Hi, Folks.
I have had a request via private message for some 'edge-yew-mac-ay-shun' on the subject of pulling eucalyptus trees with 2 dozers and a chain. The person who messaged me seemed concerned about said eucalypts being rather hard to pull out of the ground and also about being far enough away from the falling trees to avoid 'brain surgery' (my words, not his) from falling trees.

I decided to answer this PM here where everybody could read it - - - IF they were interested - - - but I do thank the person concerned for their message raising these points.

Firstly, chaining is/was largely a wet season 'sport' DownUnda because the trees pull out of the ground easier and are less likely to break off, leaving one with a stump to remove at some later date. Depending on the area and the season, it is/was sometimes necessary to either wait for the rains to ease to avoid bogging or juggle which jobs were done in which order to be able to keep working without undue bogging.

Second point - 'brain surgery': Depending on size and length of chain, size of tractors pulling said chain and the vegetation being 'pulled', there needs to be a certain amount of 'slack' chain hanging almost straight behind each tractor to avoid having to constantly use the steering to avoid being pulled sideways and off course. This is also the reason why I always thought that it was better to have the chain connected to the tractor drawbar rather than to a hitch on the ripper if one was fitted - less side pull. The length of this 'slack' chain, in my experience at least, was usually around 100 feet, give or take.

It is this 'slack' chain that protects the operators from falling trees, plus the fact that the chain itself, because it is in a big loop, tends to pull the vegetation towards the middle of the loop rather than straight ahead parallel to the line of travel.

Hope this helps.

Just my 0.02.

My last pulling job was burnt pine plantation, D9N and D9R with 350' of anchor chain, no chase tractor, we pulled closer than the capacity of the two tractors so that when we heaped we heaped tow into one, tucked up the bottom on the lower slope pull and brought down the top pull on to the top using 25' 'U' shaped rakes with nine tynes 750mm long. We didn't track before pulling except in a couple of very heavy timbered compartments. I only ever had limited success chaining native forest in my area, timber was too large and insufficient horsepower to make it happen. Did find a 977 traxcavator with log forks fantastic for chasing because it could lift the chain and push up high at the same time. Every bush is different, so have to adjust technique to the application, horsepower available and timber size and density.

"Pioneernorth" wrote:

Along with the already mentioned oil leak and idler pushed all the way out to take up slack it looks to me like the idler is set in the up position which if I'm correct is NOT the desired position for dozer work. Center of the axle should be in the low side of the slot visible on the side of the bracket. This would account for the tracks running to close. Need to switch the brackets inside to outside and turn over.

That's a good observation regarding the idler block position, yes it needs changing, I wonder if someone set them that way for soft sandy soil for ease of turning?

The oil leak, could it also come from the recoil spring housing, I am not so familiar with D7 tractors, I did have problems with D8 tractors cracking etc and letting the oil out of the recoil spring housing. So possibly final drive or recoil housing? oil loss.

Spotted that post myself ,and was going to bring it up out where it would be seen . But you beat me to it Wombat .

Hi Team,
some scrub clearing with chains in Queensland Australia.

Others in YouTube side panel.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Hi All,thanks Pioneernorth for spotting the idler set to the up position,i would have never noticed as still learning about the dozer,i think that's part of my problem as the left side is the side wearing the most,the right side is set to the low position,not sure why they are both set differently but that can't be good for it at different positions.Is it easy to change the setting,i have read the manual and they talk about removing the track and chain first.I was hoping for an easier way,any advice is appreciated.

You need to split the track and roll it down. Not sure but you probably have a zipper. While you're at it count the number of links. Make sure the count is right for your machine. Measure across 5 pins and compare to a chart to get an idea of wear. Turn the idler 180 degrees and flip the block brackets over so the centre of the axle is in the low position. It has to slide out the front and turn the idler around. If you have a actual service manual I think this will be explained.