Making your Tractor bullet proof like a skidder

[johnjbc]

Question from one of your Lurking Land Owners
Had my tractor to my ground last week and had a little problem. I buried 200 ‘ of drain pipe under my little camping area and road. The outlet is in an area of brush. http://home.epix.net/~johnjc/mud8OutletPipe.jpg  While trying to doze my way down to open up the ditch I smelled antifreeze. Hoped off and found that a branch had knocked off the bottom radiator hose  . Got the hose back on and filled the radiator and finished working.
When I got home and crawled under to drain the radiator to replace antifreeze I saw that the HST linkage was all bent to @#$% and my oil filter has a dent in it.
I checked the Knowledge Base on using a farm tractor for logging, Guess I need to armor the tractor. I would appreciate some advice on what to use, how to mount it, and If possible some pictures.
John

[Tom]

John,
I have a skid pan and total frontal plate that my late father in law put on my wife's  1963 Ford 3000.  It is practically bullet proof and I will try to send some pictures.  I don't know what type of tractor you have but mounting will determin what you can put under it.   I's harder to cover up a 4wd and some of the tractors have frames like automobiles.

This is made from 3/8 diamond plate and is bolted to the tractor front and rear with minimal attachments to allow removal for engine work.  The piece that raps up the front is attached to the under plate and covers the front to the tractor all the way to the top of the hood.

[johnjbc]

Tom
It’s a Kubota L48 and has a subframe going the whole way back
Thanks for the quick reply.

[Jeff]

This should be a job for LINK MAN Ah, I mean Gordon. Gordon has a Kabota and he skids with it. I thought he mentioned he had it armored. HEY! LINK MAN!

[Tom]

Well, it looks like I may be awhile getting the tractor where I can take a picture.  "Batteries gone" and it's in the weeds so deep I don't have the energy to work on it right now.

Anyway,  there is a 3/8 plate under the bottom that is wide enough to use as a step and that helps to protect my feet.  This plate has a rim of 3/8x2 welded all the way around it which makes a shelf that will hold a hammer or something but also catches trash. A few holes are burned in the edge to allow water to escape.  The front is a piece of 1/4 diamond plate that covers the front and is bent to attach to the bottom plate.  There are no holes in it. Pieces of 1/2" were cut out and form rims for the headlights as well as mounting brackets for the points of the skid that are bolted to the tractor.

My Wife has had the tractor on a stump such that you could spin it with one finger and nothing was hurt.

[woodmills1]

My Kioti was set up by payeur to go into the forest, and as I now know very well the skid plate underbelly was very well done.  a quarter inch thick by about 2-3 inch wide plate was bolted to the oil pan and the trans housing.  this covered the drive shaft and provided mounting for other plates.  a very large quarter inch plate started at the rear end housing, with cutouts around various levers and things like drain plugs, and ended up at the oil pan.  this large plate was bolted to the rear and the small plate.  various other plates, bolted to the first two plates, protected the hydraulic pump and the filters.  I had to remove all of this this week when I attached the FEL, but was able to reattach most of them afterward. here is a picture with side covers, skid plate( if you can see them)and FOPS

[woodmills1]

loader installed, no plumbing, FOPS in need of fabrication

[woodmills1]

FOPS in place no welds loader plumbed.  got welding done today(sun) and most of skid plates back, no side screens yet

[Gordon]

My L3750 was completly bullet proof. That was after tearing up some stuff along the way. Live and learn. But the tractor I have now my L4310hst is not close to done yet for woods work. I have added a few things but still have alot to add to it. Will post some pic's of what I've done so far.

Sorry to hear about your mishap but it could have been alot worse than that. First thing I would build or add to is the brush guard in front of the tractor. Use some expanded metal and spotweld to the existing guard. Next is at least make some plates or other protection for your filters. You have a couple of options for making a belly plate one large plate or a couple of smaller plates. Make sure to leave access for filters and linkage. So that way you won't have to drop the entire belly pan.

The guard that comes from the factory is great protection for loading dumptrucks but useless in the woods for an actual brushguard. If you don't want to weld on the tractor you could also use angle iron welded to the expanded metal and drill a few holes in the brush guard to hold the expanded metal in place.

Gordon