setting up a yarding system

[WhiteMike]

Im trying to get the right set up for pulling big trees out off of downhill banks. Ive been using a rope but want to get some cable. I found 250' of 3/8 cable for 90$ on a reel. Make one end into a loop for hitching the timber and use a u bolt clamp for clamping around trailer hitch, and then setting up a couple blocks and just driving down the road to yard it up. Wondering if the ubolt clamp around the trailer hitch is a good idea or if theres something else I could use to make a grab. I need it removable since the length of cable from the tree to my truck will always be different. Or if theres any other suggestions on this set up. Trees are red fir and larch no bigger than 30" butt ends

 

[Hoodiegadoo]

Have you looked into a fetching arch?

 

[Ted Jenkins]

This is what I set up to move logs around with. It has about 8,000 lb capacity. With several snatch blocks you can pull whole trees right out of the ground if you take time for set up. Thanks

 

[muddstopper]

If your going to use a long piece of cable and no winch, I suggest you look for a Chicago grip cable puller, https://www.zoro.com/klein-tools-chicago-grip-frgd-12-37-ehs-cable-1613-40/i/G3643403/, or a Haven cable puller, https://www.zoro.com/klein-tools-haven-grp-forged-125-50-cable-1604-20/i/G3596957/. This will allow you to hook one end of your cable to your log and attach some mid point of the cable to your pulling vehicle and keep your pull length as short as possible. I prefer the chicago grip as it spreads the gripping section over a bigger area than the Haven. The chicago is usually rated for a little higher pulling capcity than the Haven. Dont go with a light pull weight to save money, you wont. My homemade logging winch is rated for 8000lbs and I have stalled it on large logs, so I would want a puller rated at least as high as my winch.

Pulling logs down hill with just a straight cable or rope pull isnt always easy. The pulling vehicle has to move as the pull is made and you dont always end up pulling in a straight line. I would look for a couple of snatch blocks you can attach to a tree or stump to keep your line pull going in the direction you need the log to be pulled. Something similar to this one, https://www.yellowlifting.com/index...=186&cPath=5&zenid=sqpdg5haes5t7er6s0ik14se41. Just make sure it is rated at least as high as your pulling strenght.

I have pulled unknown numbers of logs uphill and down, big and little, with nothing but a cable, a snatch block, and my truck. I get the logs to the road where I could buck them and load without having to carry blocks of wood one stick at a time long distances in the woods.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

No winch on your skidder?

 

[muddstopper]

No winch on your skidder?

I think he plans on using his truck as a skidder.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have yarded with nothing more than an F150 2x and various lengths of cables and chains plus 3 snatch blocks. Set up takes some time but I have moved huge logs withe the PU and rigging for 4 times mechanical advantage.
One thread of mine from days of yore was "Yarding with an F150" There was also a later one with lots of pics and different trees coming out of a mini canyon. I can't recall the thread name though.

I do have a grip cable puller but it must be a cheap one. It has only a small grip area and puts crimps in the cables, even cuts strands sometimes. Those things are one HUGE assist in setting up rigging. If I ever have to go back to yarding again, I'll get a quality grip clamp.

 

[John Ellison]

There is also something called a bull hook that is easily made and will not kink the line. For 3/8" line you would need 2 1/2" + dia. pipe and a welder. You could probably find more info on them in a horse logging site. They work great and only weigh a few pounds. I have used mine alot and it has never hurt the cable.

I would also use a choker or a chain to hook to the logs and attach that to your skidding line. It will keep your skid line in a lot better shape.

 

[sundance]

There is also something called a bull hook that is easily made and will not kink the line. For 3/8" line you would need 2 1/2" + dia. pipe and a welder. You could probably find more info on them in a horse logging site. They work great and only weigh a few pounds. I have used mine alot and it has never hurt the cable.

I would also use a choker or a chain to hook to the logs and attach that to your skidding line. It will keep your skid line in a lot better shape.

John, I've got the pipe and a welder. Did some looking, not finding much on bull hooks. Can you add any more detail? Pictures? Sounds really interesting.
Thanks.

 

[rwoods]

Maybe this - http://www.pacinfo.com/~dfrench/horselogging/tip1.html. Ron

 

[Ted Jenkins]

If you are going to use a pickup only then there will be some limitations, but dragging logs to a accessible location can work well. When i have had help I have drove to a area where trees were being cut then radio to have someone engage the winch and out I came. Or lower a trailer down a canyon fill it up and pull it out. For several years I used a half cord trailer that I bolted on a dolly wheel and lawn mower seat to the tongue. I would put the cable on a clevis in the rear of the trailer and sit on the seat to steer down the hillside then call when trailer was loaded. I put the cable on a clevis bolted to the trailer hitch and drove out again maybe difficult doing it alone. One problem was it would take several trailer loads to fill up the truck and trailer so wood had to be loaded on to the trailer then unloaded onto truck. To fill truck and trailer of seven cords could take a ten hour day. I never had to worry about some one bothering wood that I cut even on public lands because no body ever figured how to get it out. Having cable of several lengths is helpful also. Thanks

 

[muddstopper]

I have seen lots of good wood go to waste because it was to far from the road or just to hard to get out. I dont harvest it either simply because I have better, easier sources. With that said, I feel if I couldnt find other wood, a cable and a few snatch blocks and I could get most anything I can see from the road. I usually keep about 150ft of 3/8 steel cable on the truck and a couple snatch blocks when I go gathering wood. My future plans call for a tilt boom on the front of my dump trailer to load 10ft logs with. Skid the tree to the highway, buck into 10ft logs and load with the boom. Haul the wood home to be processed. I already have the boom, just been to sorry to mount on the trailer. One of those roundtoit jobs with to many projects ahead of it.

 

[turnkey4099]

I would also use a choker or a chain to hook to the logs and attach that to your skidding line. It will keep your skid line in a lot better shape.

+1. I will somtimes just throw 3 or 4 wraps of the cable around the log . A bit of pull and it cinches down tight, no need to even hook up the loose end.

 

[sundance]

Maybe this - http://www.pacinfo.com/~dfrench/horselogging/tip1.html. Ron

Ron, I saw that one. Was hoping for a few more examples.
Thanks

 

[John Ellison]

Here is a pic of mine. Its 2 1/2' dia. pipe. 1/8" thick. The straight part is 16" long but I would make it 18. The hook part can be almost anything, its only purpose is to keep the line separated. The thumb part near the eye is the most important. The crotch of that thumb needs to have a strong and smooth weld. So, if you weld like me use about 50 rods and then grind it smooth.

It takes a bit to figure out how to wrap it, but it really is pretty simple. Lay the line over the crotch of the thumb and then make two wraps ( with the dead end of the line ) on the shank towards the hook. Make two wraps in the opposite direction with the live end (the end thats hooked to the log) That line should be on the other side of the hook.

 

[Hddnis]

We do this all the time, using the winch on the chipper, a tractor, or a truck to provide the pull. I've got a few different blocks, straps for the trees, chains, lengths of rope. None of it real expensive or fancy and I picked up most of it used.

Usually we use a 7/8" bull rope, I buy it 180' long and it will easily handle anything that we are going to try to move. If pulling with a truck we just tie it to the towball.