New member, wondering if anyone else is using a winch truck to skid logs? The one I own is a 1979 chevy 3/4ton with 4 wheel drive, dual rear wheels, and a garwood pto winch. She's not fast or pretty, but its what I use. Runs good and dependable!
Welcome! And can't say that I have. How's it work? Just personal use?
If it works for you,that is all that matters. My land is a challenge to work on,uneven places and rocks are the worse of it.
Get any pictures? Seem like a member put a engine hoist in the back of a truck to get logs out.
Thanks for the welcome! yes its just for personal use,on the weekends. It works pretty good, just not real fast. I cut oak mostly, small woodlots that the owners realize I have another job during the week,and log on the weekends.I cut to length in the woods, 8 feet 8 inches, and skid out what it will handle at a time. i'll see if i can get a picture posted, I'm not real computer savvy!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36385/IMG_5855%7E0.JPG)
Was that a before you put it in the woods picture??
Like that arch. Don't need chains?
That picture was taken last week, I've been using it about two years now,I do touch up the paint every now and then th ough.I don't know what the arch was made from, I didn't build it, I bought the truck from a friend.It is stout made! The top of the boom is about 9 feet, with a snatch block and about 300 feet of 9/16 cable. I've got a set of chains for the rear duals, I don't use them much unless it's real steep or muddy. I really try to leave a light footprint, sometimes carrying them instead of skidding if I'm in a sensitive area. enjoy the heck out of reading and seeing different methods and machines on the forestry forum!
love the truck. Any more pics of it? 4 speed or auto
Not even a big dent in it,the bumper looks good. I'm just rough on stuff.
Thanks for the good words, I've got some more pictures i'll post soon. It's a 4 speed transmission with a 350 engine. She's got some dents and rough spots, I always cut out a skid trail and don't run over anything very big. I baby it around, if It is spinning I look for another option. It does get around pretty good, and the winch will sure pickup more than the truck will handle.
I've used the front winch on a deuce and a half to pull some pretty big logs out of the woods. It has 200' of 1/2" cable and I carry a few additional lengths. I like to aim the truck toward a nearby tree and put a snatch block on that tree with a tree-saver strap. This keeps the cable feeding into the winch at the correct angle that it doesn't bunch up one side. Also handy for pulling down leaning trees after making the cuts.
Use my 1950 Dodge Power Wagon with it's factory 10 ton winch with snatch blocks.
Used 1941 GMC 6x6 for couple of years till I bought a skidder. I still use the old truck around the farm and for a backup when needed
Nice. I had a friend - haven't seen him for years - who built a nice skiddah out of one of those old small Army trucks. I think it was a power wagon. Took the bed off and mounted a PTO winch and arch. Cut the fenders off. Put some big old tires on it. I think he even shortened the frame a bit. Welded nerf bars and skid plates here and there. Dropped a small block Chevy in it. Was pretty cool. He used it on his farm. All from stuff laying around his farm pretty much. 8)
Is it road legal?
I'd love to drive that down the road (or see it coming down the road) 8)
There was a FF member in the Yukon territories that used a winch truck. Don't think he has posted in a while.
Can't remember his user name now. :-[
Quote from: Reddog on May 07, 2014, 06:18:33 PM
There was a FF member in the Yukon territories that used a winch truck. Don't think he has posted in a while.
Can't remember his user name now. :-[
That would be fuzzybear.
Quote from: fuzzybear on January 30, 2013, 12:45:08 PM
I got tired of packing wood so I built this monster to haul the whole tree out to the landing. I can pull out a little over 1 cord at a time in tree length.
FB
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when I was a kid back in the 60's all they used around here anyway were old winch trucks. Beat to H&%$, no brakes , no glass, bald tires and thats all they had. Never saw a skidder till I got older. I think they must have used it for loading the logs also. Had pretty tall gin poles.
Quote from: Pine Ridge on May 06, 2014, 09:35:47 PM
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36385/IMG_5855%7E0.JPG)
Love the truck. Custom seat cover I see.
A few more pictures. She's not street legal, everything that's not necessary I've done away with, I put a trash sack over the seat when I'm done running for the day. Ridge logger I live on the other side of the creek from you, we talked at Jims mill about a year ago.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36385/IMG_5857.JPG)
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Quote from: Pine Ridge on May 07, 2014, 08:47:51 PM
A few more pictures. She's not street legal, everything that's not necessary I've done away with, I put a trash sack over the seat when I'm done running for the day. Ridge logger I live on the other side of the creek from you, we talked at Jims mill about a year ago.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36385/IMG_5857.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36385/IMG_5853.JPG)
Where do you live? Can't be too far from me.
yes we visted at the mill a while back. thats a good looking truck . we will have to get together and cut oneday whe both our schuedules will let us.
That's a cool truck. I've pulled a couple of hung-up trees out to my skid road with the Warn winch on my '81 Toyota, but it's an electric winch and I don't intend to make a regular practice of that. I have a Koenig PTO winch to put on my '58 Chevy Napco pickup that will probably see similar use. I don't expect to do much if any of my own logging except PC thinning, unless I wind up with a tractor with a winch.
Ozarkgem I live in Chadwick, I've saw some of your posts and I'll bet we either know each other or some of the same people. The yellow International dumptruck I saw in one of your posts may be one we had at the county road department a few years back, the county had bought it from Modot. If it is I've put several miles on it myself,good truck. Ridge logger we'll have to do that one of these days! enigmat120 that pto winch will be plenty strong,I have to really pay attention because they will lift way more than my truck will handle.
I went through there Sunday. I may be buying a place in Ava. Will know in a couple of weeks. Love that country. what kind of winch do you have on your truck. PTO or Hydraulic.
I used a 1-1/2 and 2 ton winch trucks for a few years to skid with. I have a 440 Deere now but wish I had a winch truck now and then for those extra long drags. You can pull a big tree fast enough to make the bark smoke on a good skid trail/road.
Ozarkgem it has a Garwood winch that is pto driven, The winch is old, either a 15 or 20 ton. I figure it started out on a military truck. Raymo that is FUNNY! I can drive this one 50 mph on the road, but it's not street legal. I'd have to put a spark arrestor on it to skid that fast! I'm still about to die laughing!
we used this for about 10 years
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25890/Picture_0105B15D.jpg)
My winch truck has a garwood winch on it pulls good and not had any trouble out of it in 8 years of use. Is yours a 2 speed , mine has high, low and reverse. I also put some bars from the front to the top of the cab to keep branches from slapping me in the head since window aren't a option. ;D
Quote from: HuZzEy on May 09, 2014, 01:21:30 AM
we used this for about 10 years
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25890/Picture_0105B15D.jpg)
Very cool. A friend of mine built one similar. :-)
got any pics of the truck in the woods skidding logs and working
those are cool pics, I like the last one the best, is it a power wagon?
I would drive the first truck on the road it is better than what I drive now.
we used to log with a winch truck, but on the back we would run taller mud grip tires on the outside duals, then shorter tires with a set of chains on the inside duals for when the mud grips got too deep the chains would get after it.
Heres a few pictures last year when mine still had doors and a windshield.
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how well does it do in the woods. I been thinking about building a truck just like that to skid logs with but im worried it wont do so well in the woods unless the ground is flat and open
It's amazing to see some of the things that are homebuilt. No blueprints to go by but they work. Lot of talent. Few weeks back I was at a fastmart and some guy who looked like he stared in Deliverence was gassing up a truck he had made. Old pick-up around 30ish that had been lowered, hotrod motor etc.
Anyway, I asked him if I could take a picture. His face beemed and he said sure. I would say he had a big smile on his face but you have to have all your teeth for that. Not making fun of him but the man had skills that would probably put him with the best Nascar builders.
bigred 1951 it does ok in the woods, but they do have limits. you need to cut a skid trail usually, you can't run over a lot of brush and limbs or you'll be replacing radiators, brake lines and battery cables. They will surprise you where they'll go, and sometimes where they won't. they will go better carrying an 8 footer than skidding a tree 2 or 3 cuts long. I have a lot of cable on mine, and in really steep places I might do alot of winching. they aren't for high production, but they will work. The more you run one the better you'll get at knowing what you can and can't do with them. A 2 ton 4x4 would be good to build one from. on the plus side they are usually cheap to work on. luvmexfood I bought this truck pretty much complete from a friend, he had bought it from someone else. it has metal welded on it from everything imaginable, they just used whatever was laying around.
lovemexfood, those are generally refered to as ratrods... they are cool machines. my 17 year old is gathering parts for his as we speak. you think sawmillers are crazy get around a group of the rat rodders. I know there has to be a few amoung us.
That is pretty cool looking. 8)
Anyone who thinks that Appalachian Americans arent skilled needs their heads checked. Our long time dozer operator could not read or write, but could pull off grade and dirt work that I couldnt hope for.
This country has unfortunately gotten away from skilled blue collar trades, promoting obscure phony diploma's for people who end up flipping burgers. My brother has 6 years as an "historic art history" major and teacher. He runs a bar/restaurant now. I have some college and a decent job.
Bump for a new round of woods trucks i hope.
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I think ive found a much more roadworthy dually chassis to put the dump bed on for firewood delivery which frees up the tan F250. Its welded front and rear and hates tar but loves woods.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43722/0201191509a.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1609397538)
Im contemplating putting this twinline challenger telescoping boom on it, without the wheel lift. I has 10k hydraulic winches with freespool and will go up nearly 20 feet. I think itd work good for twitching shortwood to the trail where bobcat can load on the trailer.
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Truck was my daily driver for a bit and could road itself as needed. Initially i thought i was gonna articulate a nissan frontier crawler ive had but the 351 will outpull it and is turn key already. Has great heat and can fit chains on all 4.
I see this guy pretty often. Not sure what he uses it for.
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I've heard of guys back in the day using the cable jammer loader trucks to cut short skid jobs with. Some of them could be spooled up with a decent amount of cable, they would drag cable out and winch everything back in to the truck. Buck it upn at the end of the day, load the truck with wood and head it home👍
Looking forward to see that beast setup Mike 👍