It's Super and it Splits...

[727sunset]

trailer coupler

Since this splitter didn't come with a trailer coupler I knew I'd be modifying and adding one. What I came up with was adding a piece of receiver tube (same as pick up truck receiver hitch) at 96* angle and braced it to an existing hole in the table. The 4 foot tongue is detachable and in place only when towing. I don't have to go far and this does the trick getting to my neighbour's house. Here's a few pics to show it better.

 

[sunfish]

727, look good, it'll work.

I'm going to do similar to mine. Actually, I'll just copy you

 

[Circle B MN]

Since this splitter didn't come with a trailer coupler I knew I'd be modifying and adding one. What I came up with was adding a piece of receiver tube (same as pick up truck receiver hitch) at 96* angle and braced it to an existing hole in the table. The 4 foot tongue is detachable and in place only when towing. I don't have to go far and this does the trick getting to my neighbour's house. Here's a few pics to show it better.

I had the exact same idea. Looks like you beat me to the welder. I've been watching for a length of scrap suitable for the tongue. Being a cheap bastard I hate to buy new steel...

 

[davec]

Cool. I was thinking about it myself, but had a different plan. I was thinking of angling a tube down from the space under the table where you braced it. Pinning a drop leg of sorts into those holes that would drop down low enough for a hitch ball to reach it reasonably. Yours seems a little bit simpler. Same intention - just to pull it around the yard. I might copy you or go with what i was planning. We'll see. Haven't had time yet anyways.

 

[727sunset]

Nice to hear everyone approves this mod and please feel free to copy or improve it. It was put here purposely so we can all benefit. Any questions about building it, fire away!

MNGuns~ I had some 2" square tubing around but the .100" wall thickness (less than 1/8") was sufficient for this application. At $2 per foot it wasn't bad at all. The brace and short piece of pipe in the top were old steel.

Davec~ The underside of table has a provision to accept a piece of 2" square tubing and I definitely considered securing there. IMO the tongue has to come off during splitting, besides it's tripping hazard. What I wasn't keen on was storing a dog-legged shaped tongue and much preferred the straight design.

Also considered cutting off the lower part of the front leg and installing a tongue jack.
Another thing of importance is keeping the carriage retracted in transit and elevating solved that.

If anyone can improve this or other things on the Super Split maybe they could post it and we'll keep this thread going. I have another another small mod I've completed and will post it in a few days allowing everyone time to view the tongue.

 

[Pcoz88]

Nice looking job!! The super split from the factory doesn't look to road worthy.Is it road friendly to those who have one??? I need to be able to pull it over to in laws which is about an half hour away at normal 55 miles an hour.

Thanks!!

Pete

 

[mlkdvm]

I was going to do it differently, cutting off the down tube, welding on a tongue about 30 inches long, running a 2x2 brace from the front hole where your brace attaches down to the tongue, and then using a swivel trailer jack on the tongue. Your idea is simpler and better. I hadn't thought about bashing my shins into a tongue that would stick out past the end of the table and your design avoids that. Your post came at just the right time as I was going to fabricate mine this wekend. My shins will thank you.

 

[sunfish]

Nice looking job!! The super split from the factory doesn't look to road worthy.Is it road friendly to those who have one??? I need to be able to pull it over to in laws which is about an half hour away at normal 55 miles an hour.

Thanks!!

Pete

The SS comes with off road wheels / tires / hubs and no coupler. (Not for highway use). I don't think it's an options any longer. But call Paul at SS, or check the web site to see if the road gear is available.

 

[Curlycherry1]

Nice looking job!! The super split from the factory doesn't look to road worthy.Is it road friendly to those who have one??? I need to be able to pull it over to in laws which is about an half hour away at normal 55 miles an hour.
Thanks!!
Pete

No way no how is the SS towable in my opinion. WAY too top heavy! The tires are also made for off road use. My brother had a friend towing his big 4-Way splitter and it developed a death-wobble. It broke free from the towing truck and it hit a guard rail and literally flew ~50' over into a field (and down a hill). It could have killed someone.

 

[angelo c]

Nice looking job!! The super split from the factory doesn't look to road worthy.Is it road friendly to those who have one??? I need to be able to pull it over to in laws which is about an half hour away at normal 55 miles an hour.

Thanks!!

Pete

Mine fits real easy in the back of my pickup. no need to trailer. (unless moving it about the yard )

 

[davec]

Davec~ The underside of table has a provision to accept a piece of 2" square tubing and I definitely considered securing there. IMO the tongue has to come off during splitting, besides it's tripping hazard. What I wasn't keen on was storing a dog-legged shaped tongue and much preferred the straight design.

Yeah that is about what I was thinking. I also realized that it needed to detach or it will be in the way, so I was just going to pin in into that 2" wide slot under the table. I still will probably give it a go as I have the steel to do it (2" sq x 1/8" wall). I'll post it up when I get there. Just need to get others things done first...

 

[davec]

No way no how is the SS towable in my opinion. WAY too top heavy! The tires are also made for off road use.

Second that. The wheels are like for a lawn mower or garden cart or some small ATV, and they ride directly on the axles - no bearings of any sort. Just meant for moving around the yard. Either load it up into the bed of a PU or trailer it for over the road transport.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Nice looking job!! The super split from the factory doesn't look to road worthy.Is it road friendly to those who have one??? I need to be able to pull it over to in laws which is about an half hour away at normal 55 miles an hour.

Thanks!!

Pete

SuperSplit's words

When I contacted them a while back it was stated that trying to tow a SuperSplit is like trying to tow a portable cement mixer. Very top heavy, unstable, and unsafe. In other words, pulling it around the yard is OK, towing over the road is not an option.

Take Care

 

[bass_on_tap]

I would like to modify mine to tow to the shed and back with a similar setup as the OP. For any distance longer than that, I'll use the aluminum bike trailer. Tows at 80 mph without a wobble and the foot sits nicely in the Condor bike chock.

 

[727sunset]

Although it's not near as important as providing a trailer coupler/tongue here is another small mod I did to my splitter.
With each stroke of the carriage extending I noticed the return springs rubbed the web of the I-beam. Over time this can reduce the service life of the springs. The manufacturer provided a single eye bolt for spring attachment. I removed the eye bolt and substituted a device that separates the springs enough so they no longer rub the I-beam. It was bolted in place with 2 existing holes.

 

[Circle B MN]

Very nice mod. I'll add that to my list of things to do..

 

[davec]

It's been a while but I got my hitch made finally. Actually got the hitch made a few weeks back, but the splitter has been sitting in the middle of 30 cord of firewood, getting a good workout, so it hasn't needed to be towed until now. So here's a couple shots of it getting put back in the garage. I used two 3/8" bolts to pin it to the 2 holes in the slot under the table. Couldn't find any hitch pins smaller than 1/2" so just used bolts for that. You don't need to tighten them beyond finger tight for this kind of towing. Made it from 2" sq x 1/8" thick steel tube

And here's a shot of the giant pile of oak, almost totally split...

You can see the SS in front of the pile, in front of and barely to the left of the big willow on the left. Look closely! That gives you an idea of scale, though you can't see the depth of the pile well. CurlyCherry did 95+% of the splitting on this pile... Props to him. And yes, this splitter split all that in the past ~2-3 months.

 

[Curlycherry1]

The mower pulled the splitter along with no problem right up to the garage. Yep that was a HUGE pile of oak and it took me far longer hour wise to split it than I thought it would. This was NOT because the splitter was slow but I found that the thing is so fast that 4-5 hours on it and I was pooped! I am not as young as I was in the past so I had a hard time keeping my back in good shape. That splitter gives a guy a workout!

Now, another thing, notice the size of that pile of oak. It is big. Furthermore it is all composed of trees ranging from ~30" in diameter down to 4" in diameter and it included every crotch, knot, bump, lump and twisty gnarly mess of wood you can think of. The SS split every single piece of it! NOTHING could not be gotten through that splitter! NOTHING! I at first thought it was going to run into something that it could not get through and I can now safely say with 100% certainty that it will split oak, maple, cherry and elm with ease. You will never find a piece it cannot handle. Those photos of the pile above are proof. We cut everything mother nature grew on that hunk of land, and the splitter took care of all of it. What it does not split it cuts. That is one lean, mean splitting machine! I see no reason to use hydraulic splitters when speed is important. I was a maniac when I had that splitter going.

Now I am burning wood with reckless abandon! I am set and my heat is "free."

As for the splitter, it is tucked away in my garage all nice and safe. Thanks Davec for the nice splitter, I just changed the garage door code so you can't have it back. :greenchainsaw:

 

[davec]

Time to get the truck up to ramming speed!

:greenchainsaw:

 

[727sunset]

That'll work.
Looks good davec!
Nice pile of splits you've been working on.