leonz
Super Member
The use of winch and even a lot of sheave blocks for the cable will be
less work for you as your wire rope will haul faster and smoother
with the sheave blocks and will not become stuck.
The other issue is control- if you have the sheave blocks in place the
chain used to attach the sled will only go as far as the sheave and then you
can unhook the sheave block to let it pass to the next one until the load is
where you want to set it.
About the terrain:
Is it possible to simply have a straight shot from the dumping point
to the area where the rounds ahve been cut up?
The thing is the winch will not be at all concerned with the grade up or down.
If you have a nearly straight route you can simply lift the empty sled and
lower the loaded on slowly with extra cable and connectors simply using the
single lay of wire rope for the tow rope if needed or purchase more wire rope to lay in the winch spool as the tension created by the load will keep the cable tight when lowering the loaded sled with rounds, as long as you have one round left in the sled it will provide enough loading to keep the cable taunt when pulling the sled back up to the clearing where you are working.
A small diameter wire rope and a sheave block line will also work well in a straight ascent if desired as the wire will always be under tension pulling slowly up or down for you.
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It is also entirely possible to set up a single tow rope with two smaller ATV winches using the sled/hood as the middle point with a second person operating the brake of the uphill winch attached to a nearby tree with a tree saver loop band if the tree is valuable to protect it.
You could build a 36-48 inch wide stone boat of sorts 8 feet long using landscape timbers and galvanised building straps used for lumber joining and making the ends out of 6 by 6 lumber to hold the rounds and have a point of attachment for the webbing straps to secure them on the sides of the end timbers.
You will want to use threaded rod to splice the landscape timbers together and the same for the 6 by ends to attach the timbers and use the ends of the threaded rod to attach the the tow chains to carry the rounds down to the clearing and chain or strap them in place for the trip down hill in either case using the sheave blocks and extra cable as well.
The end of the chain will be slid over the rod and it will be secured with washers on the inside to prevent the wood from being weakened and damaged by the pulling force.
A nylock nut and washers would be used on the outside end to secure the chain link in place while towing the sled
less work for you as your wire rope will haul faster and smoother
with the sheave blocks and will not become stuck.
The other issue is control- if you have the sheave blocks in place the
chain used to attach the sled will only go as far as the sheave and then you
can unhook the sheave block to let it pass to the next one until the load is
where you want to set it.
About the terrain:
Is it possible to simply have a straight shot from the dumping point
to the area where the rounds ahve been cut up?
The thing is the winch will not be at all concerned with the grade up or down.
If you have a nearly straight route you can simply lift the empty sled and
lower the loaded on slowly with extra cable and connectors simply using the
single lay of wire rope for the tow rope if needed or purchase more wire rope to lay in the winch spool as the tension created by the load will keep the cable tight when lowering the loaded sled with rounds, as long as you have one round left in the sled it will provide enough loading to keep the cable taunt when pulling the sled back up to the clearing where you are working.
A small diameter wire rope and a sheave block line will also work well in a straight ascent if desired as the wire will always be under tension pulling slowly up or down for you.
==============================================
It is also entirely possible to set up a single tow rope with two smaller ATV winches using the sled/hood as the middle point with a second person operating the brake of the uphill winch attached to a nearby tree with a tree saver loop band if the tree is valuable to protect it.
You could build a 36-48 inch wide stone boat of sorts 8 feet long using landscape timbers and galvanised building straps used for lumber joining and making the ends out of 6 by 6 lumber to hold the rounds and have a point of attachment for the webbing straps to secure them on the sides of the end timbers.
You will want to use threaded rod to splice the landscape timbers together and the same for the 6 by ends to attach the timbers and use the ends of the threaded rod to attach the the tow chains to carry the rounds down to the clearing and chain or strap them in place for the trip down hill in either case using the sheave blocks and extra cable as well.
The end of the chain will be slid over the rod and it will be secured with washers on the inside to prevent the wood from being weakened and damaged by the pulling force.
A nylock nut and washers would be used on the outside end to secure the chain link in place while towing the sled
