Anybody putting their truck to work this weekend?

OldCowboy

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I've got a few acres of North Carolina in my back yard. Mostly a field lined with trees. This summer a storm blew one of the old cedar trees down in the back and its been drying out for a good 6 months. It was about 2 feet around at the base and about 40 feet high. The trunk was still stuck to half the roots but the whole base was 90 degrees from the ground.

Today I was working on the property removing branches and making a burn pile for winter. I got over to the downed cedar tree and decided to pull it closer to the house and cut and split it into kindling to be used starting fires in the fireplace this winter. I told my son to go get the tractor to pull it out if the field it was in. He suggested I just pull it out with my truck. So we threw a logging chain around the tree and hooked it to the hitch. I cut two of the remaining roots I could get to with the chainsaw, but the one now under the tree was still connected. I didn't know if the truck would have the traction to get it pulled away from the root. I was slipping earlier today pulling a trailer with brush in it to the burn pile. The wet grass and an uphill climb would just spin the tires. I had to use 4H to get past the grassy hill. Well I put it in 4L and hit the gas. The truck didn't even flinch. It ripped that 4 inch root apart and I dragged the tree up out if the field and into the back yard. I got it cut into logs and we'll split them into kindling tomorrow.

Not the most taxing activity for the truck, but I got to try out some of the capability and it performed very well. What have y'all put your SD's to work doing lately?
 
My trucks putting ME to work! Haha. Huge down payment will be nice.

If I had it now I’d haul away some brush that’s been bugging me, otherwise I don’t have any plans this weekend to be that productive.
 
My brother runs a sawmill so every Saturday I haul a truck load of wood home......yes my 2021 bed is beat up already.
 

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I need to pull down a dead tree before I build a 12x16 shed. Been thinking of getting a rope and snatch block around a neighboring tree, and hooking it to the rear hitch. 4WL should take care of it pretty quickly.
 
This dead tree is surrounded by blackberry and I don't have a chainsaw big enough, but I hear ya.
My place has a lot of wild blackberry as well. There was a brier patch around the downed tree here too. I had to cut my way to the tree to get a logging chain around it. Sounds like this tree you have is a great excuse to buy a bigger chainsaw! That's what I did. I have an older Stihl 026 with a 16 inch blade that still runs great but has 20+ years on it and one rebuild. It's just a little small for the bigger diameter trunks so I used that excuse to go get a new Stihl MS251 with an 18 inch blade.
 
I used that excuse to go get a new Stihl MS251 with an 18 inch blade
Sorry, thread hijack alert!!!!! I can't help it, though...

I have been using a Stihl MS211 for the last ~5 yrs but needed something a bit bigger for a downed sycamore. I went with the new Echo 4910 with an upgraded bar (and Stihl chain). Love it!!! It doesn't weigh much more than my smaller Stihl (bar helps alot) but this thing absolutely rips. I'm not a "woodsman" by any means, just a homeowner with some property and the need to take down a tree here and there and clean up storm damage. Couldn't ask for anything more for my needs.
 
Here's one for the F250 brain trust.

Today I pulled a trailer about 30 miles to a location to fill it up with wood again like I did 3 or so weeks ago. When I did it the first time I was impressed that it never went out of 10th gear going up and down through the rolling hills between the two locations. This time I went the same route, the same time of day, the same speed, and the truck down shifted on three different hills. What made it do that? It was a bit cooler today and cloudy so the humidity was super high. Other than that, a different quality gas maybe?

What are your thoughts?
 
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