Question regarding winches and tranny

What can happen with any load like that direct coupled to the transmission without a friction clutch is once you disengage the main clutch the load on the winch cable acts like a spring and say the tractor is moving downhill, the winch loads the gears and it may be impossible to shift. If tractor was on a level it would not be so bad.

Can be done but remember you loose control of the winch load when you disengage the clutch without setting the winch brake. Just aren't enough hands/arms to handle it all simultaneously and safely.

Why wouldyou want to? If you can pull a load, why winch at the same time?

When you back a D4 down over the bank to a log. Hook on and start pulling up hill, then spin out.
You release the brake on the Hyster, does cable freewheel/spool out?
Or do you engage the winch and drive forward "power" spooling cable out?
When you are using a D6 to drag a gravel truck up a excessively muddy hill side road, then spin out.
You release the brake on the Hyster, does cable freewheel/spool out?
Or do you engage the winch and drive forward "power" spooling cable out?

Its been over 25 years since I have been in these 2 scenerios and can't remember?

The first time I'd run into this was with a D2 pulling another critter out of the mudhole it had gotten into. Spooled out and hooked up far enough away that I was on solid ground, then engaged the winch to tighten the line and when it came tight I put it in 1st. After about 4', the lockup began and I had a heck of a time getting it out of gear. Then it was just a case of dragging the stuck critter to drier ground.

Then this last summer I was doing a bit of log skidding for a buddy. This involved skidding 'em down a rather steep hill, then off a ways to a landing. After the first trip down the hill with logs in tow that were doing their best to pass me I decided to let the winch freewheel 'til I got almost all the way down, then lock the brake and make a mad dash around a corner to keep the logs from catching up. Worked well even if I wound up making puckers in the seat 😆

Then it was off to the landing on fairly flat ground and winding through the trees. I couldn't navigate through 'em with the logs that far back so I tried to winch 'em in closer and that was where the winch/tranny started locking up, so it was stop, winch 'em in, get to the landing, unhook, remove chokers and head back up for another round.

If I could have run the winch while traveling on the flat, I could have saved probably 3-5 minutes per round. Doesn't sound like much but on a full day's work the time saved would have added up. Before I forget, all this was done in either 1st or 2nd gear at full throttle, other than the trip(s) on the downhill portion which was about as steep as the D4 would climb w/o spinning out.

Any time you disconnect the main clutch you disconnect the winch drive and a load will unwind the cable.....unless you have the automatic (ratchet) brake feature........so if your winching a load in or out of gear and you want to keep that load in check the drill is to disengage the main clutch while applying the winch brake. Reverse the procedure to get going again.

There is no lock out device to prevent towing and winching. Shifting gears, which can be a challenge to get tooth alignment in normal shifting can be affected by having any applied load to the gear train from the winch.

If your tranny is locked in gear (stopped), Pulling both steering clutch handles should free it up to get to neutral.

Now, I used to do winch and drive all the time on my 22. The difference may be.... I have the stock PTO disconnect that had very high leverage. I would just stop, flip the PTO drive in neutral and go on my way. I think the trick is just to be on level or upward ground so you roll back slightly and then no tension on the gear train.

Again, why would you be driving the winch and be in travel gear at the same time, if you can wind a load in and travel forward in say first gear at the same time, you can pull it in fourth, so use fourth with the load pulled in close to the winch, so you keep the load in best position and not damage still standing timber, or drag more logs so you have to use second gear. Let the winch brake off when you get stuck, let the cable free spool, put the winch brake on, dig in, then wind the load up behind you. Getting a big enough load behind you to make the machine work hard in second gear is the cheapest way to skid logs, you move a lot more timber in relation to the amount of undercarraige wear and fuel burned.
As for pulling timber off a steep bank, pull uphill if possible, its much safer.
This is what I learned before starting school, from my father and the thirty other timber hauliers he worked with, mostly all passed away now but the lessons were well learned.