pulling logs out of the woods.....

[10acreheaven]

Hello,

I have lots of fallen trees down a hill on my property. The slope is too much to drive any thing down. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas to pull out logs. I will cut the trees up before they get hauled up. My idea was to make a sled and pull it up with the tractor. Or maybe some type of PTO driven capstan winch.... Any body ever built one? Bring on the comments! Thanks guys!

 

[MossRoad]

My first question is why do you want them out? If they aren't harming anything, just let them rot. If you want them for firewood, lumber, clearing out wildfire fuel, etc... well, then, lets get em out. :laughing:

And welcome to TBN!

To start, how big of logs are we talking here?
And how steep and far down the hill are they?

 

[newbury]

There are many yarding systems.
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/yarding/example_systems.html

For instance a zig-zag yarder may fit your needs.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_037923.pdf

There's a whole forest of information on small scale yarding
https://www.google.com/search?q=small+scale+yarding&oq=small+scale+yarding&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

good luck.

 

[oosik]

Do you have the room to pull the trees down the hill? Pull them down, limb, cut to length, load on a trailer or drag from there.

 

[OZisKTB]

Can you use a log arch like this one? You hook the log, then the arch supports it while you wench it up the hill.

Fetching Arch - LogRite Tools LLC

 

[dave1949]

Unless you build it yourself, or have a lot logs to bring up, the skidding arch might be too expensive. ~$1750. Nice though.

Here is a skid plate that costs $250, or would be much easier to build yourself.
TIMBER TUFF

I guess a lot depends on how smooth the hill is and how many obstacles there are.

 

[motownbrowne]

Skidding winch. Look for a used farmi or Norse.

 

[10acreheaven]

Sky line would be sweet.....but a little more involved than I wanted to get. Yes it will be firewood. And the log skid is a good idea too.

 

[s219]

Setup a fairlead with pulley block high in a tree at the top of the hill. Run 5/8" or 3/4" logging rope over fairlead and down to logs, using a chain as choker on the last 6-8' to avoid wear and tear on rope. At top of hill, tie tractor/truck/etc to other end of the rope and pull.

Ideally, the fairlead will be high enough to elevate the butt of the log off the ground so it will drag up hill easier. Adjust height and/or log size to make it feasible. You just want the tail end of the log dragging on the ground.

I've done this many times and it works well.

 

[Pilot]

How far? How steep?

I'm a retired forester, sale planner 30 years ago, but I pretty much dealt with much larger logs--the kind where we planned for logging 20-50+" logs using a skyline system reaching out 2,000+ feet, lifting a 10,000 pound load. As I said, that was 30 years ago, so I am a little out of practice.

If I was contemplating hauling small logs uphill I would look at the standing trees at the hilltop & see if I could rig a block 6, 8 or maybe 10 feet up in several of them. Then a cable down to the logs and pulled up by a tractor running across flat ground at the top of the hill, moving the block from tree to tree to keep the logs going as straight up the hill as possible. The block in the trees gives the front of the logs some lift to keep them from digging a trench as they go up. Run the tractor slowly because the logs can get stuck on obstacles and you don't want a surprise sudden stop. If the trees at the hilltop are the same size or smaller than the logs you are pulling you'll want to guy them to support them.

Don't try to use a lot of power. I saw a 24" hemlock cut in half when a cable splice on a skyline gave way & the cable whipped around. That was a big system with a several thousand feet of skyline, but you get the idea.

 

[CobyRupert]

Skidding winch. Look for a used farmi or Norse.

:thumbsup: Also Wallenstein. How big is the hill?

 

[2458n]

Have used a 73 ford truck hood or a old volks wagon hood to get out of the dig in the ground mode.

 

[10acreheaven]

What size block? I'm new to that kind of stuff. Also I would have to pull at a 90degree angle or so from the block. Its only maybe 100 to 150 yards down the hill. Also the hill is greater than a 45degree angle but I don't know exactly what it is.

 

[Jstpssng]

Unless it's really small wood I wouldn't even consider it with the machine which you list... no disrespect meant but a 45' (1/1 pitch) hill is a challenge even for the professional equipment I'm used to.
Your tractor weighs about 1200 LBs, a cord of wood weighs about 4 1/2 times that...
Once you hook onto a log of any size and get it partway up the hill; if something goes wrong it will be the tail wagging the dog... the dog being your tractor of course.

 

[MossRoad]

You still haven't said how big these trees are. And, if they are too big, and since its going to be firewood, you can always cut them into smaller pieces and make more hauls to control the weight.

 

[caver]

I use an EZBoardwalk log arch hooked to my ATV which you can get for about 950$ and located about an hour and a half from St Louis. But it sounds like a pretty steep hill you are dealing with. I use that setup as I can take the Yamaha Grizzly were the tractor won't go without gettinga roll-over trophy.

 

[10acreheaven]

ok, lol.....I am planning on cutting the fire wood down the hill where the trees are and loading them into a "cart" or "sled" and pulling only what can safely be pulled up the hill. Sorry, I should have stated that. it's only for firewood not for resale of timber or anything like that. i'm loving how helpful everyone is on the site!! so I think I can do it with the snatch block on the tree, using a sled full (only what I can handle) of cut up 18" logs and pull it up the hill. Do you guys think that is a good plan?

 

[MossRoad]

ok, lol.....I am planning on cutting the fire wood down the hill where the trees are and loading them into a "cart" or "sled" and pulling only what can safely be pulled up the hill. Sorry, I should have stated that. it's only for firewood not for resale of timber or anything like that. i'm loving how helpful everyone is on the site!! so I think I can do it with the snatch block on the tree, using a sled full (only what I can handle) of cut up 18" logs and pull it up the hill. Do you guys think that is a good plan?

I think 18" logs will roll out of a sled at 45 degrees. I'd pull up 4'-8'-12', etc... logs (depending on how big they are) one or several at a time and cut them to length at the top.

 

[10acreheaven]

good point!!

 

[Mudfarmer]

Here's my cheap technique: put a sturdy two inch receiver (like you would use for a trailer ball) on your three point hitch (such giszmos available on Ebay under "three point hitch" items). Watch for a Harbor Freight sale and pick up 1) a 9000 lb rescue winch for around $300, 2) a 2 inch receiver winch plate rated at 5000 lb for under $100, and 3) a set of heavy duty jumper cables for around $20 dollars. You get the picture. The winch attaches to the three point via the two inch receiver (also can be used on your pickup - I put a front-end two inch receiver on my Chev Silverado). Extend the winch cables with the jumper cables to reach the battery and you are in business. Attach the winch with the alligator clips. Pick up a couple of snatch blocks and short lengths of chain so you can direct your cable around standing tree and over bumps by strategic placement of the pullies. I wrap the chains I use to attach pullies to standing trees in old feed bags so as not to bang up the bark. It also helps to let the wood dry over the summer to reduce its weight. You may note that the winch has more capacity than the weight of most CUTs so you may want to chain the tractor FEL to a tree in order not to pull it down the hill! Usually though brakes, wheel blocks and a dug in loader will do the trick.

Either that or have the wife pack it out.

Forty cords in the woodshed.

Mf