How big a tractor or what implement?

[RyeThomas]

Yeah I have a tooth bar for the bucket and it helps. I have loaded R4 tires on the machine. It’s just at a point when all 4 are spinning with a ballast box and your loading a small 62” bucket I wonder how much I’m tearing stuff up vs having the right equipment.

I loaded out 2 trailer loads today and made some cash, took our family of 5out to lunch (we never go to restaurants) spent a lot of it and realized I shouldn’t have. Bottom line is I should put some gravel and stone in to make my pile more accessible and back down and hand load, that equals a good clean product for the customer.


I talked to a buddy who buys and sells JD and he recommend a 4500/4600/4700, heavier 460 Loader, 4 cylinder diesel, much heavier front end, but will still fit thru my gates and perform basic yard work. Said a 5 series would be an awesome firewood machine but too big for my other tasks.
He has a 5075e with a cab for sale. Anyone know how to legally make $40k quick, lol. My money tree is dead.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

I am wondering about somewhat the same issue. I have a small endloader at my disposal, but its too big and too clumsy to do anything but use as a glorified truck to stack wood in the bucket. The only good thing is, I can dump the bucket close to where (gasp) i'm going to stack it. In fact, most of the time I just use the truck because its tiresome going through farm gates multiple times with the smaller loads, even though its just as annoying having to heave the wood from the front to the back of the truck. I'm pretty much using a truck to unload it from the woods, and a wheelbarrow to get it next to the OWB.

Wish I could do some kind of pallet system... But pallets rot out on the ground in not even a year it seems like.

 

[blades]

Couple sheets of plastic then Gravel then pallets ( like #2 or #1 gravel not Tb or pea)

 

[cantoo]

RyeThomas, if you scroll down to the end of this thread you will see pics of the crates I use for my own wood for my boiler. I also make up about 20 of these crates with double stacks of 16" wood and keep it in my barn to use for my smaller furnace in my shop. I can lift these easily when the wood is dry, when it's green I need rear ballast and 4x4 to move.
https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...ts-w-welded-wire-or-field-fence.263193/page-3

 

[sirbuildalot]

A 110 really isn't all that big. Kind of an in between machine bridging the gap from a compact tractor to a full size backhoe. We used to have a JD 2wd 410B turbo that had a 1.25 yd bucket. It worked well for firewood chores, we would often split into the bucket and go dump it. Now we have a JD 4wd 410E.

I agree with Valley, if you are going to bucket off the ground, you really need a hard surface like concrete, otherwise a ton of dirt and trash is bound to get mixed in, the customers wont like having that dumped on there lawn or driveway. Your fork box idea could work, but with your size tractor, I would make the box wider rather than deeper. So instead of a 3x4 box, maybe make a 6 x 2 box. That will keep the load closer to the arms and will be less stress on your machine. My Kioti NX4510 weighs about 7k with juice in the tires, and my fork box holds exactly a third of a cord when stacked in level. (43 cu. ft.) 5' wide x 30" high x 41" deep. I don't think Id want to lift it with much smaller of a tractor. I would recommend making your box a size that will hold a even, easy to calculate amount of wood. (Ex. 1/6th of a cord, 1/5th, 1/4th, etc.) That way it will be easy to figure out how much wood you are selling. Maybe you could run the tractor and have some young guns load the box. My 12 year old is a huge help with this sort of work.

 

[lknchoppers]

After loading with a 4x4 diesel tractor and a skid steer, the skid steer is so much faster and easier to maneuver, I have a 30 year old Case 1835B Diesel with a tooth bucket an can easily run into the pile and fill the bucket. It's 35hp and weighs about 5K lbs. The load rating is 1200 lbs for lifting. I can do the same with a pile of gravel as well.

 

[muddstopper]

a couple of things I have learned using a bucket in firewood. I like to lift the bucket about a inch off the ground before running into the pile. Helps control the dirt. Usually, I take the loader and sort of push the wood into the highest pile possible then back out and lower the bucket and ease under the wood raising the bucket as I go. Hydrostatic transmission makes it a breeze to do this. after getting the first bucket load, I move to the longest edge of the pile to load the next bucket full. After going all the way around the pile this way, I build the pile back higher and start over. I can get a pretty full bucket load this way and dont get all the dirt from trying to scoop from the ground. Once the pile is reduced to a few pieces, its then handload the bucket or deal with the dirt. I think if I sold wood, I would probably invest in a concrete slab, but from pic's I have seen on the web, it looks like you still get a lot of trash and dirt in each scoop. I guess if I got really serious, I would also get a tumbler and conveyor, then probably a pacfix bagger, then a forklift, would certainly need a bigger truck. Naw, to much work, to much of an investment, think I will just go fishing

 

[jrider]

How much wood are you moving? I have wrestled around with similar thoughts but hand loading and hiring a helper on delivery days seems to make the most sense for me. When I'm out on delivery, my helper is busy splitting next years wood. At $10 an hour and 5-8 hours on Saturday and Sunday for 6-10 weeks a year, plus getting wood split just makes sense for my operation.

 

[farmer steve]

get as big a tractor as you can afford. 4 wd.i have 72" rock bucket i use. i don't usually scoop wood for loading but pull up to the pile and toss it in.loose bark and dirt fall through. 4 buckets make a half cord. +/-

 

[captjack]

I have a 5400 series tractor and would recommend it for firewood. Its 68hp with 64pto. If you are looking for one try and find one that has the mid mount loader remotes which would leave you the ones on the back for a grapple control

 

[RyeThomas]

Yeah I looked at rock buckets, they are nice but they are heavy and my 305 Loader has a lower capacity. I’m leaning towards pallet forks. Im also going to keep an eye out for a 4500/4600/4700 tractor. They run the 460 loader and my lift capacity would double the machine would be slightly larger and heavier but still turn tightly and not be too heavy. Issue is I’m on 1.3 acres, most of it is fenced in yard for the family. My operation is in the narrow side yard so a big machine as nice as it would be won’t be practical. I ran my buddy’s 5 series and the loss of turning radius and the weight of the machine would be problematic on my yard. I’m in the growing pains stage of my operation, I’m just going to have to make it work.

 

[RyeThomas]

No way around it I’m going to have to work, ughhh that sucks lol. I’ve been very fortunate and sold 10chords in the last 7 days so I’m just being a sissy. Good thing is my full time job schedule is 24 on 48 off so I have time.

 

[rarefish383]

Geeze, what you need is a wood lot off premise. I'm thinking your JD is comparable to a "Bota" BX or B series. I just priced a BX with loader and mower deck. Great for grass and mulch, $16000. For a lot less I can pick up a sweet JD 4020 turbo diesel with loader, somewhere in the 106 HP range, and will lift 3800 pounds to full height of lift. Won't fit through gates and may tear up lawn. My go to tractor is a Massey 135, but it doesn't have the arse end to really lift a lot. Then again I only have $1500 in it, Joe.

 

[dancan]

Add something like this to the back of your tractor , double the capacity .
But , it's still hand work .

 

[dancan]

Or ,

Make a wooden box and bolt it to one of these .

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-carry-all

 

[cantoo]

RyeThomas, here is another thread with some of my buckets on it. Too bad we lost so many pictures with the hacker a few years ago.
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/grapple-rake.250726/#post-4664122

 

[sirbuildalot]

You should build a front fork box, and a rear 3 point box. Then you will have maximum capacity all the way around!!!

 

[jrider]

No way around it I’m going to have to work, ughhh that sucks lol. I’ve been very fortunate and sold 10chords in the last 7 days so I’m just being a sissy. Good thing is my full time job schedule is 24 on 48 off so I have time.

Oh heck man, chuck that wood in by hand and get delivering!

 

[stratton]

Rye, cantoo hit the nail on the head. I sell 100 plus cords a year, ive tried everway possible to make loading easier. The answer is hand or conveyor loading.