Trailer for tractor and Logs

[headleyj]

Been thinking aout my loghaulin situation....Got a 20' car hauler basically I've been hauling the tractor on and then hauling logs back home with.

Short version is it's a pain to get logs off trailer (has fenders).....thought about a dump.....heavy + need some length to haul tractor......then I thought.....wha about a flatbed dump?! Basically a regular dump trailer without the sides or rear gate?! Googledit ad I could only find 2 manufacturers. SSI an Big-lug. Big-lug trailer way too $ for me......SSI longest is 16'. It's affordable, but.....anyways my ? is this....

With 1 trailer, 1 truck and 1 tractor.....how do you guys unload the trailer at home if tracor is at the jobsite?

I read on her one fella who puts rollers under the logs before he stack them on te trailer....secures the rollers somehow for transport, thenchains the bundle to a tree at home and drives out from under it. I cut some ility poles to try this, but chickened out as te rollers made me nervous......got some steep hills an if they broke loose well it'd suck that's for sure.

I always get the blowdown stuff so nothing is round (ie: won't roll easily)....thought abot a deckover, then I could just use the cant hook and roll them off......

Any other ideas /suggestions?

 

[ziggo_2]

I just roll or push off somehow or another...I try not to put too big of logs on that i cant get off the trailer, Length of logs are more a problem than weight....How you load it make a difference too. I have a 28 ft gooseneck that has fenders too, dont put anything too heavy inside the fenders.

 

[wdchuck]

Cut the logs so they fit between the fenders.
Block the back end, then run a couple 3" straps front to back.

Pain to load maybe, but you'll be doing it with the tractor and then at home they'll just roll off. Just remember to have something to chock the 'log on deck' so it doesn't come after you.


In the past, I've just chained the logs, sometimes one at a time, to a tree and do the back and forth until the trailer is empty. To avoid the long trail of logs you have to roll each one out of the way before you drag the next one off.

 

[headleyj]

I just roll or push off somehow or another...I try not to put too big of logs on that i cant get off the trailer, Length of logs are more a problem than weight....How you load it make a difference too. I have a 28 ft gooseneck that has fenders too, dont put anything too heavy inside the fenders.

how you build the load absolutely makes a difference, I hear ya on that. I guess I was just looking for a more efficient way to unload, hence the flatbed dump trailer idea. I just dunno if I can swing 4k plus sale funds from my existing trailer for a flatbed dump. The concept is perfect for what I wanna do, but I almost have to buy new cause they're not all that common to be buying one used.....bumper pull to boot.

 

[wdchuck]

You can get baby dumps for $3k that still have life in them.

Flatbed dump trucks from one-ton on up can be had as well.

Is it worth it to rent a dump trailer for the day after you've cut and staged your logs. Leave the tractor at the landing and just make a few runs that day.

 

[headleyj]

You can get baby dumps for $3k that still have life in them.

Flatbed dump trucks from one-ton on up can be had as well.

Is it worth it to rent a dump trailer for the day after you've cut and staged your logs. Leave the tractor at the landing and just make a few runs that day.

that's an idea I hadn't thought of. I like the idea! Thanks!!

 

[gink595]

Here is how I do it. I have a Bobcat that is at the location where I'm cutting. I will cut, buck and load the logs on my Skidsteer trailer. First I throw down the chains and put the logs on and then bind the chains and logs together. Than I take straps and strap the bundle of logs to the trailer. I then take the trailer home and put the ramps down and pull it off as one bundle of logs with the backhoe and when I get the Bobcat home I'll stack em in a pile.

 

[headleyj]

Here is how I do it. I have a Bobcat that is at the location where I'm cutting. I will cut, buck and load the logs on my Skidsteer trailer. First I throw down the chains and put the logs on and then bind the chains and logs together. Than I take straps and strap the bundle of logs to the trailer. I then take the trailer home and put the ramps down and pull it off as one bundle of logs with the backhoe and when I get the Bobcat home I'll stack em in a pile.

if I had another piece of equipment that would work, but no go there man. I've thought about binding the load together like you said, put ramps down and chain binded load to a tree and try to drive away from it.....worry it would tear the hello outta the trailer though.

 

[gink595]

if I had another piece of equipment that would work, but no go there man. I've thought about binding the load together like you said, put ramps down and chain binded load to a tree and try to drive away from it.....worry it would tear the hello outta the trailer though.

Yeah I think it would, Not sure how heavy of a trailer you have. I lift up on the load and the pull it back the drag isn't as great. I've had so much weight on it, it would lift the back of the backhoe off the ground when pulling the load in reverse off the trailer. But I can unload 16 or so logs at a time like this. Maybe build a portable A-frame with a 5 ton chain hoist. Pick it up and drive away???

 

[headleyj]

Yeah I think it would, Not sure how heavy of a trailer you have. I lift up on the load and the pull it back the drag isn't as great. I've had so much weight on it, it would lift the back of the backhoe off the ground when pulling the load in reverse off the trailer. But I can unload 16 or so logs at a time like this. Maybe build a portable A-frame with a 5 ton chain hoist. Pick it up and drive away???

That aframe idea isnt far off the mark from what ive thought about before. A gantry or something similar ya know? Ive seen aframe setups mounted to the rear of a trailer before with limiting straps since they hinged at the feet of the "a". As you swing the contraption to remove the logs it will lift them up slightly since.ur making a radiis with the peak of the "a". Hope that makes some sort of sense.

 

[gink595]

What about this.... Make a set up that sits on your trailer but sits above the fenders like a log trailer looks with vertical members to hold the logs. You would load your logs onto it like a log trailer but when you go to unload one side of the vertical members swing down allowing the logs to roll off your trailer. Maybe add a boost cylinder or a bottle jack on one side to lift the setup to get the logs to roll. Does that make sense to you? If I was at work I'd sketch something up to explain it better. It is a set up I've thought about too but make a purpose built trailer just for that.


Gotta love paint! I'm showing the verticals up and then how they would swing down to unload.

Hey JWalker how's this Goat pic!

 

[BPS. LLC]

Been thinking aout my loghaulin situation....Got a 20' car hauler basically I've been hauling the tractor on and then hauling logs back home with.

Short version is it's a pain to get logs off trailer (has fenders).....thought about a dump.....heavy + need some length to haul tractor......then I thought.....wha about a flatbed dump?! Basically a regular dump trailer without the sides or rear gate?! Googledit ad I could only find 2 manufacturers. SSI an Big-lug. Big-lug trailer way too $ for me......SSI longest is 16'. It's affordable, but.....anyways my ? is this....

With 1 trailer, 1 truck and 1 tractor.....how do you guys unload the trailer at home if tracor is at the jobsite?

I read on her one fella who puts rollers under the logs before he stack them on te trailer....secures the rollers somehow for transport, thenchains the bundle to a tree at home and drives out from under it. I cut some ility poles to try this, but chickened out as te rollers made me nervous......got some steep hills an if they broke loose well it'd suck that's for sure.

I always get the blowdown stuff so nothing is round (ie: won't roll easily)....thought abot a deckover, then I could just use the cant hook and roll them off......

Any other ideas /suggestions?

A 20' car hauler would make a great grapple trailer...the cost of a grapple may be your hangup though. Bailey's sells the grapple and powerpack separately...

 

[headleyj]

A 20' car hauler would make a great grapple trailer...the cost of a grapple may be your hangup though. Bailey's sells the grapple and powerpack separately...

I looked at those a loooong time ago....think they were anywhere from 6500-9k.....that's iirc. yeah that price tag is out of my league for something I do occasionally. Now building one/ piecing it together....a guy could do that I suppose

 

[headleyj]

What about this.... Make a set up that sits on your trailer but sits above the fenders like a log trailer looks with vertical members to hold the logs. You would load your logs onto it like a log trailer but when you go to unload one side of the vertical members swing down allowing the logs to roll off your trailer. Maybe add a boost cylinder or a bottle jack on one side to lift the setup to get the logs to roll. Does that make sense to you? If I was at work I'd sketch something up to explain it better. It is a set up I've thought about too but make a purpose built trailer just for that.


Gotta love paint! I'm showing the verticals up and then how they would swing down to unload.

Hey JWalker how's this Goat pic!

I understnad exactly what you're saying - except for the goat pic :msp_confused: basically build a raised/ false floor to get over the fenders when rolling them off.

Wife told me I could spend $1k....I could talk her into a little more, but that's about the budget I have.

 

[headleyj]

what if a guy had a deckover and it could tilt to one side, like a side dump trailer? I could use a fast acting hydraulic jack to tilt it even....

 

[gink595]

what if a guy had a deckover and it could tilt to one side, like a side dump trailer? I could use a fast acting hydraulic jack to tilt it even....

Thats exactley what I was saying was to make something that just sit on the trailer that will tilt to the side with arms that swing down so it will dump the logs. You could go electric/hydralic pump with a small cylinder to lift it.

 

[headleyj]

Thats exactley what I was saying was to make something that just sit on the trailer that will tilt to the side with arms that swing down so it will dump the logs. You could go electric/hydralic pump with a small cylinder to lift it.

if I use my existing trailer I'm thinking it would have to be kinda high in order to clear fenders (not removable) when it's at full tilt.....maybe not though, I'll have to do some looking/ measuring tonight or tomorrow. That's why I mentioned the deckover.

 

[gink595]

I see what you mean by deck over...deck over trailer!


You'll have to detail it out more but something like this would be doable. I want to make a purpose built trailer that will do just this, that way i dont' have to tie up my skid steer trailer.

 

[les-or-more]

Frank's, idea of a bunk with a folding side should work better than a deckover. I loaded about ten loads a couple of years ago when it was breaking up in the spring in a hurry, I pushed the logs off the side. I had two tractors and loaders, one on each end, the logs beat the hell out of the hub caps and cut a valve stem. The side folded down should help protect the tires and axles from damage as well as the fenders. The load should be close to the same height as a deckover anyway.

 

[headleyj]

it's not the height of a deckover I'm worried about.....the width of my trailer fenders I have to account for in the raised floor and that would be cantilevered out over the fenders. With a deckover, the deck is actually over the tires and all of them I've seen the deck extends out to the edge or just past the tires.

Not saying it couldn't be done, just thinking about cost of building such an apparatus for my existing trailer (mat'l, time, removability, etc) vs. buying a used deckover.....that's all.

UPDATE: Also how would I get this thing on/ off without the use of the tractor? I haul tractor to job, then I'd go back home and load/ install this raised floor by hand. I guess I dedicate a solid tree limb and chain hoist it in the air when not in use, then back underneath it and lower it onto the trailer.