JackJ
ArboristSite Member
Yeah, I'm really liking these tires. I've used chains on turf tires before, but I think these ag tires are better on everything except ice, where chains give better bite.
Rolling rounds behind garden tractor?
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Yeah, I'm really liking these tires. I've used chains on turf tires before, but I think these ag tires are better on everything except ice, where chains give better bite.
Cody
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I was going to add that I only use the chains due to the ice. This last storm was hell to clean out. Hard, blown in 3 foot drifts and ice underneath in areas. You would think that with a 10,000 pound tractor you could get traction with chains, but wasn't the case.
Jack,
Looks like you worked out a pretty good solution. I like a lot of the ideas guys have suggested here and I have tried some of them myself. In case anyone is interested in a similar concept but on a bigger scale, here's what I ended up with. Every year, I need to move 20-30 cords of wood through about 1.5 miles of woods on some trails (I prefer to split it and toss it onto the wood piles at my house). I have an old 50's era Ford 8N Jubilee to pull with. It has chains on chloride filled AG tires. Originally, I was bucking the trees into rounds and then using a Dollie to load them into my landscape trailer. Problem was, it's a marshy, loamy low lying area and after it rained or snowed, the trailer would sink in up to its axles. You only have to load, unload and reload a trailer that is stuck in the mud a time or two before you start to think of alternative ideas. I tried skidding 8' logs with tongs, but they really rut up property and trails pretty quick when it's wet. Next was the 4x8 plywood skid sled, until it wore through from friction. Then came the truck hood from junk yard. Better, but too small and too many trips. Then I tried a big street sign that was at the local recycle yard. With a lip bent into it and the laminated side down; it worked pretty well. But I have big round and they had to be flipped onto their cut edges to stay on- not perfect. So back to the metal recycling scrap yard I went and found the perfect skid sled. You take a good sized 14-20' flat bottomed John boat (fiberglass works, but aluminum is better because it's lighter) and have them cut off/ torch off the stern and cross seats (the guys at the yard did it in about 10 minutes for a case of beer). Then I attached a small chain across the now open stern with carabiners into eye bolts to keep the load from rolling out the back. I roll a bunch of big rounds into it and I'm off. The OEM eyelet on the front for trailering is plenty strong enough. Most times to unload, I can just undo the rear chain and take off with the tractor and the load all rolls right out. If not, they are easily rolled out by hand. One thing: no backing up- lol! Maybe someone will find my suggestion of some use.
Cheers on your tinkering and creation!
Scott
Macman125
libertarian/anarcho-capitalist firewood hack
Wheel weights make all the difference in the world on these small tractor. Also a lot easier on the tranny than putting extra weight on the tractor itself.
JackJ
ArboristSite Member
Yeah, definitely sounds like the same concept, on steroids. Cool stuff. Got any pictures you can share? Unless running it on snow, I'm wondering how long the hull lasts before getting torn up.
I lent my aluminum boat sled to a friend to use for a while at his house behind his four wheeler. I will take a few pics of it when I get it back from him. In the mean time here is a pic of my first try at his concept- a fiberglass boat dinghy. I cut out the front, middle and rear seats with a chainsaw. Not my cleanest work, but it gets the job done. Since getting the larger metal boat to move rounds with, I now use this one mainly to haul the smaller stuff like limbs and split wood, etc. Also, a pic of one of the many batches of 30" rounds that I have easily moved with the metal jon boat.
I forgot to mention that the fiberglass dinghy had a split in the keel all the way down the length of the hull on the bottom side, that's why it was being scrapped Originally. I thought about doing a fiberglass repair to it when I first got it, but I needed to start using it right away so I just used it the way that it was. After years of dragging it around loaded with wood, surprisingly it hasent gotten any worse or worn through. It does collect and push leaves and mud at times though because it's jagged. I may just screw a sheet metal patch onto it at some point so that it slides easier though. From what I can tell so far, the boat hull on the aluminum boat will last forever unless I drag it on pavement. It shows zero signs of wear from lots of miles is the woods.
zogger
Tree Freak
In ye aulden days, they used these things to drag stones out of fields..stone boats..I remember seeing them in maine, although personally never used one. I was more modern and young guy tarded, I would set the tractor on stupid low gear and low throttle, put the bucket low, aim it down the field, jump out, and throw in rocks as it chugged along....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone-boat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone-boat
All of those animals have more horse (oxen) power than my old Ford 8N. And with 4HD (that would be 4 Hoof Drive), I bet they don't get stuck in the mud and bury themselves up to their axles like my tractor does either- lol!
