I wanted to get some advice from you more mechanically minded monkeys about a small yard tractor I am looking at. My expertise lies in other fields. I live on a slope. I wanted to get something that I could use like hell to pull out logs and some small rocks out of my riverfront.This looked like a good deal. Any advice would be appreciated. I plan on getting a BCS or Grillo 2-wheeled tractor next year. craftsman pulling tractor Thanks in advance for the advice.
I have been Logging, my next winters firewood, using my 2007 Yamaha Rhino 660, that has an electric 3000# winch on the front, and a small ATV Tired Trailer that I tow behind. When my fabricator arrives next week, I plan on welding a set of pinned mounts, to the Tube Steel front bumper, that I can attach a 6 ft "A Frame with Pulley, to use with the winch. Tractors are nice, but for 'Me", I need a vehicle that I can run the local Trail System with, and haul Wood, Gravel, and building materials around with. The Rhino has a DumpBed, over the real wheels, 2, 4, and 4 wheel Locked Differential, Drive selection. Plenty of HP to get around, 40 Mph on the flats, and a good 8-10" of ground clearance, if I crank up the 4 wheel independent suspension system. Plenty of "Pull" for yanking logs out of the brush, and with a boat trailer behind, I can move 18" dia. X 16 Ft long, logs to a close neighbors Mill, for building materials. Momma and I can go visit the close Neighbors, as it carries two, side by side. ..... and YMMV....
18 horse isn't much, and the fact this has been modified would make me very nervous. Sears probably won't touch it with the mods the ad says it has. Level ground, it might work, but pulling up slope (if very steep) will be problematic and possibly dangerous. Assuming you are aware that the boom simply lifts one end of the log off the ground so it won't dig in while dragging, you can see that shifts weight off the front wheels and onto the rears, that should make it clear the risk of tipping backwards on a slope. My vote is no. The price is right for experiments, not for reliability.
If you do not have much mechanical experience or do not know anybody locally that could go with you, I would steer clear of it. It could be a diamond in the rough but you could be buying exactly what you pay for. As mentioned 18 hp is not much but then it depends on how much weight you plan on pulling. You could make this tractor work but you might have to cut the logs into more manageable lengths. Without more info about the tractor and not being able to see it for myself, along with how much weight you plan on pulling, angle of slope you will use it for, is a hard call to make over the Internet. I am going to side on the error of caution, as I do not want to be the one to say yeah go for it, only to find out it is a pile of crap and hobbled together.
Ok...sooooo I bought it. I did bring someone that knows about engines to make sure the engine and tranny were in good shape. I have been riding around in the yard and taking the kids for rides. As Colt suggested I think that the logs are going to have to be cut smaller. I think I will definitely get something better for the big stuff but for pulling stuff around the property and smaller projects I think that it is going to be fine. He pulled and 800 pound log up a hill no problem. For $350 bucks I think it will be useful. Thanks for the advice BT, Ghrit, and Colt.
