[Zachary Lowry]

Yeah, those are big chunks alright. Being able to set a mill up around some bigger logs is definitely a benefit of the mobile setup, haha.

[Zachary Lowry]

Haha, yeah, sounds like you are in the same position I was a few years ago when I was looking at mine.

So first, I’d say if you are limiting yourself to an Polaris 800, you absolutely want the hydraulic 4 wheel drive on the trailer, so the second two on your list Id disqualify immediately unless you have a tractor. Y

And what size wood are you looking to cut, and what’s the main purpose of the operation? small pre-commercial improvements or full scale harvest? There’s a lot to consider in terms of carrying capacity and overall practicality depending on your purpose. For example, if it is mostly small 3-4 inch pieces you are cutting with occasional larger stems, you will be better off with a regular trailer with a winch instead of a crane, as most pieces can easily be hand loaded, and if the distance to the road is far, you may need a larger bunk

[Zachary Lowry]

The simple answer to “How much should i expect the trees being down to impact price?” is a lot, probably, but the complex answer:

The trees were affected in two ways: The product itself was damaged, and the ability to harvest that wood was diminished.

As for damage to the product, being torn up by the roots is probably the best way to go. In these situations, the tree can remain alive for an extra growing season maybe, so stain is avoided, and the main value of the stem is intact. However, when trees break, you can lose a significant chunk of their commercial value, but it depends where it breaks. Breaking 4 feet off the ground is pretty brutal because that’s the middle of the most valuable log in the tree. Breaking near the top, which is more common, isn’t nearly as detrimental to value, but any break can introduce stain or damage the logs past the point of severance.

The trickiest part of salvage cutting is the economics of harvest. The first question is the density of the fallen wood. If you had a couple hundred trees come down spread over a hundred acres, there arent many scenarios where you can profitably pay someone to harvest them, unless they are all very nice logs. The better scenario is if you have a fairly confined patch where they all blew down. In that situation, it is a lot more efficient to have a harvest, but there are still other considerations that diminish value. Cutting trees from the root ball can be annoying relative to a regular job, and possibly more dangerous, as the heavy root ball can add different forces to the equation.

To get around both of these issues, Id really ask why the trees came down. Unless it was really a tornado or something extremely uncommon, the trees are probably following their natural mortality patterns, and if a species is prone to blowdown (like most poplars), the new gaps in the canopy make future blowdown more likely. Maybe consider making some patch cuts around the spots with the most blowdown. It can greatly improve the economics of harvest and create some intentional regeneration.

[Zachary Lowry]

Hello

[Zachary Lowry]

Yeah, actually I think that is a perfect use for a forestry trailer, however, I would reconsider the exact strategy for using it.

I’d put it like this: The forestry trailer is either for harvesting or transport/long distance forwarding, but not both.

The first, smaller trailer you posted with hydraulic drive is great for a small machine and can be used in the woods, but it is probably too small to carry wood long distances, especially past 1/2 mile. However, a larger machine would be too big to use on a harvest trail and require large equipment, but would be great for longer distances.

For my land, what Ive decided was that its best to have longer main trails for distance hauls and then use a typical ground-skid to bring logs short distances to the edge of those trails. Kind of like in the (bad) diagram I scratched together here. If you use something like a skid cone and choker cable on an ATV, it can be super efficient and use every machine to its greatest competency.

It’s not always ideal to still have to pull each log manually, but it is also a relatively inefficient process going into the woods with the crane, as I learned.

[Zachary Lowry]

Then one of the other things to consider is the cycle time between loads. The smaller trailer you posted has a reduced carrying capacity, so you move less wood per productive machine hour at the benefit of it being lighter and more maneuverable for the machine.

Im not sure if you’ve seen it, but this is a video I made on some of my revelations with this set up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0XEz3fS46E

Basically, The forwarding trailers really shine when it comes to moving relatively large amounts of cut to length wood along a more or less straight path, but they lack maneuverability in the woods itself, so my solution was to skid logs to the edge of the main trail and use the trailer to then forward trailside wood to the road. In this setup, every piece of equipment is working within its realm of competency. However, then the biggest draw of the forwarding trailer is in its throughput and thus hauling capacity instead of its small scale maneuverability.

So honestly, Id recommend planning on a beefier, higher volume, more hp setup so you can still get the best of both worlds.