Stinny it's the best move we ever made. To bad I waited till I was 55 to make it. Bought 23 acres sold off two 2 1/2 acre lots to pay for it and we now live on 18 acres in the woods mortgage free. And have a set of boy girl twins to help with the chores. Aren't they good looking.
Most of our wood (Grandpa, Dad and myself) comes from our farm, so we dont need much for carrying any distance. We made a nice trailer (used a minivan axle) to pull behind Ranger and four wheeler, and on occaison we borrow a friend's skidder. He is in the logging business and will use the skidder for a day or so and just pull, pull, pull to get the wood where we can access it. FUN STUFF!
Just picked up this 1997 F350 4x4 7.3 Turbo Diesel w/Jasper Transmission & 4.10 gears. I am ready to move my sideboards onto it from my F250. I will be getting a dump insert soon for it as well.
Nice part of making a dray is that you can make it any size you want. However, for the size you want or need, I would not use landscape timbers for the runners. Best thing would be to cut a couple logs (6-8" diameter) and take a slab off top and bottom. Not a large slab (could be larger one for the top to make it easier to fasten the crossbars), but just a couple inches off the bottom. The dray will pull better with a flat bottom and will "trailer" better. I'd use chains and a log binder for tying the load down. You could fasten a short chain on each side and then when loaded, hook the binder and clamp it down. Else use large eyebolts and ratchet straps; it depends upon how large of a load you plan on hauling but it sounds like you want to haul some large loads. With a 50 hp tractor and 4wd, you can pull a huge load! Back in my logging days we had some drays about the size you are talking or perhaps a bit larger. Quick and easy to make and easy to pull plus you can haul a good size load. They work good summer or winter. We never had a problem going downhill either. Someone else wanted plans on how I built ours and he ended up building 2 of them. The first one he made a mistake so improved on the second one and he did a good job with it. I'm not sure if the loaded dray is the first or second one he built. One thing he did which is nice is that he built it so it can be pulled from either front or back and that is a nice touch. I would have made the pull chains a bit shorter than he did is about the only thing I would have done different. He also built his wider but I built ours to fit the atv. For a tractor, definitely go wider.
Great idea using flat sided logs! I wanted to build one of these last year, but the snow got too deep before I got around to it. I ended up using the PT 4x4s to build a large firewood pallet instead. Ill just use a couple logs next time!
For sure Shawn, you have the tool for taking a couple slabs off of logs. Makes it easy. Let us know if you build one.
The first picture is how my wood gets here, my tenant's dump truck and chipper not the one with the weeds growing around it, next to it (not pictured) so I can make compost. The 97 350 GMC I picked up for 3 grand 10 years ago it runs like a bear but then I only drive it about 500 miles a year if that and it hauls my Kubota on a 14' trailer for side jobs (excavating, digging or moving dirt and fill) with a thumb for lifting logs for bucking. The 2006 Hummer hauls my Dump trailer that isn't here right now (broken axle) The John Deere and Bush Buggy trailer move the splits to be stacked. I am going to stop selling firewood after next year and considering selling screened Compost (have about 200 yards now) and always making more, Topsoil (about 500 yards to be screened) as the back hurts more and more and I can't keep up with the young help, besides it's a tough way to make extra money unless you have a processor. Now the last picture that's off topic but thought I might pick your brains is a Topsoil screener I made and want to put a vibrator on. What is in the screener now is Black Top Millings from the Wal-Mart across the road cost me 3 cases of beer for 5-10 wheeler loads delivered. Every time I think I know what I want to do I find a better idea on line. I have thought of everything from a Camshaft, Driveshaft to the gearbox out of a Sickle. I have electric motors, a 1 h.p. a 2 h.p. and also a 6 horse gas motor. Found a picture of the dump trailer used for delivering firewood.
Sweet truck. They don't make them like that anymore. Maintain it and it will give you your monies worth every time you use it.
Can you steer that thing with the back fully loaded? Maybe you could have put a couple of rounds in the passenger seat? Nice truck, love the side boards... KaptJaq
This is kind of an upgrade for me but is was / is also my families original wood hauler . My previous wood hauler / work and plow truck was a '78 K 10 stepside which we all know has a pretty small cargo box. This truck is a '79 K 10 Chevy fleet side which was purchased new by my Dad when I was 12 years old. My mom decided that she no longer needed this old truck and wanted it out of her yard and asked me if I wanted it. I borrowed a friends trailer and my brothers new Dodge truck and made the trip to Santa Fe NM to bring this baby back home to Colorado I put the plow on it from the old truck onto this truck and with a little maintenance and a couple of minor repairs it is back on the road. I know its not fancy, or glamorous and to most people it is a rusted 36 year old beater. I on the other hand am reminded of 36 years worth of memories. I learned how to drive in this truck, went on my first date in this truck and best of all I sometimes get a few flashback memories of going to the forest and cutting wood with my dad. The first time I loaded my saw and cutting gear into it to go the forest for a load of wood I had a surreal moment of when I was a young boy going out with my dad to get firewood. Only this time I am the old man going to the forest with 2 of my daughters to get wood. The truck has a little over 360K on it. The motor is all original and the transmission was rebuilt once by my dad. I can say that this truck has managed to remain unmolested and part of me wants to bring it back to like new condition while the other part of me wants to leave it as is. Either way I will still use it to push snow and bring wood home with it.
gmule I vote leave it as is. Its a truck that continues to work for your family after 36 years, don't make it a garage queen.
