how do you get your firewood out of the woods?

[dvellone]

I have some acreage and have been getting my firewood out so far by wheelbarrow and planks when it's not too far, and by renting a tractor for the longer hauls.
I can't say that the tractor was that efficient since I've had to use the small loader. I didn't have a trailer and the smallish machine wouldn't skid worth a darn.
I tried a skid steer but the clearance wasn't nearly enough and I spent more time trying to get access and unstuck.
I've been told that a utility-grade atv and trailer is real versatile.
Bobcat's "toolcat" really looks like a great machine since I can also hook up a blower to clean the driveway and it take many attachments but it's design looks like it might be troublesome on uneven ground. Also it doesn't have the greatest clearance.

So, what do you use and how do you like it?

 

[polaris]

4wd tractor w/lrg. bucket, Kawasaki mule 3010 with bed side rail extentions and sometimes an atv with a small trailer. Anyone of these will also pull your logsplitter and other tools in as well.

 

[CowboyAndy]

with this:

its old and falling apart, so it doesnt matter if I hit trees and scrape branches down the side of it.

Havent met a tree I havent been able to skid out yet... well, one we had to cut into 8 ft lengths, but you knwo what i mean...

 

[Valhalla]

I use my JD X575 when it is wet or frozen, since it is 4X4. When it is dry, I fire up an old Allis-Chalmers.

Yes, a good size trailer is a must.

 

[smokinj]

I cut and splitt where it's at then hull it out

 

[deadon]

I have an old 1994 Ford Ranger pickup. It used to be my main truck for on the road use until my son wrecked it and it was not repairable for the road so I converted it for woods use. It shows a lot of battle scars from the woods. I drilled, welded, and bolted the rear springs together and put a block between them and the frame very stiff riding but boy can I load the wood. Check your local junkyard for a 4X4 that is no longer roadworthy and make an offer. I have an F150 to haul on the main roads. My Ranger stays at my cabin which is were the woods are that I cut in. I have a winch for pulling logs and trees. Chains on the tires and it will go places you would not believe if you have the guts and no fear of bending some body parts.

PS if I can't get to it with the Ranger I will drag it with my Four Wheeler to a place my Ranger can get to.

 

[polaris]

Another thought. An old lawn and garden tractor/lawn mower with the deck removed and atv or ag tires along with a cheap trailer will haul alot of wood as long as your ground is not to steep. This time of year you could probably p/u one on Craig's list fairly cheaply.

 

[Dill]

Lets see. When I first moved in I used a 1970s Simplicity and a little trailer. I put tire chains on the simplicity.
Than I bought a very beat up Suzuki Sidekick, that actually hauled quite a bit till I put a stump through the oil pan.
Currently I use an old IH tractor. But I have some very serious hills, so I'll probably move onto an odd ball cheap 4x4 tractor.

 

[kenny chaos]

I got an 85hp tractor and adapted a dual winch, Holmes 480 wrecker to the three point hitch. One cable is about two hundred foot and allows me to climb in through the garbage (understory, etc.) to snag a tree and winch it out. The other shorter cable I use to secure two or three of the trees I pull out, for the run up to the landing. If I can drive right up to the tree, I hook it to the loader then lift and drag it out backwards.
This time of year, it's getting a little too wet and soft so I'll be switching to an old tube frame Bolens with a ten hp motor. It has a set of 24" wide pickup truck pulling tires on the back which work great. That and my little yard cart will get me back and forth so I can at least drop some trees and get 'em later with the tractor.
For me, cutting, splitting, and hauling out of the woods was impossibly slow. It takes me a long time to get wood cut and split and I choose to do it near the house to avoid being stuck in the woods all winter or in the heat of the summer. I just won't do that anymore. I won't, I don't have to, and you can't make me.

 

[LLigetfa]

I drop it and buck it up right where it falls. I then drag my log splitter out to it with my yard tractor, split it up and haul the split pieces. See my pic in my profile.

 

[LLigetfa]

OK, truth be told, only 10% of the wood I burn is off my own land. I get premium winter cut wood delivered to my yard 12 cord at a time with a self-unloader.

 

[sublime68charger]

Most gets brung to a central pile with an ATV and trailer.

If I can't get the ATV and trailer to the wood I can use the ATV to pull small limb's and short parts of the trunk to the trailer loacation to work up.

If I can't get the ATV to it. Well then I really don't need it that bad. Though I have had the Winch run all the way out and my 2 log chains tied in to pull stuff to the ATV. Most time I can get the ATV back up to the log and wrap a chain around it and give her a pull back to where I left the trailer parked.

(broken image removed)

I can pull this trailer loaded like this around 30% of the land, The other 70% has a long hill climb that if I load level full its a crap shoot if I make it or not. Most time I load Heavy my Dad loads his light and we hook a tow chain from the front of my quad to the back of his trailer and slow and steady up the hill we go.

from the central pile after 1 or 2 years of drying it gets the truck box for the final 6 miles to my house.

sublime out.

 

[Shipper50]

I use this for local use, and my pick up truck for hauling for distances.

Shipper

 

[chad3]

Not sure if it was on here, but go to the local pool company and get a bad pool filter (they have plenty of old ones, the plastic tank). Cut a small hole in the top and use this as a cone to drag the wood out of the woods. It acts as a ramp and allows most wood to ride on top of the ground instead of digging its way through it.
Hope that helps someone.
Chad

 

[NHFarmer]

4x4 tractor with a 3ph winch is the way to go if you really want to twitch out some wood.I like to wait for the ground to freeze and then pull out tree length.If the going is good you can pull a lot of wood in a day.

 

[dirttracker]

The garden tractor is a fine idea. My old 214 John Deere with a 4x8 trailer with 2' sides works well for tight spots. The only downside, if the trailer is full I have to have someone sit on the hood so I can steer. It would be the perfect setup if the JD had independent brakes for those times when the front end won't stay on the ground. For the stuff farther away from the house or a little more accessible I use my old 87 chevy 4x4. Bought it cheap and it will go through anything except mud. If only I could find a good cheap used set of 10.5x31R15's with decent tread I'd be set. It would be out of place to buy new tires and double the value of the truck. It was already set up with a high current plug in the bumper to power an electric winch and a DMI bumper to cushion the blows when using a bit of inertia to take down those trees that get hung up and just don't want to fall.

 

[LLigetfa]

Why drag logs through the mud to dull the chainsaw? Skid in winter on frozen ground/snow or buck it up right where it falls.

Rounds too heavy to carry? split it on the spot and trailer it out.

All the mess stays in the bush with no yard cleanup needed.

 

[branchburner]

My wife's Toyota Sienna mini-van...

... don't ask.

 

[johnsopi]

For the most part I won't take any wood that I can't drive up to, and won't hand carry over 20- 30ft.

 

[caber]

I buck, split and stack right where the tree falls. Then I come back in 6 months when the splits are half the weight they are fresh cut. Load them up on a modified boat trailer and haul them out with the tractor. Or I use the carry-all on the tractor for harder to reach areas. I find it's less strain on me and the equipment not to move anything up to the house until its seasoned and lighter.

 

[CowboyAndy]

My wife's Toyota Sienna mini-van...

... don't ask.

that's funny... when we first started cutting in the spring, my truck was out of commission for a week or so. at that time i didnt have my olds bravada and trailer, and my brother in law who has a truck was busy. So for whatever reason my wife had my taurus, and i had the minivan. she was coming home from work driving down the road we cut and saw the van at the other end of the field against the treeline, so she drove down to see what was up and was HORRIFIED to find me and the kids loading hickory rounds into the back of the minivan... which btw is a mint 2001 pontiac montana with leather and the works...

 

[LLigetfa]

For the most part I won't take any wood that I can't drive up to, and won't hand carry over 20- 30ft.

IKWYM but 20 - 30 ft might be a tad too lazy. Drop the tree toward the direction of travel. You'll save yourself 50 feet on some of it.

The woodpeckers need their habitat too. At least that's what I tell the wife when she nags me to cull out the standing dead wood a bit too far back.

 

[crazy_dan]

I use a 4600 John Deere tractor with a 460 loader and a pickup bed trailer. the tractor is 4WD and 25 HP at the PTO. It works pretty good load the trailer and the loader bucket.
I can haul about 3/4 of a cord it at a time the trailer is 4'x6'x4'

When I get one too far off the beaten path I cut a path to it or I use the four wheeler with a little trailer or skid it to the beaten path.

 

[branchburner]

My wife's Toyota Sienna mini-van...

... don't ask.

that's funny... when we first started cutting in the spring, my truck was out of commission for a week or so. at that time i didnt have my olds bravada and trailer, and my brother in law who has a truck was busy. So for whatever reason my wife had my taurus, and i had the minivan. she was coming home from work driving down the road we cut and saw the van at the other end of the field against the treeline, so she drove down to see what was up and was HORRIFIED to find me and the kids loading hickory rounds into the back of the minivan... which btw is a mint 2001 pontiac montana with leather and the works...

Does hold a decent amount, but not the best when the field is a bit wet!

 

[kobudo]

14 year old daughter and 12 year old son.