Tractor Mike's video: Pulling a Large Wedged Limb Down from a Tall Tree with a Tractor

We had a bad wind storm a week ago and the top of an 80 year old red oak tree broke off and wedged in a fork up high in the tree. Part of it was touching the ground, but the weight rested on the fork in the tree, and then a fork in the limb that came down was over a live limb. I didn't want to leave all of that weight hanging up there in the sky to possibly fall on my neighbor's horses, my dog, or me when I was mowing up there. So, I hatched a plan to get it down. First, I would carefully cut all of the lower limbs off to get them out of the way and lessen the weight of the limb I was pulling. Then, I would grab a ladder and attach an eyelet to eyelet strap on one of the main limbs as high up as I could get it. I would attach that strap to a 25' ratchet strap with the other end on the rails of my pallet forks. I'd be a long way away from everything and out of danger. As I started backing up, I lifted the forks up to try to lift the limb I was trying to pull off the live limb that was still attached to the tree. I lifted up and backed the tractor at the same time. The tractor was in low gear in four wheel drive. I surmised that when the back part of the limb came out of the tree fork gravity would take over and it would pivot around the fork that was over the live limb. That's exactly what happened. The dead limb made a pivot and came about halfway down and then another pull and it was on the ground. Worked like a charm. If you attempt a project like this, don't ever do it alone, and make sure people and animals are well clear of the area. Have a cell phone handy in case anything should go wrong. I don't know of a better machine to do a project like this than a tractor. You're far enough away from the danger to minimize risk, you have your pallet forks between you and the falling weight and the loader can help you navigate the limb where you need to to keep damage to the tree at a minimum. There's still a little bit of a pucker factor when that much weight is dropping to the ground. LINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... The Tractor Fun Store: https://asktractormike.com/products-for-sale/ Support the Tractor Mike Channel: https://www.patreon.com/TractorMike Visit the Tractor Mike website: http://asktractormike.com/ Visit Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ask-Tractor-Mike-312112962245304/ Copyright 2020 Tractor Mike LLC