Finally used the dray

[Backwoods Savage]

For quite some time now I've promised a couple of guys I'd build a dray. Well, I built it but today was the first day to use it.

The dray is 8' long and somewhere around 48" wide. Don't remember for sure on the width but I wanted it to track in the tire track of the atv. I only put one place to bind the load but two is better if you stack the logs. One load I took 3 logs and I really did need 2 binders on it.

 

[smokinj]

Pretty Sick Dennis!

 

[kenny chaos]

Nice job. When I was using horses, I just used a couple of small logs with a couple of cross pieces.
After pulling a few of them apart, I went to an upside down car hood. Worked great for lots of things.
If I may, if ya got some more scraps laying around, tack some skids to the bottom of your skiis and wear them out instead of your main skiis.
Just something to mull over.
Again, nice dray.
Kenny

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Kenny, they were just junk to begin with and if they wear out I'll simply replace them. Not much cost involved but I do appreciate the idea.


Jay, what do you find so sick about it?

 

[fishingpol]

Dennis,

That is most excellent, especially how low it is to the ground. Looks to be pretty easy to load. I built an ice fishing sled last year and it sits a little higher to keep it out of the snow. You have a bit of old school and new technology combined. Practical and servicable.

I think what Jay meant is that "sick" means great, fantastic, or any other positive description of the work. Definetly not sickly looking. Very well done, quite stout looking in fact.

Jon

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks Jon. It is easy to load and I loaded the logs alone with the help of a good cant hook.

btw, I purposely left a bit of the bolt sticking up which acts as a dog for the log to bite into when loading.


I also should have posted about the atv. On the first load I was half way to where I was dropping the logs when I realized I never put it into 4 wheel drive. I also used high range all the way and that thing hardly knew there was anything behind it. The distance to skid the logs was between 1/4 and 1/2 mile. It would have been even easier but even as cold as it has been our ground is mostly unfrozen yet!

 

[smokinj]

Kenny, they were just junk to begin with and if they wear out I'll simply replace them. Not much cost involved but I do appreciate the idea.


Jay, what do you find so sick about it?

lol Been around the kids alot Dennis Sick Is Good Thing!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sorry Jay. I guess this is one of those things like "bad" is good.... Guess I'm getting old.

 

[smokinj]

Sorry Jay. I guess this is one of those things like "bad" is good.... Guess I'm getting old.

Yea I keep hearing sick and awesome from them alot same thing.

 

[JustWood]

We call'em log boats here across the pond.
Hard Maple is used the most for skids as it shines up quick and gets slicker than hot snot on a frosty brass door knob.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Lee, many do here, sort of like stone boats. We've used hard maple (with good success), and many others including cottonwood! Beech is another we had really good long life with.

 

[thewoodlands]

Looks good Sav.


zap

 

[JustWood]

Get another length of chain and fasten to center of sled and through a piece of pipe and then to hitch.
This will keep you from gettin' tagged in the tires going down a grade.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Lee, I would have done that but we don't have the hills here like you do. Most of our ground is as flat as a pancake. I went down from one ridge with it today and all went well. Of course, the drop was probably all but about 4' maximum, so no worries there.

 

[firefighterjake]

Great pics . . . great tool . . . great looking ATV . . . just a bit sad to see that beautiful ash and realize that the reason you cut it is due to EAB.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You certainly are right there Jake. It really hurts. Especially so now that I've let a couple fellows in to cut wood. I put them where the biggest concentration of ash is and told them to cut only ash. But there are a couple of small elm they may have to take and that is okay too. They asked me about making a new trail and I gave them the okay so long as they stick to where we agreed it would be. But all in all, it really hurts to see those beautiful trees go.

 

[Intheswamp]

Really nice setup, Dennis. Low and easy to load, should be very stable with the low center of gravity. I'll have to keep this in mind, thanks for posting it.

Ed

 

[FireAnt]

Good looking rig you built Dennis. Good luck with it!!

 

[HeatsTwice]

Here, near the base of the sierras, used (and abused) pairs of snow skies are a dime a dozen. You can pick them up at garage sales for a couple of bucks. Anyway, I wonder if bolting a pair on the bottom would help with its movement. Even if you pull over rock, dirt or snow wearing them out wouldn't matter. Of course it would add to the overall height by about an inch.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Cool Dennis

20+ years ago I built one that was 6' and had racks on the front and back for hauling fire wood and hay. And I used UHMW plastic on the bottom of the runners. Its really slick and when you stop and ice builds up on them it comes right back off. Although it need some guides on the bottom because it would slide sideways bad.

Billy

 

[firefighterjake]

Dennis if you lived closer I would give you an old pair of snowmobile skis that I have kicking around at my house . . . they're a bit worn, but they would have been perfect for this.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've heard the idea on skis before but they would not run the whole length unless you used a couple pair. I also think they might tend to get a little wild when we have snow. As it is it will slide around a little on uneven ground, but not bad.

We used to have some fun on these because we had chains fastened to both sides and then used a binder to lock them in. One of us would get on the dray and hang onto the chains while someone would pull it with a tractor. In an open field you could make that thing slide all over and it was fun to see how good you were. How long could you stay upright?! But we used to do all sort of things during down time. One time we took an old tractor tire and put it up on a sawdust pile. Then I'd get inside the tire and let someone get the tire started. You could go for a long ways but did tend to get a little dizzy.

 

[rustynut]

bws,
That looks like it might work............Is that bolted or lagged together ?
and how did you fasten that chain ? Couldnt quite see in those pics
thanks for sharing that
rn

 

[Danno77]

Dennis, if it ever starts coming at you on a downhill, don't bother with doing anything except driving faster, lol!

Just had to post to laugh at Jay's "sick" comment. You know, Dennis, it's Ill, it's tight, it's wicked...

Jay, next time you want to have a conversation with Dennis, you need to use words he gets, check here for some:

http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm <---hahahaha

I believe you could have said "Bees Knees" or "Cat's Pajamas" or maybe even "Swell"

 

[Backwoods Savage]

bws,
That looks like it might work............Is that bolted or lagged together ?
and how did you fasten that chain ? Couldnt quite see in those pics
thanks for sharing that
rn

Used bolts run all the way through but sunk on the bottom so they would not catch. I used just a little longer bolt so the log would be able to bite on the end of the bolt when loading. Lag type on the eyebolt used for binding the load. I probably should have used two rather than one but did not plan on loading that heavy anyway so it will work out okay. We did end up putting more on a few loads than I intended but it worked just fine.

I just ran a bolt through the timber, put a flat washer on and tightened the nut on the chain link. Simple and easy.


Danno, there are only 2 places with any downgrade at all but you would be hard pressed to call them hills; more like 3' or 4' total height so there was no problem with the dray even speeding up. I do recall a few times in my younger days when we had to do a speed up on some hills! It was sort of fun if you did the timing right. One day one fellow didn't and had the load right on him in no time flat! It turned out okay but we razzed him for a long time over that. But then, there was that one time when we used to ride on the dray on the way up to the mill for dinner or whatever and that one time the load shifted! That was not fun although it turned out with no major injuries. Did that teach us a lesson? Yes, be quick!


Geez Danno, I might be old but that was a bit before my time. :lol: