Logging Winch

[ascurtis]

'm looking for a used logging winch for my JD4320 3-pt hitch. I need to clear an old roadway. any size or brand recommendations? Thanks. Located in the New England.

 

[namesray]

i run a fransgard v-3507 3ph pto winch on my kubota b7800 for my fire wood business. it works GREAT. i was shocked by what i have seen it do on my 2500lb tractor. the v-3507 can pull over 7000 lbs and the tractor weighs much less. i first was worried about strain on the 3ph, but so far no problems what so ever and i have used it alot. the dozer blade anchors the unit into the ground and that helps hold it and takes most of the pulling strain. the fransgard models have a top pull and also a lower mounted pulley to lower the center of gravity and take the force off the top link of the 3ph and put it down to the lower 2 arms. i usually use it on the lower pulley but if i need to keep the front of the log off the ground or pull up over a mound i use just the top pulley. the lower pulley just swings around the cable so you can use it any time easily. i don't know the specs of your john deere, but fransgard also makes other models bigger and smaller. no matter what brand you choose, if you never used one before be carefull. bad things can happen fast if you don't know what to look for. the pulling speed of the fransgard is about 5 feet per second. and never do side pulls. always pull in a straight of a line as you can. good luck with your winch shopping.
i see you are in new england and i came across this web site. they sell the norse winches and ship free to the new england states. here is a video of their 3ph winch
http://labonville.com/Videos/v7.htm
farmi also makes a winch and i have heard good things about them as well.
as far as a used one i don't know where they are. a new one is going to be between $2000 and on up. i paid $3700 for mine and it was worth every penny. it has already more then paid for itself with the increase in product i have been able to put out.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have a Farmi which has given me very good and reliable service. They are basicly bullet proof. They also have good parts availability if you find one that needs work.
Your 4320 will run anything that will fit on it. A heavy duty winch would be the best match

 

[Zebrafive]

Are these made to skid the logs after they are pulled to the tractor? Meaning can you get the end up out of the dirt and drag it with the tractor to a cutting area?

 

[Baby Grand]

Yes, and they do it about as safely as is possible. The blade that namesray described stabilizes the tractor when you're winching and serves as a guard when you're driving with the load, preventing the butt ends from snagging on roots, rocks, etc. I've been scouting for a used one and considered building one myself for some time now. I would find a lot of uses for it besides bringing in the wood.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

I have skidded a bunch of timber with a 24 hp SCUT and a receiver hitch adapter on the 3pt. I have a short (12-24") telescoping boom lift arm that pins to the top link connection. Has worked well for what it is.

I'm also considering "improvements" to this set up, by adding a 12V electric winch to the boom arm, and a pair of feet on the draw bar to help anchor the tractor while winching.

I know it won't be as robust etc as a PTO winch, but............ Hope to have it all come together for a LOT less $ than a dedicated logging winch.

What ever works the best for the situation is the best to use.

Good luck

 

[namesray]

I have skidded a bunch of timber with a 24 hp SCUT and a receiver hitch adapter on the 3pt. I have a short (12-24") telescoping boom lift arm that pins to the top link connection. Has worked well for what it is.

I'm also considering "improvements" to this set up, by adding a 12V electric winch to the boom arm, and a pair of feet on the draw bar to help anchor the tractor while winching.

I know it won't be as robust etc as a PTO winch, but............ Hope to have it all come together for a LOT less $ than a dedicated logging winch.

What ever works the best for the situation is the best to use.

Good luck

i will almost agree maybe a 3ph pto winch might be over kill just to clear an old roadway, but i don't fully know your situation either. before i bought my fransgard pto winch i had a friend of mine rig me up an electric 12v 3ph winch for my firewood business. what we did was make a A-frame for the 3ph and bolt a chicago 12v electric winch to the A-frame at the bottom. run the cables from the battery at the front of the tractor to the back in condiut under the tractor. the chicago electric winch had 3000lbs pull and bought from harbor freight. all together i had about $230 into it. $110 to friend for A-frame, $110 for winch from harbor freight, and $10 for longer battery cables. i used that 3000lb winch for 3 years and did ALOT of firewood with it. it was slow and only had 50ft of cable but it could pull some logs that i could not drive the tractor close enough to just hook a chain to. that winch still works. if i knew how to put pictures on here i would do it but i am not good with computers or cameras. the only reason i upgraded to a pto winch is because my business was growing and i operate on VERY steep hills in northern pa. being able to have 130ft of cable and 7000lbs of direct pull is a huge benefit to me when on those steep hills. the logging roads are barely wide enough in some areas to get my small 30hp tractor with loader sideways enough to pull the logs up onto the road. no way i could get to those logs any other way. so that is why i invested into a pto winch. just giving you other ideas that may or may not help. have fun shopping around and sounds like a fun project. stay safe.

 

[MtHam]

Another choice is Wallenstein. I too tried to find a used Farmi, but finally gave up and bought a new Wallenstein. An excellent dealer with good pricing is Woodwards Crossing: Wallenstein Woodchippers & Woodsplitters | 3 Pt. Hitch Wood Chippers & Log Splitters | Grapples & Winches

 

[Iron Brew]

I, too, have a wallenstein. I haven't really pushed it, but so far I really like it. I'll be doing a review of it and my self releasing snatch block soon. When some snow leaves, my new valve is on, etc.

 

[arrow]

This is a good thread as it is bringing out the various needs of differentiated small machine skidding. The expense of a dedicated pto driven winch is not a small one for most. In my mind one has to be producing a good amount of firewood or mill stems for it to be cost effective. Other needs commanding some type of winch are the characteristics of terrain. A winch in hilly areas may mean such a difference in a safety quotient that it becomes a mandatory equipment choice. For the occasional user on undifferentiated terrain, a pto winch may be a bit of overkill. A mounted electrical winch may be a more cost effective method in this case and used only when being unable to get in close with the tractor for a 3 pt pick up. It does not matter if this type of winch is mounted on the front or back of the tractor since the winch would not be used to skid with. There are advantages of the pto winch and if one plans to live in an area for a long time and is consistently making small amounts of firewood (4 to 10 cords) per year, the winch minimizes the beating up of the tractor as most wood is coming to the tractor instead of the other way around. On the flip side, many a cord of firewood has been skidded up to landings with just the hitch point of the tractor.

 

[arrow]

You are right.I work in steep terrain but also in rather leveled forest .However I work mostly on my own and do about 25 chord firewood per year and another 750 Chord of milling wood. The winch was essential for me.
Will also buy a grapple from them .
I needed a hydraulic independant from the tractor and a remote.
The hydraulic system doesn't drag my tractor power down .

It tokk my 6 month of research until I found the right one
All about I couldn't afford Farmi and also the other guys.

So I stared searching in Europe and came across the guys I bought from here in the US.

I am happy with my choice

Gunny

775 cord of wood! Do you mean full cords? If so I'd place you in skidder territory especially if you have a 500 acre site. A half mile turn on a compact tractor can get mighty tiring. I'd want at least a cord and a half to two cord on every hitch. I worked as a logger and 15 (full) cords per day for a lone guy with a full blown skidder was a good day on a hundred acre site. I stayed in the Black Hawk region of Colorado some years ago. Very big area with gorgeous, mountainous forests and for some reason, very attractive to hippies. Good luck with your very fine winch.

 

[arrow]

Yes it is .This makes it hard to fing good people .Potheads in the wood don't do well.

Yes tha's why I use this big winch with attached grapple. I cuts my work in half.
I can drag 8 trees with this big winch.

Big skidders are not allowed because they don't like their wood torn up.

A weekend ago I cut on a site 200 trees with two sawyers in 3.5 hours. Just cutting -no limbing. But that's what I need form a worker.

Cutting with Husky's

A great photo op if you ask me. Would love to see your rig. There was a restaurant that i cannot remember the name of I'd go to up there. It had sort of an enclosed porch with large windows and sat on a hillside sort of perched up from the parking lot. Across the street was a large sign that said "Black Hawk National forest" or something to that effect. Many hippies in this restaurant. Near the bottom of the ravine was a small town. This was near Dory lake. You and I would have gotten along just fine as we seem to be of the same work ethic.