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!