Sap hauling, Gator style.

[Tweegs]

So I bit the bullet and bought a JD Gator. Not the hopped up 825, just the mid-range 625.

I’ll get plenty of use out of it around here, including hauling sap. Oh, the tractor gets it done, but it’s tough on the turf.

Got permission to tap the neighbor’s property. They have 40 acres, I’m only going to tap 2 or 3 that adjoin my property at the back of theirs, about 40 buckets in there. Combine those with my place and the total is up near 70 buckets, the rest of the taps are on tube.

The Gator is nimble enough to get around both properties without much trail cutting, but there is a drawback: The bed in the gator is about chest high. I’m getting a little long in the tooth to be lifting 70, hopefully full, 5 gallon buckets over my head to dump them in a collection tank. I’m scrounging for ideas here.

Towing a small trailer is out, the neighbor’s property is too tight as it stands and I really want to minimize any damage. Best I can come up with now is to use a bigger spare battery, inverter and a small electric pump (The alternator is too small to handle even this little 6 GPM pump and starting/stopping a gas powered pump would be a PITA).

You know how it is out there collecting sap, you want to hustle through it, get it done, especially if you’ve worked all day and you’re racing daylight. Waiting on that pump to empty two 5 gallon buckets won’t do. Thought I might affix a smaller 10 or 15 gallon stock tank on the back somehow, rig up one of those sump pump floats in there, and splash and go. Could work the hitch receiver in this contraption, as long as it wouldn’t drag when I get into the soft and soupy stuff around my place. Nothing I’ve seen aftermarket would fill that bill.

Maple folk are a cunning lot, always able to surmount obstinate obstacles.

Now if you were in my boots, what would you do?

[noreast maple]

I would get a tanaka sap pump or something simular and put the discharge end in the tank then put about 25 or 30 feet of sucktion hose on other end and stick that in buckets ,easier than liffing full buckets.:)

[Maple Hill]

We use that setup with 50 feet of hose-works great,alot easier on the old back. It works better with two people,one driving (the older one) and one on the hose.

[maple flats]

Another method many use is a 12V bilge pump. Design a dump tank that is lower off the back. Dump into that and let the pump move sap to the main tank. You can use power from the Gator. It likely has a power outlet (AKA cigarette lighter port). Get a bilge pump that meets the flow needed so you dump, get another and the sap will fit into the dump tank. Forget the inverter, electric pump idea. That will require too large of a battery and inverting for electric costs power. (I know, I am into solar. Anything you can do in DC is more efficient than converting to AC.) A 6A alternator can handle it fine with power to spare. Get something like a Rule 1500, when running it will use 4.8A, when off the excess will top off the battery. Use an inline 10A fuse.

[Tweegs]

Sorry for the late reply, been a little “Electrically challenged” here over the past few days.

The bilge pump is a great idea, ordered a 500 GPH Rule from Amazon, cheap. It has enough head and will drain the bucket in under 2 minutes (@ 5’).

Gave the 50’ of hose some thought, but sap collecting is pretty much a one-man show around here. Too much mud and too many things to go around to make it feasible.

Found a 10 gallon pail at Tractor Supply that I think will work. Decided not to mount it off the back because of mud kicking up from the tires and the exhaust. Thought about mounting it from the front brush guard, but nixed that also. I have one stop at a collection point that has 30 taps on tube and needed to be able to get the pump in that container, not to mention having a hose running across the hood that was guaranteed to catch every low hanging branch along the way. Instead, I think the best bet is to keep the bucket and hose in the bed for the ride between stops, and just set the bucket on the ground while I collect. That should keep everything reasonably clean and snag free.

Appreciate the thoughts folks, that should get me in the game again.

[Big_Eddy]

Does your Gator have a CVT transmission? Does it provide any engine braking? How flat is your land?

If the land is flat you're probably fine, but with 65 gallons up that high, your stability and stopping ability are going to be affected. Not trying to rain on your parade, but I once took a hair-raising ride down a 25 percent grade being chased by a 100gal sap trailer , and it is not something I'd want to see others repeat.

We have an old AMT with a CVT clutch that will freewheel at idle, so we don't use it on any slopes. The brakes are marginal enough without 500+lbs of sap sloshing around behind our heads. We'll haul 20 gals out on a light day, but anything more and we use the tractor.

[ericjeeper]

Why not take 2 55 gallon barrels and lay them down, Cut a hole the size of a 5 gallon bucket into the top side. cut a bucket about 10 inches from the top. insert down into the hole and glue it in place. That will reduce your lifting height. and still give you 110 gallons of capacity. Place a lid onto the bucket for traveling

[adk1]

I would rig up a hitch gate like they have on SUV's etc..Put a tank on it, maybe a 50 gallon one and is that. would be much lower and you could back up to your buckets etc. I am assuming that the Gator has a truck style reciever

[wiam]

I would rig up a hitch gate like they have on SUV's etc..Put a tank on it, maybe a 50 gallon one and is that. would be much lower and you could back up to your buckets etc. I am assuming that the Gator has a truck style reciever

I doubt that hitch is rated for 400lbs. I would think that would make front end light.

[Tweegs]

It does have a CVT, does provide engine braking, 4 wheel independent suspension, adjustable shocks, and the land is quite flat. I was surprised at how stable it is, how well it corners at speed and what it will go through, but of course that kind of testing wasn’t done with a couple hundred pounds sloshing around in the bed. Because of the way everything is laid out and the way my collections run, at no time should I ever pass the shack with more than 40 gallons on board. Anything more than 20 gallons will be a quick stop and drop.

The bottom of the bed is about belly button high to me, which means that if I were to try and dump into anything in the bed I would have to lift 5 gallon buckets to at least shoulder height, not something I want to do. (Tore a rotator cuff over Labor Day, not fully healed yet).

Been giving this a lot of thought since I posted last on this thread and took the advice of using a bilge pump. The bed has hand rails at the top along the sides, it also has tie downs inside the bed at the corners. Figured I use one or the other and fasten a rope to the handles on a 10 gallon bucket that would hang off the back no more than waist high. I dump into the bucket, bilge pump takes it to the tank, bucket rides in the bed between stops.

I installed a switch for the pump in the dash and permanently installed a harness with a quick disconnect under the bed. The bilge pump has its own harness that plugs into that.

I’d need to look at the book again on tongue weight/towing capacity, I don’t remember what it is off hand and I’m at work right now.;)

[adk1]

would love to see some pics of your rig now that you have us all interested!

[Tweegs]

Here ya go.

Neither the bucket nor hose is correct, just there to show the intent.
6225

[Sawyer]

6230 This is my 1st post ever so I'm not at all sure what I'm doing but here goes. Nice Gator! I think your on the right track. We've got a float switch in our pail and a weight to hold it in place. While the pump is emptying the pail we're off to the next tree or driving.

[3brothers]

6241Here's a photo of our gator all rigged up to collect sap from buckets(a bit over loaded). We mounted a cut off 15 gallon barrel in the front receiver(easy to put on and take off) with a bilge pump thats on a manual switch.

[heus]

Here ya go.

Neither the bucket nor hose is correct, just there to show the intent.
6225

Heck of a nice machine Tweegs.

[Brent]

we do much like mapleflats suggested.
we have two 35 gallon tanks in the box and put a 5 gallon pail on the floor of the gator on the passenger side.
We put a big Rule bilge pump, I think its the 2000 model in the pail and just plug it into the cigarette lighter.
It will pump sap up into the big tanks about as fast as you can pour a 5 gallon collecting pail and turn around and
pick up the next one.

DO ... Seriously put in a check valve of vent the hose that goes to the big tanks to prevent siphoning back.
Bin Der Dun Dat .... an embarrasing number of times. You can lose 15 gallons in a blink.

[adk1]

6241Here's a photo of our gator all rigged up to collect sap from buckets(a bit over loaded). We mounted a cut off 15 gallon barrel in the front receiver(easy to put on and take off) with a bilge pump thats on a manual switch.

Dont youo have any snow right now or is this from last year?

[3brothers]

This photo was from last season we have snow right now but will be gone by the weekend

[Tweegs]

Thanks guys.

Sawyer,
I really like the way yours is set up. Nice, neat, and clean.

3brothers,
I would have liked to come off the front like you did to eliminate mud and exhaust fumes from getting in to the bucket, but I was worried about the hose snagging, we’ve got a lot of low hanging branches and stuff sure to grab hold of it. Would take me weeks to clear paths to the point I was comfortable doing it that way.

Brent,

:lol: Bin Der Dun Dat too. Like the time I was pumping the woods tank up to my bulk tank. Shut the pump off and couldn’t figure out why my woods tank was filling back up so fast, thought I was having a really good day. Was sadly disappointed to learn the truth of it.

Now I filter sap every time I move it. The tank in the gator normally sports an Orlon filter, same with the bulk tank and the head tank to the evap. The end of the hose never sets in the sap at the receive end, so it can’t siphon back out. Just have to make sure you lash the discharge end of the hose down good to keep it from whipping about…took a sap bath that way once, too.

[Sawyer]

Thanks Tweegs. We've got a "new to us" 825 gator to set up for this year. I like 3brothers idea of using the front receiver if you can get around. No exhaust concerns. And Hubby says that taking the tailgate off the gator is no simple matter. You will want to cover the gap between the gator box and the vertical plywood if you decide to use the back receiver. We used a piece of metal building corner trim to do that. I need to find a check valve--thats a good idea Brent! Oh, always puttering.

[Tweegs]

I kept kicking around the idea of that 825 but just couldn’t justify it for around here (as bad as I wanted to). You can crawl around in the woods, putter here or there. The only place to open her up is on the driveway (Lord help ya if you miss a turn though) or out in the field when the crop is off.

Being in the over 50 crowd, zipping about just doesn’t have the same appeal it did 20 years or so ago. Still, my wife has learned to watch for the telltale signs of required seatbelt use as we break from the woods to open field. She’s learned that the gleam in the eye and slightly upturned corners of the mouth strongly suggest that a wide open blast through a few snow drifts is imminent.

Truth be known, it’s better that I went with the 625, I ain’t got all of the kid out of me…yet. :cool:

[Sawyer]

So...... If I start to notice the roads being torn up around here, it might not be the neigbor kids?! Hm.....might have to glue an unnoticed block under the gas peddle. We just got ours in Nov. so haven't had a chance to use it hardly.

[Tweegs]

This 625 is rated to go about 28 MPH, that 825 will push 60. More torque on the 825 means you shouldn’t have any trouble getting the job done. I’m pretty sure the 825 has a heavier load capacity and higher towing capacity. Whichever method you choose to get sap out of the woods, that 825 will do it.

If I’d have had more open land, more hills, more sap to haul, or trailering it off to some remote trail head for a weekend romp was my cup of tea, I’d have the 825, no doubt.

On a side note: If yours doesn’t have a winch and you were thinking along the lines of putting one on, check out the “Super winch”. It’s about half the price of a Warn (standard model), is supposed to have beefier parts, and has a lifetime warranty. A 3500lb winch plus the mounting bracket ran me $230. The Warn winch was a little over $500 for the same capacity.

[johnallin]

Ok you guys got me going this weekend with the pump idea so today I built this setup to pump up and into the sap tanks. Sounds like I've got pretty much the same setup as Brent, with two 35 gal tanks in the back of the Gator. I too have been doing chest high 40 lb curls to pour pails into the little 6 inch openning at the tops of my tanks.

My set up has been described here before, 15 gallon tank on its side with a hole for a bucket with the bottom cut out to slide into to act as a spashgaurd/funnel. I used a Rule - RM1500 - 1500 gph pump with built-in float switch but rather than use hose, I connected 1" cpvc pipe to the pump with a push-on brass connector. The connector is pretty neat as it allows the pipe to rotate - thus allowing me to fill one tank and then swing the fill pipe over to the next. You can see that in the last two pix. I use 6" prefilters at the top of the tanks held in place with big ss hose clamps.

The best part is that it nests perfectly right behind the two sap tanks and needs no hold down.

Pump is powered by a 12 volt outlet on the dash using 14 ga wire and a 2 pin wire connector between the pump and the power cord from the dash.

Have not tested yet - it got too dark, but so far it looks like it's going to work pretty well.

62906291629262936294