small 4wd firewood tractors

[milkie62]

Nice tractor those JD 700 series. But leaning a little bit more HD. I was going to get one as my lawn mower but ended up with a zero turn.

 

[Huskybill]

I purchased a stripped ‘55 Willy’s Jeep with a 4 fly f head. Boxed the frame with 3/8” plate front to the back of the seat, tripped the frame to the rear. She has ship n car steel channel bumpers. Added two locking diffs. She’s not done yet I want to put four ag 8.3-24” tractor tires, swamp buggy? About 25 years ago I went looking for a snowblower and came home with this Willy’s.

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[SS396driver]

One of my best investments . Fred likes it too

 

[Huskybill]

Of I had it to do over with the Willy jeep is build a one ton drive train into a skidder/ tractor. Get the 11,000 lb rear.

 

[milkman]

View attachment 770346 View attachment 770347 This one works well for me and it's been tuff.

It does a good job plowing too, starts about 7:00.

 

[Huskybill]

I had a Polaris 400L 4x4 that couldn’t push snow very well even with rear chains. Sold it and bought my Willy’s Jeep with a plow.

 

[cedarhollow]

i have a yanmar 1500d that i'm in process of restoring for just the tasks you bring up.
i got rear axle extensions to make it more stable and have about 5 more hours of work left to go to get it in operating condition, super small tractor with gear ratios to give it quite a bit of pulling power with only a 15hp diesel engine,

 

[Big_Eddy]

I have a Deere 855 (similar in size to 790, but hydro) and an old AMT626 (Gator)
If I'm collecting logs or firewood close to the main trails I take the tractor and my wood trailer (5'x7' dump)
If I'm going off trail or more remote, I usually take the AMT instead. AMT is actually wider than the tractor bucket but less prone to rutting and more maneuverable. I usually have the 4'x4' bed stacked pretty high coming out - and it never complains. (Although it does tend to deposit a few chunks of wood on the trail along the way home - but that's my fault)

The tractor with 4wd gets stuck MUCH MORE OFTEN than the AMT. Very rare I need to press the diff-lock

 

[dancan]

Compact tractor rock !

 

[dave_dj1]

Compact tractor rock !

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Nice set up! Did you buy or build the trailer? I want one but with hydraulics.

 

[dancan]

I built it .
I'll put up a few pics later .

 

[dancan]

Here's some pics



The hitch setup and axle beam have been changed over time but still works fine .
When I build my next one it'll be a little bigger .

 

[sirbuildalot]

Looks like a simple yet effective walking beam design!

Do you have different beds that you install on it?

 

[dancan]

Never got around to making any beds or boxes , it would be easy to do .
We've got a free beater trailer to haul rounds .

 

[rarefish383]

About as small as you can get and be 4wd - JD x728. It has 3ph, though I usually pull a small cart. Has a small grapple on the front. Build a log arch for the back. We (pup and I) operate a micro footprint firewood operation, moving 12-16 cord a year from the woods behind the house. No roads cut, just meander among the trees to the individual dead Red Oaks we harvest.

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Wow, Jere. You beat me. I have a JD X540 with a trailer like yours. I'ts great in the woods. I've used my BIL's 18 horse JD BX and it's nice, I do like the loader. My buddy had some renters move out and left a 25 HP Nor Trak loader and I think it will out work the BX. The BX with the bucket full of oak will start to lift the rear wheels, and I don't like to use counter balance's on tractors that small. My buddy with the Nor-Trak is moving to Fla as soon as his 3 rental properties are sold. The second house sold last Wednesday. Now all he has is the 3.5 acre building lot. He uses it to mow the field. i told him not to let the tractor go with the lot, I would buy it from him. He said don't worry, since the renters gave it to him, he was going to give it to me when he moves. I'm just not sure if he means he's going to "Give" it to me, or give it to me for what I offered him?

 

[rarefish383]

I have a Deere 855 (similar in size to 790, but hydro) and an old AMT626 (Gator)
If I'm collecting logs or firewood close to the main trails I take the tractor and my wood trailer (5'x7' dump)
If I'm going off trail or more remote, I usually take the AMT instead. AMT is actually wider than the tractor bucket but less prone to rutting and more maneuverable. I usually have the 4'x4' bed stacked pretty high coming out - and it never complains. (Although it does tend to deposit a few chunks of wood on the trail along the way home - but that's my fault)

The tractor with 4wd gets stuck MUCH MORE OFTEN than the AMT. Very rare I need to press the diff-lock

I have one of the old AMT 600 5 wheel Gators, no engine. I was going to cut the front end off and put a hitch on it to make a matching dump trailer for my X540. I was thinking about running a jack shaft off the PTO to drive the Gator wheels if I got stuck in the woods. Give a little push when needed.

 

[fields_mj]

Need something to wiggle in tighter areas of my woods to cut firewood. This way I do not have to cut a bunch of little roads. Will have a 3 pt hitch carrier on the back to carry equipment in and then carry blocked up wood out. Something in the 1520-1720 New Holland size. Maybe 75 cubic inch or so. No FEL needed since I have one on my Kubota M6800. Throw some model numbers at me. Also have seen JD 790.

Exactly how do you plan on using the tractor? Are you going to skid logs out or cut on sight and carry out with the tractor? Depending on how you want to use it, and what else you want it to do, you may be able to go even smaller than you planned. I'd probably shop around for an older Yanmar. Try to find one that Fredricks still sells. Then you know you'll be able to get parts for it when you need them. I would take a look at Fredricks website to get an idea on the upper end of the prices. I would think that you should be able to find those models in used condition (vs freshly rebuilt) for a little less. Push comes to shove, you know you can get one from Fredricks at the drop of a hat.

I use a Ford 1710. Mine was originally 4wd, but the 4wd doesn't work. Mine has a FEL on it which does add a lot of length. I use mine to skid logs out of the woods so I can load them on a trailer later using a winch. I've found that even with only 2wd, I can skid logs that are well over 1,000 lbs. Some have been heavy enough that I was afraid that I was going to damage the gear teeth. I don't push it that hard any more. I don't own any property, so I have to transport my firewood some distance to get it home. I also use the tractor to move the logs around once I have them home. I added a bolt on tooth bar to the FEL. It uses replaceable teeth. I've learned that it's actually not a very good addition for digging, but I welded a weld-on hay bail spear receiver to two of the teeth, and 32" bail spears. So now I have removable forks on the front that are useful for moving individual logs (or a couple if they are small enough).

A local friend of mine has a 25hp 2wd Satoh that he bought used in the early '80s. He's been using it for firewood chores ever since. He built forks for the rear, and welded up some frames that he could stack approx 1,000 lbs of wood on. He cuts on his own property, and uses the 3pt on his tractor to transport it back to the house.

4wd is really nice if you are dealing with hills, but not absolutely needed. AG tires are highly recommended. Make sure you buy the tractor with ag tires already on it. I didn't realize that turf rims and ag rims are different. Switching to AG tires on my 1710 cost me $700, and that only got me the rims with a pair of old, worn out, cracked AG tires on them. One went out on me this summer and has since been replaced. The other will likely go in the next year or two.

 

[Big_Eddy]

I have one of the old AMT 600 5 wheel Gators, no engine. I was going to cut the front end off and put a hitch on it to make a matching dump trailer for my X540. I was thinking about running a jack shaft off the PTO to drive the Gator wheels if I got stuck in the woods. Give a little push when needed.

The engine was blown on ours. I replaced the failed 8hp Kawasaki engine with a 13HP Honda clone. Had to fabricate an intake and exhaust manifold and add an electric fuel pump, but the transplant was pretty straight forward. The cheap replacement engine has been trouble free and impressive.

I love our AMT. It's excellent for firewood collection. Goes anywhere, seems immune to getting stuck in mud or light snow, and carries a heck of a load. My current firewood process is to block up logs where they fall, back the AMT right to the blocks for loading, drive home, then slide blocks straight from the bed onto the splitter. The splitter outlet is set such that I can pick splits off the wedge and place them directly onto the woodshed log pile.

Our AMT gets a ton of use each spring during maple syrup season. 100 Gal tank fits in the bed and the gator easily handles it, even full.

 

[rarefish383]

I

The engine was blown on ours. I replaced the failed 8hp Kawasaki engine with a 13HP Honda clone. Had to fabricate an intake and exhaust manifold and add an electric fuel pump, but the transplant was pretty straight forward. The cheap replacement engine has been trouble free and impressive.

I love our AMT. It's excellent for firewood collection. Goes anywhere, seems immune to getting stuck in mud or light snow, and carries a heck of a load. My current firewood process is to block up logs where they fall, back the AMT right to the blocks for loading, drive home, then slide blocks straight from the bed onto the splitter. The splitter outlet is set such that I can pick splits off the wedge and place them directly onto the woodshed log pile.
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Our AMT gets a ton of use each spring during maple syrup season. 100 Gal tank fits in the bed and the gator easily handles it, even full.

I bought mine about 10 years ago for $75. It's missing the front fiberglass with the headlights, seats, engine, and the front pulley/ torque converter. I used to think about getting it running, but I could find one complete if I looked. I have a Massey Ferguson 135 tractor. My fishing buddy is getting ready to move to Florida and offered me his 25 horse diesel 4X4 front end loader, and my JD X540. I was thinking it would be easy to make a trailer out of it to match the 540. They are cool machines.

 

[Marley5]

We have full size farm tractors but this is much more effective making it's way through the woods.