Some log truck pics

[Ianab]

Just snapped some shots of a couple of local trucks driving through town this morning. The local trucks seem set up quite different compared to the American rigs I see, so I thought you might like to see them.







Heading South empty to pick up another load. All the trucks carry their trailers like this on the return trip.


Ian

[gspren]

  Do the 2 front axles steer?

[beenthere]

Ian
Our logging trucks also carry the trailer rig back to the woods. Or was something else different that you were referring to....besides they were on the wrong side of the road...

[Tree Feller]

Those are sure some nice logs, straight and all-of-a-size.

[snowstorm]

looks like a twin steer. that cabover looks like a kenworth is it?

[Jeff]

Ian
Our logging trucks also carry the trailer rig back to the woods. Or was something else different that you were referring to....besides they were on the wrong side of the road...

I've never saw that set up in Michigan. Western trucks, I've seen photos, but not really that configuration.

[Ianab]

Yeah, both are twin-steer Kenworth trucks, although they run all sorts of different brands. They also have remote tire pressure adjustment fitted to the drive wheels which a lot of trucks seem to run.

Logs are plantation radiata pine, probably 25-30 year old trees.

Ian

[ouachita]

At some time in the past, were those standing trees (now logs) pruned, or were they allowed to grow  without pruning the dead limbs.  From what I've heard, P. radiata, imported from California, grows very fast down your way, but is very limby.

Ouachita

[Rocky_Ranger]

I had heard of these fast growing radiata, so I ordered me 500 and planted in my tree farm.  They grew like weeds until a cold spell just before Christmas killed every stinking one of them - a few years back.....  lesson learned.....

[rooster 58]

    When I bought my log home, the roof sheathing was 1x6 radiata pine. We had trouble trying to lock it together, until we discovered it was milled wrong   The seller took it back and provided 1x8 white pine that fit like a glove

[Ianab]

Those look to be pruned logs. They do self prune to some extend, but it takes time, and may not happen naturally before the trees are harvested. Also removing the lower branches early leaves much more valuable clear wood in the log. Trees are heavily lift pruned in the first few years, removing all branches in stages up to where the trunk is about 4" dia. It would be done at maybe 3, 5 and 7 years. This leaves you with a 30ft tree, with 10 ft of green on the top. But only the central 6" core of the log is knotty, and that's low grade juvenile wood anyway. Excess trees would be thinned to waste about then as well. Then you just wait another 20 years for them to put in some size.

Rinse and repeat.

Being from California they aren't the most cold resistant.... In the Sth Island where it gets colder they tend to grow more Doug Fir. It handles the cold and heavier frosts better.

Ian

[thecfarm]

Thank you Ianab. I see a difference in trucks down South too. The loaders are on the wrong end.     Than the trucks in Michigan have more axles under them too.

[hardtailjohn]

Those trucks are setup different from most of the ones on the West end of this country. On 99% of our jobs, you'd never get that trailer out on our woods roads. Our trailers track in the same tracks as the drive tires, so the corners aren't any wider than it takes an empty truck to make it around. Around here, they also put a lot of distance between the turn arounds and wide spots (like miles), so we end up backing up a long ways empty. To have to do that with a long trailer, or one that isn't piggybacked on the truck would take much too long! I haul off line skidding jobs, so we're always on top of some mountain that's too steep to use a cat or skidder to skid from. 
That being said, there are select jobs around this area that they do run a setup similar to what you show. We call them Mule Trains here.
If I'm not mistaken, the middle and Eastern side of the US run some setups more like what you've posted.
Here's a few pics of a few of mine over the past years.....
John



 



 

[NWP]

That last picture looks like a long way down.

[Brucer]

Here's a typical BC logging truck. Douglas-Fir, mostly 52' long. This one's a self-loader ... most of the trucks are similar, but without the loader. You will see a few two-axle rigs but most have 3 axles. The loads are chained together at the front and back while on the road -- in this picture the operator has taken the chains off and is about to limber up the loader.



Below is the empty rig ready for the road. The drawbar latches onto a pintle hook on the loader base. The grapple wraps around the tail end of the trailer, so all is secure.

To load the trailer onto the tractor, the operator grabs the drawbar with the loader and pulls it up and toward the truck. (There's a loop of 1" wire rope to grab near the front of the drawbar -- you can't see in the picture). When the trailer wheels are just at the back of the tractor, the operator grabs a second loop (you can see it sticking up just above the front trailer wheels) and lifts the whole unit up and onto the ramps at the back of the tractor.

When the rig has a load of logs, the loader arm lies forward over the cab. There is a large steel drum sticking straight forward from the front bumper that the grapple latches onto for traveling. That means the driver has the end of the arm sticking down in front of him.



The drawbar telescopes so it can handle a shorter load. It also attaches well back of the rear wheels so instead of the trailer "following" the tractor, it steers more like an articulated loader. It lets the truck steer around sharp corners without the trailer trying to cut the corner. It also makes it a whole lot easier to back the rig up in tight places.

The guys who operate these things are pretty impressive. I've watched an operator swing the far end of the log way off to one side, and then literally throw the near end of the log so it ends up parallel to the truck but well beyond the reach of the grapple.

[Ianab]

You might like this one too. Radiata pine if you don't prune and harvest it after 25 years. 

[Ianab]

Another video from the same guy.
Hauling a load out on a pretty typical logging road.

[customsawyer]

That is interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[hardtailjohn]

Excellent videos! You guys get some awful mud down there, don't ya?  I'll take snow anyday!

Brucer, that's a good lookin' self loader. I'd imagine that's a tri-drive... they have it figured out pretty well up there in my opinion.

Here's a lashup that worked not far from me. I hauled down that river road for years, and they always ran doubles, tripples, and quads, but Floyd Veach was the only one that pulled 7. He did it a few times, but it was such a pain in the butt to get a landing big enough to handle all the trailer sets, that they didn't use it much... but it sure was impressive to see roll down the road at ya!!

[thecfarm]

Looks more like a train!!!!

[Okrafarmer]

When I was 10 years old, I had the great privilege of meeting a gentleman named Ray Vigue, of Waterville Maine. He was 77 years old at the time. My dad worked for the Morning Sentinel newspaper at the time, and above other things, he wrote a column known as "Lock, Stock, and Barrel" about guns, shooting, and gun-smithing. The same newspaper was home to veteran outdoors columnist Gene Letourneau, who regularly wrote about hunting, fishing, etc. Gene, I believe, was the gentleman who either introduced my dad to Ray, or else referred him to him.

I promise this is about trucks. . . .

I went with my dad when he went to interview Ray Vigue at his home in Waterville. We were there about Ray's shooting career-- he was an expert marksman from his youth, especially with revolvers.  Even at the time we spoke with him, he had a firing range set up in his basement where he could fire his .22 revolvers 50 feet. Using a mounted scope, he would shoot the letters off a printed page, the spots off playing cards, or whatever. He often used old calenders as targets. He found it was too easy to shoot a hole in a penny without breaking the rim, so he started shooting two holes in a single penny without breaking the rim, and without the two holes touching. My dad wrote quite a nice column about him. We went back and talked with him more several times.

Anyway, Ray was a semi-retired engineer. He had spent most all his adult life in the woods designing trucks and trailers. Talking about his shooting exploits kept drifting off into logging, trucking, construction, and engineering exploits, since it was all intermixed in his life. He told how he had helped to design some of the log trailers that tracked all in the same prints as the tractor, along with many other designs he had helped with or come up with. When he saw how interested I was in it, he put together a photo album for me, and an engineering album too, showing many of the things he had seen and worked on in his career. I still have those two albums somewhere in my collection, but unfortunately not all my stuff is easily accessible right now. I know he worked for Mack trucks at some point, but not necessarily exclusively. I'm not real sure whether Mack was involved with trailer design and building or not, and whether he was working for a different company when he was designing those trucks. Although he was based out of Maine, he worked all over the US with his design work, as well as Canada, and even overseas. He had a lot of tall tales to tell-- and the pictures to back them up! If I ever dig those albums out, I will see if I can scan some of the pictures and post them on here.

[hardtailjohn]

Okrafarmer, I'd LOVE to see that!!!  Some of the things that have been done...and without all the computers and all that crap, I might add.... are amazing! 

[Brucer]

John, the guy that owns that self-loader has 5 of them. He treats his drivers well and they stay with him.

There's lots of configurations for attaching and loading the trailer. Seems the designers keep having better ideas. Whatever type I get in, the driver has his trailer up on the truck and ready to roll in 5 minutes.

[Ianab]

Bringing up an old tread with some new pictures. 

Start of Summer here and that's the best time for logging, less mud, 

Moody weather shot of local truck parked up at the end of the day, heading through to mill or Port in the morning. 



 

 

[moodnacreek]

What nice logs. We see trucks here with 2 steering axels on some concrete mixers and crane carriers .

[mike_belben]

Never seen snorkels on a hood truck before.  


That 350 cummins pulling over 5/8 of a million gross on page 1 is just incredible.  Absurd but incredible. 

[SawyerTed]

Wonder how “fast” it pulled that load?  

[Walnut Beast]

Looking back at these posts. Hardtailjohn looks like he did some serious log hauling back in the day. On some sketchy roads 😂

[mike_belben]

Lets just say youd wanna be infront of it goin up the hill, and far far away coming down it!


Honestly i cant imagine how bad the 7th car would be swaying all over.  The fedex wiggle wagons are bad enough and thats just doubles full of cardboard and coffeemakers. 

[sawguy21]

Those are nice looking logs, I have never seen a load quite like that. I saw a highway rig with lift axles on the truck and tridem trailer the other day, I didn't think that is legal here.

[barbender]

Nice load. Do you know what the point of those snorkels is? It looks to me like the visibility would be horrible with those things in your field of view.

[Walnut Beast]

More air flow. In those parts the seem to like to do that 

[Walnut Beast]

More air flow. In those parts the seem to like to do that

Plus the say for the dust there

[moodnacreek]

Fed x wiggle wagons? That's funny. Remember when UPS drivers where Buster Brown?  Those air intakes remind me of 2 cb antennas pointing forward.

[Tacotodd]

On a 4X4 it’s for deep water fording, but yeah, on some other apps, because of the dust. Think of it as a “pre” filter of sorts.

[barbender]

I should of stated my question differently...I understand what snorkels are for in most applications, I just can't understand why you would have them in front of your windshield like that. Also, our trucks operate off road a considerable amount, and we just have regular airboxes without any issue.

[Resonator]

From what I've read, the higher air intakes are to avoid dust. Especially in places like Australia where they cross the scorching hot dry desert, and traveling behind someone you'd be in a dust cloud. It also may draw somewhat cooler air by being up higher. Part of it probably is the "show truck" look too. As far as "wiggle wagons" go, that's a common term for doubles and triples I heard driving on the turnpike. These are not as big as they do in Australia though, as their "land train" or "road train" trucks commonly hook up more than three trailers in a row.

[Ianab]

From what I've read, the higher air intakes are to avoid dust. Especially in places like Australia where they cross the scorching hot dry desert, and traveling behind someone you'd be in a dust cloud. It also may draw somewhat cooler air by being up higher. Part of it probably is the "show truck" look too. As far as "wiggle wagons" go, that's a common term for doubles and triples I heard driving on the turnpike. These are not as big as they do in Australia though, as their "land train" or "road train" trucks commonly hook up more than three trailers in a row.

This is video from a local truck driver. I see their black KWs on the road pretty often, although they are based a couple of hours South.
But it shows the gravel roads that they often have to operate over, and those ones are not particularly dusty.

[moodnacreek]

"I was toten my pack along the dusty Winnamucka road when along came a semi with a high and canvas covered load", I've been everywhere, Hank Snow, others. This song is not really ours. It was adapted from Australia . Good video.

[Resonator]

I looked up the lyrics for the Australian version:

"I've been to Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore, Mooloolaba
Nambour, Maroochydore, Kilmore, Murwillumbah,..."

WOWZERS!  
My hats off the guys that can sing that without messing up, I'd have trouble just reading it off a page!

[sawguy21]

  Much of that video could have been done not far from here, the terrain and vegetation look so similar.

[Ianab]

Just another random truck clip, filmed about 40 mins South of home. So recognise a lot of the local trucks. Bonus wind turbine blade near the beginning.

[sawguy21]

That was interesting. The truck and pup with the second steering axle seems to be a big thing there although I noticed one super B. The hippie camper on the red GM at the 7 minute mark was funky to say the least. I also noted a DELAVAL service truck, those guys really get around. They are well known here.

[mike_belben]

Nice load. Do you know what the point of those snorkels is? It looks to me like the visibility would be horrible with those things in your field of view.

Im guessing just an aussie trucker style that carried over from days of old.  Originally for cabovers to get air over the roof (which wasnt necessary) or trucks fording in backcountry which i guess australian road trains did a lot of.  Drivers naturally cling to the old days.  Truckers were well paid heroes back then.



3000 chicken lights and massive CB antennas 45 degrees forward is americas lingering relic of good times gone by.  They do rx/tx great that way but if anyone at all is on the radio its just nothing but fighting and BS.  Not sittin in the rockin chair with your good buddy front door watchin out for county mounties and chicken house go arounds anymore.


 Up north the radio is just dead and down south its just guys screaming at governed slow trucks with foreignors in the left lane plugging up the flow.  They never have CBs to hear it.

[mike_belben]

@Skeans1  

@ thanksgiving i saw a legit west coast long logger headed SB on 81 up in north virginia.  Had a compensating pole trailer on his back.  Cant remember exactly but it was an old truck like a general or autocar, somethin like that.  Maybe for a county fair, id be surprised if it was being worked but maybe i guess.  Only one i ever saw in my life.