Hauling Wood Debris

[bhh]

I am planning out a new property clean up project that will begin next spring.

I need some ideas about how to most efficiently move stumps, wood debris, etc. to a remote section of my 40 acres to start cleaning up a 7-8 acres section of woods around the house and stream. We purchased the house and land last year and have been renovating the house but that should be wrapped up this winter. I have a L3800 with a grapple, forks, box blade and a bush hog. There are a lot of downed trees and debris from the previous two hurricanes as well as decades of general neglect and storm damage. I've had about 3 acres of it cleaned up by chipping the small stuff and will do that on the rest but it is all the larger stuff, mostly pine, I'm trying to come up with a solution for.

The hardwood that hasn't rotted will be given away as firewood to neighbors, contractors, etc. or processed myself for the same purpose although I've already got about 3 seasons of wood stacked in the barn. I've debated about hauling a lot of the pine off as there is a place nearby that will take scrap wood to run through a drum chipper for landscape mulch, horse bedding, etc. but the hauling cost will add up.

I think I've finally settled on just finding a good place to dig a "stump dump" on the property but it would take A LOT of trips to where it will most likely be to the area I'm cleaning up if I haul it all with the grapple so I'm debating buying a trailer or something to haul the stuff with but unless it dumps, loading and unloading it with the grapple will also be time consuming so I just wanted to solicit some good ideas about the best way to handle it. I can burn in my area but I am only on the property over the weekends and am concerned I'll not have enough time to burn plus get everything safely extinguished before leaving.

 

[RoyJackson]

I suggest you look for a used trailer of some sort...maybe a landscaper's trailer. They are quite plentiful on Craigslist. You'll want something that can carry bulk, rather then a maximum weight.
A dump trailer would be even better, but you don't see many used ones about and they are not inexpensive.

 

[bigtiller]

Farmers find a lot of uses for hay racks around here. Most of them are 8x16 but some are 20' long.

 

[creekbend]

I suggest you look for a used trailer of some sort...maybe a landscaper's trailer. They are quite plentiful on Craigslist. You'll want something that can carry bulk, rather then a maximum weight.
A dump trailer would be even better, but you don't see many used ones about and they are not inexpensive.

I totally agree, but I would like to add one comment regarding the burning of the debris. To the OP: You would probably be better off burning different piles at different times. This way, the pile would have time to die off. Just a thought. Please don't use Gasoline.

 

[Treesanddust]

We had kinda the same issue when cleaning off a field that had about 12,000 overgrown Christmas trees that we were getting rid of.
What we came up with was to build a sled out of 4x6 and several layers of 3/4 plywood.
Made it about 8' wide by 12' long. It was real easy to load it with debris using the loader because its only 6" off the ground, then tow it over to the burn area and use the loaded to push the debris off and into the burn pile.
It didn't cost us much to build and after 4 years we're still using it for hauling wood or dirt around the property.

 

[RoyJackson]

What we came up with was to build a sled out of 4x6 and several layers of 3/4 plywood.

Great idea!

 

[creekbend]

Great idea!

X 2 Excellent idea.

 

[Ken45101]

The sled idea sounds good.

Stumps usually need to sit for a year or two for the attached dirt to fall off. They don't burn well if they are encased in dirt.

If the area is remote enough, you might just dump them there for the time being. Sometime in the future you might consider burning. OTOH, maybe not....

Actually, I had a brush/tree/stump pile I planned to burn from where we had a hillside pasture cleared. But I always had a fear of the fire getting out of control (I'm a past volunteer fire fighter). This year I took the grapple and moved it all to the edge of the woods. After sitting there for five years, it was decaying and really compressed after I moved it.

On a house we built some years ago, the contractor took the excavator and dug a pit for the stumps and buried them. That's another idea for you: move them for the time being. When you build a house and the heavy equipment is there for the construction, have them dig a pit and bury what's left.

 

[Don87]

The bad part about burying the stumps, is the sinkhole that occurs several years down the road after the wood rots.
I'm for just finding an 'out of the way' location and piling them up.

 

[lhfarm]

I purchased one of these Utility Wagon & Tandem Axle Utility Trailer 2 ton Capacity by Country Manufacturing Inc. a few years back and it worked well for some cleanup work I was doing around a pond. It is off-road only and not a lot weight capacity, but the dump is really handy. I built a mobile hydraulic pump that I put in the back of my old jeep so I didn't have to unhook, hook up for each load. But still faster than grapple load trips.

 

[rmorey]

The bad part about burying the stumps, is the sinkhole that occurs several years down the road after the wood rots.
I'm for just finding an 'out of the way' location and piling them up.

Getting rid of all the debris and stumps in an hour with an excavator and throwing a tandem load of fill in the dips 5 years later is better than burning IMHO.

 

[oosik]

I built my own farm wagon. It cost around $2800 by the time I was finished. The ten ton(20,000lb) running gear was around $1900 and the remaining cost was materials. There is little question, I will never exceed the load limit of this wagon and I can pull it - empty - with my ATV. The only disadvantage of a farm wagon is in my attempts to back it up. A farm wagon has front wheels that steer just like a car and the "steering wheel" is the tongue that the wagon is pulled with. It sure makes me aware of where I am going and how I'm going to safely exit any location (without backing up).View attachment 333864View attachment 333865

 

[King of the Road]

Burn the debris.

Just make a new burn area in each area you work.

When you are ready to leave, put a layer of dirt over the fire.

When you return the following weekend, uncover the fire area and start the fire back up.

Around here we have to have a debris fire covered if it is unattended overnight.

 

[Xfaxman]

I built my own farm wagon. It cost around $2800 by the time I was finished. The ten ton(20,000lb) running gear was around $1900 and the remaining cost was materials. There is little question, I will never exceed the load limit of this wagon and I can pull it - empty - with my ATV. The only disadvantage of a farm wagon is in my attempts to back it up. A farm wagon has front wheels that steer just like a car and the "steering wheel" is the tongue that the wagon is pulled with. It sure makes me aware of where I am going and how I'm going to safely exit any location (without backing up).View attachment 333864View attachment 333865

Put a hitch on the front of your ATV, and one on the bucket, then practice, practice and practice backing it up.

Just got the hitch installed on the Ranger Electric.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Another vote for burning it all off. Easy and cheap

Brett

 

[bhh]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great advise. The sled idea is awesome and that farm cart would be great too although I don't think I could fabricate something like that. I may just plan a week up there at some point and burn everything off as that is certainly the cheapest option.

 

[oosik]

bhh,

Attempted pm reply. Received notice that pm service down temporarily. Will do it again later today - Oosik.

 

[LD1]

I'd burn it too.

Problem with the trailer is they are more $$$, and a PITA to load and unload as you mentioned. PLUS, another issue that hasnt been mentioned yet......IF you only have 1 tractor, and plan on shuttling the trailer with the 3800 as well, that means you dont have anything else back there for counterweight when doing the clearing and loading with the grapple. Not something I would want to do on a lighter tractor.

 

[Dan Hunter]

While clearing small red cedar trees at the campsite at my ranch I used a large blue tarp for the same purpose. It was a downhill trip so I was able to load it up and then drag it down hill to the shoreline of the pond where we had a hydrant primed if the burn pile got out of control. Once it was moving it didn't take much force and rather reminded me of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

 

[oosik]

LD1,
Your points are well made. When I use the wagon to transport stuff (usually LARGE rocks) I load the 3PH counterweight into the empty wagon and attach it to the tractor when when I get to the location. When the wagon is loaded I have to drop the weight and attach the wagon. Its not the most efficient system but what the heck - I'm retired and I have nothing but time. Maybe some day when I get really ambitious I'll make a new counterweight with a drawbar hitch. Then it will really look like the circus is coming to town!!