zogger
Tree Freak
That's a decent price.
Anybody have or used one of those gas powered rope caspian winch???
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That's a decent price.
I thought it was. I'm only out to get a fair price.
The old Homelite engine runs surprisingly well, although it is irritatingly loud. The cable winches seem to have a lot more line pull than the capstan rope winches. I'm selling mine because I don't need two, and the cable winch just isn't as practical for our kind of work.
The old Homelite engine runs surprisingly well, although it is irritatingly loud. The cable winches seem to have a lot more line pull than the capstan rope winches. I'm selling mine because I don't need two, and the cable winch just isn't as practical for our kind of work.
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I purchased the Simpson winch with the Honda GX35 engine. It's very similar to the smaller Portable winch model. I've used mine for about three years pulling up tree trunks from my back yard. I don't use the wire anchor attachment. I purchased some hooks similar to the Portable winch and bolted them on the Simpson winch. I only use 3/8" double braid rope and it has never failed me. It's not a fast method of hauling, but it sure beats carrying trunk sections by hand. I'll post some pictures and videos when I can. I've tried in the past but this site times out when loading a video (maybe too long). The Simpson winch has a 5 year warranty on the gear box and is made in the USA. I've never had a problem with it. I use a skidding cone whenever I can as it helps get around stumps or small trees in the way.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Did you guys know there is a copy of the Lewis chainsaw winche at a considerably lower price? I've no idea about the quality.
https://www.amazon.com/Powerhouse-Log-Splitters-Xm-100-Chainsaw/dp/B01DF9883
https://www.amazon.com/Powerhouse-Log-Splitters-Xm-100-Chainsaw/dp/B01DF9883
I haven't checked out your link, but the portable winches that use steel cable don't ever seem to have a reverse gear. This will quickly become a huge problem the first time you try to back off of your load.
The capstan/rope winches let go of a load; the cable/drum winches...not so much.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Yes, also a finite amount of cable/rope (especially if contemplating significant loads) can fit on the drum. Does freespool and have a brake though, although the latter are not supposed to be terribly good but in conjunction with the saws chainbrake I think they are supposed to be adequate. On the other hand, no having to keep tension on the drum to keep the load on, rather versatile and handy in a 'when you need it you NEED it' kinda way,reasonably portable, reasonably cheap for the versatility, the powerplant has more than one use.
Yes, keeping the tension on the capstan is a pain, and the need to keep the throttle open "as needed" makes running them a two man job.
I don't know why they don't put a capstan winch together with a self-tailing feature like the GRCS has. It's downright dumb to leave off such an obvious feature.
I don't know why they don't put a capstan winch together with a self-tailing feature like the GRCS has. It's downright dumb to leave off such an obvious feature.
I know this is an old thread, and I'm not really answering the question. But, I gave up on winces. With several snatch blocks and 3/4", 17,000 pound rope I can snake 30' logs out of the woods, or pull 8' logs up on my trailer, with my truck. I figure the truck weighs 6,000 pounds and will pull a lot. If snaking logs out of the woods I try to hang the snatch block 5 or 6 feet off the ground. If pulling logs onto the trailer, I have a piece of round pipe that slides in pockets on the front of the trailer to guide the logs on, Joe.
I am using the bigger portable winch setup. Used it to pull logs out of a 100ft deep ditch. Skidding cone helps avoid roots. I use the 1/2 rope. easier to grab. Have both size wheels but only used the smaller so far. Have not used it in awhile. Even used it to do a one man recovery of mini skid steer that went over the bank. Just a matter of setting up pulleys to get the results you want. Works as advertised.
Sure, and I can load all those logs onto your trailer in about 5 minutes with my brush grapple and wheel loader on flotation tires. But that really doesn't comment on where the portable winches are effective: places your truck and my loader cannot go.
Places like steep hills, and backyards with fences, and creek bottoms, and on the other side of that creek bottom, and thick woods with no clearing, and back yards with fancy lawns that you are not allowed to drive on, and...this is an endless list!
There is always a place where some piece of equipment becomes necessary, while the same machine sits idle the rest of the time. You need to balance your equipment needs against the work that you are doing. There are lots of machines that I do without because I cannot afford them and my work load could not pay for the purchase. So...I make do with what I have.
The trick is knowing what machines you want to have, and then making sure your sales can support that machine profitably. I haven't used my portable winch for about 6 months. But then again, I mounted a 9000lb hydraulic winch onto my brush grapple so that I wouldn't need it as often. We use it all the time. I haven't used a lot of my machines recently, but they are there to do the job that other companies would walk away from or cannot do as well as I can.
An additional note: If'n I was putting my truck out on someones yard that way, I would just get a log arch and wheel them over the grass. Perhaps a tiny little 3k cable winch to pull the logs onto the trailer. Your process looks a little crazy to me, loading logs onto an unsecured trailer on a hill.
It looks rather inefficient, too, but maybe you are better at it than I would be.
It looks rather inefficient, too, but maybe you are better at it than I would be.
pdqdl, I know your still in business, and I threw in my caveat, and posted the pics because this isn't the commercial tree care forum. Most of these guys are scrounging firewood. Often people buy expensive equipment because they haven't seen someone do it another way. I was never lucky enough to have a skid loader. I had an old Hough Payloader. I seldom got to use it on jobs because it crushed a yard. Mostly used it to move mulch in the work yard. Like you say, there is always a place for a special piece of equipment. The original poster is a pipe fitter by trade, so I don't think knuckle booms, dump trucks, and heavy tree removal equipment would be high on his priority list. If you look at my half ton pickup there is not a single rut in the yard. The wheels on the trailer are chocked, and because the weight is pulling down on the front of the trailer it won't roll forward. Where I dropped the tailgate was off the lawn, under the drip line of the tree, no sod to tear up. I tried a little 3000 pound winch and it worked OK, but it was slower than death. I could load the whole trailer before it would pull up one log. I was going to go to a 9 or 12000 pound winch, but I started pulling the logs on with the truck. If the yard conditions had been different I might have done it differently. I could have used my Massey Ferguson 135 with the log arch to wheel the log to the curb. But that would have meant having my friend drive me home after I drove the tractor several miles to get to his house. Then these pics wouldn't have been pertinent. I would have posted picks of something else. If this were the commercial tree care forum I would agree with you 100%. Again, I'm not in business anymore, and if the yard was wet, I wouldn't have backed on it. I'm not pressed for time, with a schedule to keep. The friend I got the logs from was in no hurry either. He just wanted me to mill him a couple of the Fir boards for a project. Maybe I shouldn't, but I'm assuming the OP is getting wood from friends and relatives, and he is going to treat those folks yards with respect. I hope I don't come off as a jerk to you, not my intent. But since this was such an old thread, and I looked up the OP's profile, I treated it as a wood scrounger looking for a way to move logs. Not a Tree Service looking for a review on a piece of equipment. Peace Brother, Joe.
hseII
Addicted to ArboristSite
Pictures please.
I have pictures of the wood but not of the pulling. I will check old phone for more pictures.
It was a CL wood score. But had to get them up the hill. Nice straight standing oak.
https://goo.gl/photos/bZtKaKLmXekED9k79
It was a CL wood score. But had to get them up the hill. Nice straight standing oak.
https://goo.gl/photos/bZtKaKLmXekED9k79
Yep! That about covers it nicely.
Still...kinda scary on the trailer. You just don't know how many I have seen go down the hill when they were chocked nicely. Once they start rolling, you don't get to do anything but try to remember what if feels like watching a disaster you (or more often, your employees) made.
When I was about 18 I had a 63 International 1 ton 4X4 pickup. The cable on the front winch got all crossed up. So, I spooled the cable out, hooked it to the pintle on our F600, and put the truck at the bottom of a long down hill grade. Started winding the cable in, keeping it nice and tight and straight. You know where this is going. With about ten feet of cable left, it snapped at the tow hook. It was a gentle down hill grade, but I had to run backwards to grab the door and jerk it open. Jumped in, but before I could hit the brakes the truck hit a couple small Cherry trees in the hedge row, hit my head on the rear window, bout knocked me out. It was in a 5 acre field, nothing to damage, should have just stood there and watched it go. But, thinking back, I wanted to see how easily the winch could pull the truck up the hill. At 18, seemed like a plan, Joe.
When straightening my cable-spooling, I prefer to attach something big then pull it to the vehicle. Or...get behind the wheel and take a nice break.
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