Haul-back winch options for tractor logging winch owners.

[FLRA_Dave]

I have thought about leaving a lightweight rope/cable on the end of the winch cable as a tail and having the choke setter pull it back by hand. Still a fair amount of labor though. Or maybe a knock off of a winch like this: http://www.kolstrand.com/products/g...winch-with-aluminum-frame-and-gypsy-head.html. How much pull does the haul back line really need? 100-200 lbs of pull at the most? And that's only if there was a bind in the winch drum, otherwise much less than 100 lbs of pull I would think.

 

[Guswhit]

I built my own with a Braden hydraulic winch off a big wrecker. I built the double sheave in the shop I was welding in. It came out pretty good I think.

 

[Dpown]

That looks like a great design/idea for pulling power, but not that useful if what needs to be winched is in an area that the truck cannot reach. Great handiwork though!

 

[Guswhit]

That looks like a great design/idea for pulling power, but not that useful if what needs to be winched is in an area that the truck cannot reach. Great handiwork though!

Do you know where a unimog can go?

 

[Dpown]

Not through trees or into a home owners backyard I would assume.

 

[Guswhit]

Not through trees or into a home owners backyard I would assume.

Do a search, or go here
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/unimog/
I have been into a lot of homeowner yards guiding trees down or pulling shrubs.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I guess my biggest complaint about those winches on trucks is, they are just so slooooooow...

I have a couple and that's why I chose to not use them for a skidding winch. No question they would be fine for a guy that has a LOT of time, and only needed to use it once in a while though...

SR

 

[Guswhit]

I thought of that when I was building this, but the price was right, plus I can drive almost on top of every tree I decide to pull, so I am basically choking the log and raising the but up and hauling out. I have done a couple of long pulls but you are correct-it's just not worth the time.

 

[Dpown]

How fast can you pull with that thing?

 

[WoodTick007]

I have a Warn 8274 and use it to retrieve logs off the road or in a river valley. It works great! The problem i have is keeping the butt end of the log off tree roots and stumps. I was pulling 10ft lengths of 18"-25" across logs up a hillside and it worked incredible. I used a pivot point with a pulley to reduce the load on the hitch mount. I powered winch with two deep cycle batteries. The batteries provided excellent power for 8 or 10 logs I pulled. That being said, i have no idea how long or how many pulls you could make before suffering power loss. I can tell you that at 10 logs I noticed very little loss.

 

[Guswhit]

Do you mean winch speed or machine travel speed?
If I remember the winch was 16' to 20' fpm and I can go about 15 mph travel speed pretty easy. I'm usually on the edges of corn rows and it can get kind of bumpy in the winter with frozen ground. If I have the opportunity before the ground freezes, I like to go out when the top soil is just a little wet and make a trail I can follow the rest of the winter to ease the bumps and then I can go a little faster. I'm still learning what it can and can't do, but I got a set of chains a couple years ago and now it seems unstoppable.

 

[Dpown]

I meant the winch speed, cause 20 fpm is pretty slow, even though it's powerful... the winches I mentioned can pull at 60' fpm.

 

[FLRA_Dave]

The winch on my tractor is rated at 75-175 ft/min (depending on what layer the cable is on) with around 6,500 lbs of pull. I think those speeds are just about right. even at half the rated PTO speed the logs get pulled nicely. The 165 ft of cable is nice as well.

 

[nathon918]

how about a homemade winch out of a rear truck axle?
mount a 6" sch 40 pipe to one side for the drum, lock the other side, then do a belt drive on the pinion with a belt tensioner, when you want the winch to pull you just pull a lever to tighten the belt, let go and it free wheels... depending what you drive it with you can gear it to any speed you want... id probably keep the brake on the drum side incase a drive belt breaks, and use it as an emergency brake

 

[Vegas Runner]

This capstan winch works really great.
www.speedwinch.com

 

[Dpown]

So expensive though. $2000 for a winch? Mine was by no means cheap, but it was much less expensive.

Also, the speed winch runs of electricity. I find the gas portable winch much more convenient.