Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[WinterDeere]

Someone I know said he had a pin oak tree in his backyard he was going to have taken down. I thought if he just gets it dropped I’ll haul it out of there for free just to get the firewood. Once I saw the tree I didn’t make the offer. It’s huge, maybe 42” in diameter or a little larger.

I've brought home many very large oaks, in fact there was a period where nearly everything I was dragging home was 3 - 5 ft DBH oaks. They get heavy quick, thanks to that old R-squared rule. The heaviest individual rounds I've ever split were just shy of 60" diameter white oak, and at 20" lengths weighed right around 2000 lb. each.

I always bring logs home whole, and buck them to length at home, but I do have to cut any oak The biggest problem with these big sticks, other than the wear and tear handling those big rounds puts on your body, is fastening them down in a solid-side trailer. I take some winding hilly roads getting home, and anyone who knows old PA roads know they're barely wide enough for two small cars to pass, and zero shoulders... the edge of the road usually rolls straight into a drainage ditch. I always envision a single 5000+ lb. stick rolling around in my trailer, the inertia of it taking my 2000 lb. trailer right off the road as I drive around a corner.

My trailer is only GVWR = 7000 lb., and with a curb weight near 2000 lb., this leaves room for only 5k lb. payload. That means I usually have to cut any oak much larger than 31" diameter to less than my usual 15 feet. Then there's that whole game of trying to tie the short stubby round thing down in the middle of the trailer, centered over the front axle to manage the hitch weight on a 1/2 ton pickup.

 

[deezler]

I always bring logs home whole, and buck them to length at home, but I do have to cut any oak The biggest problem with these big sticks, other than the wear and tear handling those big rounds puts on your body, is fastening them down in a solid-side trailer.

My trailer is only GVWR = 7000 lb., and with a curb weight near 2000 lb., this leaves room for only 5k lb. payload. That means I usually have to cut any oak much larger than 31" diameter to less than my usual 15 feet. Then there's that whole game of trying to tie the short stubby round thing down in the middle of the trailer, centered over the front axle to manage the hitch weight on a 1/2 ton pickup.

Gosh that sounds like a whole lot of work just to get a firewood pole to your property. Why bother with such huge logs and rounds?

 

[arrow]

I've brought home many very large oaks, in fact there was a period where nearly everything I was dragging home was 3 - 5 ft DBH oaks. They get heavy quick, thanks to that old R-squared rule. The heaviest individual rounds I've ever split were just shy of 60" diameter white oak, and at 20" lengths weighed right around 2000 lb. each.

I always bring logs home whole, and buck them to length at home, but I do have to cut any oak The biggest problem with these big sticks, other than the wear and tear handling those big rounds puts on your body, is fastening them down in a solid-side trailer. I take some winding hilly roads getting home, and anyone who knows old PA roads know they're barely wide enough for two small cars to pass, and zero shoulders... the edge of the road usually rolls straight into a drainage ditch. I always envision a single 5000+ lb. stick rolling around in my trailer, the inertia of it taking my 2000 lb. trailer right off the road as I drive around a corner.

My trailer is only GVWR = 7000 lb., and with a curb weight near 2000 lb., this leaves room for only 5k lb. payload. That means I usually have to cut any oak much larger than 31" diameter to less than my usual 15 feet. Then there's that whole game of trying to tie the short stubby round thing down in the middle of the trailer, centered over the front axle to manage the hitch weight on a 1/2 ton pickup.

You might not believe this, but what curtails log rolling in trailers beyond a strap are splitting wedges hammered under the stem.
The weight of the stem itself prevents the wedge displacement.
Keep it under a hundred and you should be good.
What are you using to mount such manly stems into the trailer?

 

[WinterDeere]

Gosh that sounds like a whole lot of work just to get a firewood pole to your property. Why bother with such huge logs and rounds?

Usually, just because it needs to be taken away. That massive one, which was actually 6-7 feet diameter at knee height but only 5 feet diameter at breast height (DBH), fell in the picnic grove at my church. They needed it gone for an upcoming picnic.

The rest mostly came from an elderly friend's land, and he was supplying me 10 - 20 full cords per year, in addition to helping me out in a few other ways. So I was happy to help him in the two ways I could:

1. Cleaning up his trails, woods, and hedgerows, by making that stuff go away.
2. Harvesting the small with the big, and leaving all the smaller/manageable stuff for him to process.

He used to do all of this stuff himself when he was younger, but he was in his final decade at that point, and so I was doing what I could to help him... while getting free oak out of it!

The most recent batch of big stuff has been all ash, which while huge, weighs a heck of a lot less. In fact, I'll be taking down a 50" diameter ash from the property behind my house this year, as a favor for a neighbor. Again, he keeps some of the smaller stuff that he can manage, but he just has no ability to handle the bigger rounds with his equipment.

 

[WinterDeere]

You might not believe this, but what curtails log rolling in trailers beyond a strap are splitting wedges hammered under the stem.
The weight of the stem itself prevents the wedge displacement.
Keep it under a hundred and you should be good.
What are you using to mount such manly stems into the trailer?

I should make some nice wedges, maybe from 4x4 PT?

I've been settling for jamming 4x4 blocks under each edge, or smaller branch wood (6") when I don't have enough blocks with me, and then strapping the whole thing down to big eye hooks I mounted down low in the corners of the trailer.

Once I actually managed to get straps under and around a big oak stick of 5000# weight, but that basically used up all of my energy for the day, it's not something I can always count on repeating.

 

[arrow]

I should make some nice wedges, maybe from 4x4 PT?

I've been settling for jamming 4x4 blocks under each edge, or smaller branch wood (6") when I don't have enough blocks with me, and then strapping the whole thing down to big eye hooks I mounted down low in the corners of the trailer.

Once I actually managed to get straps under and around a big oak stick of 5000# weight, but that basically used up all of my energy for the day, it's not something I can always count on repeating.

I hate delivering on roads like you mention.
Having a 4 ton tractor mounted makes for some puckering circumstances especially if a 10 wheeler is coming the opposite way.
Many a time I’ve had to suck in the mirrors on the tow vehicle just to get by.

 

[arrow]

I should make some nice wedges, maybe from 4x4 PT?

I've been settling for jamming 4x4 blocks under each edge, or smaller branch wood (6") when I don't have enough blocks with me, and then strapping the whole thing down to big eye hooks I mounted down low in the corners of the trailer.

Once I actually managed to get straps under and around a big oak stick of 5000# weight, but that basically used up all of my energy for the day, it's not something I can always count on repeating.

My old logging boss used to make wedges for stem lifting out of wooden baseball bats.
He’d cut off the end nob and beat them under the stem.
Said his grand pop taught him that.

 

[WinterDeere]

I hate delivering on roads like you mention.
Having a 4 ton tractor mounted makes for some puckering circumstances especially if a 10 wheeler is coming the opposite way.
Many a time I’ve had to suck in the mirrors on the tow vehicle just to get by.

I used to work at a tubing place along the Delaware River, in Point Pleasant PA. That section of River Road is winding and narrow, but has a lot of quarry truck traffic, in addition to our old re-purposed school busses full of patrons, and usually me driving a van towing a 30 foot long canoe trailer loaded with 20-30 canoes. There was a section of the road the bus drivers called "Crinkle Valley", because of the number of mirrors and side trims they lost to the quarry trucks, in that spot right near the Treasure Island Boy Scout camp.

One of my jobs at that place was replacing a few school bus mirrors almost every morning.

 

[arrow]

I should make some nice wedges, maybe from 4x4 PT?

I've been settling for jamming 4x4 blocks under each edge, or smaller branch wood (6") when I don't have enough blocks with me, and then strapping the whole thing down to big eye hooks I mounted down low in the corners of the trailer.

Once I actually managed to get straps under and around a big oak stick of 5000# weight, but that basically used up all of my energy for the day, it's not something I can always count on repeating.

Winter
Just came through your state this past weekend.
Who thought to make 78 only two lanes?
That’s another road if I was delivering on that I wouldn’t want to maneuver with an 18 wheeler of which there are about a million of.

 

[WinterDeere]

Winter
Just came through your state this past weekend.
Who thought to make 78 only two lanes?
That’s another road if I was delivering on that I wouldn’t want to maneuver with an 18 wheeler of which there are about a million of.

lol... 78 is one of our best roads! At least you weren't stuck on 222! The two parallel each other east/west, through the Allentown / Bethlehem / Nazareth / Easton corridor, so there's always the debate on which to take.

78 rarely has accidents, really just a few per month. But due to the high fraction of truck traffic, big hills and high speed, the accidents they have are always spectacular.

222 is the opposite, there must be damn near 5 accidents per hour on that road, but no one can get going fast enough for it to be of any great consequence.

PA has some bad roads, but our taxes are maybe the lowest among the northeastern states. If you ever really want to feel invigorated, try the Schuylkill Expressway, deservedly nicknamed the Shurekill Deathway. Always makes out-of-towners pucker and grab the dash.

 

[bearthebruce]

@WinterDeere your posts are cracking me up. Been a Philly burbs boy all my life...

I have to travel I-81 all the way to the southwest corner of Virginny to get to the property on which I tractor... that too can be an adventure with all the 18 wheelers, hills and valleys in the Shenandoah...

I expect all can relate to crazy roads in their areas. Have you ever been on I5 in San Diego?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Gosh that sounds like a whole lot of work just to get a firewood pole to your property. Why bother with such huge logs and rounds?

They are really no big deal if you have decent equipment.

I take all the big stuff I can get; there's HUGE amounts of excellent firewood in those big rounds!

SR

 

[deezler]

They are really no big deal if you have decent equipment.

I take all the big stuff I can get; there's HUGE amounts of excellent firewood in those big rounds!

SR

Oh for sure. It's just so much work to chainsaw through giant logs to make rounds, and you have to use heavy equipment or have a lift on your splitter just to chunk through it. It's a lot less efficient processing than just staying in the ~20" and under range, in my experience.

My retired neighbor thought he was hooking me up by delivering some 30"+ pieces from a maple trunk a while back - 2 years later its still in a pile in my woods because I don't care to wrestle with it.

 

[LouNY]

Heck you can always rip the "big" rounds to make them easier to handle a sharp saw will zip right through and give you lots of long curly shavings in the process.

 

[JeepHead]

Oh for sure. It's just so much work to chainsaw through giant logs to make rounds, and you have to use heavy equipment or have a lift on your splitter just to chunk through it. It's a lot less efficient processing than just staying in the ~20" and under range, in my experience.

My retired neighbor thought he was hooking me up by delivering some 30"+ pieces from a maple trunk a while back - 2 years later its still in a pile in my woods because I don't care to wrestle with it.

your splitter not go vertical? Or sometimes I will use my grapple and sit those big splits on the splitter. A few weeks ago I was man handling massive splits on the splitter and could barely walk due to sciatica for like 3 weeks.

 

[deezler]

your splitter not go vertical? Or sometimes I will use my grapple and sit those big splits on the splitter. A few weeks ago I was man handling massive splits on the splitter and could barely walk due to sciatica for like 3 weeks.

My splitter does go vertical but I tried it once and vowed never again. Wrestling 200lb round into place just to shave off one piece of firewood at a time, then bend over to pick everything up... no thanks. I like to keep everything up at working height.

 

[Jstpssng]

My splitter does go vertical but I tried it once and vowed never again. Wrestling 200lb round into place just to shave off one piece of firewood at a time, then bend over to pick everything up... no thanks. I like to keep everything up at working height.

I'm with you. Anything on my property over 12" or so is something I loaded on the truck by hand, and I enjoy doing that less and less. There were a few pieces last year which I picked up with the grapple to set on the splitter. How I got those in the truck to bring them home is a mystery to me.

 

[alexpops]

@WinterDeere your posts are cracking me up. Been a Philly burbs boy all my life...

I have to travel I-81 all the way to the southwest corner of Virginny to get to the property on which I tractor... that too can be an adventure with all the 18 wheelers, hills and valleys in the Shenandoah...

I expect all can relate to crazy roads in their areas. Have you ever been on I5 in San Diego?

The problem in CA is the drivers more than the roads. I've driven I5 from one end to the other in CA & the most frustrating section (IMO) is the stretch between Grapevine & SF. EVERYONE insists on driving in the passing lane & the only way to make any real time is weaving in & out passing on the right.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Heck you can always rip the "big" rounds to make them easier to handle a sharp saw will zip right through and give you lots of long curly shavings in the process.

That's exactly right, it's very easy to do and those shavings make the best fire starter!

I always keep a tub of them around for just that purpose,

SR

 

[CalG]

That's exactly right, it's very easy to do and those shavings make the best fire starter!

I always keep a tub of them around for just that purpose,

SR

You wear the same sawing chaps that I do! I forget the brand, but mine just never bind me up or show any sign of wear.

I just rinse them in the shower after use and they are just like new again!

;-)