The Forestry Forum

General Forestry => Forestry and Logging => Topic started by: g_man on December 06, 2017, 08:33:23 AM

Title: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: g_man on December 06, 2017, 08:33:23 AM
Last Monday Dec 4th I brought a load of Spruce/Fir to Poulsen's Mill and Allen told me he was shutting the mill down Jan 1st and not to haul in any more logs. This mill has been here as long as I can remember. I always considered it a big operation. But he just can't compete with the new mechanized mills like up Milan with his labor intensive equipment. So this is my last load in there.



 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21065/PoulsensLastLoad.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1512565170)

It's going to be harder for me with my little truck. Allen was glad to take 10 footers. Both Spruce and Pine. They went on the little one ton nicely. The Milan mill is set up for 16 footers. One pass thru - all cut into dimensional lumber! A 10 foot log wastes 6 feet of space on the conveyer and takes the same time to cut as a 16 so they don't want short logs. They will take 12's though. If I have to cut all 12's now there will be less log utilization and my truck will get light on the front end pretty quick.

Little guy is squeezed in little ways tighter and tighter.

gg
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: goose63 on December 06, 2017, 08:38:51 AM
g_man if you wernt so far away I would take those 10 footers from ya
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: mike_belben on December 06, 2017, 09:19:33 AM
Sorry to hear man.  As always, times are a changin.
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: chep on December 06, 2017, 09:21:31 AM
Is this Poulsens in littleton?
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: g_man on December 06, 2017, 10:13:24 AM
Quote from: chep on December 06, 2017, 09:21:31 AM
Is this Poulsens in littleton?

Yes sir, it is.  A lot of pine and hemlock is going to need a new home.

gg
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: Puffergas on December 06, 2017, 12:30:21 PM
Time to buy a mill to take up the slack.
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: Riwaka on December 06, 2017, 05:32:22 PM
Thread author a few options.
1) Goose neck trailer - can you remove the sides and the rear tailgate from the tipper deck? Add goose neck hitch over drive axle. (Add securing pins to hold down the front of the tipper deck)
Goose neck trailer - go for flat deck trailer with the swedish system 300 exte removable bolsters  https://www.exte.se/eng/products/landsvagsprodukter/system-300  so you can use the trailer for hauling cars, hay, skid steers and other stuff.
2) Get the chassis rails of your truck cut and lengthened to handle a deck extension,   maybe add a single wheel(non dual tag- nonpowered) axle for extra braking and load carrying)
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: dgdrls on December 06, 2017, 07:28:50 PM
I wish you were closer or vise-versa,  your loads are exactly what
I want to work with,

sorry to hear of the closing,

D
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: starmac on December 06, 2017, 08:47:08 PM
Something tells me it is further to the other mill too. If so you will have to haul bigger loads to stay even anyway, I would think about rigging up to haul 16 footers for more than one reason.
If 16's is what they prefer, it stands to reason the guy hauling 12's would be cutoff first when the yard starts filling up.
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: mike_belben on December 06, 2017, 09:19:02 PM
Get an old triaxle pintle 10ton equipment trailer and weld in some standard pockets.  Ive bought 4 of them in the $800-1400 each range.  Eager Beaver, interstate, hudson, etc.     

Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: nativewolf on December 06, 2017, 10:46:42 PM
CDL License time if you go 10 ton trailer.
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: Skeans1 on December 07, 2017, 01:21:08 AM
Quote from: Riwaka on December 06, 2017, 05:32:22 PM
Thread author a few options.
1) Goose neck trailer - can you remove the sides and the rear tailgate from the tipper deck? Add goose neck hitch over drive axle. (Add securing pins to hold down the front of the tipper deck)
Goose neck trailer - go for flat deck trailer with the swedish system 300 exte removable bolsters  https://www.exte.se/eng/products/landsvagsprodukter/system-300  so you can use the trailer for hauling cars, hay, skid steers and other stuff.
2) Get the chassis rails of your truck cut and lengthened to handle a deck extension,   maybe add a single wheel(non dual tag- nonpowered) axle for extra braking and load carrying)
Out here where I am guys use to do that till the yards said no more because they would catch the stackers forks on the trailers. Our requirements are bunked logs with X amount of height from the bottom of the bunk to the first layer of logs or pulp most prefer mule trains over our turkey racks or hay racks.
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: g_man on December 07, 2017, 07:06:59 AM
Thanks all - I have been thinking about all these options. Poulsen's was about 7 miles east. The log yard is only 6-1/2 miles South. So a short trip. To start I am going to see how the 12 footers go. Smaller loads maybe but I will have time to find a trailer or what ever. Winter travel with a heavy trailer isn't fun. Not for me anyway. My other option is hire the trucking. The log yard will do it for $50 per MBF and wants 3500 BF loads. Removes some hassles, gives me more tree utilization cutting 12's thru 16's. But I would miss the independence and the 500BF loads I do now matches my slow work pace pretty well.

gg
Title: Re: Another Little Guy Gone
Post by: mike_belben on December 07, 2017, 09:12:06 AM
Quote from: nativewolf on December 06, 2017, 10:46:42 PM
CDL License time if you go 10 ton trailer.

Actually fmcsa says CDL license starts at 5ton these days.