That was no fun

woodlandfarms · Jul 20, 2008

So, I am back up behind the property. In this new "unexplored"area. Busting a trail. A huge, and I mean huge maple came down across what I planned to have as my trail path. So I go up with the chainsaw, PT and start cutting. I cut an 8 ft section out of the tree (wide enough for the PT to pass) and grab that section up. Now, I have need doing some heavy lifting this week (lots of cleanup) and this section of tree is just getting the PT tipsy. So I am focused on backing up, not really paying attention behind me and bam, this branch from another tree smacks me in the head, then hits the lift control and bam, down come the tree and all. I am momentarily surprised, but I suck it up, and lift the tree back up. but it does not lift. Or, should I say it won't stay up. So I go to the worst, a ruptured hose. Nope, no leaks, then I start looking at my valve assembly. No leaks but that thing could have been tweaked as the hit was pretty hard... So I drop the log.... and back down this trail ( 800 feet of windy, narrow, along the ridge stuff...) dragging the bucket as it won't lift. Well, just at the house it dawns on me to look at my control panel. The draft control had been switched on by the limb... Arghhhhh

Marks481 · Jul 21, 2008

Pretty funny (sitting here anyhow).

All of your hydraulic issues have you jumping at ghosts; just waiting for the next big thing to break. Good to here that you didn't hurt youself or your machine.

I wish I had 40 acres to play with and plan trails in... someday when i can live where I want to, instead of in the land of $600k houses (DC). I took a trip down to GA this weekend to pick up a 1962 Clausing 8520 mill. Of course I took my PT with forklifts... the guy selling it thought we would have to take the thing apart and lug it a piece at a time. Nope, at 700#, we just picked it up, and put it on my trailer. 15 minutes to load/unload (including bolting it down). Almost puckered my PT though... fortunately, the forks were 1" off the ground at the time...

Anyway, I was shocked to see builder signs saying "houses from the 120's". What? After living in HI/CT/DC for the last 8 years, I didn't think any place like that existed. The owner of the mill had just sold his house for $199k... a nice, brick front, 2000 sf house with a pool. Easily $500k here in the DC area. And he was happy with the sale price... guess they never saw a housing bubble in his area, and he had no unrealistic expectations of cashing in for $300k more then he paid for it like folks around here.

MossRoad · Jul 21, 2008

On a couple of occasions I have been in the thick stuff with a bucket load of branches and the branches have started coming back into the operator's area as I stepped on the forward pedal. The branches push the joystick back and the bucket raises, which forces more branches into the joystick, which makes it raise faster, etc....

You really have to watch it.

I think the PT is such a bull and we tend to drive them through the thickest, nastiest stuff so often that we, as operators, tend to let the safety stuff go to the back our our brains until the bushes start biting us.