School me on firewood tractors

[dave_dj1]

View attachment 622197

That was a bad day I thought I was going to rip my f150 in half winching it out. 4wd would have gotten me out of that situation quick and easy. That's in my back yard about 50 feet from my house if it were in the woods in the side of my house it would still be sitting there.

The thing I have learned in these situations is don't make it worse. Don't sit there and spin the tires until the rear axle is dragging. Know when to say when. I think four wheel drive would have just meant you had two axles buried in that situation. They are after all, heavier and if the fronts spin, there you are Happy New Year and happy cuttin'

 

[dave_dj1]

I keep my eye out for stuff like that pretty much every week. There's deals to be had, but only if you're willing to make some compromises. Around here there's some real nice old Fords. 3910, 3930, 4610 etc, but a 4wd one with a loader pretty much starts at $8000, and that's gonna have 6000 hours or more on it.

You want a really nice one, here's a good example:View attachment 622193


I'm not saying you can't find something good out there, but if you want a 4wd diesel tractor with a loader for 5k, it's gonna be in rough shape or a Russian or Chinese build. Personally, at that price point I'd be looking for something like a Massey 135 and a three point forklift. Not just forks, but a whole three point mast. That'd be a good machine that's pretty safe and reliable.

For 20 grand you can get a brand new Kubota, it's sold as a 25 hp but it was de rated to fall under the emissions crap, it's last years 30 hp. I can't remember what model but my buddy has one and it's a great little tractor, plenty of power for most things we do. And it came with a 24 month warranty. I think the warranty is even longer now.

 

[Mustang71]

The thing I have learned in these situations is don't make it worse. Don't sit there and spin the tires until the rear axle is dragging. Know when to say when. I think four wheel drive would have just meant you had two axles buried in that situation. They are after all, heavier and if the fronts spin, there you are Happy New Year and happy cuttin'

I got the front wheels stuck and couldn't back out so I drove forward instead. I could have backed out with 4wd. The ground was to soft to push myself out with the loader.

 

[JeffHK454]

The thing I have learned in these situations is don't make it worse. Don't sit there and spin the tires until the rear axle is dragging. Know when to say when. I think four wheel drive would have just meant you had two axles buried in that situation. They are after all, heavier and if the fronts spin, there you are Happy New Year and happy cuttin'

This post hits home..spent a couple hours stuck yesterday after sliding my tractor off the trail and into a creek..more I worked to free it the farther I slid downstream. I had to swallow my pride and get my sons , two 30' straps and a truck with a winch to drag me out.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

For 20 grand you can get a brand new Kubota, it's sold as a 25 hp but it was de rated to fall under the emissions crap, it's last years 30 hp. I can't remember what model but my buddy has one and it's a great little tractor, plenty of power for most things we do. And it came with a 24 month warranty. I think the warranty is even longer now.

Yeah, that was kinda my point. Obviously it'd be a smaller tractor, but it'd be HST, with a warranty, and bought at 0% interest. The model your referring to is an L2501. I actually already recommended them earlier in this thread. It's got the same motor as the old L3400, and all reports are that it hits way above it's 25 HP rating.

 

[Knobby57]

I have a 60’s something 275b IH . I think it’s 38hp diesel . No power steering but with no front loader it’s not hard to turn . But it does have live hydrolocs , that’s a must !! . High and low range . Fluid filled rear tires and locking rear Axle . Very hard to get stuck . Class 2 3pnt hitch is nice also . I converted it over to new style glow plugs and it now fires up on 10-15 seconds on the glow plugs . I’ve started it as low as 10 deg without much issue . The battery has been toast for the last 2 years but will fire up easy with a jump box after sitting 6 months . A carry all on the hitch or pulling a trailer it does super well and is very stable going though the woods . Parts are not hard to come by . And it sips fuel . That said my dad has a b21 kabota and it’s just to small to drag things and go though the woods is unstable . A quad would be much better than the b21 . Take your time and look for something that will work for you and upgrade when you can . Don’t look past the older tractors . They are proven and simple . New tractors are expensive to fix . I’m in Nepa if you want to come up and try some tractors too see what you want

 

[Ryan'smilling]

View attachment 622324 I have a 60’s something 275b IH . I think it’s 38hp diesel . No power steering but with no front loader it’s not hard to turn . But it does have live hydrolocs , that’s a must !! . High and low range . Fluid filled rear tires and locking rear Axle . Very hard to get stuck . Class 2 3pnt hitch is nice also . I converted it over to new style glow plugs and it now fires up on 10-15 seconds on the glow plugs . I’ve started it as low as 10 deg without much issue . The battery has been toast for the last 2 years but will fire up easy with a jump box after sitting 6 months . A carry all on the hitch or pulling a trailer it does super well and is very stable going though the woods . Parts are not hard to come by . And it sips fuel . That said my dad has a b21 kabota and it’s just to small to drag things and go though the woods is unstable . A quad would be much better than the b21 . Take your time and look for something that will work for you and upgrade when you can . Don’t look past the older tractors . They are proven and simple . New tractors are expensive to fix . I’m in Nepa if you want to come up and try some tractors too see what you want

Something like that with a skidding winch and a three point forklift would be an EXCELLENT firewood tractor!

 

[Knobby57]

Something like that with a skidding winch and a three point forklift would be an EXCELLENT firewood tractor!

That one is a m6950 it’s a 70hp . It a beast . A bit big to go tromping through the woods

 

[dancan]

If you're handy with a wrench there are deals if you're patient .
MF1020 , came with a loader but had a broken front spindle , 1600$.
500$ in used parts , 600$ for 2 new cv joints and presto , a firewood tractor .

The used 800$ logging winch and the home built trailer sure make it a more efficient package but will work with other tractors .
Here's an L285 , I bought it for 2500$ , it came with a new 48" snowblower , a woods trailer and a large aerator , I planned on keeping the gear and selling the tractor but since it starts nice and works well it's stayin put .

 

[Ryan'smilling]

That one is a m6950 it’s a 70hp . It a beast . A bit big to go tromping through the woods

Yeah, gotta stick to the trails in something that size. Put a winch on it though, and you can reach a long ways into the woods without having to bulldoze a trail.

 

[300zx_tt]

The main use for this tractor would be to move slabs around the yard, stack them, load them when sold, orient the logs to be milled, loading a solar kiln, that sort of stuff. Secondary use would be for firewood, my firewood situation is unique. I've hooked up with guys that have small lots of trees taken down, most is truck accessible. Next summer/fall ill be working with a buddy that is having 15 acres clear cut. He's basically giving me whatever I want out of there so The tractor would be used on that job for skidding logs and such. I haven't needed to skid logs in the past which is why I was generally wanting the front end loader.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

The main use for this tractor would be to move slabs around the yard, stack them, load them when sold, orient the logs to be milled, loading a solar kiln, that sort of stuff. Secondary use would be for firewood, my firewood situation is unique. I've hooked up with guys that have small lots of trees taken down, most is truck accessible. Next summer/fall ill be working with a buddy that is having 15 acres clear cut. He's basically giving me whatever I want out of there so The tractor would be used on that job for skidding logs and such. I haven't needed to skid logs in the past which is why I was generally wanting the front end loader.

A front end loader, especially something on an smaller old 2wd tractor has no place skidding logs. I suppose it'll help keep some weight on the front end, but if you've got a $5000 budget and want to skid logs, spend $2500 on a Norse winch from Labonville and $2500 on a 2wd tractor of your choice. Then add a three point mast when you can find one.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

From here the the so called tractors look utterly utterly useless. Then we do thing differently then many other parts of the US and the world. In California there is no flat and when it snows we are buried. I have about 2,000 acres that I have been working on for the last five years with hundreds of logs to move as fast as possible. I started out with a IH crawler with a four in one bucket that nearly got me killed several times. I was in the practice of chaining two or three logs together and then dragging them down the hills to my dump truck. The problem is when you have no dirt the tracks do not have much traction. Try sliding down a hill going 25 miles a hour with 25,000 lbs of logs pushing you and thinking sooner or later these tracks have got to grab onto something. Then I got my 4X4 pickup out with trailers and my trusty Bobcat out. Nothing I have ever seen even comes close to moving wood like a skid steer. However wheel tractors probably pull little trailers around just fine through the woods. Thanks

 

[artbaldoni]

^^^ What he said! ^^^
But I know ya gotta do it the way you can afford. An old farm tractor with a trailer is better than a wheelbarrow!!

 

[300zx_tt]

^^^ What he said! ^^^
But I know ya gotta do it the way you can afford. An old farm tractor with a trailer is better than a wheelbarrow!!

I'd love a skid steer but there's no chance I could swing that right now... I wish I could.

I found a ford 1910 with loader on it for $3400. No pics though. Only an hour ride so I think I'm gonna go check it out sometime this week. Sounds like an older guy

 

[Knobby57]

Skid steer with a root grapple is the best !!!!!! But it sucks when the track loader has a broken fuel line and the skid steer is stuck in the mud behind it . Thank god for extra machine for backup

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Save/hide the 2 grand, you will need it for the divorce! lol

OR, better yet, don't get married and you will soon have enough money for a decent tractor with MFWD and a loader!

SR

 

[dancan]

Rob , I think dowry is a better option lol

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I'd love a skid steer but there's no chance I could swing that right now... I wish I could.

I found a ford 1910 with loader on it for $3400. No pics though. Only an hour ride so I think I'm gonna go check it out sometime this week. Sounds like an older guy

If it's 4wd, that'd be a sweet rig.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

In my opinion the Ford 1910 is as well made as anything. They are very versatile so there is no end to what can be dreamed about them doing. They are not heavy so you can just drive them into the back of your truck and go. I think that they can only lift a ton, but you do not have to lift the whole log just one end.
Up until a few years ago you could buy skid steers that were $80,000 or even $90,000 new for as little as $2,000 to $5,000. There were just hundreds of them here. I still have my Bobcat, but there is not as much work for it as there used to be. Thanks