Buying logs off landings?

[Dmurph116]

Do logging companies sell their logs directly to people that have their own log truck/ way of transporting them?
I’m doing a little side work for a firewood co, and they have a semi truck and want to buy a log trailer to pickup logs. Of course they would need a way to offload them at the wood yard, but I’m sure a loader/ excavator would work?

 

[madhatte]

Generally on a timber sale of any size in these parts, the logger has already made arrangements with the mill and has bucked according to the preferred lengths of that mill. It's possible but not likely that they'd sell a log. Cull or limbs as firewood? Different story. Lots of that stuff is sold via second contracts to processor guys, but some is just left on the landing to be burned, or scattered back out in the unit. It would be far easier to buy leftovers than the main product, I'd think.

 

[Leeroy]

Does the outfit you do some side work for have a dump trailer? I've got 3 different buyers that have them.
Load trailer with my forwarder. 22' logs. These are straight and well trimmed, so even though I'm loading blind other than a few signals from driver, they roll in pretty tight.
Always meant to see how they dumped out, but owners said it stayed in a fairly neat pile. They did have support equipment too.
Just an idea as there must be more dump trailers vs. log trailers around here-here being Southern New England.
Agree with @northmanlogging ,loading and unloading with an excavator is sketchy, and even without a mishap would take much too long, especially with small firewood poles.

 

[Seachaser]

Plus most logging around here is on private property.

 

[slowp]

I can see some problems, but the logger ought to not deal with you if they are having to run the logs through scaling or weighing. They don't get paid, usually, until after delivery to the mill. Cull logs, maybe. Be very careful and do your homework. It may not be the logger you have to deal with--it may be The Mill. Mills buy standing timber and hire loggers to log it and deliver it.

If it is on federal land, be damn careful to have all your ducks in a row. You'll need a permit, at the least, and may not be allowed to cut firewood off an active sale. I don't know if there are any sales still being scaled, but if they are, hauling logs home from a landing without having them scaled, is timber theft.