Log Grapple Trailer construction

[todd.crow]

I am starting work on a log boom/grapple for my trailer that I built for hauling logs. I have been working out the details for a while now, and this drawing is where I am going.


I am planning on a 10.5 foot 6x4x3/16 tubing boom with a 8 foot 5x3x3/16 tubing stick. The main lift ram will be a 4"x2" with the stick ram a 3.25"x1.75". According to my calculations it should be able to lift 1200 lbs at full extension. I am going to power it by a 13hp gas engine so I can pull the trailer with whatever I want.

Designing the grapple has been the most difficult. Has anyone built their own?

Here is the construction of the trailer.

Here are the basic components of the trailer.  The deck is going to be 8 feet wide by 15 feet long.  I bought the axels at a salvage yard and the steel at a used steel outfit.





The main frame is together with the axels in place. 



The crossmembers are on and I am starting on the stake pockets.



I got the hitch installed.  All that is left is to build a platform in the hitch to haul the chainsaws and the gas and oil on.  I didn't install a floor on it to make so I can slip the forks under the logs and lift them right off.



Completed. We haul about 30 14" diameter, 8 foot long logs per trip.



or 20 10 footers on this trip.




Todd

[Coon]

That is a nice log trailer.  I see you built it out of recycled materials.... Here's the one I am building on a smaller scale.  It too, is out of recycled materials.....




Brad.

[Tom]

A former sponsor of this forum makes and sells forwarding trailers just like you want to build.  Look at their website and you might get some ideas.

[Bobus2003]

Back in the Mid '90's my dad Took an Old Hay Loader off a Bale Grinder.. and Mounted it Too the neck of a 24' GN Trailer that was Powered by a 10hp Briggs.. Worked really slick.. I'm lookin now for another Hay Loader that I wanna Center-Mount on a 40' GN trailer for hauling my Posts and Saw logs

[stonebroke]

What are you going to haul a 40 foot goose neck trailer loaded with logs with? I want to see that pickup.

Stonebroke

[Don K]

Hey Todd, Glad to see you found the forum. I bookmarked your website yrs ago. I found it while doing a search for sawmills or either old dozers. I just checked back in the other week and you have some nice woodworking projects under your belt.

Also my wife is starting to quilt and I showed her the pics of your mother's quilts. Beautiful.

Glad to have you.

Don

[Maine372]

not to ruin the 'i made it myself' image, but it might be easier and in the end cheaper to just buy a grapple. they look simple but theres lots of details in a small space.

or if you really want to do it yourself, find somone who will let you take measurements of a large grapple and then scale down.

[Louis]

Nice!

[Bobus2003]

What are you going to haul a 40 foot goose neck trailer loaded with logs with? I want to see that pickup.

Stonebroke

Behind a F450 Or F550.. It'll be more of a Post trailer than for Logs.. But will be set-up to handle 16' Saw logs front and rear

[stonebroke]

You must have flat land out there.

Stonebroke

[Bobus2003]

Nah, The Black hills have some good climbs on the roads, Steepest Paved road  has a 15% Grade, Like everything gotta do it using your head and don't be stupid

[todd.crow]

I have refined my design for the Log boom and Grapple.



I brought the trailer into the shop with the steel for the boom on the deck.



I extended the frame out 2 1/2 feet to give me room to attach the boom.



I then reattached the log bunks



Here I am mocking up the outriggers



I have cut out the plates that will reinforce the pivots and am doing a test fit.



Todd

[woodbowl]

Good looking trailer, looking forward to seeing the grapple go on. Welcome to the forum.

Coon, do you plan to build a grapple or just the trailer?

[Ford_man]

Go to this web site they have all kinds of grapples and rotators.http://www.hud-son.com/GrapplesandRotators.htm

[Coon]

woodbowl, I am building the grapple and the whole works.  I have some of the grapple pieces cut out but am running short on material to finish right now.  Need to go on a scrap hunt again.    Waitin' on this white stuff to dissappear at the moment..... going fast too.  Temps goin' up to just about 10 degrees above freezing here.   

[Ironwood]

Watching things develop, keep us posted.

 Ironwood

[Banjo picker]

Welcome to the forum....Looking forward to seeing the completed project...Tim

[shinnlinger]

NIce fab work.  I have been contemplating something similar, but I would like to have the PTO drive an axle on the trailer.  Much easier if your tractor has a ground speed PTO, but I am thinking of using a truck tranny with a pto off that to run the loader. and shift the tranny to match tractor speed.

[todd.crow]

 I have the outriggers all setup. All that is left is the final welding and then hooking up the hydraulics.




My brother is doing most of the welding on this project. I can weld, but he makes my welding look horrible. So I figured, it wouldn't hurt to let him do the final welding.

He is welding the pivot plates on the boom and stick.
 



This weekend, I am going to be making a lot of pins and bushings for the pivots.

Todd

[Louis]

Looks Good and Good Luck!!
Louis

[John Woodworth]

Todd, any updates on your trailer? Takes a lot of skill to and knowledge to build what your building and make it look factory made which you are doing, lookin good.

[todd.crow]

I am test fitting the pieces for the boom to stick pivot.




We are using a magnetic drill to drill the holes for the bushings. Sure is faster than cutting them with the torch, and a lot more accurate.
 



I have the boom to stick pivot together. All that is left is to weld it up.
 



Here is the main pivot that the entire boom assembly will attach to being test assembled.
 



Todd

[Carpenter]

Great project!
  Thanks for posting it.

[treefarmer87]

great job!

[todd.crow]

After working in the fields for a few weeks we got to work on the boom again.

We welded the boom base to the trailer and added all the braces to stiffen the base.
 





Then we started welding the main pivot together. Unfortunately we ran out of gas for the mig welder before we finished. Have to get a tank this week and get back at it next weekend.
 

[Coon]

Looking good.  I just wish I had the time to be working on mine right now.  Got to go to work and will be gone again for another 10 day stretch.  Hopefully the weather will be better next days off too so I can get things done.    Have two or three inches of snow on the ground right now and I have to work outside.

Brad.

[keddle123]

Just got delivery of the steel for our knuckleboom grapple and have lots of questions
first; how did you make the swivel base and could you post some pics of that construction
thanks
Mark 

[Ironwood]

I see some 8 bolt axles in your future. That trailer and boom are WAY too nice for just 5-6 bolt axles. Perhaps "super" 17.5" tires on 5/8ths studs on normal 8 bolt pattern, that would get you 20,000 lbs or perhaps more.


 Ironwood

[todd.crow]

The swivel base is constructed of a 3 3/4" 1/2" wall tube welded into two 8" channel iron beams that cross the main beams of the trailer. The outriggers will be attached to the ends of these 8" channel iron beams for stability.
 





You can see here the basic construction. After we had that welded together, we added a thick collar to the top of the round tube to add support. Then we added the braces that angle down to the trailer from the tube.





After we had all that welded down we started on the swivel itself. The swivel turns on a pair of tapered roller bearings that are out of a semi road tractor rear axels. We used the large inner bearings, 3 1/2" diameter inner race, 5 7/8" outer race. The shaft that the bearings will fit on is a 3 3/4" diameter 4140 steel. We machined the shaft down to fit the bearings on, and a place for the seal. The shaft fits down in the base 3 3/4" ID tube.



I don't have any pics of the machining or the shaft. I will get some this weekend.

One the shaft is in, we started on the outer swivel. It is constructed of a 6 1/2" OD 5/8 wall tube. We machined in both ends for places for the bearing outer race to go.



 



Welded to the sides and back of this tube is 1/2"x8" flat steel that the boom and boom ram will attach to.

This weekend I hope to get the swivel all welded together and attached to the base. The boom is mostly done, except for a few details that require it to be attached to the base.

[Woodchuck53]

Good morning, great job. Geat detail. Thank you for all the pictures. Makes me itch to get started on our log hauling set up. Stay safe. Chuck

[sjfarkas]

Your work is very impressive.  I think projects like this are fun, but will this be less expensive than buying a grapple trailer? I do envy your fabrication skills.

[todd.crow]

We made some progress this weekend on the boom.

Here my brother is welding the back on the swivel.



And then attaching the gear that a hydraulic motor will power to swivel the boom.



Here is the shaft for the bearings for the swivel.



And I have installed the shaft into the base.



We installed the bearings and placed the swivel on the shaft.



We lifted the boom up to the swivel with the cherry picker.



I lifted up the end of the boom and  installed the main lift cylinder.



I then lifted the stick into place and installed it.



We then made a mount for the engine.



This weekend I am going to start on the rotator and grapple. I also need to get a seat so we can mount the control valves and start on the hydraulic lines.

[todd.crow]

The cheapest log boom and grapple I could find as about $13,000 plus $3,000 for the power unit. No trailer. I have $5300 in mine, with the trailer. I do have yet to buy rubber hydraulic hoses, a seat and paint.

I just counted, and I need 30 hydraulic hoses of various lengths and sizes.

Todd

[Ironwood]

Boy is that looking good

 Ironwood

[sjfarkas]

I jealous! 

[ErikC]

 You guys are making a pretty hard, complicated project look easy. It really looks like you know what you're doing, I am looking forward to seeing it load it's first log. 

[ScottAR]

Sounds like you should ebay a hose crimper.
30 hoses worth of labor would about pay for one.

Awesome project!!

[Louis]

Nice Work!!! Can't wait to see it done. Louis

[Coon]

Nice work on the trailer.  I just wish the weather would work with me on my days off.  I have alot of work to do on my trailer but have rounded up most of the parts.  Remember mine is all being made out of used materials except for some of the hydraulics components which I just can't seem to find used around here.

Coon.

[Tim L]

A thing of beauty

[todd.crow]

I got to work on the boom this weekend.


Here is the stick pivot all assembled.




I am starting on the grapple. Here is one set of tines for the grapple.



And is the base of the grapple and the other set of tines installed.



The grapple is all assembled.







This is the rotator and rotator hanger for the grapple. I used a wheel hydraulic motor to power the rotator and hang the grapple from.



This is the beginnings of the oil reservoir tank.



Todd

[Don K]

Ya'll do make it look easy, but I know there is alot of thought and work in it so far.

Don

[fishpharmer]

todd.crow, having a nice large and well equiped shop has served you well.  You are doing an outstanding job.  I was wondering if your using a plasma cutter for your project and what brand and model? 

[Tim L]

A work of art ! Well done!

[Wintergreen Mountain]

   Fatastic fabrication. A lot of well placed thoughts. You do it right to begin with. Leon

[HOOF-ER]

A word of caution. I was reading about a person who built a grapple boom and it collapsed killing him. Make sure you are doing things right like Todd is . Your life may be at stake. Great job on your fabrication!

[todd.crow]

I did have parts for the grapple plasma cut. A friend of mine has a plasma cutter with a mechanical arm that follows a line drawn on a sheet of paper. So I printed a full size drawing of the grapple tines and he cut them out of a sheet of steel for me.

Other than that I have used an oxy-acetylene torch to cut out the pieces I can not get with a 14" metal chop saw.

I think my friend has an 80 amp Hypertherm. We are looking at an Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52, which is what he had before upgrading.

Todd

[fishpharmer]

Thanks Todd.

Speaking to Hoofer's concerns about safety, I was also wondering if you are going to mount a seat on the crane itself so you move with the crane or have stationary controls off to the side? 

[Bobus2003]

Wow, You have some Mad skills.. Thats gonna look like a pro-built loader when your done

[oldseabee]

Great job so far. Question on the rotator, will you be depending on internal stops to prevent over rotating or adding external stops?

[Ron Scott]

Well done! Shows some great skills.

[todd.crow]

We are going to mount a seat to the boom (actually the swivel). I am going to be pulling the trailer with our dump truck some, and hauling firewood logs with it. I want to be able to load the box on the dump truck with the boom, so the boom will have to swing all the way around to tow vehicle. Standing on the ground that gets a little more difficult. Also there would be a lot more hoses that would have to swivel.

On the rotator I am going to be making a double external stop this weekend. The double stop (for lack of a better word) is to allow the rotator to travel about 400 degrees of rotation. The motor has no internal stops.

Todd

[treefarmer87]

i cant wait to see it when its finished, you guys are doing a great job!

[sjfarkas]

How did you figure out the dimensions and pivot points for the grapple?  I'd love to build one for my bobcat.

[todd.crow]

I designed the boom and grapple with a 3D design software package. 



With the package I could model the movement of the grapple and feel confident that it would work.



It was nice though to see it all come together as I had designed it.

Todd

[sjfarkas]

would you be willing to sell the blueprints for the grapple? 

[Bobus2003]

how thick of steel did you use on the grapple? It looks stought enough, but i'd still be worried about bending/twisting a tong.. Any concerns there from you?

[todd.crow]

I would be willing to sell these plans. However, I need to complete and test out the one I am building before I would feel comfortable giving them to someone else. I also have to make some changes\additions to the plans. I designed them for me, so I didn't include all the detail I would if I did them for someone else.

The tongs are 5/16" thick with a 1/4"x1" flat welded to the front of the tong. In the picture of the actual grapple you can see that I added a cross between the ends of the tongs.

As with anything you can bend/break it if you abuse it. On the Discovery Show "Swamp Loggers" they have broke the tongs on Dave's loader twice.

I think that I have built the grapple strong enough, but without trying it out?

Todd

[sjfarkas]

I'd want to use it on the front of a T320 bobcat it weighs 10k and can lift 4k+.  I tend to use everything to the max of it's ability.

[Bruce_A]

Did you use AR plate or some other quality steel?

[Woodhauler]

Anymore progress on the trailer?

[todd.crow]

I have been away from the shop for a month with work. Last weekend we had to work on the sawmill. Built a new sawdust blower. 



Compared to the old one.



The sawdust will not stay in the trailer with the new blower so we started on a cyclone to install on the discharge pipe.

We also had some logs to saw on Sat.



After that we did get some time to work on the boom again. 



We welded the oil tank together. The tank will hold 9.5 gallons. I estimate the whole system will consume abut 10 gallons with the reservoir.



We also assembled the bracket for the main swivel hydraulic motor.



I hope we can get the steel hydraulic lines run this weekend and then get the rubber hoses ordered.

[dynamic-51]

Suggestion, go to Blue Ox Trailer and loader site. Variety of sizes and styles and 3 loaders. Exploader, X-21, X-17. The X-ploader at full extension lifts ov3r 2,200 lbs and over 6,000 lbs when brought in all the way. 30" at the butt can be lifted. Winch with 100' cable and a 24 HP Honda engine to winch in fallen trees to reach extended boom with grapple.
In farm application a round bale grapple is available to lift hay instead of tree length wood. A brush grapple is available also. fifth wheel set up or pintle is available. Good luck.

[CX3]

Excellent looking job on this project.  You are very talented but tell your brother that any body can weld

Just kidding. 

5/16 plate should work fine on the grapple arms.  I used to design and build lots of farm machinery for a company, and we used 5/16 for grapple buckets on skid steers.  They held up fine, they took alot more abuse than you are going to give your loader.  Good luck and I enjoy watching this!!

[P15Belanger]

Hey I was just wondering if you had bought a boom or if you were building it if you had completed it. I was just wondering about what it ran cost wise because I'd like to build something similar to it. Thanks.

Phil

[John Woodworth]

I think dynamic-51 is missing the point, anybody can buy new, anybody can coble something together but you and your brother are doing a professional job+. Miss your updates, lookin good.

[Ironwood]

Not to mention the SERIOUS $$ you will drop on an OX. They are very nice (guy about an hour from here has one), but they are beyond the reach of most of us.

 Great job guys.

 Ironwood

[Autocar]

You did a fine job on you knuckle boom , when I see work like that, your the kind of fellow that built our country to where it is today. My hats off to you ! Now sence I have you all buttered up I sure like that magnetic drill you have  I used one of them to drill truck rails once they sure do a great job.

[Randy88]

Simple question here, what kinda of cad software are you using to get the drawings you are posting?    I'm so computer illiterate that I haven't figured out how to put photos up on the site otherwise I'd post pictures of my grinding head I built.   I was wondering if it gave dimensions of things as well, so one doesn't have to figure all that on paper.    Just curious, I do a lot of work like your doing and I've been looking for something simple to run to help eliminate problems and fitting things together, the trial and error thing thaks time.     

[todd.crow]

I used a 3D CAD program to draw the boom and grapple. It is the standard package from Alibre Design. $200 I think. Here is an example of the parts drawing I get out of the program. 



We bought the steel for the boom, and built it. I don't know what I have in just the boom, but in everything but the trailer I have about $5,000. That is all the hydraulic components, engine, and steel for the boom and grapple.

I had to put the boom and grapple construction on hold. I am currently building an addition to my garage for my woodworking shop. Need to get the building framed up before school starts this fall when my help becomes scarce.

[Randy88]

Thanks for the reply, we've been lookng for something affordable and I'm having my computer knowledgable son looking into it and I'll have more questions for you in the future.

[John Woodworth]

Todd: any more progress pictures, I look forward to seeing your progress.

[Woodchuck53]

Hey Todd been away awhile on a little leak and your site was the first I went too. The project is looking great and can't wait to see it up and performing. Excellent job all around. You are an example of why some of us will get up every morning and get with it. take care Chuck

[Woodhauler]

Any updates on your build!

[Coon]

Todd, I was just wondering what size of sprockets you used on the main boom rotation and what RPM will have tried for?  I don't know if 22 RPM would be too high and swing the boom too fast or not.  That's what mine seems to work out to when I do the numbers. 

Brad.

[todd.crow]

I have a .36 cu in pump driven by a 3600 rpm engine. The hydraulic motor is 23.6 cu in. So the motor turns 55 rpm. On the motor is a Double Sprocket 60Pitch 12Tooth and a 60 Pitch 54 Tooth sprocket on the swivel. So with the chain reduction max rpm on the boom will be 12.2 rpm.

So that means a revolution in 5 seconds. Sounds fast enough to me. Don't have anything to compare it to though.

Todd

[ScottAR]

Most excavators slew the house at around 10rpm so plenty fast enough.

[Coon]

I guess I will have to rework some of my numbers and I may have to bo buy one sprocket.   

[clww]

My hat is off to you and your brother on this build!   I love reading these threads on here where something is built or put together, piece by piece.

[1270d]

I think you should go into business!   That is some beautiful work!    Did you design it all on a computer first?      Hoses shouldn't run more than a few hundred bucks. Have you considered using steel tubing for your hydraulics along the booms?

[rick f]

Hay Todd, Have you ever had a chance to finish the loader and forwarding trailor? I look forward to seeing it completed.


Rick

[morgoon]

I was just thinking of this thread yesterday, wondering how it is going?

This is an awesome project

[Piston]

I was just thinking of this thread yesterday, wondering how it is going?

This is an awesome project

Me too!