Homemade atv drag. Clearing new trails help

[howie10]

I am in the process cleaning up and make new trails on my property. My tractor can't get into the spots. I have cleared out the smaller trees. I've heard of using a chain link fence section to drag the new trails. My goal is to remove as much little twigs and leaves as possible. Does anyone have an ideas on what I could use to pull behind my 4 wheeler to drag some of this out of the way? Thanks for any info. Would be a huge help.

 

[Jon54]

I'm pondering a chain harrow drag but also would appreciate any opinions

 

[fairchaser]

A piece of chain link fence can work if you add some weight to it like a crosstie. I have found however it's hard to keep it all together without coming apart. The $400 or so is well spent on a chain harrow. It has some spikes that will help do a better job. They are also indestructible in my experience.

 

[Jon54]

Can you go into specifics on how you use a chain harrow? Also, I find many places on the net where you can get a highly rated one for $150-200

 

[fairchaser]

Can you go into specifics on how you use a chain harrow? Also, I find many places on the net where you can get a highly rated one for $150-200

The one I got was from TSC and it was 4 ft and weighed about 50 pounds. After discing we would use the drag to break up and smooth out the big clods teeth down. Then after seeding we would drag one more time just to cover the seed teeth up. I don't recall how much it cost it was so many years ago.

 

[RS]

While I think a harrow or piece of chain link would work well covering seed in a disked plot, I'd be a little leery using either along freshly cut trails through the woods. If it hung on a root or something, it could be bad news for your 4 wheeler. I have cut decent sized cedar trees and drug them behind a 4 wheeler to remove leaves from a trail.

 

[catman529]

Can you go into specifics on how you use a chain harrow? Also, I find many places on the net where you can get a highly rated one for $150-200

hook it up, lay a big log (or rr tie as suggested) across the back of it and secure with ratchet straps, that's how I did it


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[Crosshairy]

I've used a 4-foot long log wrapped in chain link fence. I *think* we used a section of rope sort of "woven" through the chain link to hold it all together. I think the rope would break every once and a while, but it was no big deal to re-tie.

I would rate the effectiveness of the home-made tool as a 3 out of 5. It tended to bounce a lot on the larger clumps, and didn't "dig" consistently. Still, that's not awful performance for a zero-cost tool.

 

[Hunter0678]

I bought one of these last year and it does great on prepared ground or unprepared, you can also add on to it to make it bigger. Ive used it to blend in seed on harrowed ground, drug the tines over planted pasture to overseed i the fall. I even drug some land that had just been cleared, dragged it around onced to stir up the leaves and dirt, seeded then drug it again and had grass growing about 10 days later.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc ... _vc=-10005

 

[contendershooter]

I had one made one out of a 4'x6' diamond pattern steel flooring used to make steps in warehouses with, welded two 1/2 inch bolts to it and mounted a chain, and then have a large log on the back secured with ratchet straps...I grade my gravel drive with it, clean trails, etc. The tractor supply one is nice, although they have a more "universal" version here: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc ... _vc=-10005 it also comes in a 4x8; I personally like that narrow width for maneuverability

 

[Hunter0678]

Contendershooter.... Thats actually the one I have, I just noticed I posted the wrong one.... This thing works great, we also have horses so my wife likes to just hook it to the ball of her 4-wheeler and drag the pasture to spread the manure around. Another thing I really like about it is we just roll it up in between food plots and set it on the back rack of the 4 wheeler so your not dragging it all the time.