Need trailer advice for moving logs

[Brad_bb]

I'm not making a business from my LT15go.  Although it's a GO, it will mostly remain on my farm.  Currently I have no way to move one or several logs.  I have a new 2wd F150 pick up with a class 3 hitch.   So I'm thinking about a trailer. I do not want to get a goose neck hitch.  Since it will only carry logs occasionally, I want more uses than just logs.  I occasionally have a need to move a car.  I also would like to be able to move my 5000 lb rough terrain forklift (converted 1947 Farmall BN by now defunct John's manufacturing).  So I'm thinking something like a 2 axle car trailer, but maybe the deck is modified to be able to pull logs up on it?  Maybe a log arch on the trailer? I have a 8000 lb load capacity rough terrain forklift I can use for unloading.

Any experience going this direction?  Is this direction a mistake?  Should I get a dedicated small log trailer?

If I go this direction, what should I do for the deck?  Winch?  What deck surface?  Any tracks or removable brackets that will help with logs?  is there some type of system designed to do this?

Thank you for any info.

[beenthere]

The DanG Deadheader trailer loader.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,76289.msg1157562.html#msg1157562

Can't get much simpler, easier, and cheaper.

[golddredger]

Flatbed is your best bet for all around use. I run a 19 ft fllatbed with 2 5/16 ball and I parbuckle the logs on from the side. The logs roll on and off with no damage to the deck. I had a rear loader arch setup at the start and found it tore up the deck and sliding logs takes a much bigger winch. You will want a winch 9000 pounds or more at the front. The trailer needs to be a true flatbed. That means no fenders just a flat deck. These are normally equipment trailers for hauling tractors ect.. also and most important for you and me is your truck is a half ton rig. You F150 mine Expedition. Same rigs in class. Which means we have very small brakes. The heavier true flatbeds for equipment have brakes on both axles and the are huge 10" plus in size. My trailer will stop my truck and load with zero issues from the control box in the cab. Plain awesome brakes is a must. Next tongue weigth is very critical to much is better than none or negative. Or trucks are scary with weight behind them. They do not weigh enough for a large load. With that said i regulary haul 7000 to 9000 pounds per load home from the woods.

[sealark37]

+1 on the deck-over flatbed.  I have found a forward winch to be very useful.  Mine is manual, but a small electric would be nice.  A 10,000# GVW trailer with a 2 5/16" ball or a pintle hitch with electric brakes makes a great log/lumber hauler.  Your truck has the needed power, but it is short on braking power, which the trailer brakes will take care of.  Don't go cheap on you tie-down gear.  Heavy straps or chains.  Good Luck, and Regards, Clark

[uler3161]

I have a 4000lb capacity rough terrain. Pulled it home on a 10k bumper pull car trailer behind a 2500 Dodge diesel. I wouldn't have considered hauling it with anything less capable, so I'm concerned about you using an F150 and class 3 hitch. Weight wise, I've had comparable loads of logs on my trailer, but I try not to haul very far. I built some bunks for it, but I still ended up bending up the fenders real good.

[backwoods sawyer]

I agree with uler3161 if you have a half ton stick with its rating as the brakes hitch and everything inbetween was designed around that rating.
Keep your trailer light but not light duty so you can haul more log weight and still stay in that range.

If the trailer has side rails Parbuckiling works good for loading.

What is the accual weight of the 5,000lb lift forklift? add that with the trailer weight to determin if you should haul it with a half ton truck or not  :-\

Sooner or later you will over load your truck/trailer but you don't want to start off planning to over load it ever time.

[golddredger]

Factory claims 8,100 pounds for towing with Ford Expidition. I am sure your f150 is close to the same. My trailer is around 1500 pounds so I try to stick close to 7000 pounds in logs or less. I use the Norwood calculator  to estimate log weight on my tablet. Very easy to get a ball park proper load weight. If I am towing a long ways I will try to stay at 6000 pounds in logs. If I am getting logs from up the street 10 minutes away I will go ahead and push the load to 9000. 9000 is the max my tires and axles are rated for. Just use common sense.

[Tom the Sawyer]

Brad,

Consider the weakest link in your towing system.  If you have a Class III hitch, they are normally rated for 5000 lbs. max so that may be your weakest link.  If your truck is rated to pull more than that (and you want to max it out) then you'll need to change to a Class IV hitch.  Either way, you'll need an electric brake controller, any trailer over 2000 lbs. gross weight is required to have brakes - usually electric.

As far as your trailer, the gross weight rating is for the combination of the trailer and any potential load (evenly distributed).  The 'standard' 16', tandem axle, utility trailer with a wooden floor, rated at 7000 GVW, will weigh between 1500 and 1800 pounds empty.  That means that the trailer can carry a little over 5000 pounds (plus the trailer weight).  But if your hitch is a Class III then you should limit it to a 3000 pound load to stay within your hitch rating.  Watch the trailer specifications closely, there are trailers out there with 2 - 3500 pound axles that are rated for 7000 pounds, and others with the same axles that are rated for 5000 pounds.  The structural components are usually the reason for the difference in the ratings.  If the trailer has tandem 5200 pound axles, it'll be well over 2000 lbs empty.  Curiously, although you would think that a trailer with two 5200 pound axles would be rated for 10,400 pounds, they'll often be rated as 9900 pounds (thanks to USDOT for that).

You should have the bulk of your load's weight centered over the dual axles.  For most of the trailers you would be considering, that means the load is between the wheels/fenders.  For unloading with a forklift, the best trailer design is a 'deckover' style where the decks are full width for the length of the trailer.  That means the deck is above the wheels, about 3' above the ground.  These are usually trailers with heavier components and higher carrying capacities.  Also a higher center of gravity and usually equipped with a gooseneck hitch.

A log loading arch is probably a better option if you already have a winch.  If you end up with a utility style trailer you may find parbuckling will put a lot of wear on your trailer if you handle logs above 1500 pounds or so.  The railing will have to support the weight of the log and you'll want to make sure you don't drop the log directly on the floor of the trailer.  A couple of old tires would help absorb the impact if you do parbuckle over a trailer side.

Whether you choose a log loading arch or parbuckle, consider adding trailer jacks on the corners to support the trailer during the loading process.  Loading a big log can place tremendous racking stress on a trailer frame designed to carry an evenly distributed load.

An all-terrain forklift is rated to lift 5000 pounds is likely to weigh well over that.  I only found one type of all-terrain forklift that could lift 5000 pounds and weigh less than that - a piggyback (they have to load themselves on the back of the semi-trailer).
[A standard '47 BN shows to weigh 1800 pounds and has a 16 hp engine - is that what they converted to pick up and move 5000 pounds?]

Good luck, whichever way you go.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PNc5ITIFjo

[FarmingSawyer]

I'll be interested to see how this thread progresses...I've got my eye out for a trailer too. However, I gotta say, for the amount it can haul and what I've done with it--horses, hay, firewood, critters, moving house, logs--my 3 horse slant has been the best money I've ever spent.....


 

[Dave Shepard]

A 7,000 pound landscape trailer would go well behind a 1/2 ton pickup, but the problem with them, and the car hauler type, is that the deck is between the fenders. That can make getting the logs out tricky, unless you want to chain or tong every log. Maybe for small amounts of logs that won't really be enough to inconvenience you.

[Brad_bb]

Let me clarify, my small rough terrain forklift weights 4700 lbs (I rounded to 5000) and has about a 2500 lb lift capacity.  My large rough terrain forklift, which I will not be trailering, weights 15,000 lbs, and has an 8,000 lb lift capacity.

My F150 has built in trailer brake control unit.

I'm not sure it's a class 3 hitch, but I'm assuming it is, like on my old pick up.

You guys have given me a lot to think about.  It seems like there really isn't an ideal solution for my pick up.  I sure wish you could go in with someone and share the proper equipment. 

[Southside]

I agree, it is a hard spot, a half ton truck is just not designed to be a real work vehicle.  Just a though but if you found a gooseneck trailer at a killer deal perhaps looking at one of the "tow buddy" or similar bumper pull to gooseneck adapters would work?  Other than seeing them hitched between double trailers I have no experience with them, and I am sure backing up would be about as much fun as backing a hay wagon, but it could be a cheaper option than upgrading the truck. 

[Tom the Sawyer]

Brad,

With a potential load of 4700 pounds, you should be able to use a 7000 lb GVW trailer, if your all-terrain forklift's tires will fit between the fenders (often 72-80").  A 'car hauler' (heavier frame and no railing) would probably work better than a 'utility' (angle or tube railing about 1' high around the perimeter of the trailer) trailer.  A small gooseneck (11,500 GVW) will use up about 4000 pounds of your tow capacity before you put anything on it.  You might find it difficult to find a gooseneck mount with that capacity for an F150.   :-\

One option would be that you could haul the small forklift to the log site and use it to load your logs.  When you get home you could unload with the large forklift and then go back to get the small forklift.  Clients show up with a variety of trailers (or pickup beds) so I end up using my piggyback forklift with either chains or tongs to unload the logs, then pick them up with the forks to move them around.   ;)

[Compensation]

 

 
You could get a beat up deck over and older truck. Its a bummer to insure and plate another truck though. My dad use to haul hay with his 2wd f-150 and car hauler. Its a rough way to go with your daily driver.

[mikeb1079]

good thread....lot's of good advice here.   8)

[stumpy]

I've tried a couple different setups, but what works for me is this.  I have a 20' deck-over (no fenders) trailer with a 9,000# warn winch on the front.  The winch sets in a receiver so I can take it off and use it elsewhere like on my truck.  I made a long "extension cord" out of welding cable with quick connects on my battery and winch. Remember, a winch draws alot of amps so you want to have large enough wires.  I can load straight up from the back as in a vehicle, or I "parbuckle" logs up the side with the use of ramps.  I have loaded an 8' long 30" diam. oak without breakin a sweat.

[StimW]

I have a good 16'er and an abused 14'er. The 16'er-



 



 

The abused, I broke the rusted rear crossmember unloading dragging logs out the rear when one fell from the top of others-



 



 

I loaded all but the two big logs with my 35hp Branson w/forks. I use the 4000# Clark Forklift around the yard. It picked the big ones easily!



 

[Dave Shepard]

I think something like that red 16' trailer would be ideal. We call them landscape trailers around here, and they usually have a full width mesh ramp across the rear. I have a 10,000 pound landscape trailer that I used to move my Kubota L48. A class III hitch I think is 5,000, or 10,000 with a weight distributing hitch. Newer 1/2 tons haul quite well.

[Brad_bb]

Here are a couple pics of trailers with arches just for reference.  I got them off youtube vids.  I now lean away from them after the comments that have been made.  Side loading by forklift or par-buckling sounds like the better way to go.  I'll have to think about it awhile. 


 


 

The second one is more thought out in that it can unload by the removable and adjustable angle braces that keep the arch from pivoting forward when you wan to pull a log off.  Still when you watch the video, it takes a quite a bit of re-positioning to get the log off.

http://youtu.be/iAg1_SJrcHQ

[AnthonyW]

I'm on the hunt for a 7700GVW deck over style trailer with a ball hitch. To the side, I plan to add a hydraulic log lift, similar in design to lift lifts on the LT40. I have some parts. Know where to source others. Everything expect for the DanG trailer. I haven't been able to find one for the right price.

[Dave Shepard]

I saw a trailer just like you have described on another forum. I don't know if it was custom or not. Looks like one way to skin the cat. 

[StimW]

I think something like that red 16' trailer would be ideal. We call them landscape trailers around here, and they usually have a full width mesh ramp across the rear. I have a 10,000 pound landscape trailer that I used to move my Kubota L48. A class III hitch I think is 5,000, or 10,000 with a weight distributing hitch. Newer 1/2 tons haul quite well.

I have the mesh tailgates for both trailers but have them removed.

The guy winching the log off is just wanting to use his winch!
He could easily have hooked to a tree or some other deadman and pulled away.

[Brad_bb]

Posting for MikeRat(username on FF):
Brad I saw your post in FF and I still can't post pics there. My trailer is a over deck with two 3500 lb axels. I love the fact that I can put the ramps anywhere and roll or par buckle logs on to the bed, all the trailer I need bed is 8 x20 electric brakes and I paid 2000.00 for it. last Sunday I hauled a friends new 6500lb skid steer 250 miles it worked great. I used to have a car hauler but hated dealing with the fenders standing higher then the deck. Just my 2cents!


 

[Brad_bb]

I think Mike's trailer above might be the right choice.  The car/forklift loading ramps can double as log par-buckling ramps.  I just have to find out what truck and hitch he is using to pull with.

[backwoods sawyer]

I have a 24x8 deck over. Pull it with the one ton truck, or the f-600 boom truck, move it empty with the half ton.
Take that same trailer and chop it down to 12' be a much better chiose.