Ezboom and ezworkhorse

[stevenf]

I just talked to a dealer from http://www.ezhitch.biz/ez_lift_boom and he sounds like he's got a good product I wondered if anyone has bought anything from them and were you happy with it. My idea is since I need a chain harrow I buy this and not buy a frame for the harrow and just attach a pipe across the harrow towards the back and pick it up, it sounds like it would work good and then I'd have a boom pole + trailer hitch + gooseneck + bale spear on the back as well. Does the idea of picking the harrow up with the boom sound like it will work as long as I bolt a pipe across it to stabilize it and keep it flat I do have a hydraulic top link already installed. The cost for the ezworkhorse and ezliftboom (you must have both the boom works off the workhorse) is $840. + $85. shipping and then the harrow with just a drawbar in a 7 to 8 foot wide runs around $380 or so.
Steve

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Here are some links to some prior discussions of the EZ line:

EZ Workhorse

EZ workhorse on JD forum

Trailer Snatcher with a transition to EZ Workhorse discussion


Now just for reference, I picked up a Howse brand sub-soiler & middle buster combo unit for about $165 a year to two ago. It probably costs a bit more now. It also has a trailer hitch. The modular frame for the unit can be adapted to work with home-made implements, etc. It might be a much more economical way for you to attach a chain harrow? Here is a picture of mine, I adapted it to bury underground electrial wire and to be used with pallet forks to haul pallets around my property.
pallet forks on Howse frame

cable layer on Howse frame

I'm also looking at making a sod cutter to work with the same frame and have designed but have not built a tree puller that will pull small scrub trees, bushes, etc out by the roots.

I should also lay out a little disclaimer here, I am biased against the EZ Workhorse unit largely because of the way the guy tried to get a bunch of free advertising by coming on this site and pretending to be a satisfied customer. It happened numerous times. I did speak with the owner of the company and he was a complete gentleman, and even made me a great offer to try out his stuff. But even with his offer, I think his product is over priced compared to many other alternatives out in the market. Great concept however.

 

[JerryG]

It is a good idea, but it is way over priced. You could have a custom one built for half or less. It would make a good project to make your self.

 

[stevenf]

Bob I'm embarassed now. I remember reading the stuff about the dealer trying to run up his sales by registering and posting. I looked at the ez stuff before, I actually was looking before my tractor was ready to deliver back in October and November. Its just that I'm trying to have an all in one kinda attachment rather than just a frame lift for the harrow.
OK so I don't go with the EZ products due to unscrupulous behavior on the site.
Do ya'll think that the idea of using some type of boom pole to pick up the harrow would work, my concern never having seen up close a drag harrow is if I mounted the pipe to the harrow and picked up with a boom do you think that the harness end of the chains and drawbar would have a spacing issue with the rear tires and such or would the boom tend to keep it straight out and away from the tires as the point of picking it up would be to transport it around the ranch to do food plots without having to take it out of my FEL and hook it up each time and also so I could back up and put small plots in between trees and such where I wouldn't be able to turn around or go forward.
I'm sorry I brought the EZ guy up it'll probably start a whole new rash of his posting under a new name singing the praises of his equipment.
Steve and yes I really am Steve! PM me and I'll give you my directions and phone # and you can come for a visit at the ranch although when I see some of ya'lls pictures and places you live my little tin shack in the woods will probably draw some good laughs especially if its raining as you can help place the buckets around the house to catch the drips. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[stevenf]

Jerry I forgot to mention I still haven't figured out about a welding machine yet except that its going to be an AC/DC stick type machine of course this kind of fabrication would probably be best done after I've melted a fair amount of metal. I can just see me welding up a boom of some sort and pickup something reasonably important and have all my welds go pinging off in different directions and drop an engine block or something in the process. It would be cool to think I could just go by some iron and weld this thing up doen't look like theres a lot to a boom pole especially for the price of em. You don't know where I could get a good strong one at fairly cheap do you. I'd like to be able to pickup at least a couple of thousand pounds so I could use it to pull trees out of the woods and stuff without bending it up.
Steve

 

[CTyler]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'd like to be able to pickup at least a couple of thousand pounds so I could use it to pull trees out of the woods and stuff without bending it up. )</font>

I'm not sure you want to use a boom pole for dragging trees. You have to remember a little wieght at the end of that boom translates to a lot of leverage. You essentialy have a big lever. You'll have the front of the tractor in the air trying to lift 1000 pounds. Dragging a tree and having it catch something will do the same thing if not roll your tractor.

 

[stevenf]

CTyler you make some tough arguments for reason why not to use the boom pole this way I'd just a soon not try out my rops just yet. A boom would be nice but I can see that with a decent length pole with much weight on it I'd quickly be plowing with my forehead and a 12,000lb tractor to help with the depth of my row wouldn't help either. Thanks for the insight!
Steve

 

[CTyler]

You can probably lift a fair amount of weight with the boom pole and your tractor. How much depends on the length of the boom and the angle. Lifting something at the end of the boom with it horizontal will have the least amount lifting capacity.

Somebody here smarter than me should be able to figure this out or put up a formula to do calculate it.

If you have to drag many trees and/or any distance you may want to get some type of skid device or cone. I put a chain on and just drag them very slowly but then I'm only going 40-50'
if that.

If you have a FEL and bucket hooks you could put the end of the tree in the FEL and chain it so it stays put and go. Not sure how productive this would be for lots of trees though.

 

[stevenf]

CTyler I forgot to explain my delima I have a road going thru the ranch along a creek and the banks are sloppy and it is errodded in spots 5 and 6 feet deep so when a tree falls over it seems to always fall into the creek. The purpose of using the boom would be just to get it out of the creek bed and up on dry land where I would then hook up my 30' long 1/2" chain to it and the draw bar and pull it to the house to cut up for firewood. Although in one of the threads I've seen pictures of guys skidding logs with it connected to both the drawbar and the boom to lift the front of the log to keep it from snagging as often which seem like a good idea as well.
Steve