CountyLine 3pt Fence Stretcher
- Thread starter Kapnfriday
- Start date
I have a related question and thought I'd ask it here. I'm installing 8 foot woven wire fence.
The instructions I've read say, "With the use of a tractor and front end loader, the wire is unrolled along the length of the fence-line. It is temporarily tacked into place as it is unrolled."
That confuses me. If you "tack" the wire to each line post with say 1 or 2 loose staples, what happens when you stretch the fence tight? Aren't the vertical stay wires going to hit the staples and stop the fence from tightening or potentially pull the line posts out of plumb?
The instructions I've read say, "With the use of a tractor and front end loader, the wire is unrolled along the length of the fence-line. It is temporarily tacked into place as it is unrolled."
That confuses me. If you "tack" the wire to each line post with say 1 or 2 loose staples, what happens when you stretch the fence tight? Aren't the vertical stay wires going to hit the staples and stop the fence from tightening or potentially pull the line posts out of plumb?
OP
Kapnfriday
Bronze Member
That is a bit confusing. But here's a thought: If you're planning to stretch the fence with 2 come-alongs (3 is probably better with 8' fencing) you may need to tack your fence up to a couple posts to keep it from flopping over while you're trying to attach your stretcher bar and come-alongs. Once you get enough tension on the fence with the come-alongs so that it stands up (or close to it) on its own then you could remove the temporary staples and stretch it tight.
As others on here have stated I found that I got a much better stretch on 4' fencing using two come-alongs instead of trying to do it with a chain wrapped around the FEL.
Good luck with that 8' fencing - I can see that being a challenge.
As others on here have stated I found that I got a much better stretch on 4' fencing using two come-alongs instead of trying to do it with a chain wrapped around the FEL.
Good luck with that 8' fencing - I can see that being a challenge.
OP
Kapnfriday
Bronze Member
Just to follow up on this thread. I finally finished the fencing project a couple months ago. I ended up not using a 3-point fence unroller/stretcher. With the amount of woods on our property I wouldn't have been able to use the tractor anyway - too many trees.
Now that the fence is "finished" the inevitable has already happened. Laying in bed last Sunday, almost asleep, my wife and I heard a big crash in the woods. Yep, a big pine fell right across our new fence. We'll have to splice in a new 50-60' section and stretch it to the nearest corner. It sucks, but with a fence running through woods there's no way to keep trees from falling on it from time to time. I figure replacing wire fencing is a lot cheaper than replacing wood or PVC fencing.
Now that the fence is "finished" the inevitable has already happened. Laying in bed last Sunday, almost asleep, my wife and I heard a big crash in the woods. Yep, a big pine fell right across our new fence. We'll have to splice in a new 50-60' section and stretch it to the nearest corner. It sucks, but with a fence running through woods there's no way to keep trees from falling on it from time to time. I figure replacing wire fencing is a lot cheaper than replacing wood or PVC fencing.
I'm planning to use three of the two inch wide heavy duty ratchet straps with the fence sandwiched between two 8 foot 2x4's. My longest run is 550 feet.
My thought was to unroll the first 330' roll and then splice the next roll. Then get on one end and pull the whole thing tight. Don't know how well that will work. I thought about using bungee cords to temporarily hold the fence to the line posts until I can pull and staple. But I know guys do this stuff every day and rather than reinvent the wheel I wanted to find out how its typically done. Would love to hear what has worked for others.
My thought was to unroll the first 330' roll and then splice the next roll. Then get on one end and pull the whole thing tight. Don't know how well that will work. I thought about using bungee cords to temporarily hold the fence to the line posts until I can pull and staple. But I know guys do this stuff every day and rather than reinvent the wheel I wanted to find out how its typically done. Would love to hear what has worked for others.
OP
Kapnfriday
Bronze Member
My longest run was probably 200 - 250 feet across uneven ground. I had to break that into probably three separate pulls using come-alongs. I think you're going to have a hard time getting ratchet straps to pull 550 feet of fence tight even if you're on flat ground.
When you say heavy duty ratchet strap I'm thinking you mean something like these: 2" Ratchet Straps - 2 Inch Ratchet Straps - 2" Straps & Tie Downs
I think you'd be much better off with come-alongs.
When you say heavy duty ratchet strap I'm thinking you mean something like these: 2" Ratchet Straps - 2 Inch Ratchet Straps - 2" Straps & Tie Downs
I think you'd be much better off with come-alongs.
oosik
Super Star Member
I put a roll of barb wire on a heavy iron bar and attached it to the tractor between the lower arms on the three point hitch. Slowly drive forward watching that nothing snags and when you reach the end (1340 feet) pull it to the fence line with the tractor. I tried stretching it with the tractor but had no luck - it always got too tight and snapped - wiping out great stands of sage brush and bunch grass. When I got all five runs laid out then I'd tighten with a come along and attach to each T-post. I was by myself so it took the better part of three month to fence the property.
