skidding logs

[oldballs]

Just following this subject......I don't do much log dragging. ... It seems to me that there two different situations here......One is the use of a winch....Two is just dragging from the drawbar.........and maybe.... Three is an effort to keep the butt up out of the dirt per sawing. Safety and labor and time are other issues. Looks like all have been addressed. 0.2 cents

Cheers,
Mike

 

[John_Mc]

Can someone explain to me how you use this style choker, I understand about the chain hook wrapping around log but fail to see how you attach choker to tractor to pull....

View attachment 821999

You mount a grab hook on your tractor, or plate with slots cut into it that the chain will drop in to

It's actually designed to be used with a logging winch. You would put the choker on the log then grab the chain with the hook on the end of the winch line or one of the sliders on the winch cable. If you are interested you can see it in use this video I made a while back. The description of the set up for log winching starts at about the 3:00 minute mark, with a bit of detail of the choker on a log starting at about 3:40 and a better shot of the keyhole slider on the cable for grabbing an additional choker starting at about 6:00. (No fancy videography or editing here, and I'm not looking for subscriptions to my YouTube channel. This was just made for a friend who was curious about a Crop Tree Release project I was working on in my woods.)

 

[dstig1]

Yes, normally used with a skidding winch, but you can get creative with them. The long "stick" on the end allows you to thread it under the log easily and then you hook the chain back through the slide hook and the tail hangs out with some chain and the stick that you can either hook onto a skidding winch cable hook or grab with a grab hook on another chain or cable. Just make sure you orient the slide hook so the chain doesn't want to fall out when you pull it. A lot of times the hook has a crook bent in it so it wants to poke back up after threading under the log and not dig into the ground too much. Trying to get a plain old chain under a log that doesn't have a gap below it is very difficult...

 

[jmhoying]

I made a simple cart using a couple old lawn mower tires. It has a 3' tongue that is ratchet strapped to the tree.

 

[oldpilot]

I'd buck the oak into firewood lengths and bring them home by trailer or front-end loader. (Leaves the rubbish in the woods, too, rather than importing it.)

 

[Little Red Tractor]

all of the trees we move are in hardwood river bottoms, we don't have any elevation changes to speak of, the only time I can think of that being an issue would be a creek crossing. I would have to look closer at the tractor but I believe the quick hitch would keep it from going into a tire and the draw bar being extended should keep it from hitting any thing else on the tractor. the log would have to be lifted very high to get above the draw bar and I don't think I have that much 3pt lift.

Thank you for bringing that up, I really don't want to tear something up!

Sounds like you're looking for an excuse to build something , so maybe fabricate a shield to fit the drawbar. That should ensure no log would get away and try to push you.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

When I was clearing land, I pushed trees down with my excavator, cut the root ball off and wrapped chains around the base of tree, attached to the boxblade and just dragged the whole tree with kioti 7320. Farthest I dragged was 300 yds but could easily gone furtherthese were 60 year old spruce, 18-20 inches and some oaks similar size.

If you are only pulling cut logs I doubt you will have any issues

 

[inchman]

We had several oak trees blow over this year and block trails so now I need to move them out. I was thinking of building something but then I saw this picture using a quick hitch and tongs. I have tongs so I could do this for free. any reason why I should build/buy something rather than just do this?

If this is something you plan to do more than once, build something like this log skidder. I made it for pulling logs out of the woods where my tractor can't get to (tight trees and steep hills). It works perfectly. Automatically picks the log off the ground when you move forward. If going down hill, it can't hit you because it will slowly come down and more friction on the ground will slow it to a stop. Stores easily as well. No weight for the tractor (or ATV, UTV, etc) to carry.

https://www.megageek.com/photo/photoa~1.nsf/a7ffeab012bbfb5b85256eb1007ca7f6/e41513e67c828daa85257d54007d2675?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,log

 

[Fields_mj]

FWIW, I skid all of my firewood out of the woods as logs (normally 30' to 45') where I use a log arch and winch to load them on my trailer. I cut mostly dead standing hickories, and they are normally in the 14" to 20" range. I do this because I need the tractor (27 hp 1983 Ford 1710) back at the house (45 miles away) to unload the trailer once I get it home. Whenever possible, I skid logs out with my truck (4wd F350). I do have my tractor in the woods a few times a year to bush hog the lanes and do other work, and I do skid logs with it when I need to, but the truck is a LOT faster, and its drivetrain can take a lot more abuse. Even when I have the tractor out, I use the truck as much as possible. I will normally skid 2 to 4 logs out at a time with the truck. With the tractor, I'm limited to one, or maybe 2 at a time depending on the size and length. The deciding factor on truck vs tractor is usually either the location of the tree and/or the ground conditions. I can get the tractor into smaller spaces and it can deal with softer ground conditions. Once I get the logs out to a landing area, I cut them to 15' as I load them on the trailer.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

 

[John_Mc]

If this is something you plan to do more than once, build something like this log skidder. I made it for pulling logs out of the woods where my tractor can't get to (tight trees and steep hills). It works perfectly. Automatically picks the log off the ground when you move forward. If going down hill, it can't hit you because it will slowly come down and more friction on the ground will slow it to a stop. Stores easily as well. No weight for the tractor (or ATV, UTV, etc) to carry.

https://www.megageek.com/photo/photoa~1.nsf/a7ffeab012bbfb5b85256eb1007ca7f6/e41513e67c828daa85257d54007d2675?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,log

Your log arch looks like a heavier-duty version of the Norwood Skidmate.

Nice protection on the wheels.

 

[DeathMerchant]

You could also drop a piece of round bar in your quick hitch as a stopper.

 

[Mudfarmer]

In areas where I don't want to scrape up the trail or road, I have often lifted the back end of a log with the FEL, put a heavy-duty hand truck underneath and chained the handle to the log. Gives two wheels to run on rather than being drug by the butt and rutting the trail. The front end has been addressed enough in preceding posts.

 

[Billybob14]

I do something similar when I drag Douglas Fir trees and it works great. I have also mounted a winch on the front of my tractor so that I can drag logs sideways to get them lined up for towing parallel to the path.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I skidded out a bunch of them yesterday,

SR

 

[MarblemountLane]

I’m a low budget retired guy. Bought a good boom pole (County Line brand, I think) for the three point on my old (serial number comes back 1959) Massey 204. Had a small “Powerwinch” in the shop, so mounted it on the boom pole. These boxy things are mostly for loading boats, power in but release the friction to pull out, about 7/32” line. Added a fall block, so this little 3,000 lb. winch can pull more. Is this now the world’s smallest logging skidder? Maybe, but it works.

We’ve taken to bucking 16’ logs, hauling them home on my 16’ trailer, so we can separate any nice ones for the Alaskan sawmill, then cutting 16” wood and splitting (splitter right next to wood shed). We’re mostly doing cleanup on our woodlot, where we did selective logging in 2016, so taking what needs to be removed, instead of shopping for prime firewood (it all burns). This has worked fine, though it probably helps that I’m mostly following where feller/buncher and processor worked in 2016, not doing much to build skid roads.

Boom poles are handy, and this is much better than dragging in the dirt with a 4x4 truck.

 

[Thereisagod]

If you drag a log down a hill, what are the odds that it will try to buck up against the back of your tractor with nothing to stop it? I only mention this because the tractor tree winches seem to be designed so that the butt of the log is secured against the winch for towing.

Wouldn't the weight of the log dig the tires into the ground thus preventing loss of downhill traction - not to mention the weight of the tree "dragging" behind.

 

[CalG]

I went down today to try this out on two logs I already had pulled out, one was 28” diameter on the small end and the other was 32”. Apparently my tongs aren’t big enough. They wouldn’t slip down far enough and just slid up when I tried to pick up. I’ll look for a larger set this week.

Get your chainsaw out and cut a couple of opposed notches to "waist down" those butts. Be generous so the tongs don't bind.

 

[Mallard1]

picked up a cheap set of 32" tongs and played with two logs we had drug up already. they were 28" and 31" and 22' long. one a red oak the other white oak. just putting the tongs on the hook for the quick hitch worked great. the upside U of the quick hitch and the draw bar keep anything from hitting the tractor. it was as simple as backing up and just setting the tongs on the log, lift up and drive off. the bigger log slightly lifted the front of the tractor when I took off with just an empty bucket but set down as soon as the log moved.

this weekend we are going to cut up some more trees and see how many we can get out. will probably put forks on one tractor and grapple on the other and put a 9' log up front and pull a 19' log. we will then load on a goose neck trailer and get them the rest of the way out of the woods. next step is to unload with an actual log loader that is about 2 miles away where we can bank them and haul to the mill on a log truck.

last time we did this 11 each 9' logs was very heavy on the trailer, not sure of the weight per gooseneck load.

I think by this time next year we will probably pick up an actual 3pt logging winch and see how that works.

 

[dstig1]

I think by this time next year we will probably pick up an actual 3pt logging winch and see how that works.

Oh you'll be in Tall Cotton when you do that! A logging winch is an amazing piece of equipment and a big time saver.