Thinking about buying a skidding winch for the 3pt hitch on my tractor. Just looking for some feedback from those who own or operated one. What brand seems to be the most durable/user friendly. The winch would be mounted on a 90 hp 4wd kubota.
Thanks!
I use a Farmi winch on my 95hp Kubota tractor. There is no better winch made.
I used to run 2 farmi JL601's on 2 belarus 85 hp tractors. Ran them for 4 years before I bought my first skidder. I think they are one of the best ones out there. I heard fransgaurd winches are real strong to.
Have a 3rd hand used Farmi winch, works flawlessly and is built real strong.
Gday
I have had a smaller farmi winch since i was 18 which was built in the 70s im the second owner I think its rated at about 2or3 ton cap and has had no dramas at all winching and skidding out two 24" butt 55' long logs out mounted on my chamberlain loader in the past and its still on the original clutch pads which ar only about 10to20% worn so she still has plety of life left in er ;) ;D 8) 8) 8)
The previous owner used it consistantly over a 15 yr period for skidding out hardwood logs for his small parttime sawmill opperation that supplyed his fencing business ;)
Like Jasperfield and Mark i think you cant Beat em ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8)
Ive only had one drama which was breaking the top linkage bar a couple of times trying to pull three decent size logs at a time But that was because i was over doing it the whinch dint flinch though ;) :D :D Ive fixed that one tho as i replaced the std linkage with a solid steel job ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8) 8)
Regards Chris
Have logged upteen thousands of ERC trees and some big hardwood with our Farmi winch. It is an outstanding piece of machinery. When oiling the chain be careful not to get oil on the clutches. ;) ;) Fingertip control too. I pulled hard enough to lift the entire tractor into the air one time. MF165 diesel.
I use the farmi also and it's done everything I've asked of it.
I have used my Norse winch hard.My Father and me twitched out alot of good size white pine with it.I still use it now,but no where need as hard.It's living an easy life now.Been using it for 15 years on a 40hp 4wd NH.Have never repaired it yet.It's an 450 with a hinged butt plate.They all do just about the same job.Just like all of the major brands of tractors or trucks,chainsaws.I think this is one of the few things that there is no junk out there that is made,that I know of.That 90hp should really do the job.Is this a business venture?What kind of wood will you be cutting?Been around a 3pt winch before?
I have a smaller Farmi that is on its second tractor. I has served me well over the past 30 years and we are still working on the original clutch.
A friend has a Norse winch that has given him good service for the past 20 years.
Randy
I have a Wallenstein that has worked great for me. Heavy use for 2 yrs so far.
Nick
Hey....Thanks for all the info everyone. I am thinking about a Farmi JL501. It is rated for 40 to 60 hp tractors. It has 11,000 lbs of pull. The tractor I plan to put it on is 90 engine hp/80 pto hp. I hope this won't be a problem. The next model up is th jl601 and is rated for 60 to 150 hp tractors and costs about $2000.00 more. I think the 601 would be a little excessive for me. Just plan on pulling mainly firewood out of my own woodlot for now. If anyone runs a jl501...what size tractor are you running?
Thanks!
HI THERE,
I saw this post and thought I'd let you know that I've seen a guy posting a lightly used JL601 on CL here in NH for the past 6months. Not sure if it might be worth looking into. He's got picutures posted of it.
Matt
Farmi Logging Winch (price reduced) - $5000 (Jefferson,NH)
Date: 2009-12-15, 9:00PM EST
Reply to: sale-e3qcz-1512089561@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
I had been using a 501 on a 45 hp. Mahindra for about four years prioir to buying a skidder. I mostly pulled fire wood, but have pulled a few loads of logs. I guess it depends on what you are planning on doing. If you just want to pull fire wood and a few logs then go with the 501. If you are trying to get more production then go with the larger winch. In the long run I would suggest spending the money, as the Farmi's hold value well.
I think the clutches are adjustable, and can be set to slip before a higher HP tractor will damage the winch. However I would verify this with someone more knowledgeable, or with the dealer...
John Mc
Farmi works well for me and my Kubota 45 hp tractor. Be sure to pull straight back, not to the side, or you can easily overturn the tractor.
simonmeridew
i have a farmi 351/ 350p(solid blade, i can never remember the number) on a 40hp JD 990 with the tires set as wide as possible. moved a lot of wood with it in the last 5 yrs. haven't had any big problems just the usual annoying little things like cable breaks. with my tractor i end up doing a lot of buckig in the woods to get things down to a movible size. a firend of mine has a 80 horse NH. He had a 501 to start with dicided to get a new winch and went with a fransguard he's been happy with both
I have run a Farmi 501 on a 100hp+ tractor (966 IH) for over a year now. The clutch is designed to slip befor the winch will be damaged. I bought it new and have used it pretty hard pulling out hardwoods with a lot of 18" - 24". It would handle enoegh to make the front end of the tractor dance with a 1000 lbs. on the weight bracket. I have not had to adjust anything on it since it's been delivered. I feel it's a fine piece of equipment and built to last.
Tom
I have been looking to buy a skidding winch for my tractor. I have been looking at the farmi and the uniforist winch the Farmi is $70 cheaper but the uniforist includes slap guard and has 65 ft more cable also is 200 lbs heavier and the dealer has both. Is there something that I am not seeing to influence my decision to which one to buy.
Are you sure your looking at comparable models of the Uniforest and Farmi winches? I bought a Uniforest 35E mainly because it had very similar capabilities as the Farmi 351, but was $300-$400 cheaper, even before adding the safety screen to the Farmi (a $250-$300 option on the Farmi).
Even in the larger sizes than what I purchased, the Uniforest is cheaper than the Farmi. If the Farmi had been close in price, there is no question I would have bought that instead.
John Mc
I have a farmi 351P, on JD 4400 30 pto hp. have had no problems. Would look at remote control if working alone and or rough ground. This will alow you to follow logs roll them if hung up or before that happens without walking back and forth to clutch rope. I tie on extra rope pain keeping out of way, and pick up.
I have the 501 on a 45 hp Kubota. Very well built and no problems or complaints. Clear cut 40 acres of grade red oak for a client and it was well worth the money!
I just wanted to bump this back up to see if there was any more discussion on any other tractor winches. Been researching them lately and didn't want to duplicate basically the same question as the original poster. Thanks.
Ours has worked well for us,but it was made for older tractors.( we bought a few yrs. ago new) and it doesn't go down to far below grade with out the PTO shaft sliding out.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/28754/IMAG0201.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1373114225)
Quote from: timberlinetree on November 28, 2016, 05:38:10 AM
Ours has worked well for us,but it was made for older tractors.( we bought a few yrs. ago new) and it doesn't go down to far below grade with out the PTO shaft sliding out.
Sounds as though you just need a longer PTO shaft - or does the telescoping length bottom out when you raise the winch too high?
WLC, what size tractor do you have (weight and HP). Usually, sizing a logging winch has more to do with the weight of your tractor than the HP, but both are a consideration.
I own a Uniforest 35E (similar specs to a Farmi 351). It's worked well for me with only a couple of minor issues (all of which were fixed without having to but new parts, it was just a matter of learning to use it and take care of it properly. I bought it because it was significantly cheaper than the Farmi 351 at the time. I do think I like the Farmi better than what I have now (plus, the local Farmi dealer is excellent - I bought my tractor from them). However, what I have works very well for me, and I recently made use of every bit of the 230 ft cable as we were working on clearing a new access trail. (The Farmi comes with 165 ft of cable, which is plenty 95%+ of the time).
If I had it to do over, it would be a tough call. The Uniforest 35E has been updated to the 35M, which includes several improvements. I think this brings it closer to the Farmi in desirability. I would still probably give Farmi the edge, but it's close enough that the price or dealer support would still be the deciding factor.
There are lots of other good brands, but no one in my area seems to sell them, so I'm not as familiar with them.
John Mc, my tractor is a 35hp Branson 3510i. Don't know the weight right off hand. Any logging winch I get will have to be shipped in from the lower 48 so reliability and dealer/mfg support via long distance will be a big factor in any decision I make.
I talked to Tom@ www.inlandnorthwestimplement.com in Idaho this morning. He is the closest Farmi dealer/distributor to me. I liked what he had to say about Farmi and being as far from dealer/mfg support has me leaning towards the Farmi 351P really hard and purchasing it from him. If any of the other folks on here is interested in Farmi and live in the west/PNW I would give Tom a call. Never done business with him, but really liked him when talking on the phone. I will put my money where my mouth is when I buy, just have to come up with the cash.
In all the debates about which winch is "best" Farmi is right in there. You won't regret that decision. Well designed and last forever.
I have worked my Norse hard and I do mean hard. Pine 3 feet across was common. Used it that way for 3 years. Now just firewood. Never needed a part for it. Been working it since '93.
Yes, it bottoms out when horizontal, but still has been handy.
My Dad and myself worked a Farmi for a while, the model is in my profile as I Can't remember as I am typing. The unit always worked really well, however was a little too small for my tractor. Plus it was the model without the butt plate, which I believe would be an improvment (some say not though) I had some issues on occasion where it was difficult to unhook trees as they would get jammed in the legs, kinda hard to describe, but it happened.
I was really turned on by the Tajfun's, they seem really awesome, albeit expensive. My buddies happily talked me into buying an old skidder, not for everyone for sure, but for about the same money as the winch that I wanted I have a skidder, that will do a better job more safely it seems, and not beat the heck out of the tractor bashing through the woods. More importantly though, owning a skidder was always my dream, seems I just needed a little coaxing haha.
There is currently another topic about tractor logging winches: LINK (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,81025.0.html)
I have an Igland (they make the Norse winches) 3501 on my 50 HP Massey Ferguson. It has worked great for me. I pull mostly oak and ash firewood. It looks small but is rated up to 70(?) HP.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/004~8.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1446479315)
I have a Wallenstein FX 65 (6500lb pull capacity) coupled to a MF 4608 (68 pto hp )
Very happy with it and wouldn't go in the woods without it !
A winch is a great asset when access is limited in some places like steep slopes or soft ground
Had a little mishap with my winch last week. My BIL and nephew came over to help me cut down some tricky trees that were growing into the canopy of a very nice sugar maple I didn't even know I had until recently. I was skidding a large red oak with several smaller trees hooked to the sliders. UI was focused on the large tree and one of the smaller ones was chokered too far from the end and I ended up running it into my winch guard and bent it. :'(
Totally my fault.... Pulled it off, heated it up and got it bent back into reasonable shape. I'm thinking of making a better one. Pics below of it bent....
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(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/039.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1483451276)
Had s Farmi 500?? For a long time. Replaces control ropes, adjusted the clutch, replaced u-joints and welded cracked and bent bottom hitches a few times. It did very well..!! Got a Timberjack now. 😀
Ayup,bend them you will. I built another one for mine. Man that came out good. Than a month later I had 2-3 small trees on,maybe 6 inches across each one. For some reason I went the wrong way,stopped and backed up. Ayup,bent the the nice looking guard. It's still bent.
Kinda like hitting the stops on a mill.
I get into more trouble with the small ones than when I have a 3 foot one behind me.