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ATV Logging trailer

Started by jerry sundberg, December 29, 2018, 10:53:23 AM

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jerry sundberg

Any one on here made or making a ATV log loading trailer? Or maybe not the right place to ask.
Farmall  man

WV Sawmiller

 

 Lots of us have made logging arches that can be used with an ATV. I have a rear dolly I use with mine when needed. I lift one end of the log, put the dolly under it and strap it down with a ratchet strap then go pick up the other end and I can tow a pretty big log on level ground. Bringing logs out of the woods on our steep slopes I just pick up one end. I need the other dragging as a brake to keep it from pushing me out of control.


 Arch with dolly attached to ATV for travel without log.

    For small logs without using the dolly I can hook 3-4 logs to the arch and drag them. I tow my 5X8 utility trailer around the yard with lumber and logs on it with my ATV. I also use my ATV to haul the mill around the yard.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

John Mc

You could probably steal some ideas from the Woodland Mills ATV Trailers. They are lightweight, and have a few well thought out features (convertible to dump trailers). I considered buying one, but decided it was more usited to ATV use than behind my tractor.

Also might be worth searching on here for DanG Deadheader Log Lifter - a way to turn a regular trailer into something that can be loaded easily with an electric winch.

There are a few decent Youtube videos on building loading cranes for trailers. Here's one from a guy who bought a light-duty ATV log loading trailer, and tore apart and rebuilt the crane on it because he felt the stock one was too flimsy (He was going to build the whole thing from scratch, but found that just buying the wheels alone was a big part of the whole trailer cost):
ATV 12 V Winch Powered Timber Trailer CRANE BUILD

The same guy has a playlist of ATV Equipment and Add-onswhich includes several on modifications he made to this trailer
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Ljohnsaw

Thanks a lot!  This guy has some really cool ideas and I got sucked into YouTube for an hour or so! :D
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

John Mc

Quote from: ljohnsaw on December 29, 2018, 05:47:59 PM
Thanks a lot!  This guy has some really cool ideas and I got sucked into YouTube for an hour or so! :D
It's easy to get sucked in, especially on stuff like this.
I thought he had a good point: buying one similar to what he did might be a good place to start - if for no other reason than it's probably the cheapest way to get parts.
There are a bunch of similar trailers in this size range. All seem to have about a 2000# payload, which seems like a good match for an ATV. MUTS and DR Power VersaTrailer are two of them. However, I like the design of the Woodland Mills ATV trailers better: their trailers dump up to 60˚, while the MUTS and VersaTrailer are limited to 35 or 40˚. (I've also run into a couple of the VersaTrailers that had significant corrosion issues even though they were almost new.)
DR did have two ideas I liked: an electric winch option (rather than the hand crank winch on the others) and the ability to add a hitch on the rear of the trailer so you can haul your splitter behind the trailer (MUTS has that option as well. Woodland Mills does not.)
All of these may give you some ideas if you are building your own, or may provide a base to start from if you want to buy and upgrade.

There are heavier duty log forwarding trailers out there, but the price jumps significantly when you move the next step up in size and capability.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

red

Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

John Mc

Quote from: red on December 29, 2018, 06:40:40 PM
Don't forget Logrite Tools for Log and Lumber Handling - Logrite Tools LLC trailer
I've seen that LogRite trailer in person. It's a very nice trailer, and better built than many of similar size I've seen, but it's not what I'd call a "log loading trailer".
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

GAB

Quote from: John Mc on December 29, 2018, 06:51:27 PM
Quote from: red on December 29, 2018, 06:40:40 PM
Don't forget Logrite Tools for Log and Lumber Handling - Logrite Tools LLC trailer
I've seen that Logrite trailer in person. It's a very nice trailer, and better built than many of similar size I've seen, but it's not what I'd call a "log loading trailer".
@Trapper says that the Logrite trailer is a good deer loading trailer.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

WV Sawmiller

Jerry,

   Look up posts from Teed, our resident FF Swede. He has some neat powered equipment (Trailers and arches and such) he uses with an ATV over there but all I have seen were used on fairly level, often swampy, conditions. 

   I would look long and hard at the kind of terrain where you plan on using  this trailer. I live in very steep terrain and even one log on a downhill slope is very hairy at times. I would not even think of towing a heavy trailer load of logs down my hills. What does it look like where you plan to use it?
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

jerry sundberg

Flat land for us with a bridge across the creek. When not frozen it's soft so we try to stay out so we don't make ruts. I have the trailer, it's made of 5" channel with a 3/4 ton truck axle with 19" tires. I need ideas to make the boom assembly and winch part. I intend to pull it with my skidder I built. I want the winch to be wireless controlled so's I can be back at the load as it's being pulled out in case it get's hung up on something.
I would post some pics but can't figure out how.
Farmall  man

John Mc

Jerry -

Why not fill out your profile with your location? That gives folks an idea when making recommendations. You also may hear from someone in your area who has similar equipment you can look at for ideas.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Pulphook

Downeast firewood trailer ( pics when I can figure out how :-[ ) 4' x 6'. Welded frame, 3/4 " ply box, on a Subaru axle.
In these 'bony' woods this ATV rig works well in mixed terrain for butts. Often have to noodle the larger ones so this back can hump and roll them onto the trailer. The manufactured rigs posted are big $$$ for us.
This has done the job for about 20 years bringing in 5-8 cords/year for 2 wood stoves with no central heat.
Two wood stoves ( Jotul Rangely ,Jotul Oslo ) heating 99 44/100%
24/7. No central heat. 6-8 cords firewood from the woodlot /year. Low low tech: ATV with trailer, 3 saws, 2 electric splitters, a worn pulphook, peavy, climbing line for skidding, Fiskars 27, an old back getting older.

John Mc

That's the way to do it, Pulphook. If I followed Jerry correctly, he's starting from a similar place, and trying to figure out how to make a crane for loading to save his back a bit.

I started with a Rubbermaid cart pulled behind my riding lawnmower. Then upgraded to the trailer shown below, pulled behind my Coot. (that's probably 3000# of trailer plus green Beech - the Coot pulled it, but it was really more than I should have been attempting with it.)

  

The trailer was made by my neighbor from some scraps of metal he had around and an old mobile home axle. Bed is about 4 1/2' x 8 1/2 ' with about 12" sides. He upgraded to a heavier-duty trailer and gave this to me. I've replaced the wood once on it (wish I had extended the sides up a bit when I did it). I had thought about adding some sort of crane, but since most of what it hauls is firewood rounds or split firewood, I just stuck with loading it by hand. It's still in use today, though it may get mostly retired since I found a good deal on a CAM Woodsman 4'x8' dump trailer.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

John Mc

Quote from: Pulphook on December 30, 2018, 09:07:16 AM
Downeast firewood trailer ( pics when I can figure out how :-[ ) 4' x 6'. Welded frame, 3/4 " ply box, on a Subaru axle.
Pictures need to be uploaded to your gallery here on the forestry forum in order to be included in your post.  Here's a link to a video Jeff posted describing how to do it.
Updated Photo Posting Tutorial
It's a little different compared to many other forums, but easy once you've done it a time or two. Requiring the photos to be posted here in your gallery assures that the photos will be available in the future (which is a problem on some other forums: you'll often run into a blank picture when someone linked to a photo on another site which is no longer available from that site).
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

gump

 


Here is mine.. Wheels are a bogey system.

John Mc

Looks nice, Gump. Did you make that yourself? I'd love to see some details on your boom/winch system.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

John Mc

Quote from: thecfarm on December 30, 2018, 02:15:49 PM
Coot? Rear steering?
Normal 2 wheel (front) steering was standard, but after a few years, they came out with optional 4 wheel steering. This was a good thing, since Coots have no differentials, so cornering on the 2WS versions was not good. The 4WS option helped quite a bit.
Both of my Coots have been converted to 4W steering
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

mike_belben




I cut down a bent 3500# car trailer axle for mine.  When i get my kubota down here i will make bogeys that bolt onto the wheel face and an extension for the back, then do a crane.  For now i just skid anything bigger than i can heave on.  I also have a dumper basket for it and a handwinch crane to dump it.  




Praise The Lord

John Mc

I love seeing what people have come up with, and how they've adapted the materials at hand.

Mike - does having the axle that far back put too much weight on the rear of your ATV, or has it worked out OK for you. A friend is looking at making something similar and is wondering about trailer balance. He wants a bit of tongue weight to help with the ATV's traction, but is concerned about over-doing it.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

mike_belben

I was concerned but it worked out capacity wise and in hindsight i can say for sure that if i went with a more forward axle it wouldnt tip the dumper up far enough (since the axle tube is also the dumper pivot) and that cresting hills with the basket full would probably shift the weight back and pick the quad up like a donkey hoisted off its feet by a tipped rickshaw.  Its always adding traction this way, never subtracting it.

The downside is its like towing a long gooseneck... It trails inside alot and is trickier to back up.  If the axle to pin length matched the quad then it'd travel in same tracks like a skidder and reverse more like a dump truck with pintle tag rather than a semi tractor that needs to swing the power unit alot.  However when the kubota gets here and the trailer sees phase 2, the lengths will be perfect and capacity can go way up too. The bota pulls what the quad wont dream of. At that time the current axle will become the walking beam pivot and 4 more feet of pin on bunk will happen so that it can move 12' wood instead of 7 or 8.  The walking beam and 3pt hitch will add 1.5ft of ground clearance. Then ill do a remote powered crane from a woods 750 hoe i have on the trailer up north. Whatever i learn in that endeavor gets applied to version 3.0
Praise The Lord

Ljohnsaw

I'm thinking of making another trailer.  I made this little 4x5 that happens to have a 2,500# axle (no brakes).  It is made from 1/8" 4x4 tube with plates added for the shackles, stake pockets and tie down points.


 
Not the best picture but really the only one I got!  It has stake sides and works pretty good at hauling firewood.  It has an extendable tongue that I used once for a very long Boy Scout made boat.  This one is road registered and I also use it to haul my saw head down the hill for the winter or repairs.  I was thinking of adding a dump bed (plugs into stake pockets) to make it more useful for hauling dirt and rocks.  I have one of those manual truck cranes with the hydraulic boom jack and a boat winch cable with a snatch block to double the capacity.  If I add a receiver to the trailer frame, I could "plug" it in to use for dumping or log loading (with an outrigger).

I toying with the idea of making a "wagon" style (running gear?) but with front steering like a car so its more stable.  If I want to get real fancy, perhaps 4 wheel steering so I can negotiate my trails better.  But, I see the walking beam setup and I'm wondering if those are a lot or just a little easier to pull.  I have steep and rocky terrain.  Comments on those?
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

mike_belben

Walking beam trailers tip half as much.  If youve got to go over a 12" tall stump its like going over a 6" stump because the WB halves it. Since the trailer rides on the pivot half way between the two spindles on each beam. 
Praise The Lord

John Mc

As Mike said, Walking Arm suspensions make a big difference in rough terrain. On smoother ground I wouldn't say they are any easier to pull than a similar size/weight trailer with similar wheels.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

jerry sundberg

Here you will find my photos of my skidder.   Created out of WC Allis

 and F12 Farmall.
Farmall  man

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