Winch. Skidding - D8H

[Olly]

Hi All,
Looking for a winch, here in NZ, to fit a D8H (46A31286). I have found something in the North Island a few hours south; a D89C Hyster.
I have the parts book / manual for the tractor, however, there is no mention of the winch, other than fluids. Is there a particular model that I should be looking out for?

A few more questions I have after searching the forum and getting a few tips;
1) It was mentioned that some winches aren't ideal for skidding as they don't spool freely. What are the D89Cs like for pulling out cable, assuming it's compatible? I wont have the opportunity to see the winch running prior to purchase. Likely to be easy, or a Herculine effort?
2) Does the PTO on the 46A drive direct from the engine? or through the torque converter?
3) It was noted that Thomson Equipment have winch manuals for download. I couldn't find any myself.

We will be logging a small area of pine before re-planting a large portion of the property in native bush. Looking for a logging arch too, as the country is fairly steep (30-40 deg slopes) but it's a fairly small area that we will be clearing this season. Maybe just a fairlead?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Olly]

Hi guys, still hunting around for info. For those who are looking out for some info, found some manuals here: http://www.alliedsystems.com/ASP3/winchservice-noncurrent.asp

 

[John C.]

I used to see winches in the brush with black berry vines growing all over them. All I see now days is the vines. I don't recall if the D89 had the free spool or not and kind of suspect that it might have been and option when you purchased the winch. Winches on that size dozer haven't been used in this part of the world for many years. I don't recall that last one I saw that had an arch installed. The other brand to look for would be a Carco. They all ended up being Allied now.

 

[Old Magnet]

The Hyster D89C winch is a power controlled winch meant for torque converter or powershift drive. It has internal hydraulic operated clutches to accommodate the uninterruptible PTO drive. It normally does not have "free spool" operation but can be had as an option. Man handling cable of that size is just not practical. Make sure you get the entire system along with the winch including controls, lines, pump, filter, etc.

 

[John C.]

I remember the early ones had the pump on the back of the engine and the filter in the control stand but I seem to recall the later ones having the filters in the side of the winch. The other thing that is usually missing is the PTO coupler sleeve that connects the transmission shaft to the winch shaft. I also seem to recall something about bolt spacings and other dozers being able to use the D89. The memory is foggy on this but I did mate a D89 onto the back of a Komatsu D155 many years ago and had to fab an adapter plate. To be straight, just because it says D89 doesn't necessarily mean it will fit your D8H.

 

[Old Magnet]

My Hyster info states the D89C fits the 46A.

 

[epirbalex]

If its a small job the hassle of fitting a winch may not be worth it , different if you know the winch . Long term a good winch is a useful tool to have sitting on the back . How big are the tree's and are there going to be some serious muscle to pull out an inch and a quarter or bigger rope for you ?

 

[John C.]

I've seen 5/8" and 3/4" line on machines used with an arch for skidding.

 

[Olly]

Hi John, Old Magnet, and epirbalex,
Thank you for your help! No, I dont have too much work for it this season; about 20 acres of 25yr old pinus radiata. Some of the trees are a good size. The EC220 I had was struggling to drag some of the sticks. For the most part, the butts would be around 25"-30". The trees weren't thinned, so they are nice and tall.
With a 70m cable you could pull most of it to the ridge-line and straight onto the deck - the access is pretty good once you're up on the ridge-line

It sounds as though it would not be worth the effort.. The alternative would be to hand the work over to a contractor. Was really tempted to do the work myself, though. Something about that type of work that has always appealed . And, time-wise, I could just about squeeze it in at the end of the earthworks season.

I would be doing most of the work myself. Was thinking I would fell 2-3 acres at time and drag it up to the ridge-line myself. Shopping around for a 20-25 ton excavator at the moment. The excavator will be on the same site, so easy loading etc. Would want to hire a log maker (1 bloke) to do the processing / bucking.

Failing a winch, the only alternative I could think of would be lugging a cable around.. Our expenditure on hire machines this past season was up there. If I cant do it with my own equipment, I think I would be better to pass it on to someone else.

As far as a useful attachment, I'll likely be pulling a pan most of the time, so the winch would likley just be on tractor when we are moving a bit of wood?

@John C. Thanks for the tip! Following your mention of Carco I found a couple of winches that I was not aware of - the allied? W12D and the Carco J120. Don't seem to be too many of the W12D about, though.

 

[Olly]

As a last resort, have you gentlemen ever come across smaller winches fitted to the D8s, strictly for logging? Alternatively, could I simply use 7/8 or 3/4 on the winch drum of a D89C? Any issues with that?
The main challenge would then be finding a winch that could spool freely (so I'm not forced to spool out the cable in 15ft increments, get off, pull out the slack, spool out another 15 ft - https://tinyurl.com/ycl4qoho). Happy to do a bit of physical work, but not that

 

[bccat]

As a last resort, have you gentlemen ever come across smaller winches fitted to the D8s, strictly for logging? Alternatively, could I simply use 7/8 or 3/4 on the winch drum of a D89C? Any issues with that?
The main challenge would then be finding a winch that could spool freely (so I'm not forced to spool out the cable in 15ft increments, get off, pull out the slack, spool out another 15 ft - https://tinyurl.com/ycl4qoho). Happy to do a bit of physical work, but not that

I have seen gearmatic winches piggybacked with the bigger winches and rippers on D8 & D9 but as John C says they all gone, especially when rubber tire skidders became popular . I was about 15 when my dad had me setting chokers behind his 14A D8 didn’t know any better, plus you did what you were told.Later on, l set chokers with a 518 which was faster but hard work. Best to find a young fella to help

 

[epirbalex]

As a last resort, have you gentlemen ever come across smaller winches fitted to the D8s, strictly for logging? Alternatively, could I simply use 7/8 or 3/4 on the winch drum of a D89C? Any issues with that?
The main challenge would then be finding a winch that could spool freely (so I'm not forced to spool out the cable in 15ft increments, get off, pull out the slack, spool out another 15 ft - https://tinyurl.com/ycl4qoho). Happy to do a bit of physical work, but not that

Its a two man job just your part of it . I was thinking they might have been 4-5 foot pines rather than 30 year that needed a D8, 20mm cable will be alright to pull them . The winch you have lined up should take the length you want and some , I was able to wind 115 meters of worn 25 mm (down to 22mm) rope on a D7D winch . Light enough to drag down hill to find my roller on the odd time it took off . If you must do the skidding part on your own you can start playing out your wire on the way back from dropping off the logs using the winch reverse , 20mm easy enough to work that down off a ridge . Not sure I'd be able to keep up with a good log maker on my own .