Winch or Buck in the woods

[JP11]

I'm in a dilemma. Thus far I've been gathering wood (albeit only since fall) by using my 35hp cab tractor on stuff that's close to the driveway. Then this winter I used my utility snowmobile and a otter sled.

NOW.. It's getting toward mud season. I'm "ahead" about 8 cords.. but I really think I'm gonna burn that and more per year. Especially as I have a lot of hemlock in this first year's wood.

My initial thought was to get a dual axle cart with walking beam suspension. My dad loves to come play with my wood, and he has a Polaris 700 atv. I could have that for the summer. I've already got lots of skid roads from a previous logging. The land is pretty wet though, and I think half of my 70 acres would be best left alone till freeze up and snow for snowmobile logging. The other half I can access by narrow bridge. Tractor can't get over it, but ATV can. I COULD build a bigger bridge, and add one culvert to get tractor over there. Bashing about in the woods with the kubota is LOW on my desire list.

OR...

I have a line on a nice, used farmi winch. it's really bigger than I want, but I think I can get it at a good price (and more important could get OUT of it if I didn't like it) That would allow me to log a much larger portion of my land in any weather. I could access quite a few acres with that 165' winch. I have about a half mile of driveway, then another call it 1/4 mile of old road and trail that's dry enough to get on any time. That opens up a lot of timber.

The cart would be a bit cheaper, but would have more uses than the winch. The winch and wet ground means more saw sharpening.. Or waiting for rain to clean some of the mud from logs.

Eventual plans would have me replacing my borrowed ATV with a ranger or RTV. I promised myself no more "toys" till I had a barn for them. As it is I'm tight on garage space with 4 vehicles and a Kubota vying for space in the 2 bays. * the tractor always goes in, it cost more than all the others.

Thanks for the input.

JP

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I have no cart nor winch. I'd rather cut when and where it works best for me, so if I had my choice, I'd go with the winch. And more like 300' of cable

BTW, drag when the ground is frozen and your chains will last longer. And you'll spend less time fixin' the road. 4WIW

 

[firefighterjake]

Well it really comes down to what you want and desire . . . both are very good options to be honest and it sounds like you've weighed the pros and cons with both.

I still cannot believe you were able to get as much wood out with the sled this year with as little snow that we had . . . I mean I believe you . . . but it was definitely not the greatest of years for sledding to be sure.

Personally I went with the ATV and cart route . . . it was cheaper for me . . . especially since I already have an ATV and use the ATV like a mini tractor . . . add to that I like to buck up the wood in the woods for less mess and less dirt on the wood . . . I also find that the ATV allows me to cut narrower trails in the woods so I don't end up having to cut as much smaller wood to make the trail -- leaving that wood to grow up more for future years of cutting . . . plus I don't tend to bash up the other standing, living trees as much with the ATV and cart. A plus for you would be the fact that you wouldn't have to rebuild a bridge or put in a culvert.

I should add that I am using a beefed up standard metal trailer with Saab tires added to them . . . but I am a big fan of trailers with walking beam suspensions. Our ATV Club has one that my cousin built and that trailer (even when loaded) will go anywhere that the ATV will go . . . and more so . . . in the past I've crawled up and over stumps, rock piles and whatever else I could find and the tires just go right over any obstacle without upsetting the load.

That said . . . I have used my father's Kubota with winch and it's pretty slick . . . very nice when you have a snag that you need to pull down . . . also it seems as though you can get a lot more wood, a lot more quickly when you're not taking the time to buck up the wood.

Again . . . either way is viable.

 

[smokinj]

Always buck and split where she lyes.

 

[JP11]

Jake.. In fairness, I probably got half the wood BEFORE snow flew. I had an area about half way down the drive that had a half dozen BIG blown down hemlock. I was making round trips with a full bucket for quite a while. I had a pile of it that was 6' high and probably 20' around. I would add to it all winter. I ran that skandic with just a couple inches of snow on the ground. I would easily do 6 or 7 sleds of wood (about a cord) In a few hours. I was sad to see the snow go away.

I put in a really low offer on the winch. The guy has had it sitting there for a decade. I bought a nice hydraulic feed chipper from him too under similar circumstances. We'll see if he goes for it again. If not, I'll get the wagon. I do like the idea of all the mess in the woods. Bucking along side the drive wouldn't be bad. Heck, I could drag the splitter anywhere along the drive and split out there too.


JP

 

[ScotO]

Agreed. Why wear-and-tear machinery and tools when you can buck and split it on site, then when the ground dries out or freezes go and get it out of the woods.......that's what this guy would do. I do a lot of cutting on the neighbors 400 acre farm and do it in the winter. I use my old snowmobile and my homemade sleigh to get it back to the house.

 

[pen]

Around here (Endless Mountains Region of Pa) if you were to cut and split all the wood where it lies, you'd be working on steep side hills a good part of the time and chasing rounds down the hill after cut.

I end up having to drag the logs back to a level landing using an old Farmall 450. This works fine, with the exeption of the logs getting dirt and mud stuck on them which can muck up chains.

Considering the hills I'm working with (and the size logs) I don't think a cart would do me much good. I do wish the tractor had a good 3 point hitch system so that I could rig up something to lift one end of the log while dragging it to the "landing"

If we were working in woods that was fairly level, I'd like to try using some sort of log cart.

pen

 

[smokinj]

Around here (Endless Mountains Region of Pa) if you were to cut and split all the wood where it lies, you'd be working on steep side hills a good part of the time and chasing rounds down the hill after cut.

I end up having to drag the logs back to a level landing using an old Farmall 450. This works fine, with the exeption of the logs getting dirt and mud stuck on them which can muck up chains.

Considering the hills I'm working with (and the size logs) I don't think a cart would do me much good. I do wish the tractor had a good 3 point hitch system so that I could rig up something to lift one end of the log while dragging it to the "landing"

If we were working in woods that was fairly level, I'd like to try using some sort of log cart.

pen

There lyes the down falls......Glad I am in the flat land!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'm in a dilemma. Thus far I've been gathering wood (albeit only since fall) by using my 35hp cab tractor on stuff that's close to the driveway. Then this winter I used my utility snowmobile and a otter sled.

NOW.. It's getting toward mud season. I'm "ahead" about 8 cords.. but I really think I'm gonna burn that and more per year. Especially as I have a lot of hemlock in this first year's wood.

My initial thought was to get a dual axle cart with walking beam suspension. My dad loves to come play with my wood, and he has a Polaris 700 atv. I could have that for the summer. I've already got lots of skid roads from a previous logging. The land is pretty wet though, and I think half of my 70 acres would be best left alone till freeze up and snow for snowmobile logging. The other half I can access by narrow bridge. Tractor can't get over it, but ATV can. I COULD build a bigger bridge, and add one culvert to get tractor over there. Bashing about in the woods with the kubota is LOW on my desire list.

OR...

I have a line on a nice, used farmi winch. it's really bigger than I want, but I think I can get it at a good price (and more important could get OUT of it if I didn't like it) That would allow me to log a much larger portion of my land in any weather. I could access quite a few acres with that 165' winch. I have about a half mile of driveway, then another call it 1/4 mile of old road and trail that's dry enough to get on any time. That opens up a lot of timber.

The cart would be a bit cheaper, but would have more uses than the winch. The winch and wet ground means more saw sharpening.. Or waiting for rain to clean some of the mud from logs.

Eventual plans would have me replacing my borrowed ATV with a ranger or RTV. I promised myself no more "toys" till I had a barn for them. As it is I'm tight on garage space with 4 vehicles and a Kubota vying for space in the 2 bays. * the tractor always goes in, it cost more than all the others.

Thanks for the input.

JP

I'm not a big fan of winching because it is usually very slow. There are times when it is almost necessary but very few, at least for us. That 700 atv will pull a lot! Makes getting wood pretty easy. This is how we get some of our logs out:

I built this small dray for about $10. Snow or no snow you can skid logs out really quick and easy. If mud is a problem, then all you would need to do would be to make the runners out of larger stock. We used to Take a slab off each side of a log and use that for the runners as it get the logs higher. One just needs to make it to suit the work you intend to do.

 

[hoho]

I have used a farmi winch since 1986 you w not be unhappy with it in the winter you can move many log to your fire wood pile and css during mud season

 

[Mr A]

Paul Bunyan had an ox.

 

[jeepmedic]

I buck it and put it in the the cart my 4wheeler has. Does an awesome job. I split at another site in my yard.

 

[Flamestead]

I've done it both ways. Grew up tossing wood in a trailer to haul it up to the house for splitting. Did the same with my current place for several years. Pick up the wood and put it on the trailer, pick it up to unload. It works just fine.

Now I use a winch, with less handling. Cut the trees and skid out of the woods on snow to keep it clean. Yard it, and then once the snow goes, start cutting into blocks and then split/stack. I have enough room to yard in different areas each year, so I can stack right where I cut it.

My dream is a forwarding trailer. I was very limited for time with adequate snow for skidding this year. I was able to get all I needed and all my parents need, but still have a lot of woodland that needs some of the low quality trees removed, and now am waiting for next winter before starting in again.

After having used the winch for 5 years I have no interest in cutting where the tree landed. (My woodland is mostly hillside.)

 

[ohlongarm]

Well it really comes down to what you want and desire . . . both are very good options to be honest and it sounds like you've weighed the pros and cons with both.

I still cannot believe you were able to get as much wood out with the sled this year with as little snow that we had . . . I mean I believe you . . . but it was definitely not the greatest of years for sledding to be sure.

Personally I went with the ATV and cart route . . . it was cheaper for me . . . especially since I already have an ATV and use the ATV like a mini tractor . . . add to that I like to buck up the wood in the woods for less mess and less dirt on the wood . . . I also find that the ATV allows me to cut narrower trails in the woods so I don't end up having to cut as much smaller wood to make the trail -- leaving that wood to grow up more for future years of cutting . . . plus I don't tend to bash up the other standing, living trees as much with the ATV and cart. A plus for you would be the fact that you wouldn't have to rebuild a bridge or put in a culvert.

I should add that I am using a beefed up standard metal trailer with Saab tires added to them . . . but I am a big fan of trailers with walking beam suspensions. Our ATV Club has one that my cousin built and that trailer (even when loaded) will go anywhere that the ATV will go . . . and more so . . . in the past I've crawled up and over stumps, rock piles and whatever else I could find and the tires just go right over any obstacle without upsetting the load.

That said . . . I have used my father's Kubota with winch and it's pretty slick . . . very nice when you have a snag that you need to pull down . . . also it seems as though you can get a lot more wood, a lot more quickly when you're not taking the time to buck up the wood.

Again . . . either way is viable.

I'm with you 100% ,with the atv and cart,you can just about get anywhere and cut yourself in, my Suzuki King Quad will haul 1000# easily and more but no need to abuse it.Get yourself a logging chain and you can drag the stuff out also.

 

[BobUrban]

I fabbed a single log skidder for my quad and it really helps reduce the dirt/mud build up. It rotates completely so the log tracks right behind the bike and I can get them out of anywhere I can get the bike in without any trouble. I just drag them to an open area for processing and use my trailer or, if I am working at the house, drag them up close to the stacks and process right onto the pile.