Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting?

   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #1  

Verticaltrx

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Joined
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Messages
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Location
VA
Tractor
Kubota B3200/L2501/SVL65-2/U35-4, IH 454/656, Ford NAA, Case 1845C/480E/450C LGP
I've been burning wood for years and still have yet to come up with the best way to get it from the tree into my wood pile. Over the years I've tried innumerable different configurations for hauling and splitting, but still haven't decided whats the best, most efficient way. I burn about 5 cords a year and help my father cut about another 6 cords.

Here's the equipment I use:

-Ford NAA tractor
-Kubota B3200 w/ loader
-'69 F-350, 10' flat bed (2wd)
-'88 F-250 (4wd)
-4x6' trailer
-(coming soon 5x10' trailer)
-tow-behind wood splitter
-logging arch for 3pt hitch (no winch)

I've tried towing the splitter behind my little trailer, but can't haul very much on the trailer. Trucks are limited to where they can go as a lot of the terrain is steep and trails are tight. Also tried skidding the logs out to a landing to buck and split them, but that made a mess of the trails and covered the wood in dirt. Some of the best wood is in the very back of the farm and its about 1/2mi through narrow steep logging roads to get to it, so it takes a while to get much wood out.

So based on this info what would be my best plan of action? What does everyone else use to split and haul out firewood? Pics would be great.

Thanks in advance.
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #2  
We have one of the new highly efficient Quadrafire units that uses air from outside the home. We heat with it 90% of the time and the heat pump/furnace the other times. We go through about 4-5 cords a year. All of our wood comes from our 5 acres.

I simply find a few trees that need to be thinned, fall them and then cut them into rounds. Then I bring my 4x4 truck to that spot and load up and take them near the house and wood pile. I unload them and then split them by hand, time permitting. I mix the various kinds of wood and stack them on pallets where they season for a year before burning.

IMG_0692.jpg
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #3  
I cut wood on my property anywhere from 1000' to 3/4 of a mile from the house. I use a 4x8 trailer. When piled, I can get about 1/2 full cord on it. I do have the advantage of not having to climb up any hills on the way back to the house. The disadvantage is that I have to come down some really steep, rutted out trails with a trailer that weighs almost as much as the tractor.

I have electric brakes on the trailer and a controller on the tractor (a couple of close calls before I put them on). I can now stop the tractor & loaded trailer anytime I want.

We tow the splitter with an ATV. During wood cutting season, it stays in the woods covered up with a camo tarp. We only move it when we go to a different landing, until we're done, then it gets put away for the winter.

This is my first year with a skidding winch. We worked 3 saturdays in February and winched all of the logs to a three landings. All of the limbs got left where the trees fell, so the area where we piled the logs stayed pretty clean. It has been great. Now we can spend an entire day in one location just cutting, splitting & loading the trailer. We cut 4 loads last weekend, 2 this weekend. I can't remember an easier wood cutting season.

Obviously, if my woodlot wasn't behind my house, all of this would be more difficult. I have pressure treated wood "slots" on my trailer on both sides to hold multiple chainsaws, and the buckets hold the gas & oil cans. All of this stuff used to ride on the trailer, on top of a full load, but losing the cas cans & a chainsaw on the way down the mountain wasn't fun.
 

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   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #4  
I only use wood at my cabin and bring them in with my BX23 but I cut the tree in to manageable chunks like 10 /12 ft or bigger depending on diameter and weight pinch it between the boom and my hoe (some day I will build a thumb) and bring the logs to the wood pile cut and split and stack at the pile.

If they are long and and lighter I swing the hoe to the side and bring them in that way.

I rather move one log (with the tractor) than load the trailer (stack 1) unload the trailer and stack (2nd time).
Twice the handling my back still complains in evening for half the work out not nearly as much as it could be.

tom
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks for the pics and replies.

I guess a lot of how it's done depends on the specific terrain of the area and the distance of the haul. Once I get my new 5x10 trailer built I will be able to haul a lot more per load (3500lbs vs 2000lbs) so that will also help. Got me thinking about putting a detachable hydraulic splitter on the front of the trailer run off the tractor hydraulics.

Here's some pics of the kind of terrain I'm dealing with:

(I guess in this type of terrain a 3pt logging winch would be real handy :D)
 

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   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #6  
All of mine gets cut to log length in the woods, then pulled out full length to the woodpile. When I'm ready for it ( a year ahead actually) it gets blocked and split, then stacked.
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #7  
When I've gotta haul wood from the back of the property I cut it down to 8-10' and throw it on the forks on the loader and haul it to the house. Takes a few trips but with the rough terrain it's the safest way for me.
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #8  
I've been burning wood for years and still have yet to come up with the best way to get it from the tree into my wood pile. Over the years I've tried innumerable different configurations for hauling and splitting, but still haven't decided whats the best, most efficient way. I burn about 5 cords a year and help my father cut about another 6 cords.

Here's the equipment I use:

-Ford NAA tractor
-Kubota B3200 w/ loader
-'69 F-350, 10' flat bed (2wd)
-'88 F-250 (4wd)
-4x6' trailer
-(coming soon 5x10' trailer)
-tow-behind wood splitter
-logging arch for 3pt hitch (no winch)

I've tried towing the splitter behind my little trailer, but can't haul very much on the trailer. Trucks are limited to where they can go as a lot of the terrain is steep and trails are tight. Also tried skidding the logs out to a landing to buck and split them, but that made a mess of the trails and covered the wood in dirt. Some of the best wood is in the very back of the farm and its about 1/2mi through narrow steep logging roads to get to it, so it takes a while to get much wood out.

So based on this info what would be my best plan of action? What does everyone else use to split and haul out firewood? Pics would be great.

Thanks in advance.
The best plan I can think of would be: The splitter attached to a 4 wheeler or something.
Cutting and splitting 'onsite' minimizes dirt and mud.
as far as hauling.........I don't see anyway to get away from 'double handling' of the wood. So use a small trailer behind the 4 wheeler to move split wood to the big trailer.
I wish there was a better answer, but that's the way I would handle it.
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #9  
We skid it out using my 4x4 28 HP tractor. We then cut it and throw it on a 16' tandem axle trailer and take it home. Its then unloaded and stacked. Its a lot of work no matter how you do it.

Chris
 
   / Logistics of firewood hauling and splitting? #10  
The best plan I can think of would be: The splitter attached to a 4 wheeler or something.
Cutting and splitting 'onsite' minimizes dirt and mud.
as far as hauling.........I don't see anyway to get away from 'double handling' of the wood. So use a small trailer behind the 4 wheeler to move split wood to the big trailer.
I wish there was a better answer, but that's the way I would handle it.
One way is to palletize your wood (ie: make some bins on pallets and then split the wood into them in the woods), if you then load the pallets onto a trailer with forks and off you go.

Aaron Z
 
 
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