My new mechanized firewood system...(Pics!)

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My system is pretty simple.I bought 2 airport luggage carts at an auction for $60 each.I pull them to the woods split and fill the cart.I get about 1 1/2 cords in each cart.They sit until I need them and then I pull them by the back door.I have used them about 4 years now.The other thing I use is my old livestock trailer.I was going to scrap it,but decided it was a very cheap wood shed.I think it holds a little over 3 cords.I do not care about the weight it never sees the road anymore.Just pull it where I need it.
 
That IS slicker than penguin toe jam or whatever it is!
I've been kicking around an idea for a heavy duty cart to sit at the bottom of my bilco door area(I have pull out steps) to dump my gator loads of wood into. Currently i just dump it there and hand load a cart. Or drive the gator into the low level garage and hand load from there.

But your set up eliminates the gator loading step AND the cart loading steps I have. Brilliant! Now how will it go on the snow and mud is a question that you will answer soon!
 
Now how will it go on the snow and mud is a question that you will answer soon!
Everyplace that I will be running the lil forklift in the wintertime is blacktop or concrete except for a 20-25' stretch between the drive and my woodshed. And I will be laying concrete in there soon, hopefully next summer. In the mean time my plan is to haul wood in when it is frozen or I can lay out some old plywood to drive on if the ground is soft. I believe the only time I would have to worry about getting stuck would be when I'm running across the yard empty, there's a lot of weight on those little steer tires at that point!
I know this setup wouldn't work out for everybody, but it does for me, at least so far.

Dumping a load down the Bilco doesn't sound too bad, better than carrying in by hand everyday like I was! Just a thought here, can you build a wood chute to get the splits to pile up closer to the furnace when you dump a load in?
 
Sounds like you've got it figured out! Nice.

I kick myself a little as years back I had my basement block wall rebuilt(before wood furnace)and removed the window that would make a perfect wood chute. But I actually don't mind loading my cart from the gator. Heated and out of the elements so skivvy reloads are possible and I don't have to pay for that expensive gym membership. Lol
 
Sounds like you've got it figured out! Nice.

I kick myself a little as years back I had my basement block wall rebuilt(before wood furnace)and removed the window that would make a perfect wood chute. But I actually don't mind loading my cart from the gator. Heated and out of the elements so skivvy reloads are possible and I don't have to pay for that expensive gym membership. Lol

Wouldn't be that hard to knock out a few and frame and trim in some sort of access door for a chute.
 
Just what I was thinkin

Yes I've thought about it but the reason I had the walls rebuilt in the first place was that they bowed in from cracks starting at the window wells that were there before. Makes a guy a little gun shy! I do have them back filled properly now which should fix that issue, but I'm thinking an outdoor woodburner will be coming eventually as well. That and I like loading the wood cart as it is a chore that gets me out of bath time for the kids! (Don't tell my wife!)
 
I move my wood into the house with a pallet jack. I built a 3' sq bin that I load at the wood shed, then roll it into the garage and park it at a pass thru where I can unload it in the den by the stove. Concrete all the way, and slightly down hill, or it wouldn't work. Holds a little over a weeks worth of wood. The older we get the smarter we work. ( or the lazier we get ).
 

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I move my wood into the house with a pallet jack. I built a 3' sq bin that I load at the wood shed, then roll it into the garage and park it at a pass thru where I can unload it in the den by the stove. Concrete all the way, and slightly down hill, or it wouldn't work. Holds a little over a weeks worth of wood. The older we get the smarter we work. ( or the lazier we get ).
Agreed! That is a very nice system. Thanks for posting.
 
I just pick up one of my boxes of half cord splits with the tractor and carry it over to the basement window,

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and throw them down... It works out very fast and easy...

SR
 
I just pick up one of my boxes of half cord splits with the tractor and carry it over to the basement window,

standard.jpg


and throw them down... It works out very fast and easy...

SR
That's only half a cord?! Heck, that's closer to a cord than what most people get from those "seasoned firewood" sellers :laugh:
'Course, I guess that rack is only a couple feet tall...

Nice setup there SR
 
I move my wood into the house with a pallet jack. I built a 3' sq bin that I load at the wood shed, then roll it into the garage and park it at a pass thru where I can unload it in the den by the stove. Concrete all the way, and slightly down hill, or it wouldn't work. Holds a little over a weeks worth of wood. The older we get the smarter we work. ( or the lazier we get ).


That worked out nice!
 
Anything you can do to handle the wood less is a huge bonus
 
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