atv or compact tractor type grapple/log trailer

[Sandhill Crane]

I guess I will continue with the quad, log arch, and two small atv trailers, similar to what others have done, or are doing. This morning went better, using the log arch to pull tops off each other into an open area to delimb. Many trees were dropped in the yard near the house in multiple directions, one a top another, and many require some delimbing before they can be pulled from the pile. At this point a good deal of time is stacking brush to clear the yard. Separating the tops is making that easier. Last week I put chaps on and started in the side of a pile and that was much more effort. Further from the house stacking will not be necessary, and the arch will be put to better use. Round trip is .3 miles and Friday clocked over six miles on the trip meter with the trailers and arch. Firewood orders are picking up and competing for time.

 

[NSMaple1]

I drive my ATV right to & beside the downed tree. With trailer & splitter in tow. I cut the tree up & split it right there. Toss into the trailer right off the splitter - that is one touch. When my trailer is full I drive it to where the wood gets stacked. And stack it. So that is two touches, to get it from the tree to stack. The bonus here is that once you get the ATV & trailer from the rough ground where the tree is to a decent road or trail, you can move right along. It's fast. Mine tops out at 30mph, on the slow side for an ATV but pretty fast for any other wood hauling stuff on a woods road. Compare that to how fast you can go with a small tractor - or when pulling a logging arch. The speed of an ATV (when on a decent road or trail) is where it has its advantage - huge time saver. (That and being able to get it right into the tree). Plus getting it into splits ASAP makes the lifting etc. way easier on the body the rest of the way.

I'm not doing that for $$ - but for what I do it works pretty good. I'm usually at around 1-2 miles or so from tree to stacks.

 

[sirbuildalot]

I drive my ATV right to & beside the downed tree. With trailer & splitter in tow. I cut the tree up & split it right there. Toss into the trailer right off the splitter - that is one touch. When my trailer is full I drive it to where the wood gets stacked. And stack it. So that is two touches, to get it from the tree to stack. The bonus here is that once you get the ATV & trailer from the rough ground where the tree is to a decent road or trail, you can move right along. It's fast. Mine tops out at 30mph, on the slow side for an ATV but pretty fast for any other wood hauling stuff on a woods road. Compare that to how fast you can go with a small tractor - or when pulling a logging arch. The speed of an ATV (when on a decent road or trail) is where it has its advantage - huge time saver. (That and being able to get it right into the tree). Plus getting it into splits ASAP makes the lifting etc. way easier on the body the rest of the way.

I'm not doing that for $$ - but for what I do it works pretty good. I'm usually at around 1-2 miles or so from tree to stacks.

I was thinking along the same lines. Is there really any advantage to leaving the wood in log length? If you have machinery to move it easy, then yes. Otherwise I'd say no. I usually buck it to stove length in the woods and trailer it out. I may start doing what NSMaple1 described, and splitting it right away. It will have more seasoning time that way in addition to the amount of times handling.

 

[rancher2]

I have done it both ways years ago we cut wood on a lot of different farms. Usually went in took the tree down and bucked it there piled the brush, burned and hauled the chucks out and split at home and piled in the shed mostly in the winter. Times changed help wise and my time to do wood. Bought more farms, more equipment short on time so a lot gets logged out with the saw on skid loader and logs get hauled out to what we have for a landing and we buck and split when time allows mostly in the summer when spraying is done and before harvest. I don't like working firewood in the heat but you do what you have to. I work in town in the winter. I cleaned a five acre patch two summers ago in a field that was going to get farmed so we had to get it done and get the brush burned and the logs out. We are just about threw all of the those logs from that clean up and it has made about 60 cord of good locust wood. It is nice to have a skid loader, grapple and lots of trailers. I burn 10 to 15 cords a year so I am finally getting a little a head.

 

[cantoo]

I haul the tops out in 8 to 10' pieces and then I use a buzz saw to cut up the tops that I get.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Hears the thing. The neighbors have had 100 plus trees logged, of Oak and Beach. One hundred tops in the woods looks like a tornado. I'm just trying to figure a good way to process some of them, if at all, before others get permission also, and start cherry picking.
I did contact PowerSplit and asked about their power buggy, a self propelled vertical splitter w/log lift. He suggested the tow behind version to process in the woods and tow it with my atv.
The least expensive option is to use what I have and plug away at it, but it is slow going, I'm sure others will be inquiring about cutting there as well. Fall is a busy time for deliveries, so I've just been cutting mornings there, and I told them I would cut all winter which is my dead time for processing with pallets.
A small compact tractor and grapple could move a lot of wood, but does not fit in well with the way I process firewood for sales. The guy dropping tree on the property suggested a skid steer, but not sure how that would do in the woods in the winter and would probably cost a bit more. Any option as far as equipment would require borrowing money, so I may just let it lay and see what shakes out this winter.

 

[Mustang71]

My 98 sportsman 500 will pull the 5x8 with a good amount of wood in it but it's a lot for it and in any mud you dont have a chance. I built the smaller trailer to tow all my wood back and I cut it all stove length and can stack and fill the whole trailer. Its somewhere about 3x5x2. That's the max for the old ATV. Usually I still have chains on it when I tow all my wood. I really like the ATV for fire wood and i do hope the tractor i brought home today can haul more wood but I will probably still stick with the ATV. I think the ATV has less chance of getting stuck to the point of no return and it's easy to maneuver through, around, and over things.

A tractor is not an all terrain vehicle. I have had the ATV with the 5x8 stuck in the mud fully loaded. I unloaded the trailer and drove the ATV and trailer out and reloaded it. Last time I got a tractor stuck I had a real long bad day. The ATV is for the woods not the tractor or skidsteer. Just my oppinion.

 

[sb47]

Hears the thing. The neighbors have had 100 plus trees logged, of Oak and Beach. One hundred tops in the woods looks like a tornado. I'm just trying to figure a good way to process some of them, if at all, before others get permission also, and start cherry picking.
I did contact PowerSplit and asked about their power buggy, a self propelled vertical splitter w/log lift. He suggested the tow behind version to process in the woods and tow it with my atv.
The least expensive option is to use what I have and plug away at it, but it is slow going, I'm sure others will be inquiring about cutting there as well. Fall is a busy time for deliveries, so I've just been cutting mornings there, and I told them I would cut all winter which is my dead time for processing with pallets.
A small compact tractor and grapple could move a lot of wood, but does not fit in well with the way I process firewood for sales. The guy dropping tree on the property suggested a skid steer, but not sure how that would do in the woods in the winter and would probably cost a bit more. Any option as far as equipment would require borrowing money, so I may just let it lay and see what shakes out this winter.

Free wood is the best wood, but it sounds like your scaring yourself thinking your gonna miss out.
It also sounds like your wanting to spend quite a bit of money on new equipment.
So ask yourself these kinds of questions.

How available is wood in your area?
How many wood scroungers are there in your area?
How much of it did you want to get?
How will new equipment improve your production?
Will that new equipment pay off in increased production?
Can you use that new equipment in the future?
Is the weather a factor on this job?
Is there a time limit?
What's the resale value on that equipment if you decide to reduce or quit production?


I have a saying, a deal is no deal if I can't afford it.

You may be able to set it up so you have dibs on part or all of it.
You wont know if you don't ask.
I would talk to the guy first and see if I could work something out.

 

[sb47]

My 98 sportsman 500 will pull the 5x8 with a good amount of wood in it but it's a lot for it and in any mud you dont have a chance. I built the smaller trailer to tow all my wood back and I cut it all stove length and can stack and fill the whole trailer. Its somewhere about 3x5x2. That's the max for the old ATV. Usually I still have chains on it when I tow all my wood. I really like the ATV for fire wood and i do hope the tractor i brought home today can haul more wood but I will probably still stick with the ATV. I think the ATV has less chance of getting stuck to the point of no return and it's easy to maneuver through, around, and over things.

A tractor is not an all terrain vehicle. I have had the ATV with the 5x8 stuck in the mud fully loaded. I unloaded the trailer and drove the ATV and trailer out and reloaded it. Last time I got a tractor stuck I had a real long bad day. The ATV is for the woods not the tractor or skidsteer. Just my oppinion.

Pulling heavy loads requires a heavy tow vehicle. But weight can also get you stuck. Depending on the situation heavy or light can be good or bad.

 

[T. Mainus]

When we had our hardwoods logged, 40 acres worth, it took me 3 years worth of winters to get all the tops cleaned out. I would cut everything to 16" lengths right in the woods, then I would load a barge box that we bought just for this purpose, $1400.00. And then drive it back to the shop and dump it. If I could get 2 loads back in a day I was doing pretty good. But we already had the tractor for getting in the woods. When we did this was when we were just starting out. My Dad had just passed and he would have killed me and my brother if we had let all those oak tops out in the woods to rot. Looking at it now from a business aspect, it is not worth my time to go cut in the woods even if the wood is free. It makes much more business sense to buy the logs and have it delivered. We pay around $100 a cord delivered from the loggers. I can't drag it out of the woods for that once you consider your time and the equipment needed to be efficient. If your just a scrounger thats a different story. But to go drag it out of the woods, get it home, and then split to resell it there is not much meat left on the bone.

 

[sb47]

When we had our hardwoods logged, 40 acres worth, it took me 3 years worth of winters to get all the tops cleaned out. I would cut everything to 16" lengths right in the woods, then I would load a barge box that we bought just for this purpose, $1400.00. And then drive it back to the shop and dump it. If I could get 2 loads back in a day I was doing pretty good. But we already had the tractor for getting in the woods. When we did this was when we were just starting out. My Dad had just passed and he would have killed me and my brother if we had let all those oak tops out in the woods to rot. Looking at it now from a business aspect, it is not worth my time to go cut in the woods even if the wood is free. It makes much more business sense to buy the logs and have it delivered. We pay around $100 a cord delivered from the loggers. I can't drag it out of the woods for that once you consider your time and the equipment needed to be efficient. If your just a scrounger thats a different story. But to go drag it out of the woods, get it home, and then split to resell it there is not much meat left on the bone.

View attachment 676774 View attachment 676775 View attachment 676776

Profit margins are low on firewood. But like I've said before, firewood is one of those commodity's that everyone thinks should be dirt cheap.
One of the problems in many areas is you get the firewood beer money guy's that don't do heavy volumes but sell what they have real cheap. Of course it's usually green but people still buy it trying to save money.
In my wood lot is racks of wood in all phases of seasoning. From freshly split green wood to fully seasoned wood.
Seasoned wood that sits outside turns gray and starts looking ugly compared to freshly split green wood.
I get people that ask and insist on seasoned wood but when they see seasoned wood they ask about the pretty green wood and some will buy the green wood even though I tell them it's green and wont burn.
They buy wood on looks over function.

 

[milton dave]

Take a look at the MUTS atv trailer.
Tandem axle. Can haul a good load.
I pull fully loaded with 500cc atv with no issues.

 

[Mustang71]

Pulling heavy loads requires a heavy tow vehicle. But weight can also get you stuck. Depending on the situation heavy or light can be good or bad.

I agree and it depends on the area you are going to be working in. If getting stuck won't be an issue then a tractor is the way to go.

 

[NSMaple1]

Hears the thing. The neighbors have had 100 plus trees logged, of Oak and Beach. One hundred tops in the woods looks like a tornado. I'm just trying to figure a good way to process some of them, if at all, before others get permission also, and start cherry picking.
I did contact PowerSplit and asked about their power buggy, a self propelled vertical splitter w/log lift. He suggested the tow behind version to process in the woods and tow it with my atv.
The least expensive option is to use what I have and plug away at it, but it is slow going, I'm sure others will be inquiring about cutting there as well. Fall is a busy time for deliveries, so I've just been cutting mornings there, and I told them I would cut all winter which is my dead time for processing with pallets.
A small compact tractor and grapple could move a lot of wood, but does not fit in well with the way I process firewood for sales. The guy dropping tree on the property suggested a skid steer, but not sure how that would do in the woods in the winter and would probably cost a bit more. Any option as far as equipment would require borrowing money, so I may just let it lay and see what shakes out this winter.

So - how far is it from where these tops are, to your place (or another or whatever) where you can safely stockpile wood? Is there highway in between or is it all woods roads/trails? Do you have an easily towable splitter now?

I'm thinking tops shouldn't be that big in diameter. And if the trunks have already been removed you should be able to get right to the tops (unless they left big ruts behind). So maybe 'just' get a dump wagon for your ATV, cut them up in place and toss the rounds into the wagon, then run & dump at your place? Then you can split this winter or whenever convenient for you. You should be able to move a load fairly fast with the ATV & dump wagon. Depending on the terrain in between. 100 is kind of a big number - but it isn't a huge one. I'm also not a fan of skidding firewood stuff - don't like dirty firewood and it is pretty hard on chains.

 

[CentaurG2]

It would be a cold day in hell before I would go out and cleaning up someone elses mess without getting paid. I just love people who call and tell you to take down a tree for nothing and “you can have the wood”. Right. Same as the fools who call and tell me I can “pick up the log for free”. Screw that noise.

 

[FLRA_Dave]

I have a Wallenstein LT60H/LX115 unit that I use behind my 3032e (flat ground), 5045E (rougher ground), and pickup (over the road). There has been so many times where I could have used the winch on the trailer - just get it if you go that route! The walking beam axle is nice. I can fit 500bdft-700bdft depending on the logs over the road. I wouldn't want to load more than 300bdft-400bdft on it though off road unless it was nice flat & dry ground. The 5045E has been pushed around with a half load (2/3 cord???) load on it on hills and that is no fun!


I have seen that Woody's Equipment 90HD in person. It's a cute little machine for sure, lol. It is absolutely sized for an ATV.


I will say that those self-loading log trailers are nice, but they only really excel when you need to cover long distances / keep logs off the ground / make minimal trips through sensitive areas, so just keep that in mind. My 3032e compact tractor with the 3pt grapple will outperform the log trailer 9/10 times at getting the wood out in a timely manner. There is a fair amount of time involved in loading / unloading the log trailer… Say 15-20 minutes for each transaction? That’s keeping things smooth and steady as it’s no fun when everything starts swinging & getting jerky.


I don’t know what “top wood” looks like where you are, but here they can be some sizable pieces of wood. I get nearly all of my wood off from other properties, so I need to move it out in the largest pieces that’s reasonably possible so I’m not on their property too long. I’ve been on some properties for 1-2 years getting 100-150 cord out (and I pay $15 per cord to the property owner).


What I’ve learned is that a mini excavator with a hydraulic thumb is just about a necessity for cleaning tops is a reasonable time frame. Ideally with a 2 man crew. One guy on the mini to saw, sort/stage logs, and pile brush. The other guy skids out the logs one after another. When combined with a log trailer / forwarding set up I wouldn’t waste the time loading with the trailers loader. The hydraulics on a mini are so much faster & smoother (efficient). So swing the trailers loader out of the way and load with a mini. You’d have to work pretty hard to keep up with the mini. The same process could be used with a dump trailer behind a tractor or ATV.


Cleaning up / gathering wood from 100 tree tops is no small task!


These pictures all show “top wood” that was logging left overs.




Here are some from sawmill logs:



Sometimes it gets muddy and is really handy for keeping the wood clean:



For scale of my unit, I moved it with my X534, but I wouldn't want to move it with anything on it, lol.



Anyhow… I tend to get off track, but wanted to share some of my experiences.

 

[lknchoppers]

A grapple on a skid steer is what I would prefer. You can move a lot off trees fast and you will find many uses for it. If you look around you can find something nice with auxiliary hookups for $10-$12k one with tracks would be more. Tractors are slower moving around and take more space to maneuver, the four wheel drive on a skid steer with tires is true 4 wheel drive as well. I wouldn't be without one in the firewood business.

 

[DSW]

I think Sandhill sees this as more of an opportunity than a burden.

He's trying to figure out a way to be effecient enough to take advantage of it.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Our mailbox is on the opposite side of the road as out home. From the mailbox I could almost spit and hit three or four tops, and can see ten or fifteen. Their house is three hundred feet from the road (as is ours), and our driveways two to three hundred feet down the road from each other (opposite sides). Cutting in their back yard is .3+ round trip on the quad with the log arch. It's not like it is five miles away, I almost see it from the kitchen window.

Lots of good ideas and approaches, and that is why I put it out there.
A few thing mentioned I had not thought of.
In many ways, this is a process of elimination.
In the end it will be interesting to see what plays out.

During this delivery season (delivery of firewood with a 5500 12' flatbed and pallets) I've been unloaded by a skid steer, a tele handler, a 30 hp tractor (didn't work so well), and a 50 hp tractor. All better than by hand, but I've pretty much eliminated all of them from my wish list for various reasons just from watching the operators. A skid steer could maybe edge back in there, as it would be most compatible with both firewood processing from purchased logs and processing tops.

I used to have permission to cut down and dead stuff on a sanctuary for personal use. At that time I bought a used quad and a Thule tandem axle atv trailer, later adding a LogRite arch after cutting a large blow down Cherry into rounds (what a shame), but it all made for minimum impact scrounging. Did that for many years, but management changed and so did the rules. A couple years ago I picked up a Kory 3000 nursery wagon as a rolling staging rack for rounds, but soon after eliminated that idea, and logs go from a cutting bench straight to the splitter when processing cord wood. Anyway, this past week I have dusted off the arch, and put all of them to use to haul wood from the neighbors. The Kory wagon may need some small bunks made as others have shown in their posts. It's rated at 3,000 pounds. Piling and strapping small size 8' lengths for now. Piece by piece. I sold or gave away all the wood racks (second and forth photo) I had, or I could have cut and staged round in them in the woods and moved full ones with the piggyback lift. Oh well.

FLRA_Dave: Thanks Dave for sharing. That's what great about this site. I've eliminated the grapple/trailer... and added a mini excavator to the wish list. Yeow! I don't think I'll tell my wife yet.

Thanks guys
(these are old pictures)

 

[DSW]

For me, with an outsiders knowledge of the situation: I couldn't justify any new equipment for this particular job, I would use the atv, a heaped wagon, and the arch for anything of size. If you had a lot of these scenarios then I MAY consider investing in some equipment. 100 trees could be anything from 5-100 cord, do you have pics? Around here, take a Poplar that grows in the woods, there ain't a top to it, be worthless. Beech, for some reason, even when grown in the woods around here, will typically crown out and a top would have considerable wood, excellent firewood at that.