Still an Oak though. The whole Oak family is phenomenal for firewood. Easy splits, great heat, fairly rot and bug resistant, readily available in many areas, grow very large, etc. As much as guys like Brad despise them I doubt he’ll find a Black Locust that can split itself.
After this adventure I can’t help but think how handy a dump trailer would be. I could haul more on each load saving time, it unloads itself saving time. If a small tree service guy had one of those little stand on tracked minis with a grapple and a little bucket along with a dump trailer to carry it, he’d be pretty well set up for jobs like this one. I would’ve saved hours of time and a lot of energy.
Oak just seems to get better with age. Don't have to worry about it going punky, the most that will happen is the sapwood will rot.
You have done a ton of work, great job, brother. Did you roll those rounds up on your trailer? I can tell you from experience, even with a tractor to load logs, a dump trailer is a game changer. We used to haul on the 16' trailer. Had to pull each log off the trailer and roll with cant hooks or hope my cousin could come over with his tractor and unload them. Now we just back up to an empty spot and push the button. You won't regret getting one.
The locust ive encountered had either snapped off from the trunk or blown over with the rootball. Never seen one split from a storm. Very hard wood but brittle. I hear you about the brush. No wheres near as fun as bucking the trunk. Big 36" DBH pin oak ive been working from Isaias had a ton of branches and brush. Waiting for big saw to Its not that i despise it, just the fact theres so much of it and the three year wait. Just got tired of it...same old, same old type of deal. Variety is the spice of life they say. In your case in your shoes of course i wouldve taken it.
I did roll the rounds on the trailer. The lay of their land was pretty nice. I backed up a slight hill and the rounds went with gravity. They “almost” rolled themselves right up onto the trailer. The one negative with the dump trailer is it’s higher off the ground and most don’t have a fold down ramp. A small Kioti CK or CX would be ideal to load it. I’m thinking of getting a Sure Trac 6x10 tandem 10k dump. It only weighs 1980 lbs which is better suited for my little truck that is only rated to tow 6800 lbs. Its a deck over so it’s got a narrower stance which I like, but it is slightly higher off the ground as well. I could do a winch setup like Joe has. A small machine could grapple brush, load logs, load round, help pull the tree one way or the other, etc.
Thought you just bought a 2500? I would buy a trailer that matches that. Couple things to think about trailers. Are you selling wood? Makes a difference IMO. If your just scrounging for yourself a tractor, while fun, really isn’t necessary. Once your three years ahead, which you are if memory serves, you’ll be able to slow down and just pick what you want. Leave the messes for someone else. If you want to make money at woodn that’s a different story. I like the low profile dumps. Even a low profile is quite a bit higher than a landscaping or equipment trailer. You want a tractor on it? Certainly can done but you’ll need decent ramps to get it up there. Remember the tractor makes two extra trips T.Jeff Veal is the brain to pick on that. He has that setup and in his circumstances it makes sense. Another factor to consider is loading with whatever tractor you choose. Add some side boards and it gets higher yet. The absence of fenders does help tho. Width is certainly a factor too. 6x12 is the perfect size dump between versatility and length. Wish I had gone with the extra 2 feet. I’m certainly no trailer driving expert. But I recall hearing years ago the longer the trailer the easier it is to back up. Someone with more experience can chime in on that. I know it’s easy to get my 10’ in a tight turn you can’t steer out of without pulling forward again. Basically a reverse jackknife. Would a longer overall wheelbase help negate that? Don’t really know but I think it would. A trucker would know.
I didn’t buy a 2500, I think that was Woodwhore you’re thinking of. My truck is a 2019 Nissan Frontier. Only has a 4.0 liter V6. I had truck envy when I went to my BIL’s house to cut the big Oak. He has a new Toyota Tundra with a 5.7 V8. It also is a $67,000 truck, whereas mine was about 30k.
