Log arch thread

[Ronaldo]

Dodge mini vans are the same way. I think that the flange may be a little bigger on the vans.


Sent from Hoskvarna hills

96 and newer dodge mini vans have the bolt on hubs, bro. Older models will have a solid rear axle.

Sent from my Z832 using Tapatalk

 

[Mattyo]

Nice to know the bolt on option is available. ..likely for cheap. I still like the square weld able option that I found. ..was much easier for me than bolting. ...but that's just me. I would also assume the cavalier hubs are not quite as heavy duty....still nice to know. That was on my list of things to look for.


Back to this threads regularly scheduled programming

 

[wiersy111]

Nice to know the bolt on option is available. ..likely for cheap. I still like the square weld able option that I found. ..was much easier for me than bolting. ...but that's just me. I would also assume the cavalier hubs are not quite as heavy duty....still nice to know. That was on my list of things to look for.


Back to this threads regularly scheduled programming

So where's the pics of your's ? I like pictures.

 

[Mattyo]

Yes yes....maybe tomorrow

 

[wiersy111]

So where's the pics of your's ? I like pictures.

Suspense is killing me. lol

 

[MustangMike]

View attachment 51031


Anyone have one of these from Country ATV? I like the tire size, but trying to figure out how you would modify it to support a 8 ft log off the ground. It's designed to lift the front of the log and skid the back.

I like that design, that is slick!

 

[Al Smith]

I have the entire front end from a GMC truck that used to haul NFL footballs all over the country .I'd thought about using the spindles and tires for an arch .The 27 foot frame is the base of my bandsaw mill which is a work in progress

 

[Mattyo]

No bolting needed for the axles..line it up and mig it!

I have a 36" tongs on the front. I tilt the whole thing from the hitch end...and high as I can....have a friend engage the tongs...and pull down. The log lifts up and I attach it to my garden tractor. One day I'll add a winch. But this works for now

 

[MustangMike]

Matt, looks good, except that I would move the tongs in front of your axle so it puts some weight on your hitch. Otherwise, a heavy log will make you loose traction.

Your rig also looks real wide, OK for wide open spaces, but not for through the woods.

 

[Mattyo]

the width is intended to go over the sawmill length wise.

the tongue weight is quite neutral. amazing that my little garden tractor pulls the logs, but it definitely does. I only have trouble if part of the log is dragging, then I don't go anywhere.

 

[Redfin]

When I worked at a junk yard years ago guys would come in and buy wheels, tires, and rear hub assemblies off of a Chevy Cavalier. They have a 4 bolt flange that's handy for fab work and are pretty cheap to replace. We sold them for next to nothing because we had a blue million of them on the hill.

View attachment 50997

These are what I built my yard wagon from. Bolted never used spare tires to the hubs. All free from scrap yards. Good thread here. I have some 3" .25 wall tubing I may build an arch from. I need to get some hickory sticks out of my woods to have milled for my shop wall.

 

[wiersy111]

Matt, looks good, except that I would move the tongs in front of your axle so it puts some weight on your hitch. Otherwise, a heavy log will make you loose traction.

Your rig also looks real wide, OK for wide open spaces, but not for through the woods.

In my opinion you want the tongs close to the arch to bear the weight of the log, rather than on the tongue. It is very easy to overload you atv's suspension. If you're lifting your suspension to the point you lose traction I would say the load needs to be repositioned or reduced.

The best part about making your own log arch is that you can build it to fit your needs. Being able to straddle Mattyo's mill is a cool idea that I wouldn't have thought of. Mine is wide enough to handle a 32" log max. Because I doubt I would ever try moving anything bigger than that, even a 32" log would make me seriously consider milling on site and using the arch to cart out the lumber. My arch is about 56" wide total so it is wider than most ATV's, my RZR is about 55".

 

[MustangMike]

The skidder trails on my property have some steep hills, and for some reason some sharp turns, both of which factor into the design of my little unit. Luckily, I usually hauling them down hill, and the ATV has engine breaking.

 

[Mattyo]

I'm usually not hauling my logs more than 50 ft lol. When I transfer the mill to my folks property I may be hauling things around the property, but its only 3 acres. I don't think it'll see much use other than that ever. My unit is actually built in 2 pieces, the extension to the tongue is a separate piece from the rest of the unit, so I can swap out to a 2 man handle if I choose. Truthfully, the handle I made is nearly useless because it really is difficult to haul this thing by hand lol.

 

[Jimmy in NC]

of note, the links you posted have round axles. the ones I posted were square, which is what I was looking for...

I have no idea trailer shops even exist...

searchability is the trick... ie, what keywords do you use for finding weldable axles.... who knows. i searched for a long time to find what I found. if you have a better source then i'm sure anyone else will be very appreciative

I go by Agrisupply every day twice a day. We paved the parking lot to their headquarters and original and new local retail outlets. They have huge wooden boxes of these things, racks of axles, etc. The website has some to be desired.... but thats my main source.


Then use a search engine of your choice, trailer axle stub and thousands show up. The bolt on is a bolt on torsion stub. I have worked with this junk so long its all just floating in muh head. L44643 and L44610 were first bearings I memorized...1" straight axle taper roller and cup.

 

[wiersy111]

The skidder trails on my property have some steep hills, and for some reason some sharp turns, both of which factor into the design of my little unit. Luckily, I usually hauling them down hill, and the ATV has engine breaking.

The trails I deal with were made for a B John Deere some 35 years ago, and many of them have narrowed considerable since acquiring ATV's. We have some nasty hills and big rocks to maneuver around. Most of my target trees are in the back of the farm and in the lower lands. So I need to get logs off the ground by a decent height to avoid hit rocks and to keep from bottoming out going through dips in the trails.

I have some Tamarack that I want to log but it is only accessible when its frozen hard but I don't have a good enough trail to even get a wheeler in there. I will have to make the trail in the summer cutting things below the water line. Once it freezes up I will have clear skidding. It will have to freeze hard enough before the snow gets too deep. I might have to yard the logs on solid ground until I can get up the hills in the spring.

 

[so il logger]

This one works pretty good.... Lol

 

[wiersy111]

There ya go can I borrow that for a few weeks?

 

[MustangMike]

Trouble is, I can't leave something like that up at my property. The guy to the North of me did, he is a logger, and the porkys ate through his tire!

The guy to the South of me bought an old PU truck to leave up there, and the porkys ate the brake lines and the heater lines.

It is why I lined the outside of my cabin with cement board, they don't seem to like it! (Same with the outhouse)

 

[so il logger]

Ate through a forestry ply tire? Wouldn't want to get bit by one of them suckers!