Cheap Winch

[CuttingEdge]

I have been meaning to put a winch on my bulldozer, but a factory type of winch...though way better...would also cost $2000. I already had a farm tractor type of winch so I figured I minds well mount that to the back of the bulldozer.

It was pretty easy, I just had to pull apart the rear end and couple a driveshaft into the transmission. Then I fabricated some brackets to act as a non-moving 3 point hitch. Then I used my log trailer to hoist the winch into place and pinned it. Then I had to custom build a new shorter top link.

After that it was just the driveshaft. Because the winch shaft comes as a 21 spline shaft, I used an adapter to get it down to a 540 pto spline, then hooked up the winches original pto shaft.

Now I saved $1980 dollars, but it has some severe limitations. Unlike a factory winch this one will not suck a stuck dozer out of the mud, it is not big enough for that. But with dozer logging, it is frustrating to have to drive to every tree. Now I can use its 150 feet of cable to pull the felled tree to the bulldozer, then hitch the tree to the hitch of the bulldozer and make up a 5-6 tree hitch and go with that. So it is a lot more productive then what I had. It has a hitch too so I can hook my log trailer up to it and still haul that around.

(BTW: the shrouds are off on the dozer because I have to install a new oil cooler for the reverser, but that will give me something to do this afternoon).

[JWB Contracting]

My guess is you will be looking for a back cover for your transmission when your winch drive shaft explodes. It's not made to take any force sideways or in and out.

If you invested in a proper winch and arch you would be so farther ahead in terms of productivity and efficiency -which makes you more money to pay for the winch.

Does your winch set up have a frespool feature like the factory one? If not it will be very unsafe.

We often get to buy crawlers like yours for parts and rebuilding. This past winter was a Widepad with a winch that was traded in because the owner welded the reverser drive coupling in instead of putting in a new shaft. Didn't take us long to fix it and less than 1k for parts.

[CuttingEdge]

Not to be argumentative, but other then the limitations of of a lightweight winch, I cannot see how the mounting would be detrimental to the output shaft coupled to the transmission? There is no end or side play on the winch drive, because the winch itself is firmly welded in place, just as I explained in my original text.

Then I fabricated some brackets to act as a non-moving 3 point hitch.

There is no jostling of the winch up or down, nor side to side; all the shaft does is spin, as it is designed too. I am not giving you grief, I know it is easy to see a picture and assume the worse by just skimming the text, and it is not like I do not get wordy sometimes.

You are right about production though, and if I used this tractor for all my logging needs you would be correct I would be better off with a factory winch. This however is a nice set-up for low impact forestry. The 350 dozer practically walks on water, my log trailer can haul 500 bf of logs, and the winch can run a line 150 feet out to haul a tree in; as a trio they really work well.

But again your are right regarding safety, my Grandfather nearly was killed by a homemade winch that was activated by the tractor clutch when he winched along on a non-ROPS cabbed tractor (back before tractors even had ROPS). What makes farm tractor type winches really safe is that they have a separate clutch. They ALWAYS freewheel unless your hand is on the lever and you are winching in. The second you let off the handle, the clutch disengages and they freewheel.

For production I got something a little bigger, a little faster, and with a lot more winch then anything you could put on a 350 or 450 though! It is productive (the skidder and not necessarily my wife), but those days are behind me. I am retired now, just cut wood off my own woodlot, and try and stay busy. Most days I cut 4 cord and call it a day even if it is lunch time, and sadly most weeks I only cut 10-12 cords. I like cutting wood, I just pick my days now.

I might have to give up logging altogether though; when I was in my logging accident a few months ago my CAT Scan showed a tumor on my Thyroid, and all indications right now say it is cancer. I went in for routine testing yesterday and when they cut into my neck I quit breathing and my heart stopped so I had to spend 5 hours in the emergency room. They said take it easy today so I figured I would mount that winch on for something to do. If I have to deal with hospitals all winter I won't want to venture out into the snow to put a little daylight in my swamps that is for sure, and may just have someone else come in and log it. The paper company has been after me for years to log my land, but I have always logged it myself, but now...who knows, my whole life is upside down until I get better.

[JWB Contracting]

I'm a bit of a purist so anything other than a Deere winch would be troublesome for me.

You do look to be a hell of a worker. Hope you can continue as looks like you enjoy doing it.

I've have not pulled much wood but have had lots of seat time on a 540A skidder we used for clearing ROW's, ripping ahead of our plow cats and also winching them thru the muskeg. So I've done a lot of winching, ripper in the ground and double lined with a snatch block. Started on the skidder at 14 and got in a lot of trouble if the winch lined snapped or was not rolled up nicely. Our old rubber tired vibratory plow needed to be winched on hard or soft ground and would often make it thru the construction season on one winch line. A good winch adjusted properly was necessary for us, especially when backing into a wet spot and wadding back to the plow to hook on. After we got tracked plow, we only had to winch when we got stuck. Often the ROW looked like your wet logging pics.

If I had better welding skills like yourself I would be looking at a skidder wreckers for an old arch, I would suggest using backhoe style mounting brackets that bolt to the back of the crawler and to the dozer frame.

[CuttingEdge]

Oh I understand perfectly. I get upset at nice machines that are all welded up, have junk cobbled on here and there, that makes a person think, "that would have been a nice tractor if someone had not raped it with a welder." That is not my intent on my own bulldozer, but as a farmer I tend to "use what I got" too.

John Deere does not make it easy to keep things the same though. For instance the 6 way blade control on my dozer is all sloppy and worn out, yet it is $1000 for the parts just to fix the handle. I have a hard time justifying a single lever control for that much money when I can swap it out for a 4 control valve from Supply Center for $300 and have an extra remote too. That is a third less money, brand new valve bank, and more functional. I know purists shudder, but I got one valve that is starting to leak and needs rebuilding.

I do keep all my old parts just in case a purist buys my bulldozer down the road and wants to revert back to the older stuff.

[shinnery]

No that is not one third less money it is one third of the money. Just my old proof-reader self acting up.