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ATV log skid

anyone have any ideas for a ATV log skid to remove down trees (white & red pine) from the forest? I did find one on a site but they charge $700 I wonder if any of you have ideas on homemade one's or other suggestions on how to move this logs.

sell your atv and get a tractor for half of what you paid for the atv. an old alice chalmers wd or a john deere is one helluva lot better suited to skidding logs than an atv.

bigbear, if you are talking the kind of thing that looks like a small version of the 'trailers' that they lift and move LP gas tanks with they do kind of work but probably not well in over 6-10 inches of snow as the ATV just won't have the grip to handle the pulling. If you or a friend has any metal fab skill and acces to a welder they wouldn't be that hard or much money to build one. Like Myronman says, a small tractor would be better and if it has a 3 point hitch all the better so you can lift one end of the log a little.

you can pick up a nice tractor for between 2000 and 3000. using a wheeler will do two bad things.... ruin your wheeler, and put you in dangerous situations.

I've pulled 16" diameter oak logs that were 8' long out with my Polaris 700. I didn't pull them far but I had no problem pulling them out with a lttle snow on the ground.

Speaking of ATV attachments anyone know of a used plow for sale?

Those rigs that winch the butt off the ground near the fulcrum are very slick. There are companies that make them, and like Jeff alluded to, are like propane tank carriers. I will be investing shortly.

Farmi makes a nice 3-point hitch, but I am going to go the ATV route due to accessibility. If i find something, I'll post.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v185/kurt_co/welding/log%20skidder/logskidder1.jpg

But add a winch to get the log butt off the ground

dd a winch to this to get the butt off the ground...plus chain nearer the fulcrum.

Baileysonline.com carrys Logrite atv arches.

They have several types.There are pics online if anybody wants to see how they work. Looks as if it would not be too hard to fabricate.

For using a tractor I use a 3 point carriage mounted in the tractor`s three point system for pulling logs/timber. I manufactered this myself. I will snap some photos this morning and try to post them today.

Things wrong with the one in that first pic.

1) Wheels are too small, small diameter tires get hung up too much in holes and going over junk on the ground. If you make one of these get some 16" old truck wheels from a junkyard.

2) You need a winch. That one looks like it is meant to tip the hitch end up in the air, hook the chain, then pull the hitch down for lifting the log. Can you imagine how hard that is to do, not to meantion the risk of geting hit in the face if you loose grip on the hitch. But still hook the log up with a chain after the log is lifted unless it is a small log. I saw one once where the tongue pivoted like some boat trailers do. You would tilt the toungue up, chain the log on to the top of the arch that was now almost in contact with the log and then use a hand crank boat winch to pull the tongue back down and lock it in the down positoin with a latch. I thought that might work pretty slick. You could probably also rig up the arch part so that just the arch pivots and locks into some braceing as it comes to the upright position. That might be a way to keep the whole rig shorter than using a pivoting tongue and could be powered by a hydraulic ram. Now we are geting fancy...

3) The log attachment point needs to be forward of the axle like it is in the second picture to put a little extra weight on the rear ATV axle.

4) That front to back brace angling down on that first one is bad because it will get in the way of the log sticking out forward. Either put one brace on both sides or keep the brace up high like it is in the second picture.

Note that you cannot use a normal type of axle so the spindals are welded into the frame. This means the frame needs to be farily substantial from where the hub is welded on, up and around over the top.

One other comment, these things are slow to use. Hooking up the log, unhooking it takes time so if you have very many logs to do expect it to take a while. A heavy duty electric winch would certainly speed things up.

as a kid, i helped gpa and dad cut alot of wood. we used an old alice chalmers wd and you could skid some logs with that sucker.

this last fall i was cutting wood and my brother brought his wheeler over to skid the pieces to a point where i could get them in the truck. the thing i noticed are...that the wheeler would move a pretty big piece of wood. not nearly as big as the wd would. and....when the wood would snag on a root or rock, the wheeler wanted to tip, and that was skidding slow. also, the wheeler isnt built like a tractor, and using it on a regular basis would ruin it in short order. from what i have seen, although they will move them, you are begging for a bad accident. i dont want anyone to get hurt.

disclaimer: if the ex wife is reading this...... disregard the above. wheelers were made for skidding logs, the bigger the better. you and b.f. have a good time pulling. oh, and have a few before you start the chainsaw, just to keep the cold at bay.

Myronman, I totally agree that ATV's are NOT made to take the hard pulling required to skid logs on any regular basis. Pulling on hills also presents additional risks no matter if you are pulling up, down, or sideways. You do need to be careful. But with these lifting devices as long as you are on reasonably flat land and can get the front end of the log up and a fair amount of the logs weight on the lift's wheels it is not nearly as hard on the ATV or as dangerous.

I have pulled oak logs as big as about 10 inches and 20 feet long and unless you can lift one end they don't pull very easy with my 500 Sportsman. If I hook the winch on and lift one end and pull backwards it takes a lot less effort but is hard to steer. Not something I would want to do to my ATV on any regular basis tho. The 3/4 ton dodge in 4WD pulls them a lot easier.

So, Bigbear, if those pine are bigger than about 8 inches and if you have a lot to pull out you really would be better off if you can borrow a small tractor. Or buy one and then sell it after the project is done. Or hire someone to skid them out for you.

Here is what I use for moving logs and firewood. Used it today. Made it myself.

Another view. Well worth the effort to build or buy.

Now that's a log puller. Nice home made tool bar. I like the 2" hitch reciever you built into it too.

I have a bar like that on my 19hp Wheelhorse garden tractor that several people have copied now. I use it all the time to move trailers around, pull steel fence posts, and whatever.

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