Those are great ideas, however at the current time, I just really don't have a use for anything like a dray (or the expensive trailer I posted earlier). Where I'll be winching some logs out of the woods (like in the below picture), the terrain isn't conducive to pulling any type of large sled due to the closeness of the trees and the abundance of boulders sticking up out of the ground. Winching out logs with a skidding cone is just the best option IMO. I have multiple snatch blocks, as well as a self-releasing snatch block, to assist the process. Once the logs are out in the open, I can grab them with the grapple. Something like a dray would have come in handy several years ago when I had access to an area where I was pulling out a lot of dead and down. At that time though, I was younger and my health was better and I would just buck the rounds on site and haul them back in a trailer or cut the smaller logs into 4' sections and do the same. For moving some of the logs over the next couple months, I'll be doing it while there is still snow on the ground. Since I no longer have a snowmobile, I wouldn't be able to get any type of vehicle in close proximity to the logs even without a dray, so again winching is my best option.
I don't know the regulations for your area, but here's some wood "rack s" we built, not permanently attached to the ground. Just sits on concrete blocks... This rack holds almost 3 cords stacked to top Another size, style we built for a friend
Not sure about the regs where @Burnin Since 1991 is in MA, however where I am, as soon as you throw a roof on it they'll consider it a shed and come after you for taxes (and any permit violations). They even started taxing the canvas Rhino/Shelterlogic style sheds. So much for being the 'Live Free of Die' state anymore. Years ago, an acquaintance built his chicken coop on an old camper trailer just to avoid that issue. Since it was on wheels, they couldn't come after it as a shed for taxes.
Another major thing pushing me wanting to process as much as possible early in the year is that I'm probably going to have hip replacement surgery in the near future. I can manage most things at the current time except driving/sitting in a vehicle, but it will be happening sooner than later. So that's a big factor in just biting the bullet and possibly opting to split/stack right into the woodshed this year. Life (and as you stated Mother Nature) will more often than not dictate what we have to do over what we would like to do.
EODMSgt I go under the knife in a month for hip replacement. I will let you know how it goes. I am finding out there are things I have difficulty doing because of pain. Not fun.
Here's hoping you have a safe and successful surgery! I've spoken with several people who have had hip surgeries over the last few years and they all have said it's a simple surgery and they were up and about in a short amount of time. It's definitely been a humbling experience going from always being self-sufficient and these days living on my own in the woods to having difficulty with some of the simple things in life that we take for granted (like driving, going to the grocery store, or just being able to bend over to tie a pair of boots). I had my first back surgeries back in the early nineties after getting hit by an IED in 1992, so I learned a long time ago to manage and cope with health issues. But the amount of managing and coping we have to deal with as we get older, and in my case compounded by the war injuries, can definitely be challenging sometimes. Keep us posted on your progress please.
I'm hiding in the bullpen staring at the peak of 'the hill' before I go over. Left hip can be popped on command. Right shoulder has knife stab if I move wrong way once a day or so. Right knee acting up, I'm trying to dismiss it as Pantellar tendonitis. If only my body would have stayed 30 years old. I did make it out of optometrist this morning without needing to increase prescription, so I got that going for me. None of the above are so far debilitating. More annoyance at this point but I ain't gonna get any younger.
I made the size of my dray so it would fit wherever I could go with the atv. I wish I had your grapple. They are very handy indeed, especially when you have a bad back.
Good luck but hip surgery isn't one of those real bad surgeries that can put you down long term. Within a month I was walking and nobody, including my doctor could tell just by watching me walk which hip he had done. Good luck, my friend.
My ortho guy says my right knee is gone...been after me to do a full replacement, which I'm sure I'll need at some point, but I told him since he says I already need a full replacement, I'm gonna finish wearing this one out so I will be less likely to need another. But from my research it depends, there are all different kinds of material they can be made out of, and then your build, and activity level plays into the lifespan of replacement joints a lot too. But for me, finding out that there is more than one or two material options was new info...different brands too. Biggest thing is to find a surgeon with excellent ratings, and then push through the rehab pain...from what I'm told by PT folks that I know pretty well, the sooner you get serious about doing your PT, the better off you'll be long term...
I don't know the forecasted amount of years that any surgery is expected to last as there are so many variables (age, weight, overall health, extent of damage being repaired, competence of the surgeon, etc.). I can't speak from experience (yet) on hip or knee surgery, however my spinal fusion is still going strong after I lost use of both legs due to an IED blast in 1992. On a more positive note, hoping to get out and split some wood this afternoon. Dug out access to some of the covered red oak rounds as well as the splitter. I don't have chains on the ATV at the moment so it wouldn't pull the splitter out (tires just kept spinning on the ice under the snow). Had to bring in the bug gun to pull the splitter out. While I'm mildly jealous of those with nice garages and sheds, one does what they can with what they have.
Well, didn't get anywhere near done what I had wanted to, but after spending more time digging out the rounds than splitting, my hip finally up and told me I was done for the day. I forgot that the rounds I was hoping to split were buried in the back (and yes, I finally got fed up and just cut the old tarp). Oh well, small steps are better than nothing. Tomorrow I'll try to dig out one of the partial stacks and an ugly bin to get this stuff put away.
I'm pleased with it so far. Are there a few things I wish were different, sure, but for what I have in the splitter I have no complaints. Right now the only mods I see myself doing in the near future are swapping out the hubs and installing larger tires; welding something to the pusher plate for more grip; and fabricating some kind protective cover to go over the motor. And I still need to play around with the 4-way wedge (can't really see me using the 6-way). Would I recommend this brand/model to someone who processes firewood for commercial purposes, no. But I'm still content with my purchase and that hydraulic log lift is awesome.
