Removing downed Trees

[djwill]

I have many down trees in my woods I would like to drag out with my tractor or P/U. I was thinking I could just tie to them and drag them out. Being a newb at this Im not sure of the proper tool for the job....rope, chain?

Thanks
DJ

 

[dmccarty]

DJ,

I almost certainly a rope will not work since it will stretch. If they are small trees maybe but I would not do it.

Chain or wire cable is what you should use. I would use chain. I have used wire pulled by a wench. The wench was on a small bulldozer.

There are two things you have to be careful with. The chain/wire might break if it does it will come back towards YOU. When you are pulling you need to get the end of the log off the ground since the other thing that can bite you is log hanging up on a stump/rock/whatever. If the log is hung up I can think of three things that will happen. One the cable/chain breaks. Two the tractor start digging holes. Three, your tractor rolls over backwards. This is the other thing that can bite you. You need to keep the log below you axle.

I don't drag trees out of the woods. I cut them into 8-10 feet long logs that I can carry out with my 4n1 bucket or pallet forks. Right now I'm just cutting the tree into rounds for firewood. I'll carry the woodsplitter to the tree to split the wood.

Later,
Dan

 

[Farwell]

I have used both rope and chains. I feel that chains are less inclined to break. I have always used a tractor or lawn tractor to move logs. If you can get something under the front of the log as you pull it, the log is less inclined to burrow into the ground as it is pulled. Some folks use a car hood or something similar. A front end loader comes in handy once in a while. Think safety, I frequently hear stories on the news about guys getting killed while hauling logs.
I have never used a pick-up truck to move logs, don't see why it wouldn't work if you can get the traction and not get stuck.
Search the TBN site there are many other suggestions on moving logs.
Good luck.
Farwell

 

[beenthere]

Too many variables that we don't know, and you maybe could provide (pics would help) for anyone to give good answers to you.
Are trees blown over such that you have uprooted root balls? If so, there may be some risk involved when cutting the trees as you need to account for the stresses that are involved. That rootball can flop quickly back into its hole when the tree is severed, and recently crushed a man's 5 yr old son who was playing in the hole as his Dad cut the tree. Not pretty.

Once the trees (what size?) are cut to a 'movable' length, then consideration of what equipment you have to move them and what the slopes and/or trails are like in your woods will be significant.

There are many 'dangers' to consider, especially with this kind of work. The more one knows, the more 'dangers' there seem to be.

Good protective gear is important, such as chaps, hard hat. Knowledge of using the chainsaw when cutting, knowledge of what can overturn a tractor when dragging or hauling, knowledge of what rope, cable, or chain to use, and knowledge of how to move logs without damaging residual trees are also important.

So where to start?
Pics of equipment, the downed trees, and some info on what you intend to do with the trees (sawlogs, firewood, ?) will all help get you some helpful replies. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[George2615]

I cleared a building lot last year and hauled logs / downed trees with a pair of logging tongs. (Northern Tool has them) and chain. Also had about 500# counterweight in the bucket. Used the attached homemade 3 pt hitch to hook the chain to. Was much easier for me to cut them up with them all in one place. You can drag them by wrapping chain around them also. Others have used a skid plate or metal sled to set one end of the tree on then chain the tree to the sled and chain the sled to the tractor and pull away.
George

 

[turnkey4099]

Re: skid plates. Car hoods work, homebuilts are simple.

The basic idea is a piece of iron with a bend of about 30 degrees. Torch a hole in the upbent end to run the chain or choker through. The skid plate just floats on the chain/choker. Try to catch the back of the plate under the butt of the log, choker or chain it and pull. The butt end should pull right up on the plate.

I built a small one for my two whell garden tractor way back when and it worked great.

Harry K

 

[MMM]

Unless you like dragging chain, unkinking cable and ducking slingshots this is the tool.
Bumper Remover Rope
Don't snatch anyone out of the ditch with this stuff. Bad things will happen to one of you.

 

[beenthere]

MMM

Please don't leave us guessing as to what you mean by this.

Are you suggesting that rope as in your link should not be used for removing downed trees?

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[EdKing]

Is this a one time job, or will it be an on going project ? If you plan on this being an on going project, I would highly recommend a Farmi logging winch.

I heat my house with an outdoor wood burner and pull logs out for use as fuel. I had my place timbered a few years back, and had the loggers leave the tops in place, as at the time I heated with natural gas, and the tops make good ground cover for game animals. I started pulling the tops out for use as firewood when I got the woodburner. I started using my tractor and chains, but found I could not reach/get the proper angle of pull on a lot of the tops. I then purchased a Warn M8000 electric winch (8000 lb pull) which worked well, but had the following limitations

1. 80ft of cable meant still having trouble reaching some of the logs.

2. Due to the high current draw, I would have to rest the winch on long/heavy pulls to prevent the winch from draining the battery/over heating.

3.Having to pull as straight as possible to avoid the cable balling on one end of the reel.

4. Having to winch the log in, unhook the line and turn the tractor around to drag the log out attached to the draw bar.

I recently purchased a Farmi logging winch which has made the whole process much easier.

1. I can now winch out several logs at once.

2. I have 165 feet of cable giving me a much greater range.

3. I can pull in a 30 degree radius without the cable bunching.

4. The winch is driven from the PTO so no worry about draining battery/overheating.

5. Winch mounts on the 3ph so after winching the logs in I can just hook the chains to the blade on the winch and pull them out without having to turn the tractor around. This also allows me to lift the ends of the logs enough so a sled is not required.

Here is a link for more info

Farmi Winches

 

[CurlyDave]

rope, chain?

Many years ago I learned that rope is very dangerous for pulling anything, especially synthetic ropes.

Essentiallty, the rope stretches and stores energy. If if breaks, the rope will whip and can injure your severely, right up to & including death.

A chain does not stretch nearly as much, so it does not store as much energy.

Also, it is easier to get a chain with a load limit much greater than the pulling force of your tractor, which reduces the chance of breakage.

 

[6or7dazeaweek]

DJ:

Please do not use a rope for pulling anything. I recently attempted to pull my neighbors dump truck out of a ditch witha US Coast Guard tow rope....and it broke. Yes it did come back and caused considerable damage to the tailgate of my truck. I assumed that since the rope could tow a 42' vessel under rough seas that it would pull out the truck...man was I ever surprised when it broke....and lucky too. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Jon

 

[Slacker]

I use Northern Tools tongs and a 2" receiver 3pt hitch.
Works very well so far. The 3pt picks the log up off the ground easily, and I use s scoop of rock in the FEL for counterweight.
Here is a pic of the tongs on my 750:

 

[SnoFalls]

The new winch ropes are quite safe (some say safer than wire rope). It will just drop slack at breaking force.

Rope that has a stretch tho can be deadly ...

I also typically use chain (slip knotting when appropriate), but the winch going on my 4x4 will have amsteel rope ...

 

[djwill]

Guys,
Thanks for all the response on this. The trees I am talking about are not very big and the ground is level. I just wanted to drag them out before I cut and burned them. Maybe I'll cut them where they lay, then bring them out /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

dj

 

[miltrade]

There are many instances of the Navy using tow ropes that snapped and amputating legs, heads, and in some cases cutting sailors clean in half. I would personally never use rope for anything of that nature.

 

[beenthere]

I've always supported chain for moving trees, and towing. I've witnessed the 'nylon' rope disasters and read of more gruesome ones too.
However, all rope isn't the same, and shouldn't be classed as 'dangerous' and not to be used.
As pointed out already, there are ropes on the market now that do not stretch and are apparently as safe as chain.

I do believe that most 'breaking' problems involve pulling objects that don't want to move with a steady pull, and someone makes the mistake of getting a run at it. Then a lot of damage can happen.

So, I am now looking for the rope that I can use in my 'soon-to-be' capstan winch that I will power with my chainsaw head. The Samson rope cited shows 3/8" rope as having min. strength of 14,000 lbs, and a 100' coil weighs 3.6 lbs. That is impressive, to me.
A 1/2" rope min. strength is 24,800 lbs and 100' weighs just 6.4 lbs.
This is 12 strand braided rope and is low-stretch. Lookin good to me.

 

[1bush2hog]

The specs on the rope sure are impressive - wonder if the price and durability are equally impressive?

Beenthere,

Do you know anyone in the forestry industry, or similar, currently using this rope?

It sure would be nice to tote a winch rope around the woods rather than heavy chains and cable /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[SnoFalls]

The amsteel rope is *not* very well suited for foresty work because it is not as abrasion resitant as wire cable. It is strong/safe enuf, but the repeated abuse of skidding/choking is not it's forte.

It *is* very useful in the marine industries tho (I believe it was primarily developed for crabbers and such). Floats, light, strong ... all good.

The low weight makes it very nice for a 4x4 winch, just need to be a bit more careful. (use an aluminum fairlead, wide radius snatch blocks, keep it from abrading rocks, etc).

 

[MMM]

i've been using the same 16mm Spectron12 rope forabout 8 years with no problems. Ive reterminated it a few times where choker is attached. It's fuzzy in a few spots, but I doubt I could break iit if there was only a couple strands left. It has less stretch than chain or cable, has no memory like cable and you can drag 100' around all day not feeling it. Many loggers are using it on skid winches. I like it because I can loop what I don't need on ROPS and tie bowline to drawbar.

 

[LBrown59]

I bent the S hooks on 2 chains yesterday while trying to pull grape vines out of 30 foot tall pine trees.