firewood tractors

[3000 FPS]

Did a little grouse hunting back in the day. I have not been in a long time now and would not even know where to go.
Did a lot of elk hunting up in Yellowstone on horse up to about 2 years and have now stopped that too.
Still a lot of open space here.

 

[Lee192233]

Did a little grouse hunting back in the day. I have not been in a long time now and would not even know where to go.
Did a lot of elk hunting up in Yellowstone on horse up to about 2 years and have now stopped that too.
Still a lot of open space here.

Farthest west I've been bird hunting is SE Colorado. I love the big country. Can't wait to go west again. Too bad I can't talk the wife into moving out there....
Lee

 

[Hddnis]

This little 60 horse Renault is small for here.


View attachment 882332

That's a decent little getter. I notice you cut your firewood on the big side for over there, looks to be about 16" long, often see just 8-12" long.

Firewood tractor here is 90hp JD, weighs about 14k. We use that in the little wood lots, the 5-15 acre patches with smaller logs.

If it goes much over 16" at the butt, or parcels hit 60+ acres, machines start getting really big. Of course in that range firewood isn't the main product.

 

[Oldtoolsnewproblems]

not my photo, but I got an ariens yt10 ride on, that supposdly is a mower, i wouldn't know, I've cut the grass with it maybe 5 times in the 4 years I've had it. it may only have 10hp, but with my lil wheelhorse dump trailer (both a dump trailer, and found at the dump) it'll haul 1/8 a cord to and from the woodpile, and that's 1/8 a cord I don't have to carry, and its got plenty of grunt for the task. no clue why modern tractors need 25hp to push a 33" deck around, this thing's a champ. weighs twice as much as a modern ride on its size too, so its not terrible with traction, but chains are a must. living on a hill doesn't do it any favors.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

That's a decent little getter. I notice you cut your firewood on the big side for over there, looks to be about 16" long, often see just 8-12" long.

Firewood tractor here is 90hp JD, weighs about 14k. We use that in the little wood lots, the 5-15 acre patches with smaller logs.

If it goes much over 16" at the butt, or parcels hit 60+ acres, machines start getting really big. Of course in that range firewood isn't the main product.

I cut my wood 12 inches.
You are right though, a lot of people can only burn little 8 inch logs. The old houses here all have very small open fires or solid fuel ranges with small stoves in them. Back in the day people didnt want to be hand splitting 24 inch diameter oak if it was 16 inches long.

 

[sean donato]

not my photo, but I got an ariens yt10 ride on, that supposdly is a mower, i wouldn't know, I've cut the grass with it maybe 5 times in the 4 years I've had it. it may only have 10hp, but with my lil wheelhorse dump trailer (both a dump trailer, and found at the dump) it'll haul 1/8 a cord to and from the woodpile, and that's 1/8 a cord I don't have to carry, and its got plenty of grunt for the task. no clue why modern tractors need 25hp to push a 33" deck around, this thing's a champ. weighs twice as much as a modern ride on its size too, so its not terrible with traction, but chains are a must. living on a hill doesn't do it any favors.

Modern mowers have power hungry hydrostatic drives, and seem to go bit faster then the old mowers/ garden tractors. And you need to remember 1 frame can have 4 engine options, and just as many deck options. Even if they are built like junk, a 20hp mower barely compares to my 14hp cub 1450. Both hydro, something was just lost in translation. I would guess your ariens is an 80s ayp product, it looks nearly identical to the roper I just fixed up and sold. Save the roper had an 18hp Briggs in it. Solid little thing for what it was.

 

[Saiso]

40-60k for a 60hp tractor with a cab. Tough to get around the wood lot with one as well. Can't say I would complain if I had one. View attachment 882346
I've been really happy with my 2120. 40 hp. Suits my needs.

Awesome tractor! That would suit my needs as well!

 

[morewood]

Hey chipper! I was hoping you were done with the pallet forks by now, I've needed them a time or two since I brought them over... lol

If you get some locust you want to sell of trade, let me know, I could use some more, to cut into boards for a floor for the addition I'm putting on my sawmill shed.

Looks like you've been busy!!

SR

Locust is getting very hard to find. Luckily up on the cutting area near the house we have two dump trailer loads of locust logs down, with quite a few more big ones to bring down. Couldn't do it without the winch though. If I was closer I would gladly trade/sell some.

You Americans and your tiny little compact lawn tractors. I was always lead to believe everything was bigger in America.

While I would love a bigger tractor sometimes, my 44hp JD 4510 is the perfect size for some of the old access logging roads scratched in on these mountains. If I cut logs longer than 9-10' the narrow trails put me in a bad spot. Heck, I just wish mine weighed more. Even with loaded tires and a heavy blade on the back some of my logs are a bit heavy. I just cut them shorter, makes me feel better, especially with my son on the tractor.

I didn't take any pics of the last few logs I cut on a new area I was given access too. I may have posted some pics on the firewood thread.

Shea

 

[Oldtoolsnewproblems]

Modern mowers have power hungry hydrostatic drives, and seem to go bit faster then the old mowers/ garden tractors. And you need to remember 1 frame can have 4 engine options, and just as many deck options. Even if they are built like junk, a 20hp mower barely compares to my 14hp cub 1450. Both hydro, something was just lost in translation. I would guess your ariens is an 80s ayp product, it looks nearly identical to the roper I just fixed up and sold. Save the roper had an 18hp Briggs in it. Solid little thing for what it was.

Yeah this frame/model came in three trim packages haha. 10hp,11hp and 12hp. I actually found an old craftsman mower on the side of the road that has the exact same 11hp briggs in it that this could have come with, so I dragged it home. Both tractors are the same size but the craftsman weighed half as much. Old ariens is a beast, I just wish reverse was slower, with the trailer on it's a bit low on traction and finess when you need it. Agro tires would help, but someone filled the current wheels with SOMETHING. they don't hold pressure, but they never go flat, and they weigh 45lbs more than a standard wheel. No clue how they did it, they don't slosh so it's not antifreeze

 

[cumminstinkerer]

Yeah this frame/model came in three trim packages haha. 10hp,11hp and 12hp. I actually found an old craftsman mower on the side of the road that has the exact same 11hp briggs in it that this could have come with, so I dragged it home. Both tractors are the same size but the craftsman weighed half as much. Old ariens is a beast, I just wish reverse was slower, with the trailer on it's a bit low on traction and finess when you need it. Agro tires would help, but someone filled the current wheels with SOMETHING. they don't hold pressure, but they never go flat, and they weigh 45lbs more than a standard wheel. No clue how they did it, they don't slosh so it's not antifreeze

They are probably foam filled

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I took this bucket load, 1/3 cord of white oak to a neighbor lady, who is needing some firewood,

It's dry, so she should like burning it!

SR

 

[Lee192233]

Awesome tractor! That would suit my needs as well!

I love it. Pushes a 74" snowblower and pulls a 72" rough cutter really well. The loader is slow but powerful. With fluid in the tires and the loader it weighs about 5500 lbs. It can still pick the rear tires up if I attempt to pick something too heavy. I also like that it isn't a hydro transmission. It has the 12 speed shuttle shift.
Thanks,
Lee

 

[Saiso]

I love it. Pushes a 74" snowblower and pulls a 72" rough cutter really well. The loader is slow but powerful. With fluid in the tires and the loader it weighs about 5500 lbs. It can still pick the rear tires up if I attempt to pick something too heavy. I also like that it isn't a hydro transmission. It has the 12 speed shuttle shift.
Thanks,
Lee

I didn’t check your profile but assuming American. May I ask how much you paid for it? How long ago?

 

[mountainguyed67]

I didn’t check your profile

He’s in Wisconsin, so he’s almost Canadian.

 

[Lee192233]

I didn’t check your profile but assuming American. May I ask how much you paid for it? How long ago?

I paid 10k for it and the snowblower 8 years ago. It had about 600 hours on it. It was a gamble. I bought it from a dealership who traded it in. It had low oil pressure at idle. All it needed was the oil bypass valve and about 8 hours of my time.

Lee

 

[Lee192233]

He’s in Wisconsin, so he’s almost Canadian.

Ya got that right, dontchaknow!

 

[rwoods]

Locust is getting very hard to find. Luckily up on the cutting area near the house we have two dump trailer loads of locust logs down, with quite a few more big ones to bring down. Couldn't do it without the winch though. If I was closer I would gladly trade/sell some.


While I would love a bigger tractor sometimes, my 44hp JD 4510 is the perfect size for some of the old access logging roads scratched in on these mountains. If I cut logs longer than 9-10' the narrow trails put me in a bad spot. Heck, I just wish mine weighed more. Even with loaded tires and a heavy blade on the back some of my logs are a bit heavy. I just cut them shorter, makes me feel better, especially with my son on the tractor.

I didn't take any pics of the last few logs I cut on a new area I was given access too. I may have posted some pics on the firewood thread.

Shea

I use a JD4710 which is the same size as your 4510. I have about 1300# of ballast between the 3 point hitch attachment and weights on the draw bar. I kept the tires dry. With our terrain I don't want any higher center of gravity so this size tractor is the limit for me. The low slung orchard tractors are uncommon here and too wide. I also don't want a heavier tractor because I pick up a lot of wood out of residential yards.

The 4710 works fine for firewood, but is a little small for a 30" 16' saw log. I do wish it was a 4700 to have more mechanically connected controls instead of electrical/hydraulic.

Winching Ash up a power line ROW.


Picking up wood in a yard. Not in the pictures but there are now several hundred pounds mounted to the draw bar and a quick hitch to gain clearance.


Ron

 

[morewood]

This is my son from last fall. This road was soft on the downhill side and having to back out of it. These situations would benefit from more rear weight. That log was only 6' long, but solid. I have a heavy piece of steel I am thinking about getting cut in half and welded together. The attaching it to the bottom of the winch, that way I can keep it on instead of adding the scrape blade which is a hoss.



Shea

 

[morewood]

This is the normal set-up.

Shea

 

[Oldtoolsnewproblems]

They are probably foam filled

where can i get more foam like that? I really want some agro tires so i don't need to run chains when the ground gets muddy, but all that extra weight is clearly the only thing that keeps my tractor moving. I was considering if i got new tires to fill them with anti-freeze for the same affect, but I've heard mixed things about it affecting the rubber. is the foam really heavy, because spray foam insulation would definitly be lighter, is this some kind of foam that's actually meant to be used like this?
sorry for all the questions, I'm a city boy lol, I don't know jack about this kinda stuff, and neither does anyone i know.