Forwarding trailer for digger

[Malus]

Planning on welding up a little forwarding trailer for my 3 tonner. Looking to use it for extracting logs for personal use on my mill, sometimes I buy windblows etc cheap where the forest owner wants them cleared without damage to other trees. Also hoping it will be handy for moving brash, but I'm not sure how it will compare to just dragging brash out with the grab.

 

Does anyone here use one? Any tips on what works/doesn't work? 

 

I was thinking single axle with atv style floatation tyres, trying to keep it lightweight and also think it will turn better than two axles. Is it worth having a headboard or will it just get in the way? I think it would be handy for it to be extendable in length perhaps?

[spuddog0507]

Well from past experience i can point a few things out to you, depending on what weight you plan to carry ? bear in mind you will put more on than planed at times, personally i would forget the single wheels and go for tandem wheels set up on rocking beams, take note of the load rating on the tyres, some on ebay that are not worth bothering with as load rating is crap and they only run at 6psi, head board definatly as it will save on damage to digger, if i was to build another i would go for a ladder frame over a single spine as far more robust,, i will post some photos later on tonight and see if i can dig out what wheels n tyres i bought,,

[Alan Smith]

Interested in how you plan to hitch the trailer to the digger, I can see a few options.

[woody paul]

Take a look at RSL engineering Website for an idea or just buy one. 

[Malus]

14 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

Well from past experience i can point a few things out to you, depending on what weight you plan to carry ? bear in mind you will put more on than planed at times, personally i would forget the single wheels and go for tandem wheels set up on rocking beams, take note of the load rating on the tyres, some on ebay that are not worth bothering with as load rating is crap and they only run at 6psi, head board definatly as it will save on damage to digger, if i was to build another i would go for a ladder frame over a single spine as far more robust,, i will post some photos later on tonight and see if i can dig out what wheels n tyres i bought,,

 

Brilliant, thanks. I was planning on using a set of wheels from parnells, look decent enough and come with axles and a swivel hitch. Rated for 900kg, but will probably handle a bit more? What do you think? 

22x11.00-8 Utility ATV Quad Trailer Kit P334 Wheels Axles & Swivel Hitch 900kgs

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

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2 x Wheels, 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres on steel rim 4x100mm PCD. • 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres. For sale is 1 new 22x11.00-8 Utility ATV trailer kit with...

They're cheaper on their ebay shop than their website.  

 

Ok good to know about the ladder frame. I've got some 70mm 5mm wall box section that I had contemplated using as a spine but thought it would probably be a bit on the skinny side, think I've got enough other box sections to make up a ladder frame. 

 

Not sure on how much weight I'll have on it but realistically it won't be much more than a ton, maybe one and a half. The digger can lift and move about half a ton when its got the grab and rotator on. The limit in larch is a 16' log up to 24" butt diameter I think

 

I would consider buying one if I didn't have a load of steel left over from various projects that I'd like to clear up out of the way and put to use. Also if I can save a bit of money from buying kit it's easier to justify buying new tools for the workshop  

 

To start with I'll probably just bolt a 50mm ball hitch to the blade. In the longer term I think it would be better to weld on a drawbar receiver to the rear of the sub frame, with a pin on draw bar. My thinking is that then when on a slope you can keep the trailer uphill and the blade downhill as an anchor. 

[spuddog0507]

7 hours ago, Malus said:

 

Brilliant, thanks. I was planning on using a set of wheels from parnells, look decent enough and come with axles and a swivel hitch. Rated for 900kg, but will probably handle a bit more? What do you think? 

22x11.00-8 Utility ATV Quad Trailer Kit P334 Wheels Axles & Swivel Hitch 900kgs

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

2 x Wheels, 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres on steel rim 4x100mm PCD. • 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres. For sale is 1 new 22x11.00-8 Utility ATV trailer kit with...

They're cheaper on their ebay shop than their website.  

 

Ok good to know about the ladder frame. I've got some 70mm 5mm wall box section that I had contemplated using as a spine but thought it would probably be a bit on the skinny side, think I've got enough other box sections to make up a ladder frame. 

 

Not sure on how much weight I'll have on it but realistically it won't be much more than a ton, maybe one and a half. The digger can lift and move about half a ton when its got the grab and rotator on. The limit in larch is a 16' log up to 24" butt diameter I think

 

I would consider buying one if I didn't have a load of steel left over from various projects that I'd like to clear up out of the way and put to use. Also if I can save a bit of money from buying kit it's easier to justify buying new tools for the workshop  

 

To start with I'll probably just bolt a 50mm ball hitch to the blade. In the longer term I think it would be better to weld on a drawbar receiver to the rear of the sub frame, with a pin on draw bar. My thinking is that then when on a slope you can keep the trailer uphill and the blade downhill as an anchor. 

 

[spuddog0507]

7 hours ago, Malus said:

 

Brilliant, thanks. I was planning on using a set of wheels from parnells, look decent enough and come with axles and a swivel hitch. Rated for 900kg, but will probably handle a bit more? What do you think? 

22x11.00-8 Utility ATV Quad Trailer Kit P334 Wheels Axles & Swivel Hitch 900kgs

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

2 x Wheels, 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres on steel rim 4x100mm PCD. • 22x11.00-8 4ply Wanda P334 Utility tyres. For sale is 1 new 22x11.00-8 Utility ATV trailer kit with...

They're cheaper on their ebay shop than their website.  

 

Ok good to know about the ladder frame. I've got some 70mm 5mm wall box section that I had contemplated using as a spine but thought it would probably be a bit on the skinny side, think I've got enough other box sections to make up a ladder frame. 

 

Not sure on how much weight I'll have on it but realistically it won't be much more than a ton, maybe one and a half. The digger can lift and move about half a ton when its got the grab and rotator on. The limit in larch is a 16' log up to 24" butt diameter I think

 

I would consider buying one if I didn't have a load of steel left over from various projects that I'd like to clear up out of the way and put to use. Also if I can save a bit of money from buying kit it's easier to justify buying new tools for the workshop  

 

To start with I'll probably just bolt a 50mm ball hitch to the blade. In the longer term I think it would be better to weld on a drawbar receiver to the rear of the sub frame, with a pin on draw bar. My thinking is that then when on a slope you can keep the trailer uphill and the blade downhill as an anchor. 

there the same wheels n tyres i ended up with and TBH they have lasted well, i would go for tandem axel as apposed to single axle, it will travel better , much more stable and wont make any where near as much mess as a single axel, photos above are 1 is in its first chapter wjth the shit 6psi tyrs on it and designed to be used for behind a quad, the rest are as it is now, and one thing about building it yourself is you can build it as you want it, hope this helps you out ,, 

[openspaceman]

17 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

there the same wheels n tyres i ended up with and TBH they have lasted well, i would go for tandem axel as apposed to single axle, it will travel better , much more stable and wont make any where near as much mess as a single axel, photos above are 1 is in its first chapter wjth the shit 6psi tyrs on it and designed to be used for behind a quad, the rest are as it is now, and one thing about building it yourself is you can build it as you want it, hope this helps you out ,, 

Much the same as on my Jussi  and I doubt most would want to run down the road with them, not least with a digger, but the tyres are marked not for highway use.

[spuddog0507]

2 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Much the same as on my Jussi  and I doubt most would want to run down the road with them, not least with a digger, but the tyres are marked not for highway use.

Once towed it back to yard with pick up one day in late January when it was raining about 12 mile, kept stopping every mile or so for first 4 or 5 mile to check temp of tyres and no heat generating in em so just carried on steady away,,

[Malus]

Nice one, thanks for the advice. Looks like you get a fair load on that trailer! It's holding up ok over the years then? Doubt I'll be loading the trailer up that high, I don't think the ergonomics of a grab on a digger is quite as good as a dedicated timber crane and I think loading high might be a little bit awkward. I think I'll have to play around with headboard height to get the balance right. I had a look at some of the ones Hywel Evans makes and his have a low headboard, probably for that reason.