best/smallest machine to pull/push big trucks when wet?

[bcp]

Put your drill rig on tracks. Trailer it to the job. Specialize in wet places.



Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Mount a winch on the truck?

I'd try that first... probably cheapest.

You do need an anchor point somewhere, though.

 

[MossRoad]

I used a am general 5 ton 6x6 as a water/support truck the last 11yrs. It's great, but still get weighted down and spin in soft stuff occasionally. I will never have anchor points when needed. Assume it's an open field with 0 trees.

My cousin thinks I should get something like a 450 to assist in and out. Says it would work for 9/10 of what I'd need and could pull with my 3/4 ton. I just don't want to break the bank on something that will barely get used.

I used to drive the 5 tons out of the AM General plant in South Bend, IN to rail spurs all over northern Indiana for shipment. I was pretty impressed with their capabilities. We took a few out on parts of the Hummer off-road test course. They made a tow-truck model. As I recall, they had locking differentials. There's a local building mover here that uses them to move houses and buildings. He's got them geared pretty low.

The rear winches had a 45,000 lb capacity.
M89 series 5-ton 6x6 truck - Wikipedia

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks. Hadn't thought about a mobile anchor/winch, like to see a simple setup in action. Have had winches on trucks but never works out right when you need it. We have a couple farm tractors, wonder if something like that could be done with a 3 point setup? It isn't massive equipment. A truck with a drill rig and a short tandem support/water truck. My initial thought was to look at the smallest track machine that could handle it and weld push bumpers on everything.

You don't want to push. It's too hard to keep angles aligned between the vehicles without some really large bumper areas that will get in your way for other operations.

 

[justwater]

Haven't tried chains. Swamp mats seem interesting. Not the big heavy wooden kind, something that could be moved easily by hand. What are your thoughts on something like www.alturnamats.com? I bet it'd be a pain

 

[brown40]

+1 on winching rather than putting the rescue vehicle into the torn up areas. The psi in liquifiable soils suggestion is a great one. Saves a lot of people who play in the sand. The mats sound great too--and where you never know where you're ending up...

 

[bspeedy]

My brother is a drilling contractor and I grew up in that business. Believe it or not, he MANY TIMES uses a New Holland 1720 with a frame mounted backhoe to pull his rotary in or out. Not buried to the axles or in a swamp, but just when a bit of a pull is necessary. The drilling rig is a tandem dual setup, no idea the weight. Doubt it's 45k, though. Probably closer to 30 or 35.

He just parks the tractor with the hoe facing toward the rig, lowers the stabilizers and uses a chain to pull the rig with the backhoe boom. You can only pull 6 or 7 feet at a time, but it has never let him down. I think he had to chain up a few times though. A small backhoe has amazing power. It's also a handy thing to own with a well drilling operation.

 

[justwater]

Thanks. We have definitely used that method to get out a few times. Not ideal, but it will get you out. Or in I guess.

 

[brown40]

A logging winch on a tractor gives you a great all-terrain anchor and a lot of pulling options. If you want a (potentially cheaper) dedicated machine without getting into a bulldozer though, you might look into a skidder.

 

[orezok]

It only takes 4 horse power to pull a stuck semi out.

Horses Pull Out Semi Truck Stuck In Snow Bank - YouTube