Wood puller
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I has a gas powered capstan winch on order. Makes a lot more sense for the selective cutting that i need to do.
MissMac
Minister of Fire
i buck the wood into a manageable size and use two feet and a heart beat to get it to my truck.
Sawset
Minister of Fire
A Murry with lug tires, and a 4x8 trailer.
Usually when I'm out in the woods, I'm also not in a rush to get out. Which means fast and efficient equipment isn't on my priority list. I've got all year to get in 4 cords. A couple of calm weekends in the fall, a couple in the spring, haul till I'm tired, done. At home wait till it gets good and cold and start hand splitting. Rent a splitter for the little bit that's left.
Usually when I'm out in the woods, I'm also not in a rush to get out. Which means fast and efficient equipment isn't on my priority list. I've got all year to get in 4 cords. A couple of calm weekends in the fall, a couple in the spring, haul till I'm tired, done. At home wait till it gets good and cold and start hand splitting. Rent a splitter for the little bit that's left.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
DodgyNomad
Minister of Fire
Depends on where I'm at. If close and there's room, easiest is the Front end loader with a large bucket, hauls 1 face cord per load. Or, if it's further away, truck/trailer or ATV or UTV pulling a smaller trailer.
We also have a battery powered wheelbarrow that is one of my favorite tools. Looks like this one:
https://handtrucks2go.com/Light-Dut...MIgp6R3oy-4AIVkRh9Ch1K9gFuEAQYASABEgLBq_D_BwE
If you ever get a chance to get your hands on one of these wheelbarrows, I highly recommend. When you don't have to use your lower back to push the mass, and all you're doing is holding the handles and it pulls itself, really saves some effort. Really nice where it's hilly, uneven ground.
We also have a battery powered wheelbarrow that is one of my favorite tools. Looks like this one:
https://handtrucks2go.com/Light-Dut...MIgp6R3oy-4AIVkRh9Ch1K9gFuEAQYASABEgLBq_D_BwE
If you ever get a chance to get your hands on one of these wheelbarrows, I highly recommend. When you don't have to use your lower back to push the mass, and all you're doing is holding the handles and it pulls itself, really saves some effort. Really nice where it's hilly, uneven ground.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
At the location where I’m harvesting:
At home:
At home:
I saw gas powered wheelbarrows used on the trails in New Zealand, they would fly the wheelbarrows in with helicopter and then fly in square 1 yard bags of crushed rock. They really like crushed rock on the major trails, they are practically paced with it.
johneh
Minister of Fire
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Wood1Dennis
Burning Hunk
Ashful, your at location tractor looks a lot like my Ford 2000. It's amazing what I can pull with that little tractor.
When it is cut up, the Polaris Ranger gets called into action.
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The US military stopped using the SEE backhoe loader several years ago and put them out to auction. They were built for the cold war in Europe but never used for it. There was the loader backhoe variant and an all terrain forklift/crane version (HMMH). Some did get repainted to go to Iraq but most just sat in storage yards and many went out to states as government surplus. They were auctioned off starting about 3 years ago. Mine is 1987. Most had little or no hours. It had 40 hours in the engine and 323 miles on the odo. I actually bought mine from someone who hit the early auctions and had started to redo the damage from sitting outdoors since 1987 (new hoses and front fenders). The auction prices varied a lot. Some actually were sent out to reconditioning facilities for a full rebuild and then set out on the line for auction. There are usually a few out there for private sale but mixed with the "good ones" were junkers that had major mechanical issues that folks bought at the original military auction. They are fairly complex vehicles as its Mercedes Unimog chassis with german Schmidt loader and Case backhoe on the back. Lots of air assisted systems that need cleaning out.. The major depot for these were in Texas and some sort of desert rat liked to build nests on main electrical harness and gnaw through the wires. They can still run that way but the dash and many of the systems will not work.. Mine had that damage and it took awhile to figure things out as there were no electrical wiring diagrams available at the time. Steel Soldiers has a Unimog forum and there is fairly active group of SEE folks who help each other out. Folks ask a lot for them in Ebay auctions but if you check the sold listings you will find a lot do not sell. The only place that keep some inventory is this company http://www.ccsurplus.com/inventory/...82960&snai=0&lo=4&ftr=1&keywords=unimog&sfc=0 They know which ones are worth buying at auction and go through them. They don't restore them but its likely everything is working and if you get lucky they may have one of the reconned ones that have good hoses as they one that sat for years in storage have a lot of cracked hydraulic hoses. Some folks on Steel Soldiers got good ones that needed minor fixes for 12 to 15 K. I have seen actually sold prices usually in the 15 to 20 K range with real good one going for more. The government paid around 120k each in 1987.
The ambulance is 1989/90 that was in the last batch of the 1300 series built for the German military, they were running out of 1300 parts so they used some parts from a newer 1550 series. It has much higher mileage but the German Army was obsessive about maintenance so they are in good shape mechanically although rust is concern. It currently is an ambulance but I had to strip out the ambulance guts to insure it. Many folks turn them into expedition campers, I am swapping the box with someone over to cargo body. It had the fording option which I think is 41" of water.
They are privately imported once they 25 years old so they are emissions and safety exempt. The paperwork to import them is a difficult and if it isn't done they can be seized and crushed so it best to pay a premium to someone with track record. Folks on occasion bring in AG versions and they to get them registered and usually end up selling them due to the paperwork. I bought mine from a independent dealer in NH http://www.unimogcenter.com/ my 1300 is in the picture somewhere. I think he sold his spare SEE and is the person I am swapping a box with.
The key thing with both of them are there are no dealers or authorized mechanics to work on them. Even though the SEE is called a Freightliner no freighliner mechanic would have a clue how to work on it and Mercedes never imported either series into the US. You can order parts through any Mercedes dealer if you have the part numbers. Therefore if you don't do your own diagnosis and repairs when something breaks it may end up as expensive scrap. Both of them have no digital systems. No microprocessors or software required. All just switches and wires (lots of them) mechanical fuel injection that any Bosch injection shop can work on.
They used to be expensive but given what some one pays for a new F250 four wheel drive that is impossible to owner maintain and far less beefy the Unimogs start to be attractive. Of course the 60 MPH max speed on good day may turn some folks off.
The ambulance is 1989/90 that was in the last batch of the 1300 series built for the German military, they were running out of 1300 parts so they used some parts from a newer 1550 series. It has much higher mileage but the German Army was obsessive about maintenance so they are in good shape mechanically although rust is concern. It currently is an ambulance but I had to strip out the ambulance guts to insure it. Many folks turn them into expedition campers, I am swapping the box with someone over to cargo body. It had the fording option which I think is 41" of water.
They are privately imported once they 25 years old so they are emissions and safety exempt. The paperwork to import them is a difficult and if it isn't done they can be seized and crushed so it best to pay a premium to someone with track record. Folks on occasion bring in AG versions and they to get them registered and usually end up selling them due to the paperwork. I bought mine from a independent dealer in NH http://www.unimogcenter.com/ my 1300 is in the picture somewhere. I think he sold his spare SEE and is the person I am swapping a box with.
The key thing with both of them are there are no dealers or authorized mechanics to work on them. Even though the SEE is called a Freightliner no freighliner mechanic would have a clue how to work on it and Mercedes never imported either series into the US. You can order parts through any Mercedes dealer if you have the part numbers. Therefore if you don't do your own diagnosis and repairs when something breaks it may end up as expensive scrap. Both of them have no digital systems. No microprocessors or software required. All just switches and wires (lots of them) mechanical fuel injection that any Bosch injection shop can work on.
They used to be expensive but given what some one pays for a new F250 four wheel drive that is impossible to owner maintain and far less beefy the Unimogs start to be attractive. Of course the 60 MPH max speed on good day may turn some folks off.
Yup - Easily got my 10k steps in last sunday walking back and forth from a tree that fell down in my neighbors yard to my trailer.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Wow, that's rad. I didn't know the US military ever used Mogs. As cool as Unimogs are, I just don't have a use for one. My wife probably wouldn't be happy if another vehicle showed up.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I assume this is knowledge obtained after some prior incident. “But it’s a bus... that goes to space!”
Or was it, “I just bought it for more storage space...”?
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Haha, very close! I told her on the phone while driving the 2003 Class A 38' RV I just bought "It's like a space ship". We lived in the bus for two years on my "landlord's" (a friend) property and named it the SpaceBus. The bus was our little space ship while we saved up our money to buy our own place with some land and privacy.
I bet you get a lot of splits out of those big rounds Ash... what species are they?
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Both the big stick being dragged behind the Ford, and the big rounds I'm lifting with the Deere are all oak. Oak is at least 90% of what I bring home and burn, the last several years.
Wow... with access to that much oak no wander you throw shade to Poplar lol.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
I have a number of machines the ones that I bring home are a bobcat t590 track machine and a Kubota 4760
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
I just bought this for other purposes but I’m sure it will come in handy for processing firewood. My neighbor is is the forestry/tree business and often brings me a dump trailer full of sticks to small to run through his mill
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