Thinking about adding a winch to the 3pt...

[Gobblin Tom]

Once again I am not sure what I would have to do to add a winch for electrical. I am sure I can come up with a way to make a quick add on / remove platform for the winch (3pt). I have a lot of tree tops down in the valley of my property that I would like to get out for firewood and I wouldn't dare take the Tractor down them. I could always rig some kind of pulley system with cable and use the tractor to pull them but the winch would be easier.... So has anyone done this?

 

[mwb]

What size tractor and what size winch? If you are only putting a 2000 lb winch on then ok but that is probably way too small for any tractor; a bigger winch (8000 lb) would probably be tough on your battery and alternator, probably should have a second battery installed.

Do you have rear remotes? Hydraulic would be a better option IMO. PTO would also work well but harder to build. I have a hydraulic winch I built using a low speed high torque motor and a simple chain reduction to drive the spool.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I have a 2520 on the way, smaller tractor just want something to give me some help. I saw an 8000# on sale for $399. To be honest a 3000-5000 pound would be plenty for me because this wood is not that big. Trying to get away from killing my back!! I have a gel battery at home that I hope will fit the tractor if not I might get an optima to minimize acid spilling. Hydraulic would be way to expensive, not looking to spend that much..

 

[beeforty]

How far is " down in the valley" of your property? A lot of winches are less than 100' of cable. When I used to do a lot of winching in one area I would often take up the slack to make sure I didn't come loose and then just back up my truck, a lot faster:thumbsup: Also didn't have to worry about a straight pull for cable to wind up evenly on winch, gets to be a pain. A length of cable and a pulley with a helper will be the quickest. Not sure how much a 3pt can take, might do a pin attach to your drawbar so is can swing a little. rarely can you get exactly a straight pull.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

How far is " down in the valley" of your property? A lot of winches are less than 100' of cable. When I used to do a lot of winching in one area I would often take up the slack to make sure I didn't come loose and then just back up my truck, a lot faster:thumbsup: Also didn't have to worry about a straight pull for cable to wind up evenly on winch, gets to be a pain. A length of cable and a pulley with a helper will be the quickest. Not sure how much a 3pt can take, might do a pin attach to your drawbar so is can swing a little. rarely can you get exactly a straight pull.

Most of the trees would be less than 100' and I could get pretty straight on them. Just want to have a to get the wood out. There is no way im taking my truck down on these paths!!! If I have to I can cable and pulley them up with the tractor...

 

[crazyal]

One option would be to add a battery to what ever 3pt frame you make to hold the winch.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

One option would be to add a battery to what ever 3pt frame you make to hold the winch.

Should I run wires to it from the tractor to recharge it?

 

[crazyal]

I wouldn't see why not. Maybe get a heavy duty battery connector so you can connect it up and remove it easily. I would think a nice sized battery would put out the power needed for a winch. Since you're only running the winch for short bursts the alternator would charge the battery back up in between pulls.

 

[High Compression]

I have an 8000# winch that I mounted on a 2" draw bar to fit in any 2" receiver hitch. On both of my tractors, I ran a 4 awg set of jumper cables that i cut the ends off of and a put loop ends on at the battery. I then routed to the back of the tractor with and mounted a quick disconnect on the other end and one on the winch. It works great and i can move it between tractors or to my truck. The disconnects I bought from a local forklift supply house. They were way cheaper than the "Warn" disconnects and made by the same company.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I have an 8000# winch that I mounted on a 2" draw bar to fit in any 2" receiver hitch. On both of my tractors, I ran a 4 awg set of jumper cables that i cut the ends off of and a put loop ends on at the battery. I then routed to the back of the tractor with and mounted a quick disconnect on the other end and one on the winch. It works great and i can move it between tractors or to my truck. The disconnects I bought from a local forklift supply house. They were way cheaper than the "Warn" disconnects and made by the same company.

That's a good idea!! Do you run the extra battery or does your tractor have enough juice to keep it charged up?