Trailer for tractor and Logs

[wdchuck]

Hasn't been mentioned yet, may be a downside I'm missing but here goes;

High density nylon that is used to line dumptrucks, dumpsters, and such. It usually comes in sheets, its often white, and slippery as a greased pig.

If you were to put that on the deck of your trailer it would keep your center of gravity low, protect the bed surface, and the interior sides of the fender walls if you felt so inclined. Also, it would have the least effect on your trailers hauling capacity regarding weight.

I'm not sure of the cost, but it would do what you need until you save some money.

You could, and this adds a step, leave the sheets in your truck until the tractor comes off, then fasten them to the trailer deck, and with the weight of the logs it wouldn't need much to fasten.

This way, when you want to sell your trailer, the deck will still be nice.

Final note, after you drop the last load, you can leave the sheets of nylon at home and get the tractor.

You have a new mistress in this venture, hope the wife doesn't get jealous.

 

[bluestem]

I was also wondering like wdchuck if you are worried about damage to the trailer when pulling the logs off the back if you fasten some heavy sheets of plywood under everything before you start loading the logs.

 

[gwiley]

I would be cautious about making it too easy for stuff to roll/slide off the back. Seems as though you will be relying a bit too much on the straps and chains to handle lateral movement, especially in hard stops.

I far prefer to roll the logs off the side - they can be anchored properly during transport.

 

[LEES WOODC]

Anyone considering rollers might want to use 4" or bigger pipe and run a chain through the pipe and bind to trailer to limit movement.
Unless said logs are bundled/bound together well on both ends i can see how they may jackstraw and catch on the end of trailer or slide sideways and rip fenders off.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

If considering rollers an easy and cheap solution would be, cut a bunch of 3-4 inch sticks the width of your trailer. Pile the logs on top, then pull the logs off the back using the sticks under the load as the rollers.