Rolling rounds behind garden tractor?

[rarefish383]

Sorry I can't find the pictures. I found a plastic wheel barrow tub on the side of the road. One winter I got caught with all my firewood down over the hill when it snowed. I drilled two half inch holes where the bolt holes went and left six or eight feet of rope with a loop on the end hang off. I have a 2 inch ball on my lawn tractor, so I just throw the loop in the rope over the ball. pulls firewood, mulch, topsoil with no imprints in lawn, Joe.

Oh, for the firewood over the hill in the snow. I used a 120' climbing rope to go down to the wood pile and left my truck on the plowed road in front of the house, and pulled it up with the truck, Joe.

 

[JackJ]

How about a rubber tire hand truck ...

I like it! Doesn't get me that proud lumberjack feeling of using "logging tongs", but since I'm riding my lawn mower, it was a pretty slim fantasy to begin with. And there's still some hillbilly cool in using a lawn mower to tow a hand truck. Since I need to replace my hotwater heater soon anyway, where this could be a huge help, I'm thinking I might go this route.

 

[JackJ]

Hey, thanks for all the great ideas here. Using a tarp makes a lot of sense, and since I have some on hand, it would be the easiest way to go. No bagger system on my mower, so that's out.

A sled never occurred to me here, but I like it. I've got a steel wheelbarrow tray that I'm not using since the tire is trashed and the handles rotten. I think I might give that a try, reinforcing a section to add an eye bolt for towing purposes. I've eyed those plastic utility sleds before for moving splits to the house when there's too much snow, but I didn't think of it here, and I like the wheelbarrow tray even better since it's free and currently just an eyesore.

If I try the wheelbarrow, I'm not sure which end should be the front? For towing in snow, the tall end (the normal front of a wheelbarrow) seems right since it should keep more snow from getting in. But in other situations, seems like having the tall end in the back would keep more stuff from falling out, especially when going up hill. I guess I could always make it duel ended.

Finally, cmsmoke's tong modifications sound like they could really make the original idea work. Don't have a welder, so might need to ask a favor or come up with some other attachment system for the tensioning system. More trouble than it's worth? Yeah, almost certainly given the limited times i'd want to use it. But this is recreation for me.

 

[JackJ]

So I was thinking about the sled idea further. Really easy for me to set up since I have an unused wheelbarrow tray, and I'm sure I can scrounge up an eyebolt or two and some scrap to use as a reinforcing backing plate, and tow it with a rope. That'll be good enough for the current purpose.

But thinking about other applications where I could use it, there is the issue of downhills. Don't really want to have to explain to my family that I'm all beat up because my firewood attacked me while I was riding the mower, and I tried to bail out, but didn't make it, and now the mower is bent and so am I. They've already got enough justification to send me off to some place where the outside doors are always locked.

Turns out that there's lots of sled towing hardware options out there. I had no idea. This one, in particular, is relatively cheap and looks like it would be about perfect for the original idea of rolling rounds, once I screw a lag bolt into each end of the wood:

Adjustable to widths of 19, 21.5, 26.5, 28 and 32 inches, so now I'm thinking with right tree trunk, I've got a 2.5 foot lawn roller that would make Fred Flintstone proud.

 

[mallardman]

Lot of work for sycamore. Not a lot of btu in it. Lots of ash though.


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[Cody]

So I was thinking about the sled idea further. Really easy for me to set up since I have an unused wheelbarrow tray, and I'm sure I can scrounge up an eyebolt or two and some scrap to use as a reinforcing backing plate, and tow it with a rope. That'll be good enough for the current purpose.

But thinking about other applications where I could use it, there is the issue of downhills. Don't really want to have to explain to my family that I'm all beat up because my firewood attacked me while I was riding the mower, and I tried to bail out, but didn't make it, and now the mower is bent and so am I. They've already got enough justification to send me off to some place where the outside doors are always locked.

Turns out that there's lots of sled towing hardware options out there. I had no idea. This one, in particular, is relatively cheap and looks like it would be about perfect for the original idea of rolling rounds, once I screw a lag bolt into each end of the wood:

Adjustable to widths of 19, 21.5, 26.5, 28 and 32 inches, so now I'm thinking with right tree trunk, I've got a 2.5 foot lawn roller that would make Fred Flintstone proud.

That's about what I had pictured but made of 2x4's, I don't like spending money and knowing me I'd **** up the metal one the first day. Will it allow enough depth for larger rounds?

 

[Macman125]

Hey, thanks for all the great ideas here. Using a tarp makes a lot of sense, and since I have some on hand, it would be the easiest way to go. No bagger system on my mower, so that's out.

A sled never occurred to me here, but I like it. I've got a steel wheelbarrow tray that I'm not using since the tire is trashed and the handles rotten. I think I might give that a try, reinforcing a section to add an eye bolt for towing purposes. I've eyed those plastic utility sleds before for moving splits to the house when there's too much snow, but I didn't think of it here, and I like the wheelbarrow tray even better since it's free and currently just an eyesore.

If I try the wheelbarrow, I'm not sure which end should be the front? For towing in snow, the tall end (the normal front of a wheelbarrow) seems right since it should keep more snow from getting in. But in other situations, seems like having the tall end in the back would keep more stuff from falling out, especially when going up hill. I guess I could always make it duel ended.

Finally, cmsmoke's tong modifications sound like they could really make the original idea work. Don't have a welder, so might need to ask a favor or come up with some other attachment system for the tensioning system. More trouble than it's worth? Yeah, almost certainly given the limited times i'd want to use it. But this is recreation for me.

I would tow it from the back side. It would put the rope or whatever you are attaching to it to pull it at a better angle to the mower for better towing capacity and be less likely to tip forward

 

[turnkey4099]

That's about what I had pictured but made of 2x4's, I don't like spending money and knowing me I'd **** up the metal one the first day. Will it allow enough depth for larger rounds?

Looks like those two bars on the ends are easily replacedd with longer ones, all that wouild be needed were a coupl about 2' long with multiple holes to allow attachign to various size rounds.

 

[farmer steve]

sycamore you say ? get out the hot dogs and roasting prongs and burn it where it lays.

 

[moondoggie]

Thought about screwing some lag bolts into either end, but seems like I'd need a frame of some sort to keep the chain from catching on the edges of the rounds? At some point it becomes more trouble than it's worth, but maybe I'm missing an easier way to do this.

Hand truck (dollie) or root ball cart

 

[moondoggie]

Hmmm didn't read all the posts...

 

[zogger]

Seems a lot of work to avoid raking up some noodles. And those rounds aren't going to roll straight unless they are perfect, they will just cant over some direction and lock, then drag, maybe leaving ruts.

I keep a heavy duty hand cart around for moving big ones to another location.

 

[unclemoustache]

1. It's sycamore. Don't waste your time. I hate that stuff! It's the only wood I refuse to put in my stove, but I'd use it for my outdoor pit.

2. Get a small trailer that's fairly low to the ground - one that can be hauled with either the car or the lawn tractor. (I welded a 2" ball onto a metal frame which can be easily slipped on to my tractor).

3. Either roll the rounds up the shallow slope of the trailer tailgate, or use a handcart. Make sure you get a handcart with big/fat tires that work well on rugged ground.

 

[Marshy]

Get a bigger stove?
Old car hood, children's sled. Any Scottish neighbours?
View attachment 483235

I was thinking car hood to the rescue also...

 

[Oldman47]

So I was thinking about the sled idea further. Really easy for me to set up since I have an unused wheelbarrow tray, and I'm sure I can scrounge up an eyebolt or two and some scrap to use as a reinforcing backing plate, and tow it with a rope. That'll be good enough for the current purpose.

But thinking about other applications where I could use it, there is the issue of downhills. Don't really want to have to explain to my family that I'm all beat up because my firewood attacked me while I was riding the mower, and I tried to bail out, but didn't make it, and now the mower is bent and so am I. They've already got enough justification to send me off to some place where the outside doors are always locked.

Turns out that there's lots of sled towing hardware options out there. I had no idea. This one, in particular, is relatively cheap and looks like it would be about perfect for the original idea of rolling rounds, once I screw a lag bolt into each end of the wood:

Adjustable to widths of 19, 21.5, 26.5, 28 and 32 inches, so now I'm thinking with right tree trunk, I've got a 2.5 foot lawn roller that would make Fred Flintstone proud.

That looks like a lot of work just to move a single large round. Why not just noodle it a couple of inches deep then use a sledge and wedge to split it to a size you can move easily. It seems to me that would be less work and not nearly as complicated.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I like it! Doesn't get me that proud lumberjack feeling of using "logging tongs", but since I'm riding my lawn mower, it was a pretty slim fantasy to begin with. And there's still some hillbilly cool in using a lawn mower to tow a hand truck. Since I need to replace my hotwater heater soon anyway, where this could be a huge help, I'm thinking I might go this route.

It's a water heater. Why would you need to heat "hotwater"?

A log isn't going to smooth your yard. I tried once with a 5 ton rolling compactor and that barely did it.

 

[JackJ]

What a bunch of killjoys! I mean, a guy has a dream of a fabulous new invention that will not only save aging backs but smooth rustic lawns while letting him live out his lumberjack dreams atop his Sears lawnmower. And what happens? His soul gets crushed by the cold, hard pessimism of this place. Gonna use my hotwater heater to heat some hotwater until the water is hot and take a bath or make some tea and then somehow carry on with this idea somewhere else where they will recognize my genius.

Or maybe take the hood off my wife's car and just use that.

 

[Jere39]

Depending on where in the midwest, the sled (or sledge) sounds like the best bet. I had a very large oak I took down on my lawn last winter, waiting specifically till I had a good snow base to drop it without gouging my lawn. Then I had more or less the same issue with rounds too big to lift. So, I took an old piece of plywood and screwed a 2x4 on the front for a grab point and used a short piece of sling web to hitch to the back of my ATV. Worked great for my task, and restored the piece of plywood to original duty when I was finished.





I tried a tong, and even in the snow, it wanted to rut the snow and became more of a drag plow.

 

[JackJ]

Depending on where in the midwest, the sled (or sledge) sounds like the best bet.

Yeah, that's the way I'm going to go. Have you found any other application for those tongs?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

What a bunch of killjoys! I mean, a guy has a dream of a fabulous new invention that will not only save aging backs but smooth rustic lawns while letting him live out his lumberjack dreams atop his Sears lawnmower. And what happens? His soul gets crushed by the cold, hard pessimism of this place. Gonna use my hotwater heater to heat some hotwater until the water is hot and take a bath or make some tea and then somehow carry on with this idea somewhere else where they will recognize my genius.

Or maybe take the hood off my wife's car and just use that.

I'm just realistic. I could have just copied my Dad and said something like "cut the damn wood and quit fawking around with it. You going to try and milk it out all day?"