All-Terrain Utility Vehicles

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Collecting firewood is a whole lot easier with an ATV and trailer. You can pile your chainsaw, gas and tools in the trailer and drive right to the deadwood that needs cutting. You can cut and split the wood on site, load the trailer and then head to the woodshed. Since ATVs are fun to drive, recruiting a teenager to help with woodcutting isn't difficult either. (As fun as they are to drive, ATVs are not toys. For safe operation, manufacturers recommend a single operator be at least 16 years old.)

The other firewood option is to haul the logs to the woodshed and cut and split there. Several companies manufacture ATV attachments to aid in moving logs safely and with minimal environmental damage. The Novajack Company makes a hauling harness called a logging arch that lifts up the front end of the log so you can pull it behind the ATV. They also make logging trailers that can haul loads. A slightly different logging arch, manufactured by Future Forestry, is a cross between the arch and a trailer. Its design allows more of the log to be lifted off the ground, reducing drag and embedded dirt on the logs to a minimum.

ATVs make towing a wood split ter to the pile of logs you skidded up to the woodshed easy. Logs that will be sawn into lumber can he set aside. Later, you can use your ATV to tow a portable sawmill to the pile. When sawn, the lumber can be loaded onto the trailer and hauled anywhere you like.

To make wood-chip mulch, tow a chipper to the brash pile you left in the woods and blow the chips right into the trailer. We use a few boards standing upright in the back of the trailer for the chips to hit as they come out of the machine. They fall right into the trailer. It's a simple matter to tow the load of mulch to the gardens.

While we're still on the subject of firewood and logging, there is another attachment that comes in very handy from time to time: a power winch. Smaller than the 5- to 10-ton capacity of track winches, most ATV winches are rated between 1,500 to 2,000 pounds and can be mounted on the front or rear of the machine.

A downed tree, off the trail and inaccessible to the ATV, can he winched, pulled to the trail and then hooked up to be towed. Inevitably the hardworking ATV will get stuck in the mud, and the winch can be used to pull it out. Simply attach the winch cable to the base of a tree, turn on the winch and out you'll come. The winch also can be used to pull cars stuck in the snow or mud.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print