Power Line Logging Project
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luvmexfood
Silver Member
Probably worth selling except for right now the price of logs is way down. Two price drops in the last three weeks. Be sure if you buck to length to allow extra for the mill to square. Some want 6" to trim off. You can haul them on your car hauler if you have enough truck to pull them. I regularly haul loads on average of 400 bd ft of logs with my F150 pick-up and a 16' utility trailer.
Winter before last the power company cut out a right of way here. Got the logs, they were good big poplar some 36", and sold them. They were right beside a paved road so I got the log yard to send over one of their selfloaders and get them. Didn't have to skid but he moved 3 times to get them all. Cost me about $100.00 per hour for the truck. Well worth it. As far as picking them up with your tractor all you have to really do is one end at a time. I do it all the time with just a boompole and a tongue mounted winch on the trailer. Can explain in more detail if you decide to do it.
Winter before last the power company cut out a right of way here. Got the logs, they were good big poplar some 36", and sold them. They were right beside a paved road so I got the log yard to send over one of their selfloaders and get them. Didn't have to skid but he moved 3 times to get them all. Cost me about $100.00 per hour for the truck. Well worth it. As far as picking them up with your tractor all you have to really do is one end at a time. I do it all the time with just a boompole and a tongue mounted winch on the trailer. Can explain in more detail if you decide to do it.
MossRoad
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X2! :thumbsup:
Being the property they are going to clear is only fifty foot wide by a quarter mile or so I have to wait until the power company comes in and marks the road. They were here before with some slick GPS surveying handheld map that seemed to be accurate to a few inches. They were looking for endangered wildlife and wetlands. Got in touch with a forester and he will come out and mark the trees for me prior the feller buncher chopping them down so they are not destroyed in the process. Then I can have a better idea of how many board feet and what species of trees are available.
Still have to stop by the mill and see if they have a self loading truck and what it would cost for them to pick up the logs. I'm sure that once they start cutting someone will come knocking on my door and look to buy up the lumber.
I can haul about 5K lbs at a time with my truck and trailer. Don't know how many logs that might be perhaps six or seven at a time. I will have to figure out my costs vs having a logger or the mill do the hauling work.
I will also have to figure in a good chainsaw that starts easy or at least I have a good excuse to buy a new one. The ones I have are thirty years old or a cheap Poulan I picked up a few years ago that's a pain to start. I have a Stihl dealer nearby so that's the brand I think I will look at. Any suggestions? The old saws I have are a Craftsman 3.7 with an 18" bar and a Homelite 14", and the poulan pro with an 18" bar. They all run with some TLC but none of them are trouble free and easy to work with.
So far so good keep the suggestions coming.
Still have to stop by the mill and see if they have a self loading truck and what it would cost for them to pick up the logs. I'm sure that once they start cutting someone will come knocking on my door and look to buy up the lumber.
I can haul about 5K lbs at a time with my truck and trailer. Don't know how many logs that might be perhaps six or seven at a time. I will have to figure out my costs vs having a logger or the mill do the hauling work.
I will also have to figure in a good chainsaw that starts easy or at least I have a good excuse to buy a new one. The ones I have are thirty years old or a cheap Poulan I picked up a few years ago that's a pain to start. I have a Stihl dealer nearby so that's the brand I think I will look at. Any suggestions? The old saws I have are a Craftsman 3.7 with an 18" bar and a Homelite 14", and the poulan pro with an 18" bar. They all run with some TLC but none of them are trouble free and easy to work with.
So far so good keep the suggestions coming.
dave1949
Super Star Member
Husqvarna or Echo is what I would look at.
Echos tend to be heavier than a comparable Husky. They also cost less, and last time I knew had a 5year powerhead warrantee. (My last Husky lasted 3years befors the crankshaft failed, doing so much damage that it wasn't worth fixing. 
) I have an Echo CS520 that was a good saw for about 6 years... trouble is that I've had it for 7.
5K would be about 500 board feet. If you go that route be careful though, a good sized log can weigh 500lbs or better; your BX only weighs about 1500 lbs. (A 16 foot log, 12" on the top end is about 100 board feet.)
Felling trees, bringing them out and merchandizing them is fun, plus you will be able to write off that new saw on your taxes. :thumbsup:
) I have an Echo CS520 that was a good saw for about 6 years... trouble is that I've had it for 7.5K would be about 500 board feet. If you go that route be careful though, a good sized log can weigh 500lbs or better; your BX only weighs about 1500 lbs. (A 16 foot log, 12" on the top end is about 100 board feet.)
Felling trees, bringing them out and merchandizing them is fun, plus you will be able to write off that new saw on your taxes. :thumbsup:
smstonypoint
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I haven't seen the tax consequences discussed.
Are you be being paid for the ROW? That complicates the tax situation. A consulting forester or CPA could advise you as to the tax issues involved.
Ignoring the ROW complication, income from the sales of standing timber is subject to capital gains taxes, while income from the sales of logs is subject to ordinary income taxes (and FICA). This is my understanding of how this can be handled. A forester could value the standing timber (and your basis if you do not already know your basis) for purpose of calculating your capital gain. You could calculate the net income from the sale of logs as the revenue from log sales less the value of standing timber less logging expenses.
Steve
Birdhunter1
Veteran Member
Here's what you also need to think about; the power crew will want in-through-and out in a short time window. You will be working like crazy to be out of their way while being in the way, if you are asking about a chainsaw at this point I think you will be in over your head in the work required and hauling 5,000 lb loads at a time will make for alot of loads and very likely rough and/or muddy ground from where the trees are piled to where you are loading them.
Have you ever worked through one of those piles?
What I would do is work with the forester on the other ground you own (assuming you own more) and come up with a plan and have someone do it.
Have you ever worked through one of those piles?
What I would do is work with the forester on the other ground you own (assuming you own more) and come up with a plan and have someone do it.
2LaneCruzer
Super Member
We have a small mill in this area; he will come and pick up the logs and mill them for a 50/50 split. I don't know if mills in your area would work with you on the same basis, but I certainly would contact them.
