Why I'm Replacing My Logging Trailer With a Piece of Plastic

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

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[@Heartwoodbows]

I use a skidding winch and a front-end loader grapple for logging with my compact tractor. It's a combination that is very versatile and works brilliantly for what I need it to do. The winch is capable of pulling many times more weight than the tractor alone, which comes in handy for pulling logs out of creek bottoms and other hard-to-reach places. Wallenstein makes the FX40 skidding winch for sub-compact tractors like yours. You would find it much more effective than just using chains to pull logs with your tractor.

[@MLDuffy]

appreciate the way you think about things and the depth of your thoughtfulness.

[@spidelloutdoors]

I’ve been using that skidding cone for a few years to drag tree length pieces to my wood yard to buck and split for firewood. I pull it with my honda foreman. As another commenter mentioned, it can lead to dirt on the logs from dragging down the trails, but other than that the system works great for my needs. The atv makes for quick hauling and turn around time as well. With a 3 point hitch you should be able to lift most of the tree off the ground if dragging behind you.

[@calebfast8088]

Sounds to me like an Atlas Shrugged "check your premise" scenario. Your premise which you solved for wasn't what you needed. Great video, absolutely loving the channel and everything you share, so thank you!

[@drydenmatt]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who keeps that line fresh in their mind. I often ask, why am I doing this again when embarking on a big decision.

[@calebfast8088]

@@drydenmatt It's a great line, for sure. I just wish folks would use it in their day to day, could save us all a lot of headaches.

[@matthewcook7051]

Congratulations! You’ve discovered every logging operation owner/managers problem. Getting the right equipment for the job. And by the way the next job will require different equipment so you’ll need to buy something different for it. Now people wonder way loggers need to make money!

[@TheNativeTwo]

I used to work as an arborist. I am thinking about your idea “no trails, minimal impact logging.” Checkout videos on speedlining. There are some advanced rigging techniques that using some pulleys and winches can move logs up hills, across flat terrain, and using gravity quickly move logs downhill. Can even help you load in trailers. Search youtube for “speedline logging.” And a video titled “loading logs - controlled speedline” by Tim’s tradservice should come up. It shows him using the controlled speedline to load into a trailer. But could also be setup to move logs even up hills, using a wench. You have two lines, your zipline (speed line) and your tag line (brake line or wench line). This could be a great technique to pair with your idea of having a few seed trees that you don't harvest. Those seed trees become your speedlining trees.

[@jmasuo]

Love your approach on using data to adjust and make changes.

[@calebfast8088]

Awesome video, love hearing the successes and shortcomings because it saves me those same mistakes in the future! Thanks!

[@mxadema]

Our 200 acre got a trail in the center. The lot is 400' wide, and we got a 250' winch cable on a diy hydraulic winch to get the variable speed and geared down. Before that setup, it was the same trail with horses. Ongoing for close to 150y.

[@fastst1]

I tucked a winch on the top boom of my backhoe to make it work a little like a yoder, did pretty good as long as the pull was in line, I had a couple cable logging chokers from Baileys and they worked fantastic and still work great

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

The chokers really are a must have.

[@yonmusak]

I've acquired a Lennartsfors iron horse and a simple log trailer, to accomplish exactly what you are doing with your machine. The ground pressure on this iron horse is so low, and the system so agile, I'm hopeful it overcomes some of the issues of smaller tractors.

[@willbass2869]

Horses....horses to haul from stump to trail, then your current wagon and tractor to collect at those gathering points.

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

I'd love to give it a try

[@arborhaus6951]

Check out the Norwood capstan hydraulic rope winch. Something like that might help with yarding to your tractor efficiently.

[@elimontgomery9624]

I have a skid cone too. However the damage the trailing end of the log does to the trail made me quickly stop dragging logs more than just to the edge of the trail. Not sure what the best solution is though. Slid to trail and forward out. I'm also using the gas winch so not taking the tractor off the trail or making more trails. It's slow

[@daviddeaton4250]

A Pto winch for your tractor would make a great friend.

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

Yeah, Next time I have an organized harvest, Im probably going to invest in something like that.

[@coburnlowman]

I have an old Mitsubishi BF3D track loader. The injection pump went down on it several years ago. That thing had such a small footprint tho. The loader would pick up a car no problem , but it wasn't much bigger than your tractor. People would hire me to go into woods and basically sweep it out. Like after the leaves had fallen i could go in and clean all the small growth , it literally looked like the patch of woods had been swept clean. People would then go and set up a picnic table n such , then be able to enjoy their summers in the patch of woods. Being it was an actual track loader i wasn't worried about cracking or denting a hood , or fenders. I did one time back into a tree and bend the fuel tank. Anyway we need to find a gas burner Mitsubishi 4 cylinder engine to drop in it. Its way to handy to have just sitting

[@mydogdidit]

You say you would clean all the small growth with the track loader. How? That is exactly what I want to do on part of my tract.

[@coburnlowman]

@@mydogdidit It's a small track loader. I could just lower the teeth into the over growth and start sweeping. It was made for cleaning aquaducts , so it's like maybe six foot wide , but weighs in the 10,000 lbs range. It would root out stumps as big as it was. Or with forks would pick up a car. If I can get just a gas Mitsubishi engine in it , I'll just use it for light work. Everything about it is still tight , but the injection pump went out. It's more like 5 foot wide after thinking about it. I've dug out holes plenty deep enough to bury dead horses n , cows with it. She would climb out of a hole in reverse as deep as it was with the bucket down to keep it from flipping forward. The model is a BF3D Mitsubishi. If you can find one in good shape it will be ultra handy to keep forever. They are slow , but they make up for speed in brute force. Be sure to check the oil in the injector pump. I didn't know it had its own oil system. With forks around the sawmill it was awesome. I made my own fork adapter for it. I was quoted $5,000⁰⁰ for my cousin to clear the land for my home. I bought this loader for the same price. It was slower than his new D5 Cat , but I only had a small amount of fuel over the quoted price. Then made back many times over that in small jobs with it. As I said you won't be disappointed if you can find one in good condition.

[@tomadamsenergy]

Take into account that skidding cone usage leaves logs with embedded grit which are bad for saw blades.

[@timothyhogan7451]

Do you think the trailers with movable tandems on the trailer would help ?

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

Technically speaking, these are movable, but not easily like some of the hyrdaulically operated ones. It might help, but honestly, the one improvement that would help above all else would be hyrdaulic cylinders to pivot the trailer and rear drive. They do have trailers with those features, but they are expensive obviously.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

looks like your enjoying the black flies.....

[@JAB00777]

I just use A 45 HP Case Ih DX45 tractor with A Loader and pallet fork attachment for doing Aspen pulp / bolts cutting over winter in muddy / icy conditions ..... about as good as it gets for small scale logging

[@danielhurst8863]

My issue is that my forested land is very steep, it is covered in White Oak, Walnut and other valuable hardwood, but many places have a 20 degree slope. Hard to retrieve that, at least for me. I was actually thinking the winch route, as I have a 12K winch, but there are tons of potential dangers in winching under those conditions as well. Fortunately, I would be the end user of the wood, so I don't have to worry about selling it to make rent or as a source of income, but the land needs some management as well.

[@JimmyStewpot]

We are similar with many areas around 45° or steeper. We use trifor manual winches from a strapped v up on the trees on the high side of the cross roads. We then use a block and tackle off the winch on the atv. This way we can bring down the wood safely to the high side, then winch and load up. It's all cut to length on the floor so we only take out what's millable

[@elimontgomery9624]

I have a mountain side as well. I currently use the Portable winch and nose cone to drag logs up to the trails. It works well. Not cheap but after two years it has held up. Exceptionally strong unless the log gets jammed on a bolder or other tree.

[@sammcalilly107]

get you a capstan winch, portable winch is the company that makes those

[@willieclark2256]

@@elimontgomery9624what’s the capacity of the winch you’re using?

[@elimontgomery9624]

@willieclark2256 its a Portablewinch brand PCW5000. It's rated for 2200 lb single rope pulling with no block or tackle. The nose cone makes all the difference. I haven't needed the block and tackle I have for it other than pulling my crew cab truck out of the mud once. It easily pulled the truck out of the mud and up the bank.

[@jacobraymer1436]

Would it not make sense to use both? Also could you share profit opportunity for the small scale harvesting? And how to contact a buyer. I know nothing other than what your videos show lol. Could this be a side hustle option?

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

Yeah, its still works great in tandem with the skid cone, it's just that I bought this trailer specifically for traveling through trees, and if you are just using a forwarder for the efficiency of moving wood, it makes sense to go larger. But my goal here is to really experiment and optimize these systems to devise a low-overhead, streamlined approach to small scale harvesting, once I get a good system, I would like to reach out to landowners and try some actual commercial logging.

[@jacobraymer1436]

@@thetimberlandinvestor I see. Would you be willing to make a video about how you sell timber at a small scale? If it is worth the effort, I can see a lot of people trying this.

[@fastst1]

need a hydraulic log grabber attachment that goes on the 3pt hitch.

[@jwg9338]

I'm not understanding, why not just buy a used harvester for 70-80k?A week's worth of harvesting, then put the machine in storage mode... Cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-crawl out of the forest to the ditch with your bundle.

[@GE-tv1is]

so the forwarding trailer is too big for your tractor and acreage .....

[@thetimberlandinvestor]

I would argue its too small if it is used the way I describe. Though I wouldnt hook up my tractor to anything larger.