Portable sawmill modifications for more ground clearance?

[FountainMontain]

 Hello all,

New to the forum, been logging and clearing for several years, got a woodmizer lt50 a few months ago to start processing the spruce logs we've bucked up over the last while.

I need to get the mill up a very steep and rocky high alpine old mining road, have been filling the worst spots so the tail end of the rail beam won't drag but on my lt50 some of the components are quite close to the ground. The leafs are under axle mounted which I assume is one of the reasons you can drive down the highway with a 6,000lb single axle mill doing 85mph and forget it's there! Really impressed with how that machine tows, some serious engineering went into them, so, happy with the mill but all that said the clearance is no good for what I'm doing and where I'm taking it, short of flipping the axle which I don't really want to do because seems like could create problems..

Has anyone run 35"+/- sized tires with the correct offset wheel with success to get more clearance on their mill?  

Has Anyone attached "bumper wheels" to the tail end of their mill? If you know what a "Moab roller" is, that's kind of what I'm thinking, not for more clearance but for protection of the rail in back if it wants to drag in rough areas?

Any other mods people have tried that worked?

Thanks for any advice and I look forward to hearing some game changing ideas that are supper cheap and easy!!! But seriously any ideas especially ones that are proven will be very much appreciated.
 

[Southside]

Can you pick it up and load it onto a trailer with better clearance? 

I would be very leery of a bumper wheel as that might transfer a lot of stress to the frame if the hitch and bumper wheel had all the weight. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Not a magic bullet by any means but the lower your hitch point is, the higher the back is. Since this will likely be a very low speed transit, compromising handling dynamics that don't apply could also work in your favor, such as relocating the axle forward (and parking position) temporarily and lowering that hitch point a few inches could gain you an awful lot of height in the rear. Bottoming the hitch is less dangerous to the equipment than dragging the rear of the mill frame. Just another thought to get some juice flowing.
 To put it another way, adding a few inches at the wheels will not gain you as much as dropping those same inches at the hitch. As my Pop used to say 'don't raise the bridge, lower the river'.
 Good luck.

[FountainMontain]

Thanks Southside and Old Greenhorn, unfortunatley another trailer will not work as the mill is already to long for the road, and lowering the hitch would only (maybe..) solve the rear drag issue not the under clearance..

To describe the road better its about a mile long with 1000ft elevation gain, road grades of 20% in several places, timbered throughout, two track very rocky jeep road, multiple switchbacks, and pretty much only suited for lifted trucks.  Not worried about the loading arm being too high if we get better clearance as we will just dig a perpendicular trench for the wheels to land in so the arm will land flush with the ground.

Has anyone lifted/modified/tire swapped their mill for more Off/rough road usage? Thanks

[chet]

A much better solution may be ta just bring da logs to the mill. 

[Southside]

So you have a significant investment into that mill.  How much would it cost to sling load it and have a helicopter bring it to the top of the hill? 

[FountainMontain]

logs are onsite where the lumber will be used for building, so moving them is not a cost effective or feasible option, mill needs to get to the property.

Helicopter would cost close to if not more than mill as there are no operators in my area so mobilization fees are crazy.

Has anyone had success just putting larger tires on their mill and removing fenders?

[btulloh]

Just a guess, but I doubt there's anyone that's faced exactly what you're up against with that type of mill. It's an interesting problem and I hope you can find a solution. 

There are quite a few people that faced similar or even more difficult locations and usually it gets resolved by choosing a style of mill that is more adaptable. Swing mills are more easily transported or smaller band mills.  But you've got what you've got. 

There's always a solution though.  Maybe the larger tires, but it's unlikely that somebody has done that. Someone has to be the first, and maybe that's you.   That road Sounds like quite a challenge.  

[chet]

Another option may be ta build a skid platform and secure your mill onto that. That way the skid would take the beating and not the mill.

[charles mann]

So you have a significant investment into that mill.  How much would it cost to sling load it and have a helicopter bring it to the top of the hill?

I know a company that sling 20,000 lbs at a time a d even have the fore and aft hooks installed. 😉

[charles mann]

Another option may be ta build a skid platform and secure your mill onto that. That way the skid would take the beating and not the mill.

I agree with a skid plate. 
@FountainMountain  what about just putting it on skids with a high ° of upslope on the front. Double stack and weld up some I-Beam to gain say 8+", weld on some d-rings along the beam, 2 close to ea wheel to use a wheel tie down sling, strap it down and use a tractor with a 3pt trailer ball adapter frame a d that way, if the back needs a bit more clearance for a moment, lower the 3pt, then raise to level load when allowable? 

[Joe Hillmann]

Depending on how much work it is I would start by putting the axle( or a different axle) below the springs.  Then taller shackles.  If that isnt enough clearance I would make adapters to raise the fronts of the springs as well.  If all that isnt enough I would look into buying larger tires.  Unless I already had the tires then that is the first thing I would do.  All these modifications could be easly reversed once you drag it off the mountain.


You can put the mill on a trailer that is half the length of the mill.  Something could be welded up in a day out of an old trailer house frame and axle.

[stihltoomany]

If you want to put on oversize tires do it
. Whats big deal. Put tires on when you leave the pavement. Take them off when you get there. You will need 40 inch plus tires to make much difference. Will have to match bolt pattern. Probably custom made with correct offset to avoid interference. Will have be removed for milling. Log loader will hit oversized tires. May be other components as well.

[Crusarius]

Larger tires will probably interfere with the head travel.

What are your fabrication skills? It would not be hard to remove one of the spring hangers and put a scissor lift in place of it. that way when you get to the goat trail you can crank up the scissor lift and gain a ton of ground clearance.

Something I have toyed with when it comes to buying an enclosed trailer for towing my jeep. I hate dragging the trailer tails.

[maple flats]

What about hiring a tractor (as in tractor trailer) made to haul mobile homes. Many of them have on the go height adjustment on the hitch ball.

[thecfarm]

I myself would be concerned about the back of the mill dragging. The rear of the towing vehicle comes up, the rear of the sawmill goes down. 
Could you rethink the trailer? Would not take much of a trailer to get that mill on top of one. Got a welder? If not buy one!!!  ;D From what you are saying, it would not have to be road legal? I built 2 good size trailers and one small one for my place.

[Iwawoodwork]

Looks to me that the least cost and work would be to find a single axle utility trailer and extend the tongue , load/roll/lift the mill up on it and strap down that you will have the tail end of the mill up and you can set the utility trailer towards the center of the mill  for better tracking. Just roll the mill head to the front/ center and strap very well to balance load.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sounds awful top-heavy to me.

[FountainMontain]

Thanks for all the inputs, hopefully have some pictures of the mod/"solution" next couple days.

[customsawyer]

Keep in mind that picking up these mills to load on another trailer isn't as easy as it sounds. Regular width and length forks don't work under the frame. One fork will need to be close to the area where the clamp and turner is. If you try to pick it up with chains from the top, most equipment doesn't have enough lift to get it on top of another trailer. It would be way safer to plan on winching the mill onto another trailer if that is the route you decide to go. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, sounds like you might have started working on something with larger tires. Let us see how it turns out so we can all learn something. The last idea I had for you was to make an entirely new axle for those bigger tires but make it like a yoke axle (as you would see in a skidding arch) which will give max ground clearance. This could be bolted up right to the frame, you don't need springs at 'creep speed'. Likewise you could make a drop coupling for the front bolted up right to the existing tongue. This would get the whole thing up in the air and be removable when you get on site. Those bigger tires will be a hassle for milling anyway, I think, so you would want them off and the second axle will also be in the way. If you wanted to get fancy and can find the room, make that extra axle a 'swing down' design.
 Good luck and let us see what you come up with.

[FountainMontain]

 

 

 ...........

[FountainMontain]

35" with negative offset off an old Toyota, work in progress more action shoots to follow..

[Magicman]

Since the FAO's hang down a bit when they are fully 'up' you might consider removing them for the trips in and out. 

I actually sheared one of mine off on some very rough terrain.  I sawed without it that day and grabbed some bolts before resuming sawing the next day.

[Lasershark]

That mill looks like it runs on pure testosterone!