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I've had since friday to think about it knowing a little more detail about the issue than I have had time to share here. I do sort of have a plan.

I need to get some logs out there.

I need a few to place under the loader bucket in the center between the front tires. Then I need to undo the top link on the mower deck so the deck can hinge off the 3 point arms. then I need to put a come along between the tail of the mower & the top of the ROPS bar & fold the mower upwards so it's not resting on the bog.

Then I can use the loader to push the front of the tractor upwards & get the front tires high & clear. Then I need to use long logs double wide lashed to each other so they can't split out, 2 sets like this probably 20' long.

then I need to push the logs in from the front under the front tires & try to get the ends of the logs jammed as tight as I can get them against the rear tires.

Then, with all of the luck of the world, just maybe she can crawl out.

That's my number 1 plan for if my dad can't make it up with that machine.

Thats just enough to work!

How far to the nearest tree?? Lots o chain and a chain hoist?

Like I told rooster in an e-mail earlier. "hey man, I'm a pro. I made damn sure there were no trees within reach before I dun went & stuck it."

But, I suppose if we all pooled our log chains collectively & came up with about .... oh..... 120 yds of cain?

then we might find a nice diamond willow we could tear out of the ground.... 150 yds might reach us a tamarack.

Dave, you just disrespected 1/2 of your mid-life crisis. No way to treat a Squealer. Now, your conscience should be soothed that any lesser mower just might not cut after all of this.

I'm the king of stuck. Just this spring I had a 450 dozer stuck three miles from high ground. Don't want to tell you what it cost to retrieve the dozer. Or what the value of the dozer upon return.

Bright side is your plan sounds pretty fair. Now, on an operation such as this, always, always, always have a plan "B". What's plan B?

Craig

Sorry guys my Bronco was a 90 model Dark red color. I drove that thing with a lift and BiSply tires through water like that Everyday over 3 months during the 93 flood.

Was hauling sandbags and furniture out.. After my 3rd transfer case redo during that three months I put the fourth in after just 2 and 1/2 hours swapped it out and off again. What is a guy to do but go try it out, here I am driving through the seep water in the middle of friggin Nowhere with a load of sandbags and I fall into a 2 foot deep ditch. Yes it was late and me and my bro in law was alittle tipsi..

It took a tandem axle articulating tractor to get me out and over 150 feet of steel cable, just so the tractor could get traction on an underwater gravel road. We Finally got back home only to hear a 4 wheeler coming down the highway at us, It floated off the top of the trailer and naturally I was in the middle of a turn backing up when I heard crunch and the wheeler at the same time. I ran over the trailer alittle as I had forgot about it..

Not my brightest of ideas during that summer took abit to learn but I moved to the highest hill in my county afterwards..

suddenly plan A is plan B.

New plan A, we have an item we are calling a swamp anchor.

It's actually an old rock picker, like a large 2 fingered claw type hook. We plan to use the swamp claw to create an anchor point so that we can drag the mower itself off to the side away from the back of the tractor.

Then we are thinking about using a log laid behind the back tires sideways & rigging the log to the tires with chains and trying to crawl the tractor up onto the log in low range reverse with the rear diff locked.

Swamp claw will be repositioned prior to this & will be assisting in a straight pull backwards.

logs will still be used as footings under the loader bucket so the loader can effectively assist.

neat huh?

Your plan B sounds like it will work pretty good. Is the cherry picker a tracked rig?

If worse comes to worse, you can use the picker, the tractor bucket and an azz load of logs and keep creeping your way out.

How far is it to drivable ground for the tractor?

Good luck, we expect pictures...

Dave,

Sounds like a Good Plan, I would also add you should probably once your out change all your fluids and grease every fitting too.. After a week in the swamp I think it would be a decent idea anyway even if it was more work.. You can tell me to shutup anytime... Good Luck!

no way wabster, aint about to tell ya to shut up!!



I've actually been thinking of changing my quote signature to something like:

"Oil & water don't mix huh? Well then you just haven't been trying hard enough."

I'm out of here in less than 2 hours to begin the chore.

Dave

good luck.

there will be pics I presume

Tom

We got it.

here's how it looked when we started last night.


shot of the soup hole in front of tractor.


we planked a ramp under the front tires like I was talking about, these pictures don't show that.

Here's the tractor we used to get it out. David Brown 990, about a 50hp tractor I suppose.

We had around 75 yds of chain hooked up so we could have the david brown on safe ground but the little ford wasn't going to come out easy. Pulling with the David Brown didn't move the little ford. Even planked it wouldn't move. So My buddy Scott with the tractor also had a huge electric winch along. We used the david brown as an anchor & tried winching the little ford towards the david brown, all we did is drag the david brown backwards. So he backed the anchor tractor against some trees & we tried again, pulled the david brown backwards again & ripped out the trees.


So, we finally droped the mower off the 3 point (we had it raised high but it was just too much added weight)

He spun the david brown down into deep ruts & hooked the winch as low as he could & we tried again, this time the little ford crawled up onto the planks & started moving forward. The planks busted but it kept going forward so we just stayed with it. Pretty soon I was up on top of that bog layer & I out ran the tow chain under the tractors own power. I drove forward quite a ways then stopped & we strung a chain back to the mower & drug it out of the slop hole.

Here we are forward of the slop hole about to string chain back to the mower.


And here we are on dry land, tractor & mower.


We grilled some brats & had a few beers, changed into dry clothes & went home.

Happy ending, thank god for good friends.

Dave

Here, Twisted1 wanted me to post these pics of plan B & plan C

Plan B here is actually one of his machines.


then there is this thing that he is quite fond of.

I thought I heard a huge sigh of relief last night. Glad you got it out of there. That was a huge job.

You know who your boys are when theres work like that to be done, thats for sure.

When that last beer went down I bet you were smilin; like heck.

Tom

I was really hoping that it wouldn't come to plan "B" (wink nudge) Especially with fuel prices to get the big stuff there. Well actually it came out easier than some of the predicaments that I have gotten myself into. I sure was glad to see NDave is able to join me in some "poor decision making moments."

Now that he owes me one I can't wait to go get something of mine stuck!

Just call, I'll come a runnin, stumblin, or sumthin.

is the dozer a 9? I'd like to think that would do it

Dave, how in the heck do you come up with 75yds of chain big enough to pull a tractor?

she didn't look too dirty in the after pics, are they decieving or were you just in mostly water?

Glad to see you got her out! I tried calling last night but no reception I imagine. That is what is nice about the hunting land...you can go back to a simpler time without cell phones!

Hey that David Brown is a NICE looking tractor! Love it!

sorry rooster, phone was ringing as we were pulling in to the deer shack to get to work last night but I knew I wouldn't get reception to be able to talk so I let it ring.

Tom, the chain was from here & there, we must have borrowed at least half of that length from work. And the swamp hole is kind of a peat slop that's so wet that it kist sort of runs off clean.

And here I was just thinking that the old tyme logging horses around here may just have had to get a call.

Dave ya sure do get yerself into some adventures I could just picture Pam shaking her head :o, rolling her eyes , upgrading insurance

Glad to hear it all worked out for ya, now get back to work...