Urban Log transportation ... small or large scale ... show us your method!!

[Captain]

 

Here's my method.  This photo is about 18 months old.  Sure has seen a lot of use since then.  I've never been starving for materials since.  My only wish now is for a bigger truck that can A) handle the trailer properly and B) take a load upon itself at the same time!!

[scsmith42]

Craig, I use a hydraulic dovetail trailer behind a dually.  The deck is 37' long, which allows me to put a skid steer, backhoe, etc on the back to use to load logs onto the front portion.






Here is a pix of the same trailer moving a 65' light pole:

 


I sure like your setup though.  It is a much more practical way to pick up logs - especially in tight areas.  My setup has the benefit of versatility beyond just moving logs.

Scott

[Ron Wenrich]

Must have been real nice swinging around a corner with that light pole.   

We don't get many urban logs.  But, when we do, we just use our tri-axle with a Prentice loader.  But, we're geared for taking in lots of logs.

Both of your setups are pretty nice, especially for smaller operations.

[Daren]

I am fortunate 95+% of my logs are delivered. I work with the city/construction companies/tree services...that have the equipment and are hauling them off anyway. I have a skidsteer and a trailer for bigger loads, but for the single log runs I made this little contraption. If I get a call from a homeowner that has saved a log for me I can back right up to it without tearing up the yard and get it. It has an electric winch that sets on the tounge, I throw the cable over the arch (there is a roller on the top) to lift the end onto the trailer. Once the end is on I straight hook it and drag it to the front. It was an old propane tank hauler about 14' long and 4' wide , I just added the arch and a couple rollers. It will not haul a bunch, but I have had some pretty decent logs on it. For one/two logs in a hard to reach spot it is perfect.

 

[metalspinner]

 

I've added the winch since this pic ws taken.  Small logs less than 20" in diameter get pulled up a ramp off the back of the trailer.  Large logs get parbuckeled.

[Captain]

Love the dovetail Scott, what is the GVW of that anyhow??

Scott, I like your retrieval trailer.  Kind of like a "platform" arch.

That's a good looking stick Metalspinner, what is it??

I'm pretty close to a hydraulic winch on the log trailer for use with a LogRite Fetching Arch for those reaches longer than 17'.

Captain

[LedlieLogs]

 

Small time operator. Having fun everytime. White oak for free, just come get it.
Ledlie

[ohsoloco]

Not the best pic of my setup, but it's the only one I had in my gallery.  16' 7,000lb. trailer w/ a 9,000 lb. Superwinch mounted at the front of the trailer.  Can't really parbuckle because of the wheels, so everything gets skidded up the back of the trailer.  I hook a snatch block to the really big logs and run the cable through to ease the pull.  Loaded a 44" diameter 7' long sycamore that way.  If I can't load it with this system, I don't want to saw it    My biggest casualty so far has been melting the lead battery connectors when I stall the winch on a huge log. 

 

[scsmith42]

Ron, it was indeed interesting moving those poles!  I got 8 of them on a trade deal; needless to say they were moved at night - on a weekend, over back roads, with a chase vehicle behind me!  The worst part was pulling out of the lot where they were stored - due to the location of the entrance and the presence of some large "bar" ditches, I had less than a foot of clearance between the back of the pole and the roadside utility pole when I swung through the curve. That was a long night - I unloaded the last pole at 5am.

Craig - the gross rating on the trailer is 25K lbs.  In addition to the hydraulic dovetail, it has a winch and hydraulic disk brakes (with an electric actuator).  I didn't think to take a picture, but two weeks ago I brought home a 40" diameter oak log that was 18' long.  That required both the skid steer and the winch to load.

Ledlie - I like your setup - especially that "cam-over" a-frame on the back.  Looks like a great way to lift the logs up over the back of the trailer.

Metalspinner - nice toothpick you got there on your trailer!

[Squirrell_Boy]

scsmith42, You got me hunting for my calculator. A 40 inch diameter, 18 foot Oak!
At about 60+ pounds a cubic foot that big boy must have weighed over 9,000 lbs.!

What does your trailer weigh and what do you pull a load like that with? Do you have to have a CDL to legally pull that? 

[metalspinner]

That's a good looking stick Metalspinner, what is it??

That is a sycamore.  At the time it was the largest I have moved at 9' x 36" on each end.

Since, I have grabbed this one...

 

...it's 12'x36"x44".  I think I have reached my melting point with that one.  It sure is nice to have a stout trailer so as not to have to depend on others to help move logs.

[Dan_Shade]

the "easiest" way to move a pole that long would be to make a special axle to hook to the end of the pole, wouldn't have to worry quite as much about taking out a barn on a turn that way.  now the corner stop sign is another story!

[LedlieLogs]

Thats a good point Dan about the axel. I still think the easy way would be to call SCSmith to tote it for ya.
Ledlie

[Todd]

The only problem with my setup is getting them on the trailer.  I unload with a forklift at the shop. All urban logs.

[Brad_S.]

My heart is still racing and my palms are still sweating because I just consummated this deal on ebay, but here's how I'll be moving mine. I'll get it early next week as soon as the bank ponies up.

(Edit: I dropped the link to the ebay listing, but here's a photo of my new toy from the listing.)
 

[sawguy21]

You are getting serious about this. That is a very nice looking unit.

[scsmith42]

Brad, that is one sweet unit!  Congrats on the score!!!  I was drooling over their products at Sawlex.

MS- I'm jealous about the logs that you're acquiring!

Squirrell_boy - the trailer weighs 8K lbs empty.  My only wish is that it was built out of aluminum, but the folks that manufactured it for me only worked with steel.  I've been pulling it behind an F350, but recently acquired an F450 that's rated for 33K CGVW, so now I can max out the trailer legally.

Re CDL, I have a farm (and farm plates on the dually), and in most states you can legally pull up to 35K lbs with farm plates and the proper class of license, within 150 miles or so of your farm.  My biggest concern with the F350 is that I was significantly over the CGVW when pulling fully loaded.

Todd - nice trailer.  I like the fold-over ramp dovetails - it's nice to have the benefit of a flat deck when you need it.  Those are some nice sticks you got there too!

Scott

[Rick Alger]

Ledlie,
 
How long does it take to load your trailer if the logs are already bunched?

Rick

[LedlieLogs]

Rick if the logs are bunched in the right direction and I can back right up to them and they are limbed and sized it takes about 10 minutes per tree. All that being said, it seems to never happen like that. If I have to cut to size and make a long winch pull it is more like 30 minutes per tree. I do like to cut to size myself when I can so I can set up the log for my mill and what I am trying to achieve. It is slow by production standards but works well for me. I have 18 White Oaks and about a dozen cherry logs waiting at the mill right now, that represents a lot of labor getting them there. I can't wait to open up that Cherry and look inside. Hope this helps.
Ledlie

[Left Coast Chris]

I have shown this before:  An old propane tank hauler with hydraulic spreader bar to lift the logs.  Simply back over the log, lower the spreader bar, lift and place the cross bars accross the trailer then bind it down.  Good for logs under 54" accross.  The log shown is a 40" Grey Pine butt log.