Best way to move big wood?

Ballcarts - Startup/poormans log forwarder
Mini Skids - A huge leap out of the Stone age of manpower brush and log forwarding
Articulating Loaders - The next leap ahead in efficient Brush and log forwarding
for residential Tree work I have found nothing superior - short of a crane
It is economically STUPID to drag brush and logs with manpower alone
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Carl, if that was directed at me; you are correct and it's not hard to make, I just need to get motivated and get it done.

Dave, until yesterday morning I had never seen an articulating loader in action. He had an old Zettelmeyer (sp.) probably a late 80's or early 90's model and I would guess it's comprable to a Gehl 340.... heaviest log that went on the dump trailer was probably in the 4000 lb range give or take and the machine never even thought about getting up on it's toes. When the logs were up and gone the yard looked untouched.... very impressive.
 
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BRT said:
Sorry--just wanted to be sure I understand: you use a mini to load 12', 20"+ logs? I guess I need to see one of these load a piece that big into a trailer.

My next question is--can you get more than one into the trailer in this manner, or do you have to make one trip per log? I suppose efficiency is my concern with that setup.
Click to expand...
Most people can not believe I can fully load our 12k 6'x12' dump trailer with 12' logs with our mini. The trailer has a 6' tall metal framed/ plywood chip box with removable 2 piece top. We only remove the top when loading with cranes.

The trick is to line up the largest logs first. If the mini can pick on end of the log up, it's on! The secret is, the deck height of the dump trailer is so low, compared to say a truck's deck. Some times the mini can only pick up one end of a big log few feet high for a moment. The trick is to line it up at an angle that allows the mini to lift and move forward at the same movement to get on end of the log onto the trailer deck. Then simply go to the other end and lift and push her on. Of course you can not get the bigger logs up high. You presort the load, according to weight/size. Some times we will even use smaller pieces of wood to step up the really big logs. Amazing that longer logs are easier to load due to the leverage you can manipulate. As log as you can continue to put one end of a log on top of each course, it's on. Even near the end you do not have to reach the top, all you have to do is lift a few feet from the end so you can get the end up top at a 45 degree and then go to the other end, lift and push em up, some times using the end of the bmg jib to get it all the way up there.

We refined this technique this winter working on frozen ground. We could not believe we had been cutting logs down to 4'-6' to pick them up and load them in the past.

First log of our load the other day was a 12' x 20" shagbark hickory somewhere in the 1600lb range. The mini could not skid this log due to the tall grass and sand, nor pick one end up more then a couple of feet for a moment. Backed the trailer right up lift and lunge technique. The rest of the logs were the smaller logs of the shagbark and 12" elm logs. The jib on the bmg works great for pushing the upper logs all the way into the trailer, as well as rolling the big logs over to the trailer. In about 20minutes I can load that trailer with 8,000-9,000lbs of logs.

I suppose I should make a video showing this technique as I have not seen anyone else doing it. I'm going to get an arbor trolley to help forward logs to the trailer with the mini so we do not have to skid across nicer lawns. Can I just use my iPhone and YouTube?
 
Drove a total of 10 hours today and bought an AL540. I'd never driven one before so I was a bit nervous about how it would feel. It was very intuitive. Took and spun some cookies on some grass without even a trace that I was there.
Waiting on Dave to make some more grapples. I'm very anxious to put this thing to use. I feel like this machine will set us apart from other companies in a great way.
Stay tuned for some good videos and photos of the thing in use.
Here's my girlfriend giving me final approval before purchase.
 
I haven't decided on the tires yet. Dave says these are the way to go. We will probably get some use out of them before making any decisions to upgrade to turf tires. I like the versatility of just using these so long as they remain turf friendly.
 
frashdog said:
Most people can not believe I can fully load our 12k 6'x12' dump trailer with 12' logs with our mini. The trailer has a 6' tall metal framed/ plywood chip box with removable 2 piece top. We only remove the top when loading with cranes.

The trick is to line up the largest logs first. If the mini can pick on end of the log up, it's on! The secret is, the deck height of the dump trailer is so low, compared to say a truck's deck. Some times the mini can only pick up one end of a big log few feet high for a moment. The trick is to line it up at an angle that allows the mini to lift and move forward at the same movement to get on end of the log onto the trailer deck. Then simply go to the other end and lift and push her on. Of course you can not get the bigger logs up high. You presort the load, according to weight/size. Some times we will even use smaller pieces of wood to step up the really big logs. Amazing that longer logs are easier to load due to the leverage you can manipulate. As log as you can continue to put one end of a log on top of each course, it's on. Even near the end you do not have to reach the top, all you have to do is lift a few feet from the end so you can get the end up top at a 45 degree and then go to the other end, lift and push em up, some times using the end of the bmg jib to get it all the way up there.

We refined this technique this winter working on frozen ground. We could not believe we had been cutting logs down to 4'-6' to pick them up and load them in the past.

First log of our load the other day was a 12' x 20" shagbark hickory somewhere in the 1600lb range. The mini could not skid this log due to the tall grass and sand, nor pick one end up more then a couple of feet for a moment. Backed the trailer right up lift and lunge technique. The rest of the logs were the smaller logs of the shagbark and 12" elm logs. The jib on the bmg works great for pushing the upper logs all the way into the trailer, as well as rolling the big logs over to the trailer. In about 20minutes I can load that trailer with 8,000-9,000lbs of logs.

I suppose I should make a video showing this technique as I have not seen anyone else doing it. I'm going to get an arbor trolley to help forward logs to the trailer with the mini so we do not have to skid across nicer lawns. Can I just use my iPhone and YouTube?
Click to expand...
3 Q's:
-What mini do you use? tracks or wheeled?
-Is it your only wood moving equip?
-Which piece of equip. (material moving) would be your first purchase?
Thanks.
 
AmericanArborist said:
Drove a total of 10 hours today and bought an AL540. I'd never driven one before so I was a bit nervous about how it would feel. It was very intuitive. Took and spun some cookies on some grass without even a trace that I was there.
Waiting on Dave to make some more grapples. I'm very anxious to put this thing to use. I feel like this machine will set us apart from other companies in a great way.
Stay tuned for some good videos and photos of the thing in use.
Here's my girlfriend giving me final approval before purchase.
Click to expand...
Will you put a grapple on it?
 
man im jealous of these machines.
do you guys with these larger loaders run into problems reaching logs in tight spots? some of these pictures show machines that are sweet, but they seem limited as to the areas they can sneak in to. some of these machines lift huge loads, but they are pretty big machines and it (to me as a person who has never seen these in action) seem kinda similar to winching / getting stuff to where a log truck can grab it.
we have a rear mount log truck and its great. you just need to be sure there is clearance for the truck and that you get loads to where the grapple (or a length of chain on the grapple) can get to it.
i feel like a machine that can access material in more places would be more advantageous than a machine that can lift a larger load.
this coming from a person who doesnt have anything other than an arbor trolley and log truck tho...
 
that is amazing. I never new a swing loader would have that mega lifting power. Now I know what I'm gonna get for my next loader. If I get another. Goddarn that's something.
 
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