First proper day back at work and I was cutting down a load of trees.
I was using the Freelander as a ground anchor with a steel cable to pull the trees as they all leaned the wrong way. I would hook the cable round the trunk as high up as I could get, hook the other end to the towbar and draw forwards to take up the slack, then make the cuts at the base of the tree, but not go right through, then let rip with the Freelander to pull the tree over so it fell the right way. Easy enough, except the wet grass soon turned to mud and even with knobbly tyres I was having troubles. The last few trees were heavier too, so I had to just use the Freelander as a stationary anchor point and haul the trees over with my ratchet hand winches. At one point while manoeuvring to the next tree, I made the mistake of putting a wheel into a section where the earth has been turned, ploughed and rotovated for a veg garden so is very soft. Scrabbling on the grass, it slipped sideways down the hill fully into the soft ground where it bogged right down to the floorpan. She drove out eventually, but I made a right mess of the place. The VCU bearings got clagged in mud and since they are Brand X ****e forged from pure Chinesium, will no doubt start rumbling in a day or two.
I was using the Freelander as a ground anchor with a steel cable to pull the trees as they all leaned the wrong way. I would hook the cable round the trunk as high up as I could get, hook the other end to the towbar and draw forwards to take up the slack, then make the cuts at the base of the tree, but not go right through, then let rip with the Freelander to pull the tree over so it fell the right way. Easy enough, except the wet grass soon turned to mud and even with knobbly tyres I was having troubles. The last few trees were heavier too, so I had to just use the Freelander as a stationary anchor point and haul the trees over with my ratchet hand winches. At one point while manoeuvring to the next tree, I made the mistake of putting a wheel into a section where the earth has been turned, ploughed and rotovated for a veg garden so is very soft. Scrabbling on the grass, it slipped sideways down the hill fully into the soft ground where it bogged right down to the floorpan. She drove out eventually, but I made a right mess of the place. The VCU bearings got clagged in mud and since they are Brand X ****e forged from pure Chinesium, will no doubt start rumbling in a day or two.