Moving logs

[Bendboater]

OP here.
Wow, you guys are quick.
Thanks for all the ideas.
- The Log Dolly looks nifty, but with already a dozen logs out there and maybe another dozen yet to come, that would be quite a few trips.
- Yes, I could load the pallet forks easily enough, but maybe not so with the 3-pt cargo carrier?. No big deal as long as I use the smaller logs there, great exercise too....and probably a sore back. Thinking of making a rear frame for the cargo carrier to keep logs secure (right now, it's just a metal frame with two "forks" sticking out). That would give me logs in the front on pallet forks and logs in the rear on the cargo carrier ...... which probably help put some weight back onto the rear tires too.
-Skidding would really tear up the ground here. I don't care, but my wife would and I like her cooking too much to piss her off. I could rig a high line from other trees in the area. Would probably cost me quite a bit for the cable and rigging....but would still be fun to rig However, there isn't a good, clear straight shot so would have to use multiple high-lines.....and then still move the wood with the tractor. Great idea though given my desire to leave the area as natural as possible.
- Nice looking truck, though perhaps just a bit overkill for this project....though not as overkill my idea of bringing in heavy lift helicopter
- Pine is about $200 to $240 a cord here, cut into rounds (not split). I said 8 cords earlier, but there may be more, quite a bit more. Heck, I probably could have gotten 40 to 60 cords if I had talked to the loggers sooner and/or be willing to take huge diameter trees.....but why be greedy ..... or kill myself moving that much wood.

 

[OldPaint]

You said pine? For firewood? Umm, this is generally not a good idea unless you have some kinda wood burning system I don't know about. Not telling you what to do or how, but I've cut, split, hauled, stacked and fed my share of firewood when I was a kid to a very hungry brick fireplace without a damper that ate 10 inch diameter 32 inch long unseasoned red oak logs in about 3 hours, and we NEVER put any pine in it other than some seasoned knots or splinters (kindling) for starting the fire. In fact, I did all the wood cutting for our house and my step-grandparents, including their fireplace and wood-burning stove. Never even considered pine because of the hazards from the resins. If you can get it dry enough to burn, it burns out like paper. You have more than a slight advantage in the desert for drying, but I can only imagine how much turpentine and resin will be in it because of the slow growth. Here, a pine is big enough for pulp wood in 5 years, lumber in 10. Very thick growth rings.

Burning pine usually creates a lot of soot, creosote, and turpentine, which gets very hazardous very quickly. If you've never seen or heard a chimney get a soot fire, well, let's just say there are some things best not experienced. Mine sorta sounded like a Saturn V rocket turned upside down, and looked like it too. Every neighbor that could see my house called the fire department when they heard it and then saw it. I didn't get to see what it looked like outside, because I was too busy trying to get it shut down. I managed to get it under control (closed the damper nearly off) before they got here, but you could smell the hot metal in that chimney. Apparently, the previous owners used to burn a lot of the pine from the back yard in it, and didn't bother to have the chimney cleaned. Didn't need cleaning after that night. I very nearly lost my house, and would have if the damper hadn't choked the fire back. Should have made sure that was an inspection item before I bought the place.

'Twould be smarter to find a buddy with a sawmill and mill that stuff in to rough lumber, dimensioned so it can be finished if it's knot-free if there's a planer mill in your area. Especially if they're straight. Talk about some good free shed materials. Kinda wish I was near ya. I need a new shed. Depending on how many you have, and how much spare time you have, it might be time to invest in a mill. A decent one can be had for about $5K. Have you seen the price of lumber lately? Especially 12 foot long lumber! If you're in the High Desert, you're probably talking air-dried rough-cut lumber in two weeks, especially if you dry it in summer. Just keep the sun off it, or it'll crawl off by itself. That's some big bucks, and the mill would nearly pay for itself with the first cutting. It looks like a lotta work, though.

 

[4570Man]

You said pine? For firewood? Umm, this is generally not a good idea unless you have some kinda wood burning system I don't know about. Not telling you what to do or how, but I've cut, split, hauled, stacked and fed my share of firewood when I was a kid to a very hungry brick fireplace without a damper that ate 10 inch diameter 32 inch long unseasoned red oak logs in about 3 hours, and we NEVER put any pine in it other than some seasoned knots or splinters (kindling) for starting the fire. In fact, I did all the wood cutting for our house and my step-grandparents, including their fireplace and wood-burning stove. Never even considered pine because of the hazards from the resins. If you can get it dry enough to burn, it burns out like paper. You have more than a slight advantage in the desert for drying, but I can only imagine how much turpentine and resin will be in it because of the slow growth. Here, a pine is big enough for pulp wood in 5 years, lumber in 10. Very thick growth rings.

Burning pine usually creates a lot of soot, creosote, and turpentine, which gets very hazardous very quickly. If you've never seen or heard a chimney get a soot fire, well, let's just say there are some things best not experienced. Mine sorta sounded like a Saturn V rocket turned upside down, and looked like it too. Every neighbor that could see my house called the fire department when they heard it and then saw it. I didn't get to see what it looked like outside, because I was too busy trying to get it shut down. I managed to get it under control (closed the damper nearly off) before they got here, but you could smell the hot metal in that chimney. Apparently, the previous owners used to burn a lot of the pine from the back yard in it, and didn't bother to have the chimney cleaned. Didn't need cleaning after that night. I very nearly lost my house, and would have if the damper hadn't choked the fire back. Should have made sure that was an inspection item before I bought the place.

'Twould be smarter to find a buddy with a sawmill and mill that stuff in to rough lumber, dimensioned so it can be finished if it's knot-free if there's a planer mill in your area. Especially if they're straight. Talk about some good free shed materials. Kinda wish I was near ya. I need a new shed. Depending on how many you have, and how much spare time you have, it might be time to invest in a mill. A decent one can be had for about $5K. Have you seen the price of lumber lately? Especially 12 foot long lumber! If you're in the High Desert, you're probably talking air-dried rough-cut lumber in two weeks, especially if you dry it in summer. Just keep the sun off it, or it'll crawl off by itself. That's some big bucks, and the mill would nearly pay for itself with the first cutting. It looks like a lotta work, though.

I don’t disagree pine is terrible firewood but that’s all they have out west.

 

[Bendboater]

Yes, in this part of Oregon, we only have lodgepole and ponderosa pine, fir, Juniper (of which I have plenty) and Tamarack. Most folks here burn pine. which is wonderful ....... when compared to Juniper anyway.

There is Oak and Maple only about 60 miles to the west of us, on the other side of the 12,000' high Cascades (of course, the passes aren't that high, but still a lot of energy just to move firewood around).

Thank you all for the thoughts. I suspect the most reasonable way to move the wood will be to carry as large of logs as I can (maybe after they dry out for a year or so) on both the forks in front and the cargo carrier in the rear.....though I still like the high-line idea proposed by Coby

 

[oosik]

Hey - I have pines. Ponderosa pines only - so I don't know any different. We burned pine for 15 years and had no problems.

Anyhow - consider this. From my handy-dandy log weight chart. A 16" green pine will weigh ~ 64# per running foot. 12 x 64 = 768#. What weight will you be able to lift with the pallet forks on your FEL? With something or other attached to the 3-point? Will you need to cut the logs in half to move them??? Dragging a log that will be cut to length - bad idea. Sand/dirt rubbed into the bark will rapidly dull the chain on a chain saw.

Unless you use Coby's high-line, you WILL be leaving tracks of some kind. If you are going to let them dry for a year - get them up off the ground so they don't rot.

 

[lennyzx11]

To me minimizing ground damage is your biggest want.

I would

1. Make a trip out on the tractor and lift/ stack them all with the forks best you can into small stacks off the ground with a couple of small poles for the cribbing. Stacks big enough to carry on pallet forks or carryall. This is to get them off the ground for rot and make it easier to load later.
2. Load the carryall by hand rather than stacking in a pile. If you have to stack them, may as well load them. Weight first on the rear is why the carryall first.
3. Load the pallet forks a good full load.
4. Bring that load back, cut, split, and stack it all.

That should be a day or two to be done. This allows ground to recover somewhat between trips.

Then as the urge hits you, drive back down, stack some more that have gotten thrown over the fence since last time to keep them off the ground and be ready for pickup. Bring another load back and cut split stack. Try to stay out of your previous tracks.

When all the wood is over the fence you’re gonna get and stacked in piles, then bring up a load at a time on the front and rear trying not to drive in your same tracks as last time.
With a carryall frame only, you can use it like a set of pallet forks if you planned ahead making your piles on top of cribbing. Back in and pickup, then pickup another load on the front and off you go.

This would allow the ground to recover between trips and minimize the trips.

Bonus if you can do some trips on frozen ground. Then bring up what you can during the freeze.

 

[MossRoad]

If you have pallet forks, why don't you just pick them up and drive them to their final destination?

If you have pallet forks, why don't you just pick them up and drive them to their final destination? You'd be done yesterday afternoon.

 

[Bendboater]

To me minimizing ground damage is your biggest want.

I would

1. Make a trip out on the tractor and lift/ stack them all with the forks best you can into small stacks off the ground with a couple of small poles for the cribbing. Stacks big enough to carry on pallet forks or carryall. This is to get them off the ground for rot and make it easier to load later.
2. Load the carryall by hand rather than stacking in a pile. If you have to stack them, may as well load them. Weight first on the rear is why the carryall first.
3. Load the pallet forks a good full load.
4. Bring that load back, cut, split, and stack it all.

That should be a day or two to be done. This allows ground to recover somewhat between trips.

Then as the urge hits you, drive back down, stack some more that have gotten thrown over the fence since last time to keep them off the ground and be ready for pickup. Bring another load back and cut split stack. Try to stay out of your previous tracks.

When all the wood is over the fence you’re gonna get and stacked in piles, then bring up a load at a time on the front and rear trying not to drive in your same tracks as last time.
With a carryall frame only, you can use it like a set of pallet forks if you planned ahead making your piles on top of cribbing. Back in and pickup, then pickup another load on the front and off you go.

This would allow the ground to recover between trips and minimize the trips.

Bonus if you can do some trips on frozen ground. Then bring up what you can during the freeze.

I think I will do something along these lines, moving the logs when the ground is mostly frozen. No need to purchase anything for a one time job and no rush to get the job done. And, if the ground damage becomes too great, I'll simply have a big bonfire out there and not bother moving the logs at all

Thank you all for helping me brainstorm through the problem.

 

[MossRoad]

Multiple light load trips will cause significantly less soil damage than fewer heavy load trips. Loading up your machine front and back with as much as you can carry at a time will cause more soil damage VS multiple light trips. As mentioned, you have pallet forks. Just pick up a log and go. Repeat until done. Stay on the same path for all trips. If there are any ruts when done, fill them in with some top soil and the freeze-thaw cycle will even them out. Easy peasy. You're over thinking a simple job.

7 ways to reduce compaction | Successful Farming

 

[deezler]

Lol @ the skyline idea, so complex.

OP, You already have the right tool - SSQA forks ont he front loader. You can just.... pick them up and drive them away. If you can't get proficient at forking them and need to roll them manually, then yeah you may have to cut them up shorter. But I bet you can get the hang of it (it really doesn't matter if you jam the forks into the dirt a little bit to get under the logs).