ASABE Technical Library - Abstract
Member and Access Notice
Cleared Dirt Roads and Towed Bridges for Moving in Forests
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org
Citation: Paper number 035011, 2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.14116) @2003Authors: Geadlyahu Manor, David Sion
Keywords: Forest Roads, Shredder, Towed Bride, Trailer
The Front Boom Mounted Shredder provides a much-needed solution for clearing dirt roads by
shredding and mulching under brush, cut down branches and tree stumps. By using the Shredder the mulched
branches/stumps are left in their place to become organic fertilizing matter and the cost of collection and
removal of cut down and left over branches is saved.
Towed bridges can enable heavy machinery and other forestry equipment to negotiate natural obstacles such as
streams, ravines, ditches and escarpments. Vehicles can move without requiring erection of standard or nonstandard
bridging or earthmoving solutions such as culverts and landfilling that can permanently scar the
landscape or disturb the natural draining of the terrain. The bridge is equipped with a set of dual wheels and is
towed by a vehicle such as a tractor or truck. Bridge employment requires a strong host vehicle such as a
bulldozer or heavy truck. For deployment, the host tow vehicle backs the bridge to the gap; disconnects from
the towing drawbar; turns around; and re-hooks to the bridge with a push-adaptor mounted at the front of the
vehicle. The employment vehicle then pushes the bridge to the obstacle, and after the far-end of the bridge
pushed to the other side of the obstacle; the vehicle disconnects the bridge in-place, without any preparation of
the ground or abutment areas. After use, the bridge can be retrieved and towed elsewhere for subsequent
operations. When the bridge is towed behind its "host vehicle" between bridging missions, it can be used as a
simple trailer to transport equipment weighing up to 8 tons.