You guys are working much larger operations than my little one man firewood operation. But, I've been amazed what a home made log arch can do to assist moving logs with a 4WD garden tractor.
skidding logs with a tractor? or?
- Thread starter oifla
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$26k with loader, 3rd function, mower deck, rear remote, and back hoe. 6-7 month wait when I priced one out at messicks. Glad I found my b7510...
I can already haul logs bigger than my M5 Logosol mill capacity.
Sawyer Rob
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I skid quite a few logs, here's one of them,
Some big, some small, all depends on IF they are going to my BSM or my woodstove.
SR
Some big, some small, all depends on IF they are going to my BSM or my woodstove.
SR
I took quotes from the 3 closest dealers and they came in within $100 of one another. We went with the the nearest dealer and they delivered the day after I accepted the bid.
I spent almost 2 years looking for a decent used L-series Kubota and finally gave up. My TYM was $31,000 with loader and bucket, 3rd function kit, a grapple and 1 set of rear remotes.
"The manly rifle is not a requirement in the woods out here."
Nothing manly about that rifle. My wife owns one as do I. Just wait. I think you might be needing one before it's all said and done. In the woods out there. jmho
OT
And now, we know the rest of the story. I have a JD 5303 2 wheel drive with 800# weight box on the back and it's not quite enough. The big problem is that it's only 2 wheel drive. I can handle the small stuff but big logs cause loss of traction. I'll add more rear weight eventually.
OTI live near Brazil, IN, and work in Spencer (in Owen Co). The grade on some of the terrain in Owen Co will rival anything in Tennessee.
I think a lot of it depends on how big the logs are, and how far you need to drag them. I use an old Ford 1710, but I'm working on mainly flat ground. Using a tractor to haul wood out of a ravine is tricky business. Something to keep in mind is that Ag tires don't have much traction, and you can get stuck trying to back up a hill to the point that your bucket can't pull you out (ask me how I know).
While I wouldn't dream of dealing with logs and trees without a loader, I'm not sure that I'd be brave enough to use it on unlevel ground. I normally skid stuff. I think going up hill, skidding will be safer because the log is pulling straight back on you rather than potentially trying to tip you sideways if the log isn't well balanced in your loader or if you're not going straight up hill. I'll take some pics of what I made for the back of my tractor to skid with. Again, not sure it would work for you or not, but it works fine for me (on mostly flat ground). As far as what tractor to use, get the biggest thing you can afford. Weight is your friend. FWIW, between Terre Haute and Brazil, there's a tracked skid steer that's been for sale for at least a few months. No idea what they want for it, but it would be a much better option for dealing with hills than a tractor would be (and you could sell it when you're done). I think it just has a bucket on it, so you'd probably want to add a grapple.
Depending on how far you need to move them to get on level ground, I've skidded trees out of ravines using 5/16" G70 log chains (from HF) and my truck. Basically limb the tree, drag out MOST of what I can reach with the chains, put them in the truck bed for weight, then tie off to what's left and pull it up in 4 low (this was with a '93 F250 diesel with a 5spd manual). Some times it would take a few yanks to free it up and get it moving, but I was able to get some 24" trees out of some pretty nasty ravines doing this.
I think a lot of it depends on how big the logs are, and how far you need to drag them. I use an old Ford 1710, but I'm working on mainly flat ground. Using a tractor to haul wood out of a ravine is tricky business. Something to keep in mind is that Ag tires don't have much traction, and you can get stuck trying to back up a hill to the point that your bucket can't pull you out (ask me how I know).
While I wouldn't dream of dealing with logs and trees without a loader, I'm not sure that I'd be brave enough to use it on unlevel ground. I normally skid stuff. I think going up hill, skidding will be safer because the log is pulling straight back on you rather than potentially trying to tip you sideways if the log isn't well balanced in your loader or if you're not going straight up hill. I'll take some pics of what I made for the back of my tractor to skid with. Again, not sure it would work for you or not, but it works fine for me (on mostly flat ground). As far as what tractor to use, get the biggest thing you can afford. Weight is your friend. FWIW, between Terre Haute and Brazil, there's a tracked skid steer that's been for sale for at least a few months. No idea what they want for it, but it would be a much better option for dealing with hills than a tractor would be (and you could sell it when you're done). I think it just has a bucket on it, so you'd probably want to add a grapple.
Depending on how far you need to move them to get on level ground, I've skidded trees out of ravines using 5/16" G70 log chains (from HF) and my truck. Basically limb the tree, drag out MOST of what I can reach with the chains, put them in the truck bed for weight, then tie off to what's left and pull it up in 4 low (this was with a '93 F250 diesel with a 5spd manual). Some times it would take a few yanks to free it up and get it moving, but I was able to get some 24" trees out of some pretty nasty ravines doing this.
The interesting part of using a skid steer on uneven terrain is that it would actually be really easy to roll it over to one side.
I have done some fun wheelies going forwards with too much weight on the forks. It would be fairly easy (but insane) to do a back flip that you could not stop... (yikes!)
The skid steer has the ability off road that is way past common sense.
One thought, years ago, was to build a "mini skidder". Same basic concept of like a John Deere 540, but about 1/2 the size.
The reality is that I really don't do enough to justify the time and expense of creating it. Still was a thought tho!
I have done some fun wheelies going forwards with too much weight on the forks. It would be fairly easy (but insane) to do a back flip that you could not stop... (yikes!)
The skid steer has the ability off road that is way past common sense.
One thought, years ago, was to build a "mini skidder". Same basic concept of like a John Deere 540, but about 1/2 the size.
The reality is that I really don't do enough to justify the time and expense of creating it. Still was a thought tho!
Totally agree. That said, when you got to the bottom of the hill and came to a stop, so long as you're not in water and were strapped in, YOU will be able to walk away. The machine.... that might be another story.
I volunteer some on a disaster relieve crew. A few years ago when the big tornado went through Mayfield KY, we were doing clean up on the banks of Kentucky lake. A tractor and loader would have been utterly useless there. We had 3 minis with thumbs that were able to pass logs about 100 ft up the bank in a daisy chain. Of course they had to cut a semi-level path down there first, which they did with their blades in about 45 minutes. Once the log made it up that far, the skid steers were able to take them the rest of the way. Way more stable and way more capable than a tractor, but you're right. The added capability also means that the operator can get themselves in a lot more trouble if they aren't careful. I think that's the case with EVERYTHING related to dealing with timber in pretty much any situation. To heck with a pound of cure, give me a pound of prevention!
