Trailer for 60 hp tractor

[Ashful]

The trouble is that tractors of sufficient size to handle a really useful grapple are generally over $50k, with loader and grapple included. I see people put grapples on little JD 2-series and Kubota LX_10's, but they're of very limited utility, lacking the capacity to really safely lift and transport logs. Heck, even my 3-series with the 320R loader pretty quickly hits its limit when lifting logs.



The owner has a machine of a nice size, but getting that in 4wd with a loader, or something new enough to still buy a loader for it, is not going to be cheap. Skidding logs, either just using the 3-point or with a log arch, is going to be the preferred method of transport, for this machine. I used to do a lot of that with an old Ford 3000.

 

[Rusty18]

Agreed
I doubled my $$ to go from 2wd to 4wd with a loader and lost 20 hp. I had enough other work to justify the investment though.

 

[Newbie78]

Eureka! Log arch! That would be perfect for staging logs out of the bush.

 

[farmer]

I’m going to wait and see what I find used this winter. I don’t make too much firewood when it’s cold out. I do have a chance to by a farmi winch but I would think with no loader on the tractor I wouldn’t be able to pull to big of a log out of the woods. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[Ashful]

I would think with no loader on the tractor I wouldn’t be able to pull to big of a log out of the woods. Thanks for all the ideas.

Pulling is exactly how I move my biggest logs. I have processed oak trees up to 49" diameter, and literally countless oaks and ash over 40" diameter, and skidding them with a choker chain behind the Ford 3000 or Deere 3033R is exactly how I move them. I use a solid drawbar between the lower links of the 3-point to hook the chain to the tractor, so the log effectively adds downforce to the rear wheels. I usually cut all of my logs at 15 feet lengths, but since some of those can be over 5000 lb. (big oaks), I will cut shorties when needed for pulling with the tractors.

Be aware that raising the 3-point can generate a wheelie situation, even a complete walk-over if you raise the thing high enough, so do mind that. This can be managed either by choking the log such that it resides under the 3-point drawbar (as a redneck wheelie bar) or just leaving 3-point low enough that walk-over is impossible (but then you lose the downforce advantage). With a machine as large as yours, you might even be fine using the drawbar instead of the 3-point, which is infinitely safe but very limiting when hooking to taller objects that tend to lift the rear tires when pulling.