With Ash Borer, Longhorned Beetle, Gypsy Moth, Winter Moth, and a myriad of other invasive pests we try to discourage people from bring firewood from other places. Yet considering the outrageous prices that 3 sticks of wood goes for I can't really blame people for bringing their own. I look at the prices of the meager bundles sold and there isn't even enough to have a decent campfire.
Tractors and wood! Show your pics
- Thread starter Bota4me
- Start date
aeblank
Veteran Member
It's local only, and I keep it under a hard tonneau. Minimal issue, IMO, but yeah...
dadohead
Bronze Member
I'm new to this forum; a TON of knowledge here! Like so many here I do use my tractor to process wood; here is our story.
My JD 2520 (and my wife's help!) is indispensable in doing this job. After felling, I typically skid the trunk and top together (if possible) out of our woods and disassemble in our 'wood yard'... keeping the mess there. We built a new house 5 years ago that is heated with an outdoor wood burner. It uses ~7 cords/year. We try to get everything split and stacked before Easter for the following season. Due to the Emerald Ash Borer we are losing a lot of Ash trees this year but Elm, Oak, Maple, Hickory, Walnut, Iron Wood, Cherry, and Box Elder are also in the woods.
When I started processing wood 5 years ago I ordered an Omni-mfg Transformer quick hitch with the optional weight bracket plate, lift hook, and chain slots. Great tool!
The Artillian 36" forks stay on the tractor through most of the wood processing. I stack logs through the Fall/Winter and pluck them off in the Spring to buck. I'm getting older and cutting at a height that keeps my back straight is huge! The rounds pile up on each side; I just keep the center lane open for the tractor.
After continually stacking, covering, moving, and re-stacking wood that first year, we set out for change. I set-up a little "production line" to build "pods" to hold and dry wood. A local hardware store has many left over hardwood pallets for sale ($2/ea).
The first proto pod was built on a 48"x 48" pallet but the 2520 couldn't lift it when loaded. The final design is based on the more common 40"x 48" pallet. Heavy hardwoods and an aggressive fill sometimes creates a load that is all the 2520 can handle but becomes more reasonable 10 months later when the wood is dry.
I built 3 at a time; I think each 'batch' used 9 treated 8' studs. The highest cost item was the corrugated roof sheets. Four pods hold a cord of wood. I built 32 pods and usually have 3 or 4 left full in the Spring when burning season is over.
It was not a small investment but has been wonderful to use. When splitting, we place 2 empties behind the splitter and load them once. The wood is not handled again until it is used the next Winter. Love it!
The tractor has a front SB mounted through the Winter leaving the 3 point free for a rear blade or rear pallet forks. 2 pods are placed each week and the empties taken away. I do have to snow blow a path to and from the stash some weeks. The first year I had one issue when the loaded pods had froze to the ground; I could not lift several. The next year I fastened 3- 2"x2" runners to the bottom of each and laid treated 2x4's down on the ground before setting. Now the 2x4's have sunken flush and the pods lift off without issue. The system has been working well for us!
My JD 2520 (and my wife's help!) is indispensable in doing this job. After felling, I typically skid the trunk and top together (if possible) out of our woods and disassemble in our 'wood yard'... keeping the mess there. We built a new house 5 years ago that is heated with an outdoor wood burner. It uses ~7 cords/year. We try to get everything split and stacked before Easter for the following season. Due to the Emerald Ash Borer we are losing a lot of Ash trees this year but Elm, Oak, Maple, Hickory, Walnut, Iron Wood, Cherry, and Box Elder are also in the woods.
When I started processing wood 5 years ago I ordered an Omni-mfg Transformer quick hitch with the optional weight bracket plate, lift hook, and chain slots. Great tool!
The Artillian 36" forks stay on the tractor through most of the wood processing. I stack logs through the Fall/Winter and pluck them off in the Spring to buck. I'm getting older and cutting at a height that keeps my back straight is huge! The rounds pile up on each side; I just keep the center lane open for the tractor.
After continually stacking, covering, moving, and re-stacking wood that first year, we set out for change. I set-up a little "production line" to build "pods" to hold and dry wood. A local hardware store has many left over hardwood pallets for sale ($2/ea).
The first proto pod was built on a 48"x 48" pallet but the 2520 couldn't lift it when loaded. The final design is based on the more common 40"x 48" pallet. Heavy hardwoods and an aggressive fill sometimes creates a load that is all the 2520 can handle but becomes more reasonable 10 months later when the wood is dry.
I built 3 at a time; I think each 'batch' used 9 treated 8' studs. The highest cost item was the corrugated roof sheets. Four pods hold a cord of wood. I built 32 pods and usually have 3 or 4 left full in the Spring when burning season is over.
It was not a small investment but has been wonderful to use. When splitting, we place 2 empties behind the splitter and load them once. The wood is not handled again until it is used the next Winter. Love it!
The tractor has a front SB mounted through the Winter leaving the 3 point free for a rear blade or rear pallet forks. 2 pods are placed each week and the empties taken away. I do have to snow blow a path to and from the stash some weeks. The first year I had one issue when the loaded pods had froze to the ground; I could not lift several. The next year I fastened 3- 2"x2" runners to the bottom of each and laid treated 2x4's down on the ground before setting. Now the 2x4's have sunken flush and the pods lift off without issue. The system has been working well for us!
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^^^^
You've got a nice looking setup. A lot of people here and elsewhere use some type of handling like yours; IBC totes are quite popular. I still do it the old fashioned way, stacking it in my woodshed. At the end of the year I get to handle what I didn't burn again, or else it gets buried by the next year's firewood.
You've got a nice looking setup. A lot of people here and elsewhere use some type of handling like yours; IBC totes are quite popular. I still do it the old fashioned way, stacking it in my woodshed. At the end of the year I get to handle what I didn't burn again, or else it gets buried by the next year's firewood.
arrow
Super Member
Loved these pics.
Wondering how large an excavator needs to be in order to lift an 1800 lb stem in the manner your pic demonstrates.
4570Man
Super Star Member
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I can lift a ton to about half reach over the side and full reach in front of the blade and 2 tons at minimum reach over the blade with that machine.
Skeans1
Platinum Member
I didn’t think that through the other day but the fastest way to split a log is a shear style head you could split 4’ pretty quickly.
goeduck
Super Star Member
I stack my rows the other way, so as the rows get used up the shed empties left to right one year, right to left the next. The end that does not get burned one year is the first to burn the next.
Gordon Gould
Super Member
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Welcome to TBN. That's a great set-up dadohead. Real efficient. You have a very nice looking place there.
gg
deezler
Elite Member
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- Southeast MI
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Welcome Dado! Nice setup, well thought out. I also used wood pallets like that for my first few years.... most of mine didn't last long. When frozen to the ground, often my tractor loader would still lift them up, ripping the bottom boards off the pallet. Then as the wood started to rot, my screws would start pulling out of the 2x4 uprights and whatnot. IBC totes were the permanent solution for me. But my wooden pallet rigs that did survive, I now use for storing rounds prior to splitting. That way I can bring the pallet of rounds right up to my splitter, either holding in the air on my loader, or set down on a table or stack of pallets. I truly hate bending over to pick up heavy rounds off the ground...
Beautiful property you have there in the land of John Deere (Horicon isn't on strike though, right?).
The environmentalist in me wants to ask you to split your giant rounds before tossing them into the outdoor wood burner.... so they burn cleaner (also more efficient, might reduce your winter needs form 7 to 6 cords if you split them better/smaller, dunno).
