log sledding?

[southsoundtree]

We know about skidding logs, right? What about sledding logs? There are skidding cones http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=PCA1290&catID=.
The skidding cone would be better to work in a forest setting where there are roots and ruts aren't so hard to fix.


Has anyone built a sled to protect lawn?


I'm imagining a 2"x6" solidly attached to a 3'wide x 8'-12' long piece of thick plywood. Roll the log onto the plywood, connect sled through chains bolted to 2x6 and hooked to truck/ atv/ winch. I'm figuring that there would be a slight lift toward the winch point that would lift the front end a bit, or cut a bevel into the 2x6.

No gouging of the lawn, nor resistance from the front of the log digging into the lawn or soil. If winching or towing from a durable surface, no extra machine weight or damage on the lawn.

This would be a cheap thing to make for that special customer that is finicky about their lawn, or for working in wet conditions. I guess the alternative to making/ leapfrogging plywood on the ground.

 

[highclimber30]

I have been wondering about this for a while and have presented the idea to my employer. My idea was to use a piece of plastic like a alturna-matt and to bend up the front end like a tobaggin type sled. that way it wouldn't dig into the yard like the log would. I imagine that you would still have some lawn damage...just hopefully not as much as a log skidding across the yard. Anyway, my employer has provided me with a piece of plastic, not an alturna-matt, but something close...I've just been lazy and not tried it yet. I do think the idea is a good one though. I was thinking that you could have a ratchet strap attached to your skid...pile as much brush or loose tree debris as you choose, tighten it down with the strap and sled away with the winch, atv, gator or whatever. I'm really interested in any method like this that has been used before.

 

[Kevin]

A log arch works good for this purpose.
http://www.logrite.com/mainarch.html has large tires on some models.

They can be winched or towed.
I have loaded my arch with the weight on the back bringing the tongue up and winching with the portable winch.
The tongue drops to level while winching.

 

[southsoundtree]

Thanks Kevin. I know that arches work nicely. I'm thinking about a larger log than will fit a smaller arch, and a device that will be cheap for the occasional use, and that can be skidded/ sledded through a gate. I wonder about ground pressure of two rolling tires, probably about 2 square feet of contact area of the arch wheel to the ground, compared to the ground pressure/ damage/ impact of a larger sheet of plywood.

 

[Kevin]

Ground pressure isn't much if you keep the tire pressure down.
A way to improve it would be add extra wheels.
I have a six wheel Argo and it has less ground pressure than a mans foot print.
Anything you drag repeatedly on the grass will likely kill it.
You could cut them into smaller pieces and haul them out with a wheelbarrow on top of planks.

 

[treebing]

kind of like a big Jet sled. I use large jet sleds to haul things out with. sometimes I rig em on pulleys to the truck in the driveway and haul things out like that. I use reverse MA to make the drive shorter than the haul distance.

The log arches do work well on yards and you can get logs through gates with them you just have to stick one end theough, lift the log arch through and then take the rest of the log from the other siade.