Why I Don’t Use a 4 Wheel Drive Tractor for Logging 

I appreciate all the comments telling me how I can get more traction on this tractor. I do know I could get chains or reduce my air pressure in the tires. It is so rare that I need more traction, I have never had a need to seek out more traction.

The moral of the story, be thankful for what we have, be sensible about what we want as opposed to need, another spot on video, kudos.

😅we have a volvo T500 from the 70's. 2wd and a frontloader. It does the jobb here on the westcoast of Sweden. Snowplowing in winter, farm work, handling trees. It makes tighter turnes than a 4wd. No modern electronics. God old mechanical solutions make repairs easy. You are spoton. 😂

Dad said 4wd just gets you stuck further in. At last, some wisdom to go along with the production sales pitch!

Totally agree! Use what you have to do things others are not able or willing to do. No big loggers are willing to come on to your land, not tear up the roads, harvest only the dead or dyeing trees and turn them into lumber. Bigger tractors, bigger sawmills, bigger trailers, bigger trucks are not always the answer.

I bought a small 4x4 for logging, and it’s been more effective at the job than the larger 2wd we have, most of the time. It was mentioned that 4wd braking is beneficial, but also that I am not just limited to ballasting the rear for traction but can hang weights off the front for supplemental traction too. When you’re trying to push every ounce of power out of a 15hp Japanese twin cylinder diesel on a sub- ton tractor, you really want that additional traction, but for something this large it becomes less important.

There are two things that I strive to do when working in the woods 1. work smart 2. use what you have. You do amazingly well at both !

I have a neighbor that basically bought out the kubota dealership. Wheel loader, many skid steers, tree spades, 4WD bucket tractors, real grapple. The grapple is settling nicely in the field dirt where it got delivered. Many trees that were there are levelled and I think its becoming an industrial park.

I like your rationale on the equipment. Alot of people are more interested in keeping up with the Joneses and going into debt than being happy with what they have.

Great explanation in this piece with property management verses production Logging. You don't need a bunch of extra expensive equipment to get work done, just ingenuity, and a good common sense approach to what you are harvesting.

Absolutely right! The tractor is enough for 90% of the work. For difficult terrain you can use chains on the drive axle. 👍 Nice greetings from Germany

I'm working on starting a farm, and I'm planning on getting a USDA loan for a sawmill and tractor. Your video was incredibly helpful for me and i really appreciate the work you put into sharing all of your information and experience!

I’ve been pretty impressed with what you are able to do with your tractor. You just have to be mindful. I have a 4 wd tractor. I do a lot of loader work and 4wd is a must. And when in 4wd I have brakes on all 4 wheels. No sliding into the truck when loading. Cool vehicle Wilson.

Same rig, but we added a simple hydraulic grapple bar that adds down pressure from the top. Total game changer, and cheap to do diy.

When I bought my forest I spent the first 24 months without chainsaw, or any other mechanical aids. I harvested enough wood with a handsaw and splitting maul, carrying logs up over my shoulder one by one. My thoughts were that once I had the tools I'd inevitably use it, rather than use my eyes and brain to really studying the trees. The second year I did some cruising, ID'd what needed thinning and bought a chainsaw. That 2 years of enforced study gave me a better idea of which trees needed some canopy space and I've now got a solid 5 year plan.

More equipment = more profit = more costs... You end up working all the time just to cope with all... Your philosophy applies to me 100%. Good video !

I luv your tractor...motor going put put put.... you never just gun and see what happens... I have a 1960s tractor so i enjoy watching you work yours...

So i understand that you don't want to mow down your forest to pay for new stuff. 🤣👍 All good points and nothing wrong with working with what you have. 😁👍

I hear ya! I love my 4wd tractor but bought it when I was working and making the kind of money needed to afford it ;) Today, I'd be lucky to get a donkey! ha! 😁😂

I like your explanation of investment versus need,I think a lot of people get caught up with the” latest and greatest”. But then I say, if people didn’t buy new there wouldn’t be used equipment for me to buy.

Good morning Wilson , you obviously know about doing more with less ! Hell your good at it, any friends that are horse loggers ?

A set of tire chains for the rears on your 2wd drive will help out quite a bit in mud season and winter.

My first good laugh of the day is your "If I had.." monolog.

Lifetime small logger here. You doin fine. A winch is a must, and you have a good one..

Dam fine advice most people have forgotten

My 4 wheel drive tractor is really only a 3 wheel drive going up hill. No diff lock on the front so you would only be working extra for 3 wheel drive. Useful going down hill to tie into the rear brakes though. Love the philosophy of life and work balance. Thank you.

Perfect set up. Chains may help but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

I really like your tractor/winch combo. Keep it going for as long as possible.

Most of my time in the woods was with a 1960 Ford 601, a small two wheel drive tractor with no skidding winch. It was great for being able to maneuver around trees...just keep your thumbs out of the spokes of the steering wheel! Four wheel drive is nice but once you hook up a heavy log or two and lift up there isn't much weight on the front tires anyways. Some ag tires and or tire chains would fix your traction issues relatively cheaply but they would tear things up a bit more.

Could you give a little biography at some point like your career history and how you long you've been doing this and how you got started? Love your videos. I've always thought about productivity even when small logging but you've explained the why not on that perfectly.

I agree with you 💯. That's the smart way of thinking. I'm the same way

A new personal best! Two cameras down! That camera man needs a stern talking-to. Inattentive so and so... (Thanks for the shout-out and paraphrase of my credo: Start where you are, use what you've got and do what you can.) Couldn't view this latest before as we had some folks over to pick up a Barred Owl nest box, a Screech owl nest box and Bluebird box, but raining too hard for a tour. Another good'un and a Likeroo to boot. Cheers from your wet and shivering neighbor to the north.

Just discovered your channel! Great stuff. I love logging with my old 2wd IH354. Only need to pul 1-3 logs anyways!

I skidded tons of logs out of the bush with a 135 massey ferguson.I had chains and always tried to cut in frozen winter,or dry late summer to fall.Worked just fine.

Not too ridiculous, but good common sense. Great logic!!

You speak like a businessman who knows what he is doing. Keeping your overhead low means that you have less things overhead that can fall on your head. {Financially} There is a lot of wisdom in your reasoning why not to go out and buy a bunch of expensive equipment. Great respect for you.

Thanks that's a refreshing point of view to hear voiced on RU-vid. I followed channels because they did what they could with what they have with intelligence and skills rather than cash. As the channels get bigger and get more revenue they become buying equipment channel. When they don't have any more than a few days work a year for the equipment.

Ahhhh, I knew I had seen ya before. I checked your other vids and turns out I just watched your vid about why the Silly big angled back cuts? Love your vids and totally agree with all you said. Greetings from the farm near Battle Creek, Mi.

That's a really nice setup you have

Two ways of making more money. Work more or spend less. As I get older I find myself concentrating on the needs more than the wants. Compared to milling with a chainsaw and packing boards to the truck on your back like I do, I’d say your operation it top tier! I sure WISH I had your tractor! 😉👍🏼

Thats a nice way of thinking. We do get carried away buying stuff without thinking sometimes. It woud be be an option to change tires , those industrial type is not optimal for offroading. Also, it would be nice to visit your area. We do things a bit different here in Sweden. But some sure do it your way.

Great video!

Saluti dal Italia Firenze da noi in Italia i boscaioli usano i trattori forestali dt 4x4 per questo tipo di lavoro con il verricello e i trattori agricoli e forestali 4x2 2wd vengono con attrezzature tipo lo spaccalegna idraulico o la sega circolare o la cippatrice!( Complimenti bel video e il tuo massey Ferguson vintage è super! Buon natale 2023!)

I've had both 4wd and 2wd. I live in Ohio where we get plenty of mud. The time I needed 4wd was probably about the time I should have just stayed out of the mud. Once you get a large enough frame size tractor I think the 2wd is more than adequate. If you are constantly loading weight on the rear with the 3 point such as skidding logs. Well most of the weight is transferred off the front tires anyway so 4wd is less effective. Like you said. All depends on what you are doing with it.

Doing good with what you have, nice land you have

Good job. I myself like to work in my forest in Sweden. To help me, I have an old forwarder who is doing well 👍

I agree with you tractor argument. I drove 4wd tractors at work and its a big pay day to keep the tires good and there is more things that can break even though most of them are made good but still another upkeep. I say with 2wd tractor it gets most of the work done. I do not personally need to head out to the forest to pick up my logs during winter instead I use a snowmobile. Fell the trees that needed felling for firewood or maintaining. If I need big logs then I use a manual winch to tug the logs under nearby tree or good position for me get it with the tractor during spring and if its for firewood I cut and stack them also under a nearby tree and put a tarp corded around them. Never had a problem to process that wood after snow thaw out where I go and pick them up either with my log winch or wagon. -BUT- if it is a nice freeze before snow comes I usually can pick out the logs in beforehand with the tractor and winch cause that is pretty much the easiest. Anyway what I wanted to say was that no matter how you do things there is surely another way to do it. Its just about preferences. Just as in do I need a 4wd car? Sure it would be nice during winter but in my 2wd car I might get stuck once per year? Is it justifiable to spend the money on a 4wd car then? Its a matter of opinion really. I firmly believe in those things as small steps. I may not have 4wd today but maybe in a while you lock yourself to the goal on having one you save a little until you got enough money to spend it. If people like to take out a loan go ahead but I am not that kind of man that wants things quick and easy then to figure out that I need to pay off loans and high interests rates just because I got a little needy. Hope it is not hurting anyone but just displaying my own reasoning.

I like using what I have. It’s a lifestyle. Sometimes hard. Differently rewarding.

Watched your latest production before this so I'm here from the future to say it'll be alright in the end, 2WD/4WD, nobody mentioned you should get 4 horses and you would have 16 Hoof drive. That meant to be funny but you don't have to laugh. Thanks again

Gostei muito do trator parece muito com meu trator Valmet 👍🏽

nice way too work

There's a big difference between hobby land management and making a full time living from logging !

You could chain the tyres and you probably would have got up the hill going forward. 4wd does help but on a knackered tractor with an old 4wd system it doesn’t do as much as most people expect

Four wheel drive can be handy but isn't always needed, my ol Ferguson was just 2wd and did fine, sadly she now waits for me to figure out what broke inside and repair her. Oh and be safe sir sounds like oregon and washington coastal zones maybe in for some weather. Especially elevations like where you are will get the years first good snow falls.

Can you use the winch to pull you up the hill?

G'day Wilson, I just found your channel I've got a ford light industrial loader 1976 model 4500 Diesel with a counter weight I've fully rebuilt it I Just stand on the diff lock if I need a bit more traction, I'll bet that hill was a lot steeper than it looked on camera. Anyway It doesn't need glow plugs burns a gallon an hour dragging 6000 pounds and can lift 3000 👍.

Closing my eyes and hearing you start the tractor, I can hear my dad's old 1975 MF 178 here in Ireland. Is there a Perkins A4.248 in it by any chance?

Bigger tractors just make bigger ruts. A 2wd ford somewhere in the size of a 4000/5000 will go damn near anywhere. Nice to see this old equipment still

I run chains on my 2wd, very worth the cost.

How much cable is on your winch besides that 100' choker you have? Is winch cable 7/16" also?

It's possible a set of chains for those rear tires might do more to help than 4 wheel drive??? Depends on how deep the treads still are. Mine are so bare I have chains on year round just to get any traction.

Are your tires filled with something?

You could in theory just add a winch to the tractor sure it's a pain in the rear but it would get you up the hill even if you had no wheels. Just write in white paint 4 wheel drive on the wheels

So true! Do with what you have and you'll be smarter for it. Some make a living out of cutting other people's trees, and they are only interested in how fast they can cut. Your principal still apply. When they ignore it they end up in a pile of best and thousands of needlessly cut trees.

Hey, how about chains for the front??? Just kidding! What year is it? Is it from your granpa?

It is a safety issue to have 4WD on steeper terrain. Do not load your front end loader and head down a slippery slope unless you want to take a wild ride. With 4WD you can stop on a dime even on steep down slopes and, of course you can back up them with ease too. I run my front tires on 4WD in the reverse directional pattern and this helps even more and reduced wear with heavy front end loader use. Next tractor, make it 4WD, your life limbs are woth it!

Don’t look at that pine lol😂

Downhill braking with a frontload that lifts the rear tires off the ground is all it took for me to get a 4x4

Just a thought because 4wd is a bit more money, so here's a thought " Steel tire Chains" very effective.Cant drive on concrete or hard pavement.

Looks like a lot of green on that tree

Them old Massey 100 series will go a lot of places and if it can’t you probably don’t need to go there I have a 135 and use it for managing hardwood forest in Arkansas

Do you have fluid in your rear tires? If not that will greatly improve your traction at a low cost.

Looks like youre doin fine to me. ✌️🍩

Cold weather is your friend wet muddy ground just sucks.. it damages ground and the ecosystem work in the cold when possible.

Never under estimate forestry tire chains for tractors. That is something to buy if you really want to, otherwise, a decent enough set can be made at home. It wont have rge awesome tread studs. But it'll give extra traction. Though grooving the lugs of your wheels will also help a little. Adding rear weights will help as well.

The winch and some snatch blocks will make up for the lack of four wheel drive when things go sideways…😉

Chains?

I just wanted to say that it looks like your front rim may be not be completely round you can just take a hammer and hit it back where it should be 7:30 in video but if you don’t touch it it probably won’t bother anything seems like it works fine as it is

I get jealous of the fantastic land a lot of Americans have. Almost totally flat and not a single rock. I know the camera erases a lot of unevenness, it looks like driving on a dinner table everywhere. Here, the ice age left a lot of rocks. Even 4 wheel drive won't get me far here, I have 8 wheel drive on my forestry setup. 🤮 I get stuck between rocks and need to use the robson drive on the trailer nearly every load I haul out. Granted, my tractor is very small with small wheels. Bigger wheels handle rocks better. But then everything else gets bigger too.

I have almost the same tractor except it’s a 40 not a 30 does yours say made in Mexico somewhere down on the block or transmission also tire chains go a heck of a long way with getting around with a 2wd tractor

having dead trees in your forest is also good for the ecosystem. gives life to all sorts of insects

IMO, for what it's worth. You don't need a new tractor, you need new rear tires for sure. Maybe to retro fit a grapple if you're feeling froggy. Lol

What saw do you use ?

Nice One if you don't spend it you don't have to erne it I have been told Thanks

2wd is for fun and 4wd is when you have no other choice

2:48 not ridiculous at all. This is 'sustainability' in so many ways.

That MF'er still gets the job done

Use what you got one is not better than the other in all situations.

Four wheel drive? You need eight hoof drive and two horse powers. 😀

How about just a set of tire chains?

I’m sure it’s a lot steeper then it looks

hello my friend

I have a 1975 MF 30 gas . So there.

bro chill

If you get a 4 wheel drive remember to not ask to much out of the forks or bucket. Front loader equipment is the worst thing in the world on steering knuckles and drag link components.

But just imagine after your 4wd tractor is paid for with increased production…..the extra profits when you have lower overhead.

OK this said that he can't go uphill he's got a winch 😅

Dump some of air out of your tires, you have more tread on the ground.

I have a 2wd Kubota never needed 4wd

If only you had a D6 😉