Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting?

[2458n]

Excellent post ;five minutes ago I did not know what a "feather " was. Now I have got to have one with a curve! Makes you wonder what else is out there.

[Fred Barbour]

I also use about 5 cords a year. Over the last number of years I too went into the bush with my 16 hp Kubota (since sold, upgraded to Bobcat CT 235) and homemade trailer. I would skid the logs to a staging area and buck it up and haul it home. This took a long time.

Four years ago I got a logging truck deliver a load for $1,100.00 (bug kill pine). This lasted 3 years, worked out to about 35 bucks a month. When this ran out in January last year I got a load of larch, big stuff, cost 1,800.00 for this load but,,, a nine axle logging truck and should last about 4 years. Also, the larch burns longer and 50% less ash.

A nice pile in one spot, no limbs,, easy, 100 yards from the house! Also bought a 27 ton 5hp Honda log splitter. My five cords now takes about 2 hours a day for about 10 days.

Advantages: Well, safety for starters, I no longer worry about falling a tree on myself. Also, I hated limbing, this took a long time.

And most importantl reason, I now have more time for Scotch and Cigars!!

Fred

[DanD78]

Becuse there are no fire wood around my place I have to haul it in. A farmer friend had some trees pushed down with a dozer and offered me the wood. A tractor at the wood source and at home would make this easier. Here is yestedays load, Pin oak and walnut. I used the frontier 4in1 to load and my forks to unload. The forks are clamped inside the 4in1 for transport. 3320 with all 4 loaded.

Dan

[nebraskasparks]

Ten pages and nobody mentioned using a grapple? or did I miss it.. I can't imagine doing firewood without one anymore.

Grapple, grapple, grapple, grapple, grapple....
I can't imagine having any kind of acreage without a grapple and I did it for 7 years...It's like having 30 big Swedes any time you want to move something. Probably most important piece of equipment you'll ever buy over the age of 50! Makes you wonder why you lifted anything during your entire life.

It lifts everything but sand, digs, knocks over,picks, pulls, pushes, pushes aside, levels, rakes, snaps limbs into smaller limbs, and can move a whole lot of wood in a very short period of time. Its an extended hand under 3000 psi that makes chores into chuckles.
Not as good as dialogue about shrimp in Forest Gump but I think someone will come up with one.

[hydrovane218]

Green tractor and blue tractor hauler make for a good firewood hauling/processing combo in my opinion.
I am far from having all the answers to wood home heating and firewood processing but, so far, after eight or nine years, what I have learned is free is usually good...for economics anyway.
I picked up a bunch of these metal bins free from a place I do work for. They were bins for automotive parts suppliers that no longer want them.(They want plastic ones now that fold up better and take less warehouse space when stacked empty.)
The wood, although not all hardwood, was delivered free from a waste transfer place I also did work for. It is from trees taken in from them from city reno projects,(ie. additions). It is more of a mess and a little worse to split than maple/oak etc., but hey, it's free.(can't have your cake and eat it too.)
I cut it to length and split it where it is(was delivered) at the end of the driveway(not pretty but practical) and left it there for a year.(hope it is dry enough...will find out soon.)
I guess more ideal would be if the bins had open sides for better thorough dryer afterwards, but oh well. They are easy to move though, to the house/garage with the green machine and pallet forks.

[hydrovane218]

oops.forgot pics.

[jake98]

Grapple, grapple, grapple, grapple, grapple....
***
Not as good as dialogue about shrimp in Forest Gump but I think someone will come up with one.

I feel better now...

[beenthere]

Becuse there are no fire wood around my place I have to haul it in. A farmer friend had some trees pushed down with a dozer and offered me the wood. A tractor at the wood source and at home would make this easier. Here is yestedays load, Pin oak and walnut. I used the frontier 4in1 to load and my forks to unload. The forks are clamped inside the 4in1 for transport. 3320 with all 4 loaded.

Dan

Nice rig Dan.
Don't see how you get by without a ballast box, or some weight on the rear.

But you apparently do loading some big stuff.

When do you get the other tractor?

[MiserableOldFart]

Came across this thread, and I've got lots of questions for anyone who might have answers: My woods are mostly far too rough in terrain and too steep to consider using a tractor. With a great deal of effort, I have been able to use the DR Powerwagon on some of the property, but some of it is just too steep for the Powerwagon to come back up. Have rolled the thing on a couple of occasions and that's not really a good thing to do.

I wonder if anyone out there uses winches or some other type of equipment to get logs out of rough woods. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. There are huge amounts of firewood that I haven't been able to access.

[LD1]

Came across this thread, and I've got lots of questions for anyone who might have answers: My woods are mostly far too rough in terrain and too steep to consider using a tractor. With a great deal of effort, I have been able to use the DR Powerwagon on some of the property, but some of it is just too steep for the Powerwagon to come back up. Have rolled the thing on a couple of occasions and that's not really a good thing to do.

I wonder if anyone out there uses winches or some other type of equipment to get logs out of rough woods. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. There are huge amounts of firewood that I haven't been able to access.

If it is indeed TOO steep to get equipment close enough to cut/haul the wood, then about your only option would be a winch and some really long cable/chains.