Winches Poor man's logging winch

[altoonapillarrock]

I installed a Superwinch 3500 in place of the backhoe bucket on my BX24. I need to tidy up the wiring but the winch works great. I set it up so everything except the battery wires and circuit breaker in the under the dash area come off the tractor when the winch is not in use. I just use the remote to control the winch. I didn't use the ATV handlebar switch that comes with the winch for obvious reasons.
I built a wooden box for the solenoid and connections which mounts to the ROP. This comes off with 2 bolts. I will use the winch during the time of year I cut firewood. After that the bucket goes back. I used more connectors than I needed but I want the system to break down to small parts for storage.
Our property is very steep and I need to get trees up to the road to process them for firewood. Decades ago I just cut trees into pieces and humped them up to the road. I have been backing the tractor up and pulling logs with hooks on the FEL bucket. This got too exciting when I would raise the bucket up to get a better angle.
Winch $179
Adapter for 2" receiver $75
Bxpanded 2" receiver replacing bucket $129
6 ga wire and miscellaneous connectors and crimper $45

I would rather have a Wallenstein FX35, but these cost $3000+.

I just threw in a picture of our view for the heck of it. That's a cruise ship that was in the Portland shipyard for repairs. It's headed out to sea at Astoria, OR. Sometimes really steep property is worth it.

 

[Code54]

Just be careful if something gets hung up - that could put some odd forces on the a hoe that small.
Great view by the way!!!!

 

[altoonapillarrock]

Just be careful if something gets hung up - that could put some odd forces on the a hoe that small.
Great view by the way!!!!

Thanks, I planned to keep both locking pins in place and set the tractor aimed right at the load. I cut the trunks into pieces. When I actually try it I will report back. This may be a bad idea.

 

[Code54]

Those little superwinches are great winches for the price. I have the 4500lbs on my Mule and have used it to pull the tractor out, for the price they are sure hard to beat. I got some syn. line a while back and rewrapped it with that and so far so good. thought it maybe a bit safer if it ever breaks.

I been pulling logs up a hill here but been using chain and just hooking it on the bucket of my mini and give a pull. The problem is resetting the chain every 10-15 feet - that is a real pain. The good thing is I am only pulling them about 50 feet so it is not too bad.

Good luck on your project and stay safe!

 

[4570Man]

Why wouldn't you just hook a chain to the tractor and pull with it? I only see this setup being better in rare circumstances.

 

[Snobdds]

Proceed slowly on this idea. Nothing big at first. I like creativity and hope it works. Definitely tie off the front of the tractor off.

I want to see how well the charging system holds up with the winch. I've always wanted to put one on the front for getting unstuck.

 

[CADplans]

Why wouldn't you just hook a chain to the tractor and pull with it? I only see this setup being better in rare circumstances.

I can see where the winch can create 5X or more the pull force that the tractor tires can create.
Keep the winch VERY low to the ground and no side pull.

That winch could easily tip over the tractor,,, even with the stabilizers down.

 

[hslogger]

Hi lead logging with a min Yoder is what I call it. I hope it works out well, really novel idea. If your tractor and assembly can take it, it will be great. I would reallysuggest you look at the Scribner scale book for a board feet guide, and you can transpose that into weight with some reasonable guesstimate. The Scribner book is the basis for log scaling in the Northwest.

 

[radioman]

i have a bx24 and i am thinking this is a novel idea - but the angle of pulling forces is just going to rotate the tractor on the rear tires making the front end go up in air until the front tires is on the same plane as the wire pulling it. like everyone is saying - keep the boom down low, and keep weight in the FEL and possibly tie down the front

 

[altoonapillarrock]

Why wouldn't you just hook a chain to the tractor and pull with it? I only see this setup being better in rare circumstances.

I have places where there is no room to back up. Our 19 acre piece has about 1.5 acre of flat and this was created by extensive bulldozing. The half mile long driveway to the house is 21 percent grade. I will set the backhoe stabilizers when I use the winch.
Lots of trees I have room to pull them out on the road. First I use my old Tundra. If I don't have space I use the BX24. I am going to try the winch in tight spots.

 

[altoonapillarrock]

i have a bx24 and i am thinking this is a novel idea - but the angle of pulling forces is just going to rotate the tractor on the rear tires making the front end go up in air until the front tires is on the same plane as the wire pulling it. like everyone is saying - keep the boom down low, and keep weight in the FEL and possibly tie down the front

Agreed. It may not work.

 

[Deere Dude]

I bought a 10k winch for pulling logs out of a woods in northern WI some years back. Hook to the truck front end and pull, but it was way to slow with the rehooking and making sure the cables doesn't get jammed up on the spool.

I found logging in my case was much easier by just getting a 50' and 100' cable. I can either pull them straight of the woods with the truck or tractor w/o the winch a lot faster. In the case where the angles for pulling don't quite work out I just use a pulley attached to a tree in the general direction I want the tree to go.

The farthest I pulled out of a woods so far has been about 250-300 feet using cables, but the down side is it generally is a two man operation. One driving and one spotting.

 

[altoonapillarrock]

Hi lead logging with a min Yoder is what I call it. I hope it works out well, really novel idea. If your tractor an assembly can take it, it will be great. I would reallysuggest you look at the scribbler scale book for a board feet guide, and you can transpose that into weight with some reasonable guesstimate.

Good idea, I will do that.

 

[newbury]

If it was a "Poor man's logging winch" you'd be using a HF $49 2,500 lb winch

Looks good. Get a strap for your FEL bucket to anchor against the nearest tree.

And there is the logweight calculator at woodweb.

/edit - Nice use of Anderson style connectors.

 

[altoonapillarrock]

I bought a 10k winch for pulling logs out of a woods in northern WI some years back. Hook to the truck front end and pull, but it was way to slow with the rehooking and making sure the cables doesn't get jammed up on the spool.

I found logging in my case was much easier by just getting a 50' and 100' cable. I can either pull them straight of the woods with the truck or tractor w/o the winch a lot faster. In the case where the angles for pulling don't quite work out I just use a pulley attached to a tree in the general direction I want the tree to go.

The farthest I pulled out of a woods so far has been about 250-300 feet using cables, but the down side is it generally is a two man operation. One driving and one spotting.

That's a long pull. Because of the terrain the longest pull I ever make is 50 feet. Anything farther from the house or road is part of my informal nature preserve.

 

[Gordon Gould]

That should be a great tool when used wisely for short pulls up steep banks and smallish wood. Good job. Fill your bucket with rocks. The more weight the better. I like it - nothing ventured nothing gained.

If you got a helper tie a long rope on the end of the cable. Keep one guy below to choke logs and pull line back down with the trailing rope. One guy on top to run winch and unhook

gg

 

[4570Man]

I can see where the winch can create 5X or more the pull force that the tractor tires can create. Keep the winch VERY low to the ground and no side pull. That winch could easily tip over the tractor,,, even with the stabilizers down.

Unless I'm mistaken he's only using a 3500 pound winch so the pull won't be far from equal. Even if it's a 20,000 pound winch it won't pull much more than the tractor since he's using the tractor for an anchor.

 

[petegoud]

Not a really good picture, but this is how I hooked up a 12,000 lb winch on my tractor to recover another tractor which was stuck on a side of a hill in mud hole. I mounted the winch in a receiver tube welded on the top of a boxblade. My thinking was that I could use the boxblade shoved into a bank to anchor my tractor, also I was trying to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. We had to use a snatch block to be able to pull the stuck tractor out directly from behind. Once we set things up, the process took all of 30 seconds to free the stuck tractor. The only reason I used such a big winch was because it was the only one I had at the time.

 

[Sprinklerman]

The battery on the BX is a bit small , It will strain the electrical system I would think

 

[Coyote machine]

I like your very neat setup and use if high grade electrical connectors.
I would use a clamshell snatchblock, possibly a self releasing one to minimize the forces on your tractor and to increase overall pulling strength by double the winches capability alone. Plus you get an advantage of being able to be out of the way of anything that might fly toward you/tractor like broken cable, hooks etc.
Igland makes wicked excellent clamshell snatch blocks, some models are self releasing. I would possibly incorporate your old Tundra as your anchor point for the snatch block, attaching it to the rear receiver as the pivot point and then having the tractor directly behind the truck or at an angle to keep you out of harm's way. Then you could watch the cable as it pulls your log(s) out of the woods.
Link:Igland Snatch block with automatic release - YouTube
Another thing to use to minimize the drag/snagging on the winch cable is a log cone:Portable Winch Skidding Cone for Logs up to a Diameter of 2in | SHERRILLtree

I have an Igland winch and snatch block, though not self releasing, so I know what an advantage using a winch of any kind can be. You can place a blanket or jacket or other similar object on the winch cable while hauling the cable toward the tractor to stop a cable snap from going wild and doing damage. This method takes the tension stored in the taught cable out instantly, saving the bacon: YOU.

Best to roll out your cable entire length and roll it back up without a load before use to help keep it from snagging on the spool. You can do this by attaching it to an object/ truck etc., then drive away slowly. Then wind it up by hand while operating the winch, possibly with someone on the hook end if you can't do both as a single person.

Have fun, be safe, MORE pics!