Moving wood and brush

[electrictrimmer]

I was wondering what do you guys do to make moving wood and brush more efficient? I know equipment is great, but I'm just starting out and funds are tight right now. Do you use a log ox, wood dolly or something else. What about the brush? Have you ever loaded it onto a heavy duty tarp and drug it that way. Any and all advice would be awesome. Thanks guys.

 

[jomoco]

Well first you cut it up into one man sized pieces see. Then you pick it up, put it on your shoulder, and very carefully walk it down the zig zagging flight of steps to arborist 101.

A little sap on your neck and shoulders is good for yu!


jomoco

 

[371groundie]

i like to avoid cutting it smaller than is absolutely neccesary. the more peices there are the more you have to bend over.
start with a big spreading limb and pile smaller limbs on it. even if you have to take the pile apart to feed it to a smaller chipper you have saved yourself alot of bending over and wallking.
as far as moving the wood, get creative. sell it or give it away as firewood where it lands and make somone from the firewood forum come get it? if you are lowering the wood and have two guys on the ground one can push it away from the tree (or towards the truck) while the other keeps it in the air but lets out enough line so the first can keep pushing. it wont get you far but will get you some.

 

[flushcut]

When I started out it was all man power and some of it still is. The brush is cut and stacked into a manageable one man drag pile if the chipper is very far away. The wood to about 6" is cut into lengths of about 8' so two guys can feed the chipper or one guy if it's light wood. For the big wood a log dolly is used. Finally the tarp is for all of the fine crap like saw chips, bark, the twigs, and the grinder chips. Sometimes I use a wheelbarrow for the grinder chips if they have a higher dirt content and it makes using a tarp a real drag.

 

[ewoolsey]

i got a old grain truck to haul off brush and wood i dont want, or my trailer for logs size, roll logs with cant hooks , dont' have a bobcat yet, use what you can to get by.

 

[Koa Man]

This is how I do it. Make the investment. Your back will thank you and your work will be done faster so you can make more money. You can also underbid the guys who have to carry it out on backyard jobs. The longer the haul the better chance you will have of getting the bid over the guys that don't have a mini.

I still use a wheel barrow and a four wheel cart, 32"X60" with 24" sides and 12" high tires to move brush and logs when it is not practical to use a mini loader.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

We have a powerbarrow but due only have use for it once a month max, otherwise it all has to be hand carried. We do use hand trucks and wheelbarrows as well when we can but thats only about once a month to! Crap access is us!

Just looked at a job last night where the bits will all have to be cut shorter than 5 foot long to get them around a tight dogleg. Wahoo!

We use looped strops that are about 50mm wide (so they dont bite into your shoulder or neck to much) and bundle our loads using them or wool sacks (the heavy sacks wool bales are pressed in) to clean up and move the smaller stuff.

Im going to make some square heavy tarps with handles on the corners, see if they work.

 

[defensiblespace]

cheapest way possible

Get a bunch of rope. 3 strand seems to work the best because it last the longest and is cheap. Cut the rope in to about 8' to 10' sections. Tie any knot with a bite on one end. Put the rope down straight on the ground. Pile the brush on top of the rope. You then take the ends of the rope and pass the working end through the bite. You now have a 2 to 1 advantage and can cinch the crap out of the pile. I have taken huge piles of brush and cinched them down tight enough to where they were a manageable size to carry. Tie a slip knot to keep the rope tight around the pile. Pick it up and carry it on your shoulder. When you get to the chipper, just pull the slip knot and out she comes. It doesn't get any cheaper than that for brush. For the small stuff, I have a bunch of 50 gallon storage bins that are rectangular. I rake the stuff into piles and lay the bins on their side and rake the stuff in. When the bin is full or too heavy to keep filling, pick it up on your shoulder and carry it. It is much easier to rake into a square container than a round garbage can.

 

[electrictrimmer]

thanks for all the imput!

 

[sgreanbeans]

I hire guys who are 6'5", 250lb and fit! They love the heavy work, they drink protein shakes while they "work out...side"!
One of my guys is ripped and doesn't ever go to the gym!

 

[RAG66]

I agree with the "healthy" ground guy statement. I hired a couple of fire fighters. They work for me on thier days off and make extra money and don't go to the gym. Besides if I hurt myself while they are there they have agreed to install the neck turniquet.

 

[Rftreeman]

I hire guys who are 6'5", 250lb and fit! They love the heavy work, they drink protein shakes while they "work out...side"!
One of my guys is ripped and doesn't ever go to the gym!

I hire the young mouthy type and then tell them that the other said they were weak and then sit back and watch them battle it out.....

 

[teamtree]

These threads are quite hilarous....

Don't get me wrong....I am sure we have all been there and done that....

I would speculate anyone who purchased a tractor, skid steer or anything else that allows you to pick up big wood will tell you they became more efficient, productive and profitable when they swithed from loading wood by hand to some sort of mechanical device. Not to mention far less back aches. I love my tractor. My back loves my tractor.

My point is this, my tractor runs about $20 per hour to own and operate. I can do in one hour that would take a crew of 3 men 3 hours. Now tell me with a straight face that you can't afford the machine. How can you not?

But to answer your question, cut it, split it, lift it and carry it. If it makes you feel better use a wheel barrell. Tarps are for debris not limbs and wood.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Absolutely! I do use equipment as well! I don't have a mini yet, so often we have to do it by hand, or at least till we get it to the machine, I do the same thing with the yungins as well! I have 2 nephews(brothers) who think they are EMINEM! Tell one the other is doing better and watch it start!
good entertainment!
But you are right, nothing compares to hydraulic labor!

 

[Jon22]

Invest $40 at your local tool store and get a handtruck. Next hire a competent ground guy and put him to work. When we get the big removal i call up this old cowboy named Ace. He has loaded countless cords of wood into his horse trailor almost efortlessly.

 

[OLD CHIPMONK]

My poor man log & brush mover-loader. Olde Blue will pick-up piles of brush & drag to chipper or load into truck. Will load logs out of backyards up to 18 ft.long X 30" or into my dump truck & easy to work with. Boom ajusts up or down , hook cable to remaining tree trunk , cut off at ground & load right into truck. Old but works.

 

[OLD CHIPMONK]

Photos

 

[ForTheArborist]

I bought the wheel barrel w/ 2 wheels and the 800lb capacity dolly from Home Depot. You want the ones with the air tires so it's easy to push/pull the things, and you want to buy a $10 electric air pump like I found at the Home Depot that hooks up to the truck and a bottle of tire sealer called Slime to store in each of your trucks in case you pop a hole in your carts' tires.

Compared to the wheel barrel with one wheel in the middle, the two wheeled one is much, much easier to manage with heavier loads. Physically it is much easier to pull the load than to push the load. That one wheeled barrel is for making turns on a dime when you are working in the confined spaces of construction/demolition sites.