gwiley
Bronze Member
I use a pull line to bring large trees down on a regular basis and have found that I have to rely on the tractor or truck to move fast enough to keep the line tight enough to guide the fall. Having 2 people is an absolute must - one on the saw the other on the pull line driving the tractor.
I actually prefer using 5/8" bull rope (11K lb breaking strength) because I can toss a throw line into the canopy then use that to pull the larger rope into the tree and put a bowline (slip knot) in. This lets you get leverage MUCH higher in the tree which is a lot safer (as long as you dont pull too hard). I then secure the other end to my skid steer through a redirect (large pulley at the base of another tree) so that I am pulling outside the fall zone.
I actually prefer using 5/8" bull rope (11K lb breaking strength) because I can toss a throw line into the canopy then use that to pull the larger rope into the tree and put a bowline (slip knot) in. This lets you get leverage MUCH higher in the tree which is a lot safer (as long as you dont pull too hard). I then secure the other end to my skid steer through a redirect (large pulley at the base of another tree) so that I am pulling outside the fall zone.