Log dolly, harbor freight dolly, motobarrow, log arch, arbor trolley?

[Wayne Wilkinson]

So, im on the hunt for a simple cost effective way to transport fire wood sized chunks of logs from the yard to the trailer. At the moment we just buck it and roll it if its too big to carry. I dont think many logs would weigh much more then the rated 600lbs that the "extra capacity wide dolly" at harbor freight. Im trying to keep cost low but if it brings up production or allows for less men on sight it may be worth a little more. I been racking my brain the past few days because we have a large oak removal coming up, then two moderate oaks that are in a hard to access spot. Even smaller powered equipment would be hard to get back there, and control when taking down the small slick hill. with a load. I have used two wheeled barrows before and think they suck, but ive never used a motorized one either. I dont think loading the logs would be too easy into the barrow... The log dolly is quite pricey for just a dolly but i have heard good things about it. menards sells an electric barrow but its only rated for 200lbs, and its electric. I really dont have the cash to shell out for the arbor trolley but that is my first choice if i could afford it. Im not sure log arch is right for what im trying to do as a lot of the trees we wreck are 30"+ and again we buck it into firewood sizes. most log arches i have seen are for logging operations. HELP my head hurts! Ideas comments exp. with some of these items? I mean what we are doing works, but it wears out guys fast and labor aint cheap, the more tired they are the slower they work...

 

[Carburetorless]

I've carted some good sized chunks with my 600lb dolly. Just make sure you pressure the tires up till they're hard and it works pretty good.

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

the harbor freight dolly? for 100 bucks it seems like the best deal. I have a pipe fitter friend who i was just talking to about building an arbor trolley, he said he has a bunch of 3/8 angle we could weld together to make box tubing for the main part and use the rest of the angle iron for the supports. i took out a dead maple for his mom last week so he kinda owes me.

 

[Carburetorless]

I can't remember if I got the dolly I'm talking about at Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, or Lowe's, but it works pretty good. Think I got it for $20.

Anyway, by the time you burn up all the rods or wire to weld those together you could probably buy square tubing or flat.

Do you have a drawing of what you're going to build? I've had building a log carrier on my mind for a couple of years now, I've drawn out the plans and everything, just haven't gotten around to building the thing, but when I do it's going to be awesome.

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

it doesnt have to be welded fully down the seams, just a nice inch weld every 6-10 inches will make me happy. and again its stuff he has laying around. If i go that route I will only have to buy rims tires and pins to hold the wheels on the axle.

 

[Carburetorless]

You might want to look into wheels with tires and bearings already installed, with a castle nut to hold them on the axles, especially if you're going to be carting heavy objects across uneven terrain.

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

Thanks ill keep that in mind!

 

[TreeFeller11]

Mini skid.... Work hard and save up for it, you won't regret it.
Until then tractor supply has a beefy 1000 lb. hand truck for $130.00. Me and several other companies near me own it and swear by it. The tires are big and perfect for lawns. And the handle sticks out far enough so you can lay it on the ground and load it up to the gills without the logs really rolling off.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hand-truck-1000-lb-capacity

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

Yeah something like a dingo is in my future im sure. Stump grinder bucket with grapple, and a million other uses, but out of my price range for the next few jobs for sure. The tractor supply dolly looks promising. i hadnt thought about them. proly the one hardware store in town i didnt think about. thanks TreeFeller

 

[Magnum783]

I just built my own arbor trolley. They aren't too bad I can post up some dimensions if you need them or want them. I feel like that and a two wheel borrow can't handle. Just my two cents.

 

[Carburetorless]

I'm planning to build something like this.

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

I want something like that when i start milling. Right now we need something small and easy to get in tight places but still make moving the load easier on the guy moving the load.

 

[ATH]

I finally bit the bullet on the Arbor Trolley. It was expensive but it is great! I load the thing down and it really works...not on any kind of up hill slope with one person, but otherwise it is wonderful. I know you said it is out of your price range. I thought so too. When they had free shipping, I decided to do it. Don't miss that money now, and love the Trolley every time I use it.

imagineero made his own. Details in this thread:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/arbor-trolley-tree-stuff.276626/

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

so started on the arbor trolley this morning. heres a couple pics of my buddy Trevor welding some angle together to make the back bone of the trolley. Oh yeah and about half way into the mock up process, while cutting some 45s on the angle for the cradle i guess somehow a spark managed to work its way to a bucket of fireworks he had in the back corner. He said he thought he had them covered and forgot they were there left over from the 4th..... well thank god no one was hurt or killed but they went off right under a shelf of paint cans and right next to his big tanks of oxy and propane!

 

[ATH]

Add that bucket of fireworks into the savings

Was it least a good show?

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

No thank god they were concussion mortars so they just go boom. i think thats why he had them left because they didnt do anything cool...lol yeah im almost thinking i should have just bought an arbor trolley for all the trouble this one has caused...lol He seemed to be a good sport about it... i mean he was running the grinder when everything went boom, but still...lol No real damage happened just the drywall coming down and it knocked everything off his walls in the house. Honestly for an hour after i still couldnt figure out how Trevor his buddy that was with us and i arnt dead.

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

Oh yeah 3 3", 5-8 2", and a hand full of 1" mortar rounds.... that's a lot of big fire works. We found pieces of the bucket they were in, only a few and they were twisted and scorched.

 

[ATH]

Wow...I guess I didn't catch that first picture was the after picture. That is quite the mess it made! Are your ears still ringing?

 

[Carburetorless]

Wow; where did all the dirt come from, or is that spray in insulation?

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

insulation