have enough grip on the spool to prevent it from spooling out when I'm skidding heavy logs.
> 
> Right now I have to put the winch in gear, let out 15', get off and drag the cable out, remount and put out another 15', dismount and drag the cable out, etc. Exhausting and hard on the legs.
> 
> Any specific help for me?



I have a 15 year old slave, oops I mean son to set chokers. Actually he loves doing that kind of work. My 13 yo daughter even sets for me on occasion when there isn't much of a pull.


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## joesawer (Mar 1, 2008)

The only Hyster winch I ever messed with had a threaded hole on the top left, immediatly above and to the left of the spool. It had a threaded bolt with a T handle to set the drag.
Good luck with a Hyster winch. They are more of a recovery winch than a logging winch.


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## Gologit (Mar 1, 2008)

Philobite said:


> Thanks for the reply. I'm often out to 50-70' of bull line. First, most of what we do is on some sort of steeps. The other is our NTMP is SmartWood certified and part of that is we're really careful about the quantity and location of skid trails. We're trying to do a light touch on the forest floor and that makes for a lot of longer winch pulls. This season I'll be out at 120-130' fairly often as we're reaching down into a steep bowl. For that I'll have some help.
> 
> And no, around here kids would rather drive the SUV's their parents' pot money bought them.



That's some long pulls for sure. We can't find anybody that'll set chokers over here either...not for more than a couple of days, anyway.
Ah, I shouldn't say that. Once in awhile some kid will show up, work hard, be there every day, improve his skills, get along with everybody, and take a real interest in everything around them. If we're lucky they'll stay with us and they'll move up to running a machine or maybe go to falling. 
If we're not lucky the kid will go on to college...and become a forester.


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## Dillon (Mar 3, 2008)

Try www.alliedsystems.com you should be able to download a manual for your winch there. Allied bought out hyster.


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## Philobite (Mar 3, 2008)

Dillon said:


> Try www.alliedsystems.com you should be able to download a manual for your winch there. Allied bought out hyster.



Hey, that's a great lead! Thank you.

There is no D7D manual there but there is sufficient info there on similar models for me to determine that for the direct drive model that I have, there is no free spool mode. Oh well, good reason for me to get the AmSteel Blue rope installed as I can pass the rope end back thru to manually unwind a bunch of turns to set closer chokers.


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## 2dogs (Mar 3, 2008)

Try ebay for Cat manuals too.


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## Zodiac45 (Mar 4, 2008)

Gologit said:


> That's some long pulls for sure. We can't find anybody that'll set chokers over here either...not for more than a couple of days, anyway.
> Ah, I shouldn't say that. Once in awhile some kid will show up, work hard, be there every day, improve his skills, get along with everybody, and take a real interest in everything around them. If we're lucky they'll stay with us and they'll move up to running a machine or maybe go to falling.
> If we're not lucky the kid will go on to college...and become a forester.



+1 LOL


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## Philobite (Mar 4, 2008)

2dogs said:


> Try ebay for Cat manuals too.



Thanks. This is not a CAT question _per se_ (we have the *manual for the CAT D7), this is a question about a Hyster D7D winch mounted on the D7. From the Allied link I've been able to determine that a) this winch is made for logging and similar operations and b) the PTO driven version (as opposed to the hydraulic one) has no neutral spool capability, so the only way to get cable out is to spool it out under power, or have it attached to a fixed object and release the brake with the spool in neutral and drive away.


*BTW, the genuine, original CAT manual for the CAT D7, 17A has the *wrong instruction for adjusting the wet clutch*. The manual says to turn the clutch _clock-wise_ to tighten it (to bring the plates closer to the flywheel). That is exactly wrong, as we discovered after an all-day session of mystery. It must be turned _counter-clockwise_ to pull the plates closer and tighten the clutch. This is from the normal perspective of looking forward from the driver seat toward the clutch. Also, on ours at least, even after completely loosening the dogs we had to use a long driving rod and sledge with a lot of force to rotate the clutch plates to adjust. The manual simply says, "rotate".


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## tom460 (Mar 15, 2008)

*hyster winch*

here in the bush in australia,it is common practice with a non freespool winch to back the rope out.this involves starting from the place you want to run the rope from,power the rope out and drive away at the same time until you have about half the required length of rope on the ground,then reverse back[while straddling the rope] to your original point while still powering out[making sure that the rope is not fouling up underneath the machine].you should end up with enough out to reach the log.this is rough but effective.


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## Philobite (Mar 15, 2008)

tom460 said:


> here in the bush in australia,it is common practice with a non freespool winch to back the rope out.this involves starting from the place you want to run the rope from,power the rope out and drive away at the same time until you have about half the required length of rope on the ground,then reverse back[while straddling the rope] to your original point while still powering out[making sure that the rope is not fouling up underneath the machine].you should end up with enough out to reach the log.this is rough but effective.



Hey, that's a good idea. Thanks. I just upgraded from wire rope to Samson AmSteel Blue rope. It's so light (floats in water) that for short skids I think your idea will work, and in some cases I can just wind off some turns by passing the choker rings (end of the rope) back over the winch drum by hands 10 times or so. Even in the case where I have to let rope out under power, dismount and pull it out, remount and repeat, there's no springiness to the rope so it'll be much better than regular cable so I'll be able to let out a lot more each cycle.


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## tom460 (Mar 15, 2008)

*amsteel rope*

what is that rope made of if it floats?it sounds like every loggers dream.


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## Philobite (Mar 15, 2008)

tom460 said:


> what is that rope made of if it floats?it sounds like every loggers dream.



Tom, here's a link to the mfg, Samson.

It's an oriented polypropylene, with a sheath over each strand. Diameter for diameter, it's as strong as steel rope. I got the 5/8" and I skid second growth redwood logs, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, as well as fir, and in the off season Tanoak for firewood.

You just have to be careful to avoid cuts and heating abrasion/side-load. So no dragging the rope under tension over logs or rocks, and be careful not to set chokers too far off to the side from each other so that the slider would friction the rope under a lot of tension mixed with speed.

It is expensive. Around $5US/ft for 5/8".


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