Small Crawler Tractor for Logging your Forestry Garden
A small crawler tractor for logging your forestry garden is well suited for the task if the trees on your garden are of the medium size.
You are faced with the task of moving the logs from where they fell, to an area where they can be converted into firewood or logs for lumber.
It has been my experience thru trial and error that the small crawler tractor worked quite well for me while I was turning my country acreage into a forestry garden.
This tractor should have the following specs:
- Weight: around 7500lbs, max 15,000lbs
- Blade:
6ft to 8ft, six way preferred
- Fuel:
Diesel, preferred, safer in vegetation
- Canopy:
Metal, safety screen in back, side screen good in brush
- Winch:
7/16in - 3/4in winch line, 100ft +-
- Winch
arch:
Lifts end of log off ground
A bulldozer tractor will weigh up to around 15,000lbs or so, and have a blade width up to 8 feet.
I like this smaller machine for working in my forestry garden because I am not trying to: what I call civilize the locality and clear a lot of the vegetation.
I try to clear small areas for planting trees. The only time I disturb the existing vegetation is when I make narrow roads into an area. This is necessary so I can log the trees that have died or blown over and on occasion I have removed a couple of trees in an area, opening it up for reforestation.
If you have a blade under 8feet it is possible to make an inroad into an area without doing a lot of damage to the surrounding vegetation.
Leaving most of the area in a pristine condition.
To my way of thinking this is what a forestry garden should be.
When you get a crawler tractor it will be to your advantage to try and get one with a winch.
This is an item that is attached to the back of the crawler.
It is simply a round cylinder that is made to rotate via controls and power from the crawler.
When the cylinder, drum, turns it winds the steel cable on it, pulling the end closer to the crawler.
If you have a log attached to the end of the cable it will be pulled to the crawler.
For safety reasons you must make sure that the crawler has a canopy.
This is a steel cage that you set under while operating the tractor.
This will offer you some protection if you in the unlikely event, happen to roll it over.
This will not happen if you operate the crawler safely and carefully, always mindful of what is going to happen if you do this or that.
I call this the cause and effect.
For every action there is a re-action.
This canopy has a metal top and this has more than one function:
- Protects you from elements of weather, rain, snow, hail, etc
- Protects you from the sun, less sunburn
- Keeps you from getting knots on head from falling debris
- If winch line breaks or comes loose, will protect you from getting injured by backlash
This small crawler tractor does do the tasks that I need done on my forestry garden, but if your garden has a lot of large trees then perhaps it will not work for you. If this is the case I urge you to go to the page on the Large Crawler Tractor to get some information on this.
From small crawler tractor to logging
From small crawler tractor to forestry gardening tips
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