Some day's are diamonds, some day's are stones.....

Sold a trailer load of firewood today, delivered it this morning. Went straight to the property to get another load. After I got started loading work called and I spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone,,,,,,meanwhile the rain came.

(for those not familiar with the south, red clay + water = a slippery nasty mess!!) (how can something so slippery, be so sticky?)

Got done with work, completed loading and what do you know the truck is stuck with the dump trailer attached and full of wood. Had to tow it with the tractor about 40' to the gravel drive.

Did I mention I was by myself? Had to put the truck in nuetral, motor running window down, tow 10' with tractor, walk back steer truck, (each step I got 1" taller) get back on tractor pull 10', go back etc etc... all the time just a little worried the chain would come on hooked and the truck and trailer would end up in the woods!

Thanks goodness I bought a 4wd tractor! During the purchase process a couple times I thought maybe it was un needed expense..... NOT!

I'm home now, dried out and warm. Tomorrow I can spend quality time washing my truck!!!

Lloyd

I'm glad you made it out. It sounds like firewood is a tough business in your area between one thing and another.
Zach

You should just be glad the tractor could pull it... I've been stuck in situations where I had to tow alone, with a dozer but neither rig had the footing to drag the two... so hook everything together, put the orphan in low gear with just enough throttle to turn the wheels... then run for the dozer... do the pull... then idle the dozer back to just stay ahead... jump out... go lock the tractor up and hopefully the torque in the dozer would stall. Then go back the dozer off and unhook the chain... Done that several times with tractor and spreader, stuck in the middle of the field...

Rod

Yikes! That does sound scary! Tractor barely did it, spining all 4 wheels, but I got there.

Had to, no way home!

L.

Yea, I thought this was a good idea. Tree's were in the way, had to cut them, why not get a little money back and put the wood to good use.Seemed like a good idea at the time.

So far I'm working too hard for this money. Oh well, after this load got 1 more to sell and it will be done.

L.

Happy New Year Rod. JayinNY.

Haha! Had that happen to me up in the Valley. Tractor and chisel plow stuck good. Had to unhook chisel plow and pull it out backwards and then pull tractor out. Tough job when you are all alone!

The first time I went to Georgia I found out the hard way about RED GEORGA CLAY! It rained about 10 min and I figured my 4x4 could go down a dirt road. WRONG! Went 10 feet and that was it, There we sit till it dried up in the hot sun. When I got back to Ohio it took a week to get that red clay off my truck. That stuff is like grease on ice! Glad to here it all worked out for you safely and went well. Bandit

Good ol' Upstate SC Red clay.. Run a regular size tire in it, and watch it grow into a super 44 inch mudder.. BTDT

why not just use a piece of firewood to hold the steering wheel straight? just the weight of the wood alone should hold it straight if it a modern power steering vehical think i would have rigged something else up before i walked back and forth break out the baling wire and duct tape

4 wheel drive is super important especially when you need it to get unstuck or move a load.

A sales guy at a New Holland dealer told me that he wouldnt sell me a 2WD tractor. I bought a Compact 4wd Deere.

If you consider doing that often, knock up an" A"frame, truck will follow the tractor like a dog and none of the rolling worries.You can wallow in the wet.

Ran into the same thing a few years back when I got stuck on the backside of a construction site, late on a Friday afternoon, after everyone else left for the weekend. In my case it took me nearly 2 hours to go about 400 yards. The only machine to pull with was a D5. It almost didn't want to pull the weight in the mud, especially since the first half was uphill. That part of the pull wasn't so bad. There really wasn't much use in steering since the truck was sliding anywhere it wanted to anyway. And I can say without a doubt a 30,000+ lb truck slides anywhere it wants to when skating on a layer or red mud....

The second half of the pull was the challenge since it was downhill and side hill all rolled into one. So I set the brakes on the truck so it wouldn't roll into me, hoped it didn't slide into me, and began pulling. I went downhill to the left toward the exit, the truck slid downhill to the right. After digging out a pile of dirt that the truck slid into on it's adventure in the wrong direction I finally got to the gravel exit nearly hours after the first rain drop hit the ground. Like you said, I felt like I was about two feet taller from all the red mud sticking to my feet, and I think the truc left red marks on the road most of the way home...

I have pulled stuff without a operator MORE TIMES than I would Like to Admit ,These are some of My common sense Rules in the world of risks And Taking Chances in order to get'
R Done ..., You will live longer if : RULE ONE ! Never leave engine and tranny running without operator when pulling....DON'T DO IT THATS IT PERIOD! ....,wide open spaces without neighbors expensive car nearby is a must .In My region there are bowls everywhere with 100ft mild grades ,, If i have a runnaway , It goes to the bottom of the bowl 100 ft of travel,, NOt LIKE BIENG on top of Spencers Mountain or Steadman Cliffs .. Do Not Pull Down a grade where possible of getting rammed by vehicle being Pulled , If Must be Done ,, Put in Low gear and skid the wheels , Ya don't want that motor turning over .TURN OFF KEY . GO SLOW .If potential for ROLLOVER possible while ALONE do NOT ATTEMPT !... GO GET HELP, if its that bad . Slipping and Loosing YOUR footing trying to catcha running tractor in its Lowest possible Gear can Still get YOU KILLED . not to mention damage to equipment . Many Times i have put the Truck in a hi gear with engine off and pulled it back up on to solid ground , , locking steering wheels are nice , but not necessary .. hooking on to rear of trailer and pulling backwarsd generally will drag truck along like a lead dog... Pulled Massey 300 combine up a slope in order to ...roll start Back down when the Starter Just would not Crank fast enuf .. Always left it in 3rd gear ,I can not STREES ENUF , KEY OFF ,maybe even Pull them and put them in your pocket

Four wheel drive is nice to have on a tractor, but it's far from a requirement. Much more important is weight. My 47 year old Ford 4000 has pulled out many vehicles, including a UPS truck that got high-centered when he slid off my driveway. Ballasted tires and chains make the difference. Oh, and it also pulled out my next door neighbor's compact 4WD John Deere when he got it stuck.

Lloyd - here's a tip for you. When towing with a chain or strap, you could secure the hooks with plastic wire ties to keep them in place.

Thanks! My straps have closed hooks, no way for them to come off.

All I had for this adventure was a chain on the tractor. A 4' one, kinda way close quarters for this effort but had to do what I had to do.

Lloyd, I had to chuckle a little, Not at you mind you but at the S#it Storms I have gotten my self into over the yrs. And it all happened by loosing a few minutes here or there on a phone call or stopped to visit with a neighbor over the gas pump at the store or the flat tire on a trailer for I thought it was up, checked it 2-days ago when I last drug it.
Reminds me of a parable of the farmer who was in a big hurry to get to the field with his 8 ft cut drag combine he had to go through a 12 ft gate. Too big of a hurry, He lost twice, 1 day to fix the gate post and 1 day to repair the combine.
Things do happen just don't let it get to you, allow for the unexpected. Rain can not always be accounted for, but a long phone may be put off for a hour or 2 Keep smiling and look to HIM for your strength, I have been there My Friend! Take care Be careful!
Later,
John A.

I Know exactly what You mean... Lloyd, I'm in Ga and yes seems like that everytime Theres a Problem I'm by Myself LOL!! Larry KF4LKU

I Know exactly what You mean... Lloyd, I'm in Ga and yes seems like that everytime Theres a Problem I'm by Myself LOL!! Larry KF4LKU

Had a hand start JD D I couldnt get to hit by hand cranking. Nobody else was around so I hooked the forklift to the front of the tractor and found a 1 x 2 about 15 feet long and taped it to the clutch handle. I got it up to speed and then pulled on the board to engage the clutch and it started right up. then I had to push back in a hurry to kick the clutch out but it was very tight so it took several times to get it to pop out. I had kicked the forklift into neutral so it was pushing me backwards pretty quick and I was pushing on the board and trying to steer the forklift around a corner on the lot, it wasnt pretty but it worked lol.

I think I saw that one on Red Green.

A permanent magnet works good too.