So I got the Gorrilabac lift in last week. Assembly was easy , took about 20-30 minutes. This thing is awesome. Slow as far as pulling a log to the truck or splitter but makes the work so much easier. I found that getting close to the rounds that need split and rolling them close enough to use the lift was a lot more effective. After you split a big round you can just swing the other section out of your way until you get the other side split up too. The wife and I split about two cord yesterday. She ran the splitter and I would hook up another log while she was splitting the last of the previous one. Only thing I may do is upgrade to a Warn winch for a faster pulling speed, comes with what appears to be a import 2k winch. I am sure it will be fine but they are slow and noisy. We split some live oak that I felled last weekend, biggest round was probably 24” across and 21”-23” long. No issues at all lifting them. No more wrestling the big one to split with splitter vertical and def no more picking up a bigger round for me. Owner of the company is very responsive to questions and seems like a genuinely good dude.
The one I made is similar to the Gorillabac, I am going to make some log tongs instead of that screw thing. Mine is quite a bit heavier as it was some pipe I had laying around. I have split a few rounds that were 30" diameter or so and 24" long and it didn't hesitate lifting them.
I have personally never had luck with tongs , seems to always slip off on me. So far I am impressed with the little screw thing. I ain’t gonna leave my foot under a suspended round or anything but so far seems to hold well.
Nice review Mykidsdadd, looking forward to more thoughts and pics as you continue to use it. Fifelaker, did you ever make a thread on your lift build? I found a pic or two after searching, but that's it...
Dang that thing is massive. Can I ask what ya paid, out of curiosity? That would really be nice for anyone with any amount of lifting restriction.
No I never did a build thread. I had most of it made and I couldn't figure out how to use it without tipping the splitter over, until I seen the Gorillabac in use. I went out and finished it up that afternoon. The only drawback is it is slooooooow, but it does save the back.
I think we gave around 600 for the whole thing. That includes the wheel thing to attach to the log and I got the attachment to hook to my truck also.
I will get mucho photos this weekend for you guys. I have a 40+ inch pine I am going to see what happens with a chunk of that.
Yes, he does. They work quite well if placed well in the center of the round. to drag a log though, we end up putting the cable around the end of the log.
This set of tongs worked well with my lift rig. I sharpened the tips up and then had very few "drops" while lifting a round.
Here are some pics of the little rig. I’m not sure how to caption each individual photo so I’ll just post them. There’s photos of the long suspended, the screw thing that it uses and how it is attached to the splitter. It’s nice because after you split a big round you can swing the half it’s still attached out of your way