The wonders of the tube reciever

[treemandan]

Some more interest has inspired another post on this. I tried to start a thread in another forum about things like this but it didn't take.

And I will be right back.

 

[treemandan]

I was always a dream of mine to push my chipper in tight spots, the further the better. I started with a 4x4 chasis and use low loc when backing. I made sure to get a truck with manual hubs which enable you to keep the front hub unlocked while on dry pavement. Sometimes you might think its better to have the hubs locked cause you might be putting all the strain on one axle shaft rather than spreading it out but don't do it. Its fine to lock them off road though I don't need to on lawns and such. Sometime backing up a drive the rear wheels might get damp from the edge of the drive and you have to lock it up.
The receiver for the pintle or ball on this truck was real easy. I couldn't find the frontal shots, it just a receiver for a truck sawed down to fit on the angle iron frame for the plow. It fit right in not interfering with anything and works great.

Now I applied this with a quick attach base plate for the loader, its a small loader, a bigger loader might destroy a receiver like that.

Though the two main things are the forks and bucket

 

[treemandan]

Being the type of guy to have a good enough assortment of steel on hand

Yeah the backcatch is a weight bench

And along with a few other things there is a bumper to a Cj in there.

 

[treemandan]

I looked at a few used plow set ups ( 1500.00 range) before I found one that would work with what I needed. I lucked out, found a plow right around the corner and just happened to have a some thing I could get in there to hold the winch plate.

I don't even know what I am looking at but I can yank the pin and winch and have the plow pump on without any undue hassle.

I got it in there right behind the bumper and hammered the bolts down with a heavy gun then welded it.
After the thing was in there all nice in the middle behind the bumper I took a Dremel to the bumper to make a quick hole to reach the receiver, nothing fancy here.

 

[treemandan]

......be sure to check it for bees first!

Nah, the photo site was acting up. But anyway, the front receiver is from boat yards, I used to tell bosses to put one on the truck but they were worthless pansies and didn't listen and I wouldn't be including you in that TC.
So the one on the Dingo was just natural and works much better and more versitile than whatever multi-tooled attachement device a manufacture could ever offer plus it can be done cheap. I have been beating on this stuff all year round for 5 years. The only thing to bite it was the pick axe which, well I mean, its just a pick axe head on a square tube anyway, you could even flip it over and use both sides. Hell, I have broken enough pick axes not to be to upset over that and I am just glad not to be having to break pick axe handles anymore.
I will tell you what I broke it on and you all will now drop dead in awe. I used it to rip out the concrete , brick and mortar in tree trunk so I could rip through it with my saw and go home. I allready have what I need to make another cause I will be ready next time too.

 

[treemandan]

Ok, no Bees

So if you have a little loader and want some toys to play with grab a base plate and square tube. They sell a power angle plow for it for a few grand... OK, they can just keep that. I made the forks so they would fit in with everything else I had but I can't knock a nice set of 600.00 forks. I don't use fork exntesions on the bucket with this loader becuase it would put the weight to far out in front. And since my chipper is usually right there next to the tree I never sought out the Branch Manager nor wanted to pay for one but I can't knock that either.

Also, if you are going to be pushing a chipper from the front you might want to practice with the crew before going on the job to make sure the switch goes smooth and the least amount of time is lost. Sometimes you experiance negative flux with this kinda stuff and that could screw the pooch if someone ain't playing ball right. Ya know, its hard to go from the thing being on the back of the truck to being on the front for some if you can beleive it.
I pushed mine down a 100 yard semi-circle drive tightly lined with horse fence, they said the last guy drug it all.

 

[treemandan]

Yes, a little practice would be in order for this but I gotta say the difference is grand. More practice in hooking up but driving is so easy you think its sin. First, you are not heating up the clutch feathering it in reverse and that means the clutch ain't crying... and neither is the operator of said clutch.
You go in first time, over a curb, up a grade,beside a house next to a landscape bed and propane tank to the tree. It can be trouble backing in a Top Kick and settling for a spot on the drive can often drop moral. In some situations even 20 feet further make the job go easier so know how to switch it quick so you don't spend 20 minutes getting those 20 feet.

 

[treemandan]

And that's what I tell the boys with smoke stacks in the beds of their trucks. I say," you ain't #### cause you ain't got no front receiver so you back off Sam"

 

[squad143]

One of the best things I added to my truck was a front receiver. Have one on my mini-skid as well.
As Tony the Tiger would say....... "They're Great!!!!!"

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I love the front receiver, it makes it so easy to reposition a chipper in a back yard.

That rake on front looks neat, could you build in a tensioning spring so you could backdrag with it?

 

[treemandan]

One of the best things I added to my truck was a front receiver. Have one on my mini-skid as well.
As Tony the Tiger would say....... "They're Great!!!!!"

I'd love to see some pics and get some ideas. I could have built a better system but I used old parts and tossed it together. I had to beef it up after the first few runs, sure is a lot of mig wire there.
The guy down the road will cut off a section and sell it to me of something in particular with his bandsaw for cheap but he always writes a receipt.
There is also a place outside of Reading Pa in Fleetwood that will sell scrap to the consumer by the pound. All good stuff, I never needed that much to take a truck up there but if you were going to build something and wanted a place to get clean used steel that's a place and you can check your areas for places like this. Odds are if you hit the local scrap yard they will sell to you too and I love a U-Pull it boneyard. Its been years since I loaded up a box and taken a stroll, more like lugging a boat anchor through a rocky swamp with jagged broken cars everywhere but where else can you get a lifetime supply of fuses for free? Actually, I just used up the next to last blinker switch during the summer so maybe when it clears I will head out. I am going to call and ask if I can bring my Dingo ( they will lift a car for you with their loader and put it on stacked tires so you can get something) just to get around, I just hope that freak with the X carved into his forehead isn't there anymore.

 

[pdqdl]

Sorry boys, I just can't see the point##

Not saying it doesn't exist, it's just that I've never seen a location that I couldn't back into## Providing, of course, that it was possible to go in front first, too##

If it is sooo tight that you need front steer only to access that point, then you will surely have just as much trouble backing out with your front mount receiver as you would backing in with a conventional setup##

I have always operated my vehicles with this philosophy: If you can't back it in, then you darn sure better not drive in forwards## I've never been stuck in a spot that I was able to back in to, but I have seen situations that were impossible to back out of##

 

[treemandan]

I love the front receiver, it makes it so easy to reposition a chipper in a back yard.

That rake on front looks neat, could you build in a tensioning spring so you could backdrag with it?

I am just transporting the rake to the job on the truck. Its to heavy to lift on the back, I can manuver it into the receveir pretty quick and if I am only going forward I don't need a pin... unless I hit the brakes real hard. the rake goes on the loader .You have most likely seen what kind of different jobs this little tool can do.

 

[treemandan]

Sorry boys, I just can't see the point##

Not saying it doesn't exist, it's just that I've never seen a location that I couldn't back into## Providing, of course, that it was possible to go in front first, too##

If it is sooo tight that you need front steer only to access that point, then you will surely have just as much trouble backing out with your front mount receiver as you would backing in with a conventional setup##


I have always operated my vehicles with this philosophy: If you can't back it in, then you darn sure better not drive in forwards## I've never been stuck in a spot that I was able to back in to, but I have seen situations that were impossible to back out of##

Push in pull out.
I have always operated my vehicles with this philosphy: Wouldn't it be fun to see how far we can go?

We hook up to push maybe once or twice a year, I used to have a big tool box hanging off of the front but things are tight around here so I ditched it.

 

[Blackdog]

Never tried the front receiver, yet. Having always been an off-roader, it seemed only natural to me to try and get the chipper in the most unusual places. I've had this truck for 13 years and it has amazing capability with a rebuilt 350, TH400, 14-Bolt rear with Detroit Locker, and custom bed. I'm still dreaming of putting a solid 60 or 14 in the front, but I have to say the 10 bolt IFS has done amazing things over the years. I seem to be able to get our BC1500, 7000lbs., just about anywhere.

This was a right-of-way clearing job, maybe only better served with a tracked chipper.

View attachment 167997

 

[treemandan]

Never tried the front receiver, yet. Having always been an off-roader, it seemed only natural to me to try and get the chipper in the most unusual places. I've had this truck for 13 years and it has amazing capability with a rebuilt 350, TH400, 14-Bolt rear with Detroit Locker, and custom bed. I'm still dreaming of putting a solid 60 or 14 in the front, but I have to say the 10 bolt IFS has done amazing things over the years. I seem to be able to get our BC1500, 7000lbs., just about anywhere.

This was a right-of-way clearing job, maybe only better served with a tracked chipper.

View attachment 167997

Nice whip. Yes, since we often take on some diversity with the jobs we do but can we always use a tracked chipper? No, that don't make sense most of the time and til they make a chipper that you can swap the tires for tracks what are you gonna do? That'll cost me and take more time anyway.
And I will be honest, I am not that great of a backer so if it looks hairy I know I have a crutch AND I feel much better knowing I can and will go further than most AND half the guys out there are terrified of big brush piles and I know why.

 

[treemandan]

I was always scrounging for room in this truck so I bolted a bumper hitch up front there and put on one of those cargo platforms. With this truck I found that to get to some places I needed the weight of the motor to keep the chipper from pushing back and I have unstuck a couple of Top Kicks with this. Sure have, ask the guy waxing it. Hell, anytime anybody went to dump I would get a call and one time I pulled a tree truck AND and 250xp up a slippery slope to the brush pile.

 

[treemandan]

And I love ya PD, I hope this ain't no case of an guy not wanting to get his Arborwear dirty ( I know its not) but we are going in! YEEFNHAA and we're gonna get dirty. No, we ain't going break nothing and I will get pissed if anybody tries.

 

[tree MDS]

View attachment 168007

Works for me. Was better with the little 200+ though.

 

[treemandan]

View attachment 168007

Works for me. Was better with the little 200+ though.

Should change the topic to " what are you using to get your chipper in"... working is the street ( or even close to it) is soooo droll. The Dingo won't handle the 4500 lb chipper on slippery surfaces though it has pulled it up steep dry drives. If you turn to much you only have one tread making power though and that won't work.