Pulling logs on the cheap

[Chris Parks]

If you have the right anchor points and room to drive your truck, you should be able to use your truck with one or more snatch blocks and a long cable to extract the logs. If you need more power, check out how to reeve multiple tackle blocks to increase the mechanical advantage.

This^^^, get one out and use it as a ground anchor if need be. You could set up rollers with a chainsaw to keep the log off the ground, that would make it easier for sure though I wouldn't bother.

[Mike Cutler]

Charles

The boat winch will work, it will just be slow unless you get a 120vac inverter and power it off your truck. Then you could drive the winch with a 1/2" drill. Make a "stone boat" for pulling the logs in one piece if that is what you desire. Me personally I would cut the rounds to length in place and put them in a skid hooked to the winch and them pull them out. I would not pull a log out whole, unless I had a way to get it into the truck without cutting it to length. I would't be saving anything.
No matter which way you do it, getting logs out of the woods is going to be work. A lot of work, to really lots of work.
That chainsaw winch is pretty cool, but it seems limited to me.
Your truck, a winch(manual or electric), a skid of some type, and a snatch line should do the work.

[Ole Anderson]

You could always get one of these, not so cheap though, just on topic, sort of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjsStMS02J8

Or you could go to your local redneck bar and throw down a case of beer to the ol' boy that can pull the most logs in 5 minutes with their 4X4...

[Jason Roehl]

Put a locker in the rear end of your truck, and chains on the tires. That will be about as good as 4WD (which are really 2WD unless they have limited slip or lockers in front and back).

[Jim Andrew]

Do you have a car trailer? I use mine to haul logs, and anything else I need to drag home. I use 2 pieces of 2x6 about 5' long , a log chain, and a 12v winch to pull logs up over the side. I have loaded some pretty big logs over the side. It has a railing about 12" high along the front and sides of the trailer, so I don't have to strap the logs down. Harbor freight has been having tent sales with 12v winches very reasonable. If you get stuck, use the winch to pull yourself out.

[Mark Walden]

I had some large Alder trees on some property that was a swamp, anything you tried to drive out there was going to sink.I had a 1969 Dodge van w/manual trans. I took off one of the back wheels put on one with no rubber, ran a cable through the air valve over to a block on the bottom of a tree then about 10ft up to another block like a logging spar tree. Run the cable out to the logs start the van put it in gear and drag them in, worked great. No I never had any problems with the van cumming off the jack.

[roger wiegand]

Having watched the good ol' boys sink their 4wd Kubota tractor to the hubs and fail to drag a log more than about 10 ft and then watching the Amish guy easily pull the same logs out of the woods (a couple days later and after more rain) with a pair of draft horses I reiterate my suggestion. The guy with the horses charged a fraction of what it cost to get the tow guys to pull the tractor out of the mud.

[Charles Wiggins]

The Unimog is my dream vehicle. There was one for sale in Asheville several years back and it took all I had not to empty my savings and buy it. Just couldn't afford it at the time. Still can't. Probably never will.

[Charles Wiggins]

Not a bad idea, but I was pricing differential lockers and that's more than I have to put into the project it right now.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Charles, how about a log arch to make the dragging easier?

[Ted Calver]

Hi Charles, how about a log arch to make the dragging easier?

What Rod said. If you are clever, you could weld one up. Something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsYFkGjNFoI

[Mike Lassiter]

Charles it might be more practical to get you a double wheeled wheelbarrow and cut the logs into firewood lengths that you could load in it and roll them out to your truck. You would be more maneuverable with the wood cut into shorter lengths and you have to cut it anyway so it wouldn't be any extra work. I think this would be more productive than trying to hand winch long logs out that will try to hang on everything as you winch them. This would certainly be easier and quicker than trying to carry by hand. The dual wheels would help stabilize the wheelbarrow so you didn't have to steady it under load trying to make your way through the trees.

[Henry Keller]

what about about a power wheelbarrow rented on Saturday and kept for the weekend

[Rod Sheridan]

What Rod said. If you are clever, you could weld one up. Something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsYFkGjNFoI

Here's a poor photo of the one I made.

Moving the log.jpg

Regards, Rod.

[Charles Wiggins]

What's that winch rated?