Tree hauling

[SasquatchMan]

Okay, so now I've got a dead tree down in the middle of farmer brown's field, and I can't get my truck any closer than about 100 yards because of snow.  How do I get the logs out without killing myself (and without buying a ATV - this firewood thing is supposed to SAVE me money).

What do non professionals (like me!) do to move timber?

[Kevin]

Take the logs out with a toboggan and block them at the road.

[SasquatchMan]

That's the answer I was hoping not to see... but it seems like the only way in snow... I'll have to custom build one to hold my saw and snowshoes too...

[Kevin]

If you have to build one , build a sleigh with two runners.
With 300' of rope you could pull it to the road with your truck.

Two vehicles and a block ...
or one vehicle, an anchor and a block.

[Corley5]

What about asking "Farmer Brown" to drag it out of the field with his tractor or plow out to it with his tractor?  Farmers aren't usually real busy at this time and it'd give him an excuse to get a tractor out. ;D ;D

[SasquatchMan]

Well, it's mostly ranchers around here, and they couldn't give two sh...illings about what I'm up to.  I'm trying to do them a favor by getting rid of trees that could fall down and hurt or kill an animal (or a person), but I don't think most of them would be too interested in helping - they've got their daily routines too.

Kevin, you got a degree in physics or what?! :D

[Keltic]

You could block it, stack it, (after spliting or not) and pick it up in the spring/summer. FMK

[SasquatchMan]

I think a big pile of firewood would be likely to grow legs.

[OneWithWood]

In the days BC (before crawler) I would use the mile marker winch on my truck (it has 150' of cable) if I couldn't just drive up to it (4x4).  Before I had a 4x4 I would buck it where it lay, split it, and toss rounds as far as I could until I got to the truck.  By the time I got to the truck I was pretty wore out and dinged it more than once when rounds fell short ???  But you got to do what you got to do if your going to stay warm.

[rebocardo]

Unless you have a built 4x4 with large tires and lockers, driving out into a snowy muddy field is just asking to get stuck, especially after you load all that wood. It is unlikely the tree will yield more than two cords of wood, so to make any money this has to be done for under $100 material so you have $100 left.

Go to Home Depot and have some 3/16 cable made up, (2) 100 foot lengths and (2) fifty foot lengths. Use all shackles, no hooks. Good for about 1,000 pounds and cost about $50.

(2) 1/2 an inch eyelet, 5/8 is better. Order by mail order. The stuff at Home Depot will not hold up, it is grade 2 or lower.

Make a sled from 4x4x3/4 plywood. Attach wood runners 6' x 6" x 1" to the bottom. Make the front of the runners a 45 degree cut and make a front to the runner that comes up and out 45 degrees and back it will supports.

Load the sled back heavy so the front end pops up. Nail  2x4 across the front and attach the eyelets there. One on the left, one on the right. Chain between them, attach a shackle in the middle of the chain. Pull it out 100 feet at a time, disconnect a cable, and keep pulling. The last 50 feet will be the worse, since you will probably have to fight a grade. I would try to drag only 4x4x2 feet of wood at a time, well over 1,000 pounds if oak, so I would not worry about having anything over a 2x4 for a side panel. Maybe a 6"x1" across the back to keep things from rolling off.


  

[Wes]

 Hook the end of the cable to a blank rim and remove a tire from your truck, bolt on the rim, and you have a winch.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Almost thought Rebo had my idea. :

  Tree are round, right???

  Get a length of cable that will be long enough to reach both ends of the log, +, it needs to be long enough to have a "spreader bar" fixed in the "vee" that is formed, when you attach both ends of the cable. The bar needs to be longer than the log, so that the cable will not bind on the log when the log is rolled sideways to where you can handle it to load.

  Get 3 "thimbles", the loopy things that you use to form a cable loop, so the cable doesn't kink. Get 2--6" lags of 5/8" dia. or whatever you can find, and be sure the thimbles fit over the lags. Make yer end loops with thimbles and put a washer on the lag. Put the cable loop on the lag. Put 2 or 3 washers on the lag and drive it as near center as you can into each end of the log. Be sure to string the cable through the spreader bar and clamp above and below the bar, so it won't slide and turn sideways. A piece of 1½" pipe should be plenty strong.

  Put the last thimble into the center of the cable and clamp it, to form what will eventually look like the letter "A". The log will actually be at the "bottom" of the "A". Pull from the middle of the cable and the log will roll right to you.

  It "may" need blocking a time or two, to allow for the taper. The shorter the log, the easier it will be to set up the yoke.

  After retrieving the section of log, unscrew the lag and repeat the process. I have rolled logs uphill using the described rig. If need be, park another vehicle and attach a block on the pull line and drive the first vehicle down whatever road you have available, using the second vehicle for an anchor

  This rig can be built in 45 minutes, once ya have the parts. It stores well, for the next time ya need it. ;D ;D ;D.

                              Signed,  Rube G.

[Kevin]

squatch;
Being Canadian, you must have access to a snowmachine?

[SasquatchMan]

Yeah I could rustle one up, Kevin... then either a sled or just some shains and away I go... trouble on the prairies is that you get all sorts of bare spots, and spots where the snow is 40" deep, so no vehicle can do it all well, except a big tracked one (and I can't find mine anywhere!).  Maybe I'll just cut down trees closer to the road - I can park right under em and drop em in my truck!