Buying Advice John Deere 2320 / 2520 ??????

[jenkinsph]

I am just wandering if this machine will be capable of doing what I need? Has anyone ever used one to skid logs?

Obviously depends on the size of the log, but assuming you pick up the butt end with tongs close to the hitch you should be able to drag a good size one.
Hey if it is too big then saw it into two pieces.

Are you planning on this method or are you thinking along the lines of a Farmi winch or larger hydraulic type winch. I ask this because the small 2X20 tractors don't have much in hydraulic flow. The small pto winches should work okay.

 

[pdp11]

I bought the 2520 this past May, and have been very happy with it. It's slightly larger than the 2320, and the faster hydraulics make a difference if you use the FEL often. I too had a hard time understanding what the differences were between the 2x20 models at first, and actually went through the on-line parts manuals to figure some of it out. There are also differences between 2520's of different years, which was confusing when reading posts from owners back in 2007-8.

 

[Deadman]

In the snow with Chains on, and using a drawbar, my 2520 pulled 14 inch diameter GREEN Hard Maple Logs out that were 40 feet long. You need to chain them as short as possible (like 4 inches LOL), and hook the heavy end on the drawbar and put the weight of the log onto the rear tires of tractor. It will pull like crazy then, but the snow helps them slide easy, but also makes tractor spin. I will only skid in snow, because the logs don't get full of dirt.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Wow I didn't expect to drag anything that long out, I was thinking like 10-15' pieces. I might have to cut them that way because of my land scale though... do you have chains on the front as well?

 

[jenkinsph]

Anything you would wan't to use for firewood shouldn't be an issue as far as the tractor is concerned. Just watch steep slopes where you need to maintain control of both the tractor and the log. I have had to cut them into two pieces before mainly to prevent skinning the other trees getting them out of the woods. In these cases two chokers enable you to haul out both pieces at one time.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Yeah I have one steep part about 30' long going one way and the other is a long steep hill. Although with the front loader I could clear a new path to avoid that short steep section. I was thinking once I got the tractor I could make up several cables for it. What are you hooking the logs to on the 3pt? I saw a log hog on northern tool but haven't seen anything else.

 

[jenkinsph]

At the time when I was doing this we had built a small A frame arangement that allowed us to suspend the chains off the ground about 4 ft high. Had a grab hook welded on each side, lowered the hitch ran the choker chain around the butt of the logs and connected the chains to the A frame. Then lift the hitch and allow the logs to clear the ground.

 

[Bswope]

Yeah I have one steep part about 30' long going one way and the other is a long steep hill. Although with the front loader I could clear a new path to avoid that short steep section. I was thinking once I got the tractor I could make up several cables for it. What are you hooking the logs to on the 3pt? I saw a log hog on northern tool but haven't seen anything else.

Hey Tom got your PM and I COMPLETELY understand!:thumbsup:
If you decide on the 2520 make sure to have the dealer switch the rear tires to the wider position! It gain you 3" of width in the rear witch made a big difference on my tractor.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Hey Tom got your PM and I COMPLETELY understand!:thumbsup:
If you decide on the 2520 make sure to have the dealer switch the rear tires to the wider position! It gain you 3" of width in the rear witch made a big difference on my tractor.

Hey thanks for the advise! I will do that but 1st I have to get the wife convinced the rest of the way!!!! She is on the line....... I think once she sees what your able to do with one she will be ok.

 

[Bswope]

Hey thanks for the advise! I will do that but 1st I have to get the wife convinced the rest of the way!!!! She is on the line....... I think once she sees what your able to do with one she will be ok.

My wife was the same way, once I showed her that we could save about $3k to do some top soil work in our yard rather than have someone do it for us so she was really happy then and felt better about getting one, now that we have more property to maintain she say's we need a bigger tractor!:laughing: