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[Bentley]

Woe is Me!

1st time I have not been able to pull or dig out.  AAA only does cars, sent pictures to local towing company to give me a ballpark $ and now I am off to look at power winches!

I Love Virginia Clay!





 

[Kristin Meredith]

I am not sure folks can really appreciate this photo unless they know that there is a big bucket on the front of that tractor completely submerged in the mud.

[urnmor]

Did not realize there was a buried bucket which is no doubt hindering your ability to pull it out of the mud.  Depending on the cost of a professional towing service I would try the following:  If you have plywood I would build a wall around the bucket and try to remove the mud from the bucket.  If you can do that and raise the bucket above the mud you just might be able to either pull yourself or dig your self out as the bucket will no longer act like an anchor.

[Bentley]

I was gonna try some 2 x 10's but the area that needs the wood is so wet that it would just submerge the boards.  It also had much firmer soil on either side and they are long 2 x 10.s so I was afraid that it would just end up snapping them.

I can get the bucket out, that is not an issue, I just figured as long as it sits waiting for solution, I would rather have the bucket buried, then the motor!  Par for the course, if I could just move it about 25 feet, it would hit firm enough ground I could crawl it out with the bucket, but it is in the wettest spot in the "pond" and it is surrounded by mud.

And the constant flow of water does not help either.  If I could get this stupid little spring to dry up, it would dry out in 5 days!

A troublesome Spring!

[Bentley]

They is nothing to grip!  And as soon as I lift the bucket, the body is in 3 feet of muck!  Imagine setting a tractor in a very thick pudding, and trying to get the bucket to grip, that is what is happening, and just 25 feet away, is old crusty pudding that would grip the bucket!

[Bentley]

Anyone have any experience with 12v winches, and how powerful they are, and what load they will pull?  That is a 2500lb tractor, but I am pretty sure a 2500lb. wench won't budge it with the muck around it.  Now, a 9000lb?  I have no idea what force the mud exerts, or if a 12v (Is that what is on a tow truck) wench will even work?

[hughver]

I've seen a 12V 12,000 winch at Harbor Freight for around $400. I'm not sure what a tow truck would charge but this way you still have the winch.

[ylr]

Got any farmer neighbors with 200+hp 4WD tractor?

[GREG-B]

From my experience, an electric winch would be iffy and probably burn it out first.   Try and find someone with a PTO winch.  They'll pull their guts out or snap the line first.  Any tow company could hook up with their winch and pull it out easily.

[Bentley]

Had a Woody moment, I thought PTO winches, let me look into that.  Then I realized where the PTO is at!

[Bentley]

Not my way and wrong time of year to be asking!

Got any farmer neighbors with 200+hp 4WD tractor?

[Bentley]

The only issue I have with the winch is knowing how much drag the mud adds, and how much pulling force it would take to break it free? 

[Bentley]

I know that doubles it, the real issue if I was to get a winch, I either get all new bumber to install it on, or figure out how to attach it to a tree!

[pmillen]

Use a snatch block to double your pulling power and it will come out

Use two snatch blocks.

• Cable goes from a vehicle winch around a snatch block on an anchor point near the tractor (tree)
• Back to a snatch block on the rescue vehicle (tow hook)
• Out to the stuck tractor
• It's like a block and tackle

Your pulling power is doubled but you have to pull two times as much cable so you have to figure out how to splice in the needed cable or strap length.  If it's a long pull, you'll probably have to remove the spliced-in cable or strap and restring the assembly once or twice.  It's a lot of work, but it seems like fun when you're finished.

[pmillen]

I know that doubles it, the real issue if I was to get a wench, I either get all new bumber to install it on, or figure out how to attach it to a tree!

Does one snatch block (one pulley) double the pulling power?  Doesn't one pulley just change the pull direction?

EDIT:  You'r right.  If you put the snatch block on the tractor, you have one pulley but two lines supporting the load.  That indicates that the pulling power is doubled, but you have to pull twice as much cable.

My example is three times the pulling power when the snatch block is on the tractor. 

Sorry, I had to think about it for a few minutes.