No tree is safe! Woodhauler modifications now complete!

[Roger Chandler]

In our unending endeavors to acquire wood for turning, we woodturners have to become innovative in our approach. While we hobbyists are by no means in the logging business, we still have to find ways to accommodate our need for acquisition of wood to put on the lathe.

In my previous thread about 3 weeks ago, I showed the trailer I got for hauling things.....especially wood for turning! I had gone through several ideas and dismissed some, and kept some of them, and finally settled on this design [of my own] for a lifting arch and winch setup to save the back.

Below you will see pics of the arch, and the mods made to the trailer. I decided, as I usually do, that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right, so instead of makeshifting some wood, I decided to take my design to the steel fabricators who know how to weld beautifully and have all the materials necessary for this.......a few bucks up front, but a sturdy and well done modification that will last as long as the trailer itself.

We begin with the plate added to the tongue of the trailer with a battery box, and a hitch reciever for the winch setup.

IMGP3888.jpgIMGP3889.jpg then, you will see the receiver's that were welded in place to receive the arch frame...this is removable when I want to use the trailer for things where I do not need lift.

IMGP3890.jpgIMGP3891.jpg next, you see pics of the arch laying on the trailer bed, and in the receivers.

IMGP3892.jpgIMGP3893.jpg Next, you can see the winch [rated 3000lbs.] and pulley which hooks to the loop I had welded on the arch. Since the weight load of this trailer is basically 3500 lbs. then I will have to be careful not to overload it.......afterall, I am not logging, just getting turning wood! The trailer will take a 10 ft. log, but I will limit them to 8 ft long, and go shorter if the log is particularly big or heavy........maybe if they are heavy, just get a couple at a time.

IMGP3894.jpgIMGP3895.jpg I will continue this on the next post.......a couple more pics........

[Roger Chandler]

Okay, to continue......

Here is a pic of the log tongs....will take a log up to 32" in diameter.......IMGP3896.jpg then a pic of the top of the arch....extra loops welded onto the arch frame, so I can hook up ratchet strap on both sides if I ever want to to carry some tall items, and strap them in, or even to put tension against the frame to offset the pull of a larger log, or machine, if it should be needed.

IMGP3898.jpg and last, a pic of the handheld remote for the winch......it will reach all the way to the rear of the trailer. IMGP3900.jpg

I posted this in order to give others a view of what I have done and give them ideas for modifications on their wood haulers. Now I also had the center post on the trailer rail cut out, and moved to the side, and another welded to the other side of the front to leave a space where I could use the winch cable without the arch to pull a mower or other item onto the trailer without the arch, if I needed. I tried to think this modification through before committing it to the welders........let me know.......what do you think about this design?

[Keith Outten]

Roger,

Fantastic job on the trailer mods. I'm glad you decided to use a welding fabricator, the trailer will be much safer to use and last a lifetime.
.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,

Fantastic job on the trailer mods. I'm glad you decided to use a welding fabricator, the trailer will be much safer to use and last a lifetime.
.

Glad you like them Keith.......I got some of my ideas from your post in the previous discussion we had......thanks for the pics you posted and comments....they were helpful!

[Thom Sturgill]

Looks to me that it should do a fine job and you did a good engineering job designing it. Most of the force on the arch is vertical right to the frame. The lateral force is maybe 30% of the total based on how far out of vertical the pully is. Worst case, you might want to design braces to carry that force, but I really doubt that it would be needed considering the 3500# limit on the trailer.

[Roger Chandler]

Looks to me that it should do a fine job and you did a good engineering job designing it. Most of the force on the arch is vertical right to the frame. The lateral force is maybe 30% of the total based on how far out of vertical the pully is. Worst case, you might want to design braces to carry that force, but I really doubt that it would be needed considering the 3500# limit on the trailer.

That lateral load is precisely why the loops are on the arch and on the tongue.......ratchet straps if needed to offset that lateral force.........I tried to consider all that in the design, but did not want permanently welded braces for that, because I wanted to be able to remove the arch when not used.

[charlie knighton]

looks good Roger, get your wood before the sap starts rising

[Greg Bender]

Roger,
two thumbs up on design and execution. I like the use of receivers to hold the verticals. What do you lay on the tailgate to protect the expanded metal when your dragging a log onto the trailer. Real nice job on that battery box. Have fun with that setup.
Greg

[Jerry Marcantel]

Roger, beautiful job on your hauler. Well thought out except for one thing and you asked for input. ... Picture 7 shows the cable coming out of the drum onto the top guide roller, which looks like it's about 1"od. The cable then shoots up at about a 70+ degree angle until it reachs the pulley. It's been my experience with cable that that 1"? od guide roller and with the particular cable you have, it's going to cause the cable to curl when you put stress or a load on it as it rolls off the guide rollers. If I had done this, I would have had the winch mounted where the cable comes straight out of the winch up to the pulley. If your winch had come with avaition type cable, finer wire with apposing twisted strands which gives your cable more flexibility, your current setup might be ok.
Is it possible to post a good clear closeup of the cable because you might already have better cable than what it looks like.
This observation comes from my days in the Army as a heavey equipment operator using Dozers with cable operated systems. The days before hydraulics were common on dozers. All pulleys were mounted on pivots, and all cables came straight out of the drum until it reached the pulley.... . ........... Jerry

[Thom Sturgill]

Gotcha! I thought they were for strapping something to the arch. My thought was removable braces that would bolt/pin but the straps work too!

[Richard Coers]

Do you have any extra reinforcement in that rail around the trailer by the arch mount? At a minimum, I would add another angle back to back with it to increase the cross section. Looks nice! Ever heard the word parbuckling? Logs really like to roll easily when you loop the cable around them. You are going to be able to haul WAY MORE wood than you can turn!

[Steve Doerr]

Roger,
What a GREAT design. As an individual that had back surgery 8 years ago and will be 65 in a few months anything that can save the back is well worth the investment. When I retired a couple of years ago I bought a pickup so that I could haul my lumber. I have the ramps, chains and a hand wench but have been struggling with ideas on how to get the cable at the right elevation to get the large logs in the truck. After looking at your set up, I think I can do something similar to your arch and pulley that will work for me. It's amazing as we get old how we rely more and more on our brains and less on our muscles to do the hard work. Thanks for sharing and happy hauling and turning.
Steve

[Rob Wachala Jr]

Ok, I'm jealous I continually see downed trees on craigslist, but nothing to pick haul them back to my house. Last week there was one guy that cleared some property was absolute huge piles of large logs up for grabs. Easily enough to keep me turning for years.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks great Roger and looks like it will work. I am looking at mounting one of those HF swing arms with a electric winch on it. A friend of mine and I have some plans drawn up for it. Hopefully we can get it done this summer time permitting.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,
two thumbs up on design and execution. I like the use of receivers to hold the verticals. What do you lay on the tailgate to protect the expanded metal when your dragging a log onto the trailer. Real nice job on that battery box. Have fun with that setup.
Greg

Greg........I will probably cut a piece of 1/2" plywood and wire it to the frame of the tailgate..........just to be on the safe side a little!