How do you Get your Firewood out?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

max2cam

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Apr 19, 2003
Messages
695
Reaction score
32
Location
NW Wisconsin
Cutting firewood is easy. You can pack a chainsaw in about anywhere. Getting the wood OUT of the forest is not so easy. Even moving it a few yards to a landing on a vehicle woods trail is a BIG job if you carry it out by hand.

So what do you use?

My latest acquisition is a garden cart; the type with 2 bicycle-type wheels (although heavier duty) and a large box and handle on it. I gotta say this thing works BETTER in the woods than I expected. It holds about 10 cu. ft. of wood (or 400 lbs.) and the load is balanced so that it's easy to move. The big 26" bicycle wheels go over bumps and holes quite easily. You only need about 4 feet between trees for a trail. The axle is high enough to clear low stumps, etc.

I've been using mine the past couple of weeks on my hillside, and this thing has become an instant necessity for moving firewood to landing sites and sometimes even all the way home. I wish I'd of bought one years ago. Very useful hand-operated vehicle and no mistake.
 
Ive been going back and forth with a couple different ideas.
1) build racks to hold about 1/2 cord and cut and split where the tree lands or close to the logging road. Come in with tractor and forks and transport racks (1 at a time) to storage area by furnace. Takes at least two trips to get 1 cord out.

2) Drop trees and pull to centralized locations around property. Cut and split and then come in with trailer to load and transport to furnace. This is what I seem to be doing more often. The only problem is, I dont have a dump trailer. So I have to hand load AND hand unload. I can fit close to a cord between the trailer and bucket in one trip.

I was hoping the rack system would work better on the initial trial. I think Im leaning towards a 4x8 dump trailer for my main operation.
 
Cut and drop in the same location, Use tractor or ATV and trailer to transport the rounds. This winter I plan to do more skidding with the atv and logging arch (norwoodindustries.com) and hopefully cut down handling time. Waiting for it to freeze and snow to keep the logs as clean as possible.

100_3117.jpg


100_3118.jpg


100_3137.jpg


100_3138.jpg





Craig
 
On a somewhat smaller scale, i tore apart a wheelbarrow where the pan had rusted out, and rebuilt it like the old ones with a flat bottom and front. It comes in handy for moving rounds too big to carry; and for moving a couple armloads' worth of split wood. Its also useful around the property for any number of small tasks.
 
I use this.
attachment.php

Put about 1/2 rick in the bed and 1/2 cord in the trailer. Pulls it just fine with the hydrostatic trans and diesel.
 
I want a RTV so bad!!

That is the best way hands down to get wood out of the woods. :clap: :clap:

Is that a 900 or 1100? Also what it max speed? And can you drive it on a road?
 
Last edited:
The RTV's are workhorses but if you do much off-roading they have terrible suspension and ground clearance compared to atv's or other side by side's.

If you mostly haul firewood and farm or something similiar they're great but get up to any speed in the woods or do much recreational riding look at a Polaris Ranger or yamaha Rhino


Craig
 
I want a RTV so bad!!

That is the best way hands down to get wood out of the woods. :clap: :clap:

Is that a 900 or 1100? Also what it max speed? And can you drive it on a road?

It's a 900. The 1100's have a full cab. It'll do 25mph and it's not legal to drive here on the road.

The RTV's are workhorses but if you do much off-roading they have terrible suspension and ground clearance compared to atv's or other side by side's.

If you mostly haul firewood and farm or something similiar they're great but get up to any speed in the woods or do much recreational riding look at a Polaris Ranger or yamaha Rhino


Craig

The suspension is a bit stiff. The suspension isn't what hurts it off-road. It's the weight. It weighs a full ton.

I got it simply because I work it and no other utv is built like it and they will not take the abuse the Kubota will take. You ever tried to stop a Gator or Ranger going downhill with a full load plus trailer? I don't even need to use the brakes with the RTV.

:)
 
Nope, never ran either of those vehicles but i know ppl who do and they seem to be decent machines. I run honda quads myself, low gear and run the engine brake they will keep it around 2-4 km/h going downhull with full load quite easily. That's another thing if you get that Kubota stuck you're going to need a tractor to get er out, but my Foreman and Rubicon are around 700 pounds each, not "easy" to get out, but not bad. Hard to get em stuck in the first place.

For the intended use, you can't beat the Kubota.

How does it stack up so far in terms of reliability?

Craig
 
Nope, never ran either of those vehicles but i know ppl who do and they seem to be decent machines. I run honda quads myself, low gear and run the engine brake they will keep it around 2-4 km/h going downhull with full load quite easily. That's another thing if you get that Kubota stuck you're going to need a tractor to get er out, but my Foreman and Rubicon are around 700 pounds each, not "easy" to get out, but not bad. Hard to get em stuck in the first place.

For the intended use, you can't beat the Kubota.

How does it stack up so far in terms of reliability?

Craig

I don't have a winch yet so I've used a come-a-long when stuck. Our property is on an aquafer and their is soft ground all over the place. Sometimes you just sink in and spring water comes gushing out.

Mine is still low hours-just got it in August-but it's been flawless so far. Not many mechanical problems reported yet on any forums.
 
I don't have a winch yet so I've used a come-a-long when stuck. Our property is on an aquafer and their is soft ground all over the place. Sometimes you just sink in and spring water comes gushing out.

Mine is still low hours-just got it in August-but it's been flawless so far. Not many mechanical problems reported yet on any forums.

Come-a-long is sometimes just the ticket. I have a winch on the Rubicon, but not the Foreman, I have had it stuck and used the come-a-long, problem is you need to keep jumping on and off.

Kubota's have a pretty decent history, still see lots of beat up ones around.




Craig
 
I move the firewood with my Suzuki Vinson 500 with a 2" ball hooked to a 4X8 utility trailer. Purposeful in that I can go quading with the ATV, or hook the 4X8 trailer to my truck.
 
Since I don't cut where I live, I pile it at the field edge and either wait for the field to freeze or at least not be soup. Last year I didn't bring out any wood because my "truck" was a 1998 Ford Explorer 2 wheel drive. Over the summer I bought a 2007 Chevy Silverado 4X4. Now the field won't have to be frozen. Other than that I've got a Suzuki Eiger w/2500 lb. winch and a 5x10 utility trailer. Unfortunately, I went cheap on the trailer a few years ago before the woodburning started and it only has a 2000 lb. axle.

Sometimes I take the 4 wheeler if I know I'm going to need it to pull wood up the ravine and sometimes just the truck and trailer. Taking the 4 wheeler reduces the amount of wood I can haul home.

Matt
 
Use a 1066 Farmall with a dual 3100 loader or my ford pickup. Use the tractor if close and pickup if at the neighbors.
 
Humbled...

I'm humbled by the equipment some of you guys have. Seems like most of you must be making roads right up to the very spot you are cutting. But I have to sometimes haul wood out by hand because I cut very selectively and am trying to keep my woods as nice looking and natural as possible.

I have main woods trails that I can get my '71 Chevy pickup down. Also smaller tributary trails I use my tank-like '73 Gravely 816 garden tractor and trailer on. But often I'm off these trails in the bush and then I have to move wood by hand. For this I use hand-pulled poly sleds in winter and now this garden cart when the ground is bare to get the wood out to my trails. It's good exersize and you don't burn gas either.

Am I the only one moving firewood by hand?
 
Back
Top