Length of tow and how long on the ground

[Hemlock121]

 

 

Hi.

I didn't want to hijack WV Sawmiller's "Obvious" post, but I though someone mentioned in his response that if you are towing logs, they should be close to your ATV/Tractor. Is that right?
 
I welded up this old WW1 US Army mortar cart for my ATV trailer.  The tongue is 4' then the cart is a 3x4 box.  You cant see it from this photograph, but there is a hill in front of me.  When I tried to climb the hill on my normal trail, the tires dug in and I couldn't make it up pulling the trailer. Is that because I made the tongue too long on the trailer?  My 4x4 buddy thought I needed more weight in the front so he suggested I rest a couple of bags of sand on the front to get more tire traction.  I never contemplated the long distance could be the reason, is it?  I made the long tongue thinking if I had long boards, then I could slide them through and have some overhang the front and the back.

Second question.  I haven't bought my mill yet, but am narrowing the options.  In a previous post, I mentioned my place was hammered by a storm and lost a great deal of my trees.  For the 25-30" red/white pines, I have cut them to length, placed firewood logs underneath to keep them off the ground.  How long to I have to mill them before the wood is no longer good? I'm hopeful that I can cut beams out of the logs for a 8x14 timber frame woodshed/ATV garage and other projects around the house.    

[Ljohnsaw]

The tongue length has nothing to do with traction.  Tongue weight matters.  If you have too much weight on your hitch, then the front of you ATV gets lifted (assuming you have 4wd) and you loose traction.  Do you have full diff lock available?  Engage that and it may help - then either no wheels will spin or they all will.  If you have too much weight to tow, it just isn't gonna happen...  I've found towing up hill is sometimes just too hard and I've had to resort to using my winch to help me up to a more level spot.  Slow, but it works.  I have very fine dirt/dust in my forest.  If I break the crust, I just sink in, sometimes even without a load!

[rusticretreater]

As for your tow bar, the height of the bar and its angle are your problem.  As ljohsaw noted, tongue weight is something to be managed.  Also, instead of pulling with the pulling force level with the axle, the high angle puts the pulling force nearer to the top of the axle.  This actually pushes down on the wheels making them "heavier" and harder to get over bumps. While your ATV probably has enough oophmf to make it move, the ground does not provide enough traction for this to happen.  You may find that even with the bar level that this will happen.  That cart is pretty heavy duty.

As for the pine logs, folks will tell you mill them quickly before the beetles get in there.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Nice looking cart. I can see lots of uses for it in the woods and around the mill and yard. Do you plan on getting the end of the? log on the cart to drag or just lumber. For level areas you might fab up a rear dolly. I ratchet strap my log to mine to hold it in place.

  I'd mill the pine pretty quick and in a hurry. Any chance to debark it? That should buy you some more time. Good luck.

EDIT/Add-on: As to the reason you want the logs as close to your tow vehicle as possible is to help prevent them from rolling and to help keep control of them on the slopes. If you can get close enough to lift one end you also reduce the friction from dragging and keep them cleaner for future sawing.

[bigblockyeti]

Tongue weight is directly proportion to the distance between the ball coupler/trailer axle center line and the distance between the load and the trailer axle center line.  More tongue weight = better to a point, enough to lift the front tires results in less control but more traction from the rear tires than if all four (4wd) were on the ground.

If you have a 4' distance from the axle center line to the ball coupler and you have 500lbs pushing down on the trailer at 2' behind the axle center line, your tongue weight would be (250)lbs.  

I'm planning on building a similar skidding rig with the frame rails cantelivered behind the rear most cross member to allow the axle center line to be 6" - 8" behind where the load will be.  With a total 36" length from the ball coupler to the axle center line this would give me a tongue weight of 83lbs. assuming a 6" canteliver and 500lb load.

As for when you should mill them, ASAP.  In the mean time I would be tempted to spray an insecticide on and around them to keep them from getting infested.

[Ventryjr]

I had some logger near by clear a log landing. They gave me about 3 truck loads of red pine 12"+.     I milled some of it.  And about 4 weeks later I noticed tiny sawdust piles from bugs.    Hire a portable guy and mill it now. 

[tawilson]

I log in the winter and saw white pine during the summer as I need it. The borers seem to attack the tops and smaller trees mostly. The worst thing for me is the mess from the bark falling off.

[azmtnman]

That looks just like my '06 Sportsman 500. 
Be careful with tongue weight on those. I've had to straighten a rear A-arm because of excessive tongue weight.

[Hemlock121]

Hi Everyone,

If I cant get them milled up this year but can get them debarked, will the lumber be good enough to make raised bed gardens, chicken coop etc or is it firewood at that point?  All logs are up off the ground by 8-10" with a steady breeze coming in from the lake.

AZmtnman -It is a 2006 Sportsman x2 so thank you for the advise on weight limits.

[Joe Hillmann]

The way your trailer is designed if you have one end of the log on the trailer and the other end on the ground it will be putting negative tongue weight on your four wheeler.  The log will always rest on the bar going across the back of the trailer which is behind the axle.  If you want to drag out logs and have tongue weight you need to get the log resting on the trailer in front of the axle,  the farther ahead of the axle it is the more weight it will put on your four wheeler.

With your current set up the only time your trailer would have tongue weight would be at the very bottom of a steep hill when the four wheeler and trailer on on level ground and the log is still on the hill.

[WV Sawmiller]

H121,

   If you can debark the logs and confirm the bugs are not already in them and they are up off the ground I'd think they should still make solid lumber 6 months or so from now. How long before your think you might be able to mill them? When you do start milling just be sure to mill them first.