How not to use your trailer hitch.

[JOZ RIDG]

Originally Posted by Webwader

Why did they hook the chain at the bottom of post right next to the concrete where they had the least leverage?

LOL.

Yeah, if they had hooked a chain to the top of the basket ball pole it would have probably been long enough to not hit the SUV.

But, remember - White Man Can't Jump.

[nole1972]

I've had quite a bit of experience with basketball poles mounted in concrete. When removing them it's time to invest in a side grinder and leave the !@#$% concrete in the ground. Works everytime and involves a lot less sweat & tears.

[wrenrj1]

I agree. This is certainly a "Here hold my beer" moment. Lucky the guy in the back wasn't killed by the chain that may have broken.

[meanmachine19]

Yea, definitely 'herer's your sign' candidates. You could see it coming a mile away, but I guess when you are so close (like they were) then it only goes to show stupidity is blind!

[X-Brawn]

Originally Posted by nole1972

I've had quite a bit of experience with basketball poles mounted in concrete. When removing them it's time to invest in a side grinder and leave the !@#$% concrete in the ground. Works everytime and involves a lot less sweat & tears.

I was thinking the same damn thing, but using a Saw-Z-All type device. Just say it down, break it up into smaller lengths and haul them away. Whatever is left in the ground, use a jack hammer or similar hardware to get it out. Sure is a hell of a lot more work, but it is also a hell of a lot safer (unless you have Bubba and Cledus, as in that video) going that route.

[djeaux]

I have always had good luck using one of these to pull 'em out...



Truth: The day after Hurricane Katrina, my neighbor (who sells these goobers for a living) & I took down about 50' of chain link fence, and removed five trees or major hunks of trees in about 45 minutes. As a special bonus, he came back & took off our garden swing, which had (up to that point) survived the storm unscathed...

You drive one of these babies around town & NOBODY (and I do mean nobody) will give you any flak. One guy flipped my buddy off while he was turning around in the street & in short order that guy was driving like crazy down through the ditch & across a yard to get away from "the claw" which just happened to start swinging around freely on the end of its boom

[Webwader]

Flashback! I was working for Caterpillar when they built the pre-production models in 1974. I was a technical rep in Oregon and they pulled me off that and I did nothing for six months but keep an eye on three log skidders. Due to their locations and frequency that I was supposed to check on them, I was driving 1,000 miles a week in my company supplied '74 Jeep Wagoneer Quadra Track, which was a real POS.

[djeaux]

Originally Posted by Webwader

Flashback! I was working for Caterpillar when they built the pre-production models in 1974. I was a technical rep in Oregon and they pulled me off that and I did nothing for six months but keep an eye on three log skidders. Due to their locations and frequency that I was supposed to check on them, I was driving 1,000 miles a week in my company supplied '74 Jeep Wagoneer Quadra Track, which was a real POS.

Then imagine having to drive 1,000 miles a week in a Caterpillar grapple skidder! (For some reason, down here grapple skidders are pretty common & cable skidders are less popular.)

[Webwader]

Grapple skidders don't require a choker setter, so if they can handle the size of the logs, they are less labor intensive and safer. If the grapple isn't big enough to handle the log, then its cable. Probably not a lot of cable skidders left any more.

[djeaux]

Most of the really big trees in these parts were cut by 1920. In fact, a stand of 36 yr old longleaf "pole trees" is considered very good -- I lost $100K worth of 'em to Hurricane Katrina. Most of what's getting planted now down here are those godawful hybrid "improved" slash pines that are basically chippersaw stuff

This was once a gorgeous & very dense stand of longleaf planted circa 1970...


On the bright side, NOTHING knocks a good road through the woods better than a skidder!