Winching logs

[Jamess67]

I was bored and surfing the forum when I read about a guy having to split wood on site because he couldnt lift the rounds to transport them home.
Earlier this winter I bought a 2000 lb utility winch and attached a long cord to clip on the truck battery. This winch will attach to the trailer and is used to winch up either large diameter rounds or long logs.
My question is, does anyone else do this? If so post some pics of your gear and stories of how well this works.

 

[NHFarmer]

I am spoiled,I use a farmi winch to drag my wood out.It is always best to use mechanics to your advantage.That winch you have sounds like a great idea.

 

[SWNH]

Yup, I do. This is how I haul logs for my sawmill. The winch cable runs over the log, back under it, and back to the trailer. It basically rolls the log into the trailer. The ramps on the side are capped on one end with steel and a couple trailer hitch pins hold them to brackets I welded to the sides. I've loaded 30"+ diameter pine (10' long) with this system.

 

[Jamess67]

I likey... I have a snatch block for big pulls. But my cable is only 40 ft.
Why not just drag the logs in from the back? and what is the rating on your winch Peter?

 

[kenny chaos]

I have a couple of buddies that use their car carriers to winch logs up on the back. They can get quite a few fairly quickly.
I have woods on the property so I needed something a little different.
My buddy gave me a winch he had laying around that came off an old tow truck.
It's actually two spools that work off the same unit.
They are independently controlled with three positions handles.
One is to power in, one to power out, and the third position lets it freewheel.
I had a three point hitch bale spear I didn't need so I cut the spear off and mounted it on that.
I welded a universal off a pto shaft to the drive gear and cut down a pto shaft to fit.
It was only a couple hours work and it is, without a doubt, the most useful thing I ever made.
One spool has about 150' of cable which I can drag into the brush, a tight stand of trees, or to a leaner.
The other spool has about 20' of cable I use to hook trees to after I drag them out.
I can then use the three point hitch to lift them off the ground to keep them out of the dirt.
I drag four to six good size trees with very little effort and usually have one bucked in two, on the front forks.
Got no pics but I could get some if anyone is interested.

 

[SWNH]

I likey... I have a snatch block for big pulls. But my cable is only 40 ft.
Why not just drag the logs in from the back? and what is the rating on your winch Peter?

I prefer not dragging my saw logs thru the dirt. Plus the winch is only a Warn 3700lb unit. Plenty for rolling, but too wimpy for dragging. I could probably get away with a cheap 2000lb winch to load, due to the physics/leverage employed with this system.

 

[crazy_dan]

I carry a sledge hammer and 3 splitting wedges, plus a splitting maul with me in the woods when I know I am going to be cutting large diameter wood. I simply crack the rounds in two or more pieces to get them manageable.

 

[Jamess67]

I wont be dragging things too far. My main reason for doing this is that I have a bad back and one wrong move and Im toast. Plus it gives my son (13) a job. In other words it a man toy that will hopefully save my back.
Yes Kenny post some pics

 

[Wet1]

Nice looking rig Peter.

 

[kenny chaos]

James- Here's a picture. I took others but the wife's hand me down cell phone doesn't take good pics.

This shot is from the tractor side. You can see the pto universal welded to the original drive gear and the short pto shaft underneath it. You might be able to make out the spools on either side on the back of it.
Sorry, it's the best I can do right now.
If you're winching a large tree, it may want to pull the tractor backwards.
In that case, you can hold the tractor with a front loader bucket, set the parking brake, or park in a depression that the tractor won't roll out of.
In worst case scenario, I simply pull the tree out into the open and then it doesn't matter if I winch the tree to the tractor, or the tractor to the tree.
Lots of flexibility. I love it.

 

[drdoct]

I'm constantly having to split to get them in the truck. I love that trailer setup. Too bad I can't afford a good trailer right now. I plan on bringing my splitter along when i get whole tree projects where I've got to mess with trunk pieces. I realize it's not recommended but we're only talking 5 miles or so and it'll save my back and strength for sawing and stacking. I've thought about using my mower ramps to get into the truck bed, but dont really want to get half way up and lose it. 40"+ rounds of green oak are pretty heavy even if they are only 18" long. Heavier than I care to lift.

 

[Jamess67]

OH Ill pull rounds too if I cant/dont want to roll them. I made this to drag them with.. I was going to get tongs but they were $40 and would fall off if you loose tension on the cable.
Nice Winch Kenny!