Ronnie Tucker’s operation (Pics/Disc. Mules, Jerk line, loading logs w parbuckle)

[Scott G]

@Carl Russell 25464 wrote:

Before this thread slips away, I just wanted to write that the chain on the end of the skid system really comes in handy when piling logs on a landing. That way there are no chains to pull out form under logs.
Carl

I really like your method of securing the ends of the crosshaul line to the skids, Carl. I’ve used the crosshaul (parbuckle) method to load my flat bed truck & GN trailer many times when a loader wasn’t available or rolling the logs up with a peavey was just too much. Power source has not only been horse, but also ATV, truck, & winch. Other than being slow, my main issues have been pulling the line/chain back out from under the load if it wasn’t resting up on bunks and the “dead spot” that seems to deveop as you build the load towards the top. Moving the cross haul line with the skids makes a lot of sense. Kinda’ makes me feel stupid for not thinking of it before…

I noticed that Ronnie’s skids seemed short as compared to what I normally use which is 12-16′. Do the shorter ones work better for you Ronnie?

Probably my biggest obstacle in making regular use of methods such as these is the fact that in my life’s journey I owned & ran a decent sized mechanical show in the years between horse operations. Now I’m back to where I want & need to be but I’m still very much a production & efficiency minded logger & forester. It is hard to remind myself that real efficiencies can still be realized when kept in context with the scale that a particular operation is tailored to. There are no bottlenecks in operations like Ronnie’s and they are the absolute epitome of efficiency.

Not saying I still don’t love my forwarders & hydraulics but the reality is that I’ll be putting a small wagon on the back of an arch that I’m picking up in a couple of weeks and that will be my forwarder. Hand loading posts & poles and crosshauling ponderosa pumpkins that I can’t handle with a peavey. The end result is that I’ll still be realizing the benefits of forwarding larger pre-bunched trailside loads to the landing as opposed to skidding a few stems. Same idea, just scale appropriate.

Forwarder with a loader will still be in my future down the road, but it will happen when the numbers require it, not nominally justify it.

For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of logging is that it’s a thinking man’s game. That becomes extremely apparent when you do more with less.

Anybody else feeling philosphical with the coming of Mud Season or just plain stuck? :confused:

[Ronnie Tucker]

i use only as much skids as needed.if they aretoo longthe log has is likely to come off from gaining on the big end.if you have a helper it would not be as great a problem to keep it on the skids.i also move the wagon alot.if the skid poles are so long it is mighty unhandy to load them.tie logs can be loaded without skids it is called hubbing them up.i dont do this much.most of the time you reposition the wagon some for each load. if the terrain premits i stop the wagon next to wthere the tree fell and roll the first one right on to the chain for loading.less is sometimes more.when you dont have all of that extra machine power you have to manage to do things smarter. ronnie

[TaylorJohnson]

The thing that use to get me was the medium size bolts. The small wood you could always just hand pile and the big logs ,well you could most generally get enough in a pile for a truck load even if you were just long chaining or block and tackling them into a pile. The stuff that use to give me fits was the stuff that was to big to hand pile and to small to use a cross loader or block and tackle to get enough volume done.
I started making ropes with slip hooks on each end and a steal ring that the rope was weaved though in the middle. I could put a few of these 8” 10” together and rap the rope around them hook the hooks and the ring allowed me to take up the extra slack in the rope. I could them hook my pull hook be it on a block and tackle or a cross load and pull it up on my truck. To make this more easy I would put some 3” or so polls down to lay the ropes in then roll a bundle of wood on top of the polls. These polls went right up to the ramps that the logs would ride onto the truck. Once on the truck the ropes with a little bit of help generally came lose to be use again but if it was stuck I just grabbed another one and kept going and got the stuck one when I unloaded the truck. You could also make adjust meant on rope placement to even loads as they were pulled up. If I were a better drawer of things I would illustrate but I am not so I hope this makes some since LOL. Taylor Johnson

[Carl Russell]

Scott G;25466 wrote:

I really like your method of securing the ends of the crosshaul line to the skids, Carl…… Moving the cross haul line with the skids makes a lot of sense. ……

Anybody else feeling philosphical with the coming of Mud Season or just plain stuck? :confused:

This does require extra long chains though, as the loop must be long enough so that the pull is more along the plane of the skids, not toward the center. If the loop is too short, the pull is transferred laterally instead of linearly, which will pull the skids together until the log puts enough weight on them to hold them in place.

I have found enough benefit from working out these details that even though things don’t always go smoothly, the end result is less work for me, more work done by the animals to benefit me.

No mud season here yet… rain and thaw, today, snow and sub-frozen tomorrow with another 8-12″ of snow on top of the nearly 2′ still on the ground.

I have said before that I am invigorated by physical work, but the real reason is because when I put the stress on my body, I generally find I start working with the brain.:eek::D

Carl

[Mark Cowdrey]

@Carl Russell 25478 wrote:

…the loop must be long enough…
Carl

If I was to go out and buy a chain for such, what size and how long might I look for? 😀

Mark

[Tim Harrigan]

I have had good luck using rope for crosshauls but I can see where nice high strength 1/4 chain would work nice and be easy to handle. That is one reason why I was so interested in the rope discussion a while back.

[Ira]

this is the wagon I saw

[Dennis]

I have read through this post a couple times and I am having some issues grasping how to hook the chain to load the second tier without getting the chain stuck between the tiers. Ronnie or Carl, can one of you post a picture or a drawing of it. I am using this system to load my trailer for transport and i have been just leaving the chain between the logs.

[Ronnie Tucker]

i use my peavy to pry with to rescue the chain if needed.

[Author]

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