Logging with 2 Wheel Drive Tractor

[Catfish Hunter]

I'm looking for advice on logging with a skidding winch and an older 2 wheel drive tractor. I'm looking at older 2 wheel drive tractors around 90 hp and I live in an area with steep hills in the woods. I'd like this tractor for field work and for skidding / possibly adding a loader for stacking logs, plowing etc.. I'm curious how these works for this type of operation with a good set of chains? Anyone doing this on steep terrain and any advice for learning in these conditions?

 

[northmanlogging]

Steep ground and any kind of farm tractor isn't a healthy mix. Make sure you have a cage on it.

2 wheel drive skidding can be done, but everything has to be about perfect, enough weight on the rear wheels to prevent slipping, but still enough on the fronts to turn, a guy can use the steering brakes but its not an exact science.

And really 2 wheel drive tractors should stay on maintained trails or on flat ground, once you get off in the rough stuff, it don't take much to get really stuck

 

[mesupra]

It's more work but if you can keep the tractor off the hill and use the winch you should be all set. A 90hp 2 wheel drive is a very capable machine. Just take it easy and slow until you get a sense of what the machines capabilities are. Around here 8000 grand can get you a really nice farm tractor with loader. 10,000 might get you a little old 4wd. If your ground is solid a big 2wd will get the job done no problem. Check out the 60s 70s internationals. People around here love the old hydros

 

[madhatte]

I know a guy who does a lot of group thinning in 20-40 year old alder/fir mix on his 200-some acre property with a 40 horse Kubota and a 3-point arch. He gets it done, but it's not quick. His land is mostly flat but gets pretty wet in the winter (par for course on alder ground). It can absolutely be done, but it's not ideal. He'd be better served with an old Garrett skidder, but the Kubota is what he has.

 

[mesupra]

The old ford tractors are built like bricks as well.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

A skidding winch will be a huge benefit in the productivity and safety departments. Keeping that tractor on the trails will be crucial, and a winch allows you to do that. Steep terrain and farm tractors is a bad mix as has been mentioned, but if you have a ROPS and wear your seatbelt you might be able to make a go of it. Keep the twitches very small to begin with, and if there's ever a question, come back for a second trip instead of trying to take a bigger load. Also, tire chains will be a big help.

 

[madhatte]

Keep the twitches very small to begin with, and if there's ever a question, come back for a second trip instead of trying to take a bigger load.

QFT

 

[Catfish Hunter]

Great input thanks guys! Buy those mfwd tractors are hard to find. I'm torn between a 50 hp 4wd and a 90 hp 2wd. Should I hold out for 4wd?


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[hseII]

Great input thanks guys! Buy those mfwd tractors are hard to find. I'm torn between a 50 hp 4wd and a 90 hp 2wd. Should I hold out for 4wd?


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70hp 4wd.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Great input thanks guys! Buy those mfwd tractors are hard to find. I'm torn between a 50 hp 4wd and a 90 hp 2wd. Should I hold out for 4wd?


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It really depends. A 50 HP 4wd with a hydrostatic transmission or power shuttle will be MUCH handier for loader work. It'll also be a lot more nimble in the woods. Not necessarily more stable, though. For field work however, a 90 HP 2wd will work circles around a 50 HP machine. I have a 45 HP hydrostatic Kubota, and I absolutely love it, but if I wanted to pull a heavy disc all day, run a baler, pull a 10' batwing mower, etc, I'd be looking at some older American iron to add to the fleet. The two options you mention above are so different. Having both would be ideal. Otherwise, Heath's solution would be the next best option.

 

[Catfish Hunter]

It really depends. A 50 HP 4wd with a hydrostatic transmission or power shuttle will be MUCH handier for loader work. It'll also be a lot more nimble in the woods. Not necessarily more stable, though. For field work however, a 90 HP 2wd will work circles around a 50 HP machine. I have a 45 HP hydrostatic Kubota, and I absolutely love it, but if I wanted to pull a heavy disc all day, run a baler, pull a 10' batwing mower, etc, I'd be looking at some older American iron to add to the fleet. The two options you mention above are so different. Having both would be ideal. Otherwise, Heath's solution would be the next best option.

Yeah it's hard to find a one machine compromise. I think I might go two wheel drive then some day a small skidder.


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[Brian72]

I've skidded with 2 and 4wd tractors and I've come to one conclusion. Tractors are very sketchy in the woods! I'm not saying it can't be done but they can very quickly turn into a death trap on uneven ground. If you can keep the tractor on solid, level ground and let the winch do the work it's much safer. Tractor tires suck in the woods too so I'd say chains are a must.

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[Sawyer Rob]

I do ALL of my logging with a FARM tractor and skidding winch, no problem at all...

I don't consider it sketchy at all, BUT it's NOT a skidder and I don't treat it like one. Rough ground ?, no problem at all.......just go sloooow and use your head!

SR

 

[M.R.]

.
Might want to do a bit of research on these
Unimog's / capabilities.....attachments.
.
Another question in reverse ......is how or what can be done
to adapt a small Skidder to the niche of your
farm operations....

 

[Ryan'smilling]

View attachment 602596
.
Might want to do a bit of research on these
Unimog's / capabilities.....attachments.
.
Another question in reverse ......is how or what can be done
to adapt a small Skidder to the niche of your
farm operations....

Those things are cool, don't get me wrong, but they aren't for farming. You might be able to hook up PTO implements, or even a three point hitch, but there's no rear visibility, must be a terrible turning radius, and I don't think you're gonna do very well in soft ground pulling a disc. If I had unlimited funds though, I'd have one in my driveway for sure, though!

 

[chucker]

I do ALL of my logging with a FARM tractor and skidding winch, no problem at all...

I don't consider it sketchy at all, BUT it's NOT a skidder and I don't treat it like one. Rough ground ?, no problem at all.......just go sloooow and use your head!

SR

! AGREED !

 

[rwoods]

Don't log or farm for a living, but I believe the key word here was "steep". Logging in steep terrain with a farm tractor especially with normal farm tires is a recipe for disaster in my book. We typically lose a good man ever year around here while bush-hogging or cutting hay on some steep hill. Anyone who has skid and mowed with a farm tractor knows that skidding a load of logs is far more likely to roll a tractor than running a mower. Or pull it down a hill. Or push it down a hill. Or stand it on its end. Heck, skidders are designed to skid and they seem to be rolled regularly. I'll let the loggers speak as to how frequently and why.

Ron

 

[rwoods]

View attachment 602596
.
Might want to do a bit of research on these
Unimog's / capabilities.....attachments.
.
Another question in reverse ......is how or what can be done
to adapt a small Skidder to the niche of your
farm operations....

Always wanted a Unimog with a 20 speed box, triple dumper, rear 3 point hitch and front hydraulic winch. I have watched plenty of YouTube videos of skidder versions. Uncle Sam unloaded a bunch of these urban backhoes through GL and more seemed to be in pieces under the hood and in the cab than together - almost all had very few hours and miles. Not sure what the problems were - didn't see any bullet holes - but they must have been something wrong with them or the application. When I was a boy, J.L. Case imported Unimogs as farm tractors not sure why they didn't catch on. Maybe $$. Or too far ahead of the times as there were almost no 4wd tractors smaller than a big articulated monster of the day. Or maybe a 4020 could pull it backwards - don't know.

Still pretty cool machines.

Ron

 

[Gologit]

Don't log or farm for a living, but I believe the key word here was "steep". Logging in steep terrain with a farm tractor especially with normal farm tires is a recipe for disaster in my book. We typically lose a good man ever year around here while bush-hogging or cutting hay on some steep hill. Anyone who has skid and mowed with a farm tractor knows that skidding a load of logs is far more likely to roll a tractor than running a mower. Or pull it down a hill. Or push it down a hill. Or stand it on its end. Heck, skidders are designed to skid and they seem to be rolled regularly. I'll let the loggers speak as to how frequently and why.

Ron

Well said. Almost everybody I know that've run a skidder for any length of time have rolled one over. You can also roll a feller-buncher, and I know first hand that it's possible to roll a Cat.
I've seen guys skid, or try to skid, with farm tractors. If they're lucky they usually scare themselves early on and then procede with some caution after that. We're talking about steep ground here.
The ones who wind up hurting themselves...or worse...are the ones who try just a little more side hill, or a little more steep ground, or bonus up that extra log, 'cause they've got away with it every time so far.
Eventually they don't get away with it. When it happens it happens fast. Then we read about them in the paper.

 

[rwoods]

Gologit, you already know I play in the woods skidding with a small 4wd tractor and that I am not dissing those who use farm tractors. I expect to have a winch on mine in a few weeks to pull tops from ravines to the road.

It is also no news to you that even with short and wide industrial tires, a stump, log or rock can tip it at slow speed on relatively flat ground. Steepen the ground a little, throw in a stump or something else I didn't see, or just bust a tire, and I am a goner. On true steep ground no extra hazards are needed. A bigger tractor compounds the risk by raising the center of gravity and upping the size of the load.

Just for fun I check CL regularly for used skidders around here. There are usually several every week - very few appear to have stayed upright. Almost the same for dozers used for logging. It is easy to spot a logger's dozer from a dirt mover's and I am not referring to whether or not it has a winch or a cage. You know what I mean.

Good to hear from you.

Ron