iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Snowmobile logging?

Started by Rbott, November 27, 2016, 06:20:14 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Rbott

Anybody besides quebecnewf hauling logs and firewood with snowmobiles? Going to start collecting firewood this winter with the sled and looking for sleigh or toboggan ideas.

Ryan

Gearbox

Otter Sled makes a good heavy durable sled . They come in sizes up to 8 ft I think  . Snowmobiles pull good once you get them moving .
A bunch of chainsaws a BT6870 processer , TC 5 International track skidder and not near enough time

WLC

I've hauled firewood several times from the woodshed up to the house with a snowmachine and otter sled.  I've also drug logs that I felled on the lake shore up to the woodshed with one as well.  As stated a snowmachine will pull a good bit once you get it going.  I wouldn't want to try pulling much in unpacked powder though could make for a very stuck machine in very short order depending on snow depth.
Woodmizer LT28
Branson 4wd tractor
Stihl chainsaws
Elbow grease.

trapper

Otter sled works good.  Just make sure you get the hitch for it also.  Using a rope to pull it you stop and the sled doesn't.
stihl ms241cm ms261cm  echo 310 400 suzuki  log arch made by stepson several logrite tools woodmizer LT30

reride82

I've pulled a fair amount of logs out using an older arctic cat 700 snowmobile. I built a sled of sorts, to pull behind the snowmobile to keep the logs from digging in to the snow. It is a plate about 2' wide by 3' long and is made of 5/16" steel, it's what I had but I'm sure you can get away with thinner stock. I got the idea from a skid that I saw made by Montana Jack's quadskidder. You can look it up. It has worked very well for me and I can pull out some pretty good sized pine in tree length. The biggest I pulled was a 22" diameter lodgepole about 80' long, but is was mostly downhill.

Levi
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

ChugiakTinkerer

I am in the same boat as you, am gearing up for logging this winter.  I may someday shell out the money for sheets of UHMW like Quebecnewf is using, but for now I'm planning on making a komatik sled (also known as qamutik).  Mine won't be authentic, more like a long pallet with UHMW runners.  I'll be putting some pockets on the side so I can drop in steel pipe uprights to hold logs in place.  It won't be the sexiest thing on ice and snow, but it will be affordable.   8)

Something like this one...
http://www.snowsled.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/BAS-komatik.jpg
Woodland Mills HM130

John Mc

Are you loading the logs all the way on these sleds, or just putting the front end on?
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Andries

We've pulled a lot of firewood out of the woods using a snowmobile.
The komatik design was a winner, as long as you loaded it up on a hard packed trail.

Snow on the lakes was usually hard and not deep because wind would sweep it into the woods. Once we got ino the woods the plan was to pack trails down with a few passes of the snowmobile without a sled to slow you down.

Also, try to get your hands on the right machine. 'Trapper' designed machines have wide & long tracks, and are geared for pulling loads.

The 'speed queens' have three times the power, cost more and sink like a rock in waist-deep snow.

The absolute pick of the crop for pulling are the older Skidoo Alpine twin tracks. . . if you can find one.  ;)
LT40G25
Ford 545D loader
Stihl chainsaws

Fundyheather

After the horses were 'put away,' we cut ice (and wood) with the '60's Alpine double track.  It would pull the loaded steel bobsled uphill from a standing start tugging on a fixed welded in place trailer coupling.  But we did that because we didn't know any better. 

By all means, install one of those big spring things in the sled hitch to take up that first bit of shock and give your drive belt a moment to grab on before it tries to smoke itself or spin your tracks into a hole. 

That and a plastic bottom sled of some kind will allow you to haul wood with a low powered junk machine. 

(I'm using an 84 yamaha enticer trapper model, 340cc, plywood sled, plastic bottom with a wood rack in it; I saw to length at the landing and like best that there are no flies.)               

Rbott

Thanks guys. Lots of good input. I am leaning towards an Otter Sled to start...can pick one up with hitch for $200-$300 at my local Cabelas depending upon the size. I was concerned about the runners of the komatik style sinking in the unpacked snow.....

I am picking up a 2016 Ski Doo Expedition Extreme tomorrow. 154" long x 20" wide track with 1.75" lug, high/low range transmission. 800 ETEC engine. Should do the trick and still be fun when not hauling wood!


Jeff

Just curious, do those machines have a reverse?
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Bruno of NH

Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

snowstorm

the Polaris and ski doo 2 strokes the engine runs backwards for reverse. push the button it changes the timing and the motor runs backwards.

Ramicorn

I use a this plastic skid cone (http://www.bapequipmentstore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3035) for atv skidding, don't know if would work as well in the snow or not, repetitively cheap though.

Fundyheather

Reverse was for sissies.  Very early mid '60's Skidoo Alpines didn't have reverse, nor did the homemade wooden jobs modeled on a popular mechanix magazine design of the day.  When you went somewhere you had in mind to look for a wide place to turn, or just jump off and yank the rear around.  Later came a reverse gear in a chaincase full of oil at great expense with a vast increase in weight.  Now you back up the length of the ski digging it solid into the underlying snow crust, then jump off, dig a great big hole around everything and yank your guts out to get the rear around.  They called it progress.                 

celliott

Yamaha brought back the VK540 (to the states) this year. It's always been available overseas, but now we can get them in the US again. Essentially an unchanged design from when it was introduced in the 1980's. That says something!
They also have their viking series 4 stroke utility sleds. Alot fancier, bigger, way heavier. I'd get the VK over any new utility sled if I needed a utility sled. Simple, and it works.
Chris Elliott

Clark 666C cable skidder
Husqvarna and Jonsered pro saws
265rx clearing saw
Professional maple tubing installer and maple sugaring worker, part time logger

Jeff

If you are talking about using a machine for skidding, you certainly could use reverse. I can think of many reasons to have it. Being a sissy would not apply.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Bruno of NH

I got a lot of miles on a sled and I wouldn't own one without reverse .
And I'm far from a sissy more like smart :)
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Andries

No reverse?
That's receipe for a slipped disc and a hernia !
Looking back at Fundyheather's post, he was just making a 'historical' type of comment, I think.

In today's machines, another vote for the Yamaha Trapper or (VK540?) that celliott mentioned, is really good.
Twin cylinder, good torque, quiet muffler, wide track, and REVERSE.
If you're working in really deep snow, there are ski add-ons made that will increase flotation, and keep the nose up in the five foot deep powder areas.
LT40G25
Ford 545D loader
Stihl chainsaws

Rbott

Quote from: Bruno of NH on November 30, 2016, 06:37:30 PM
I got a lot of miles on a sled and I wouldn't own one without reverse .
And I'm far from a sissy more like smart :)

I feel the same way about electric start!

Rbott

Quote from: Andries on November 30, 2016, 07:26:52 PM
No reverse?
That's receipe for a slipped disc and a hernia !
Looking back at Fundyheather's post, he was just making a 'historical' type of comment, I think.

In today's machines, another vote for the Yamaha Trapper or (VK540?) that celliott mentioned, is really good.
Twin cylinder, good torque, quiet muffler, wide track, and REVERSE.
If you're working in really deep snow, there are ski add-ons made that will increase flotation, and keep the nose up in the five foot deep powder areas.

The VK540 was a nice sled in its day but does not compare to the new breed of utility sleds like the Ski Doo Skandic and Expeditions or the Arctic Cat Bearcat series. We just retired a 15yr old VK540 from our grooming fleet and added a 2nd Skandic WT with the 600 ACE 4 stroke engine. Quieter, more fuel efficient, more comfortable, better track, the list goes on!


boscojmb

I have found that snowmobile logging is a whole lot easier than logging summertime with a tractor.
I lived in Alaska for several years and it was the only way to get firewood and logs for the sawmill.

Here are pictures of my sled. This one is 12' long. The width is the important part. If it's too narrow it will tip over. If it's wider than your the track of your snomobile skis you will spend more time getting unstuck than you will hauling wood. I found that 33" worked the best for me. If you are hauling fire wood 33" works well, cut your logs at 4', stack them sideways on the sled and let them hang over a bit on either side. The runners are arched on the bottom, how much arch depends on local conditions. The more hills and corners you have, the more crown (arch) you need. The runners have 3/8" UHMW on the bottom.



Here it is hooked to the snowmobile. I wish I had a picture of it with a load of wood on it. (I think I was hauling groceries this time)



Some pictures of the wood hauled with the sled.





One of the most important things is the hitch. The hitch needs to build up tension, then jerk at the end to get the sled moving. It also needs cushion in the opposite direction or you can jacknife while braking.

Here is a picture of some sled hitches. My design caught the eye of some folks at the local school district. I ended up teaching a shop class and all of the high school students got to build their own sled and hitch.



The springs used on the hitches are from the front of 4 wheel atvs (free at the dump)


Mill logs can be hauled using the same sled. Logs can be hauled long ways. Let them hang over the front a bit, and a few feet over the back. If you are hauling really long logs, a second short sled is necessary at the back of the logs.

Here are some logs hauled by snowmobile and sled



I have logged with a snowmobile in Alaska, and in New England. How much wood are you trying to move, and what are your local conditions like?

I hope this helps.

John B
John B.

Log-Master LM4

WLC

I really like that hitch.  Seems much better than the store bought ones available.  I like the length too, most are too short IMHO, but I don't log much with a snow machine, mostly pull logs off the shoreline of the lake after it freezes over and I can get out on it with the sled.  I'll probably be building a hauler sled like yours in a few weeks.  Thanks for the idea.

What part of our great state did you live in?
Woodmizer LT28
Branson 4wd tractor
Stihl chainsaws
Elbow grease.

boscojmb

Quote from: WLC on December 01, 2016, 09:52:57 PM

What part of our great state did you live in?

Most of the time I lived in  Lime Village on the Stony river. My family's compound is here:
61°14'29.36"N
154°54'30.67"W

I milled lumber from  McGrath to Bethel,  up the Stony 20 + miles past LVD.
John B.

Log-Master LM4

lebonski

my father did some with an alpine to ... but i had to sit on the ski because the thing didint wanted to turn for crap !

alpine owner will probably understand.
125 acres of matures wood by the lake
soon hopefully a skidder to play with !

Thank You Sponsors!