Winchs

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brickman

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Dec 31, 2008
41
west central ohio
Here in ohio, this year we have had alot of strong winds with our storms. Had to go back to the woods to see if anything came down. There is about ten trees that are either on the ground or hung up leaning. Im thinking of trying to winch the hang ups down from their base, and use a winch to do this. I have an olde ford tractor that i take to the woods for hauling, would like to hook it up to that. Has anyone ever done this before, would it work, and if so what size winch would be best? Thanks
 
I would just use the tractor if its big enough. If not 3500-4500 lb should do the trick.
 
I have a 4 ton winch on my old Ford. The tractor just slid before I mounted it on the bucket and used the bucket to counter the weight of the load.
 
Usally not enough room in the woods to just use the tractor, and drag it down, and tractor is just a 36 hp. As for the tractor just dragging, was thinking of making a 3 point mount with some type of ground spikes to keep that from happening. Wow 4 ton, hoping i could use a little less, like around 4000 lb
 
It depends on what you expect to get done with it. This is my test run. It pulls stuff like that up a bank but much more weight and it gets hot real fast.
 

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It really depends on what it is hung up on and how big the tree is. My winch stops if the tree hits anything solid. I keep the 6' steel bar with me any time I am using it.
 
It depends an awful lot on how big the tree is. I have pulled a few down by first cutting the tree free of its stump, then dragging it with my Deere 755. With loader and ballast, it probably is a little under 3000 lbs, but the 4wd and hydro trans gets the job done.
 
An "old Ford" with 36 HP is a pretty big old ford. They used to build them heavier and rate them lower. My modern 30 HP tractor weighs 4500 lbs without loaded tires. Before messing iwth an electric winch on a tractor that doesn't have an electrical system capable of much winching I would be getting a cable and snatch block setup to use the tractor's 35 HP and momentum to pull those trees down.

Electric winches are not generally a good idea on a tractor.
 
My old ford is a 1964 ford 2000. Im not sure of the weight. I have tried to pull down a hung up tree, that i cut down (come on it happens) and the problem i had was getting a straight pull, and enough room to drive. Ended up hooking up high and pulling top free. Dont have snach blocks, but bet it would help alot. I agree about tree size, but none of the ones i saw are real big, maybe 14" to 16" across. Guess just thought a winch would be easier, maybe not, and your right about the wiring on the old ford not really set up for that.
 
Is it diesel or gas? I have a group 27 battery in mine and don't have a problem but it is a diesel so not sure how much I really drain it.
 
It's not the engine. It could run on weasle piss. The problem is the alternator/generator not being able to recharge the battery after the winching event. It's probably something very small like 20-30 amps. With little wires connecting it to the battery.

There is a winch for a tractor. It is a pto winch, the brand is farmi, it is not cheap though but is made for logging. The winch will pull cable all day and then is used to skid logs out of the woods. There are also hydraulic winches if your old ford has hydraulics. Again, the hydros are not cheap like the electrics.
 
It is rare that I have to resort to a winch or tractor to get a tree down. Usually I much prefer to do it with the saw but you are advised that if you have not done this before it can be very dangerous. Please keep that in mind before you go sawing down a leaner.
 
Highbeam,
I have seen the pto driven winches, they are nice, but very expensive. Really couldn't justify one with the little bit of wood i cut a year. Around 6 to 8 cords. My tractor has been converted to the 12 volt system, and alternator. Don't know the amps.


Backwoods,
I would first like to say, i have read alot of your posts, and am a big fan. I agree with your post 100%, i am not that experienced, and don't feel comfortable cutting down a hung up tree. I have done it on smaller stuff, but need more practice. Till then just looking for other ways beside the old come along.
 
Wise to go with the come-a-long Brickman.

I had typed some instructions for cutting the leaners but decided to delete that as it is just something that can't be learned by reading words. We don't need any more accidents out there.
 
just send the wench out to the woods with the come along...................

oops misread the title

you said winch
 
And don't feel bad, we've all cut trees down that ended up hung up in other trees. Sometimes you can avoid it but other times you can pretty well predict it will happen.

I've had good luck using the loader bucket of the tractor to push down or over on the hung up tree near the stump.Do you have a loader?
 
Wish I did, but nope, no loader. Thanks for the advice Backwoods, understand about the instructions. i think I know how to do it, have watched some very good vids from the forestry dept. Just need more experience doing it on the smaller ones to build confidence. I think i will try using the tractor and some snatch blocks. If it doesnt work, I'll go back to the come-a-long. Thanks all
 
Highbeam said:
It's not the engine. It could run on weasle piss.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but you can kill the battery on the diesel and the tractor keeps running.
 
Very true on old diesel machines with the stop knob. Be careful with new ones, my current diesel with a regular style key ignition uses a fuel cutoff solenoid. Without power, the fuel solenoid cuts fuel to the engine. It's a common reason for these modern engines to fail to start.

I've also driven a gas engine to death when an alternator died and eventually there's not enough battery power to make a spark. That's hard on batteries. Good point solar.
 
I know Zap has used his winch quite a bit to take down leaners, best to get the line up high. Throw an object with a small line on it at the desired point then attach a bigger rope and pull up and over and knot, then attach winch or come-a-long to rope. I have done this with just a come-a-long with good success. I have a Bobcat and have pushed many hung up trees down. I have also attached a chain to the bucket (in your case use your 3 point hitch if you have one) and to the stump end of the tree, and lift the tree a foot in the air and then slowy drive in the opposite direction.
 
Never really thought about using the 3 point to lift and then pull. Makes sense that it should work, but not really comfortable being that close to the tree when it falls. May have to try it aleast to see if it works.
 
brickman said:
Makes sense that it should work, but not really comfortable being that close to the tree when it falls. May have to try it aleast to see if it works.
Click to expand...

Me either and a lot of people die doing this stuff. Be safe.
 
Highbeam said:
I've also driven a gas engine to death when an alternator died and eventually there's not enough battery power to make a spark. That's hard on batteries. Good point solar.
Click to expand...

Yep, that sucks. Especially when you are in the middle of the woods. Makes a pto winch look like a real good option.
 
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