best way to haul wood from woods??

I too use a 4 wheeler. Mostly I use a trailer for hauling. It is one what was purchased from Sears many years ago. I think it is 14 cu. ft. It was a dump trailer but the dump part broke so I have it solid now. It is about 4' long and 3' wide. The sides are 15 or 16" high. I can haul quite a bit of wood in it and it works nice for me because I can't work for very long at a time. I load it up, bring the wood up and go back for another. Naturally that trailer gets used a lot for other things too. It is very handy and built very solid. Not sure if they sell them any more or not.

One thing I would stay away from is the TSC trailers. They are built just too darned light and will not hold up.

trailer that can handle a good amount of rounds is a worthwhile investment unless you're talking hundreds of logs, then you might want a log trailer.

I've done the dragging thing with a riding mower and a tractor and a trailer is just less work in the long run.


I have a tractor with a FEL now and although it never seems the FEL holds enough, the pile of rounds at the end of the day says otherwise.

Fine English Lady?

I had an pld craftsman 17 cu trailer that fell apart this year (1971 model), I cant complain. I looked for a month to find a replacment, the best trailer I found was at Ohio Steel.
Don't just buy it u may have to watch they will put it on sale I got the 20 cu atv tire model made with heavy steel welded together for $250 delivered. :bug:

Best way to haul a lot of wood: 4WD tractor and a decent winch (i.e. like my Father has . . . which is why I occasionally borrow it from him)

Cheapest way if you already have an ATV: buy a decent trailer or have one fabricated for you with your specs . . . it may be a little slower than hauling out an entire tree or several trees at once, but if you already have the ATV it's definitely the cheaper route.

Yup, a small trailer is the way. Look for them at barn and farm sales.
Or, build one if you want. Also, you can make one from an old scrap
altered and shortened boat trailer. Low axle placement is a plus.

Could be a fun project!

Really handy to pull behind your 4 wheeler. Good luck.

FEL= Front end loader.
Joe

What you use to haul your firewood all depends on where the wood is. I have driven trucks into the woods and loaded right on to the truck. I have used small trailers like Savage described pulled by both four wheelers and tractors. I have used wheelbarrows and have even carried the wood out by hand. So it all depends on the situation and what equipment you have or can afford to get.

If the wood is fairly close and accessible by the tractor, that is the preferred way we go. Large rounds roll easily into the FEL and smaller ones stack in FEL. Drive to wood pile and dump and gathering is done. If it is further away, it gets hauled on the flatbed truck. Smaller stuff is loaded by hand but a large amount of big rounds or extraction from area difficult to access with the truck means bringing the tractor to load truck with FEL. If the wood isn't tractor accessible, then the Suzuki 4WD ATV and trailer are used to haul it back to the wood pile. The ATV is only 250cc but has three range transmission and you won't win any races but it will handle the trailer fairly well as long as reasonable caution is exercised.

I use my little JD poly trailer. Pretty sturdy and I built some tall sides for it to hold a bit more. They also sell a larger version of it.

geobckmstr said:

bst way to haul wood from woods??

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Do you mean the best way to yard logs from the brush to a place they can be easily sawed and loaded in a truck? If that's what you mean I just use my truck to yard. A quad might work with if the logs were sufficiently small and the quad had sufficient gear reduction. . .

Or do you mean the best way to haul sawed and loaded wood home? If that's what you mean the best way is with a dumping flat bed - preferably 8' x 10'-12' with 3'+ racks.

1988 W350 Dodge Ram 360 4spd with a contractors dump box and a 12,000lb Ramsey winch on the front for the easier stuff. When we are in tight areas then we use 4wd Kubota 23hp diesel tractor with a narrow old time 16' foot long solid axle trailer to prehaul it to the truck.

Harbor Freight trailer - was a little over $100 when I bought it several years ago + 1 sheet of plywood. ATV is 300cc.

Go with what quads has or better for for your 4 wheeler. Look for the best tire/wheel/bearing/axle setup you can afford. Where I cut there are a lot of ruts, roots and mud holes and it is very rough on the trailer, especially when it is loaded. You want to be able to carry as much as possible because small loads waist time.

For small quantities here on the farm, and always for moving from the stacks to the house I use an old boat trailer. Best fifty bucks I've ever spent:





The side rails lift off. The bed tilts if I want to roll rounds onto it.

Bigg_Redd said:

geobckmstr said:

bst way to haul wood from woods??

Click to expand...

Do you mean the best way to yard logs from the brush to a place they can be easily sawed and loaded in a truck? If that's what you mean I just use my truck to yard. A quad might work with if the logs were sufficiently small and the quad had sufficient gear reduction. . .

Or do you mean the best way to haul sawed and loaded wood home? If that's what you mean the best way is with a dumping flat bed - preferably 8' x 10'-12' with 3'+ racks.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm kind of curious as well.?
I usually load from the bush, into the back of my truck. A quad and trailer might be good for getting a little further off the beaten trail, but I'm not sure how I would get my truck and the quad and trailer out their and back home again.
I think you guys must be getting wood very close to home? Or maybe you have another vehicle for carring the quad and trailer? Or maybe you haul the quad in the trailer?

Get yourself and ATV trailer.

Make and Brand is up to you the bigger the Tire's the better.



Here's a Pic of 2 of my trailer's the Lower one was found Free on the side the road Had Free painted on the side of it.

the upper one has small Boat trailer tires and if the grounds soft it will leave rut's when fully loaded. but it's made from misc angle iron for the frame and scrap sheetmetal for the side's and 2" Oak floor.

I haul out of some steep side hills or valley and what I due is load the trailer 1/2 to 3/4 and then get out to better ground and try to finish off a load to capacity once I'm on the better ground.

I like the ATV trailer's since there a quick load and easy unload plus the I just flat out Like to ride around on the ATV. At home I'll want to due a project outside and think how can I use the ATV for this.

go with a Ball Hitch as well the wood one I had a Pin hitch and I lost 3 clips and 2 pins before I converted over to a Ball Hitch. all the bouncing and brush and all of a sudden the pins gone and the trailers unhooked.


just my thought's
sublime out.

Better pic of my big ATV trailer,



Pic of another trailer.

got free from a buddy.



sublime out.

also the ATV's are more nimble in the woods than a tractor or truck. and if you only have 1 hour or so you just zip on out get a load of wood with the ATV and your back to the farm for other thing's.

good luck

geobckmstr said:

I live on a 200 acre farm in n.minn,just set up with a o.s.wood boiler system, i can see i need a LOT MORE WOOD. Woods have no roads, up and down.lots of dead and downed wood. hauling farthest from my house,about 3/4 mile. tough terrian,

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If I lived on a wooded 200 acres I would have a 35hp (at least) tractor with a loader, log yoke, a winch, and a utility trailor.

Just so you know - there is no easy way to get logs out of the brush. Just use your head, and be prepared for hard work.

Bigg_Redd said:

If I lived on a wooded 200 acres I would have a 35hp (at least) tractor with a loader, log yolk, a winch, and a utility trailor.

Just so you know - there is no easy way to get logs out of the brush. Just use your head, and be prepared for hard work.

Click to expand...

And 4wd with chains on all 4 tires so that you can skid in the winter. Skidding when the ground is frozen keeps the wood clean and is easier on the tractor.