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Log Arch Works Great For Hauling Big Rocks
Joe Edes wanted to haul big rocks out of a field to his back yard to build a rock garden. Some of the rocks weighed up to 2,500 lbs. The Dexter, Maine, man decided the best way to do the job was to use a commercial log hauling arch.
The 2-wheeled log hauler he used is equipped with a heavy duty winch and tongs a
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Log Arch Works Great For Hauling Big Rocks WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 32-2-10
Joe Edes wanted to haul big rocks out of a field to his back yard to build a rock garden. Some of the rocks weighed up to 2,500 lbs. The Dexter, Maine, man decided the best way to do the job was to use a commercial log hauling arch.
The 2-wheeled log hauler he used is equipped with a heavy duty winch and tongs and is designed to be pulled by an ATV or pickup. It's made by Thomas Bandsaw Mills of Brooks, Maine (ph 866 722-3505; www.Thomasbandsawmills.com).
The open center log hauler has a 2,200-lb., two-gear hand winch that mounts on front. The lift point can be repositioned anywhere along the frame by pulling a pin, sliding a pulley either forward or backward, and reinserting the pin.
To lift rocks, Edes modified the log hauler by bolting a couple of 4-ft. lift jacks on top of the unit's side rails. He bolted a wooden 2 by 4 on top of both jacks to hold them stable, and he also slipped a length of metal tubing onto the jacks' lift arms. A chain attached to the tubing goes around the rock.
He positions the pulley on back of the unit and attaches tongs to the cable. Then he uses the winch to lift the rock out of the ground. Once the rock is lifted about 6 in., he slips a chain under it and attaches chain to the tubing. Then he jacks the rock up further off the ground and is ready to drive away with it.
"I used it last summer to move about 30 rocks, some of them 300 yards away," says Edes. "The biggest one weighed 2,500 lbs. The rocks were in a big pile on some land that I had just bought. I hauled them into my back yard and rearranged them to form a rock garden and pool. I didn't want to use a backhoe or excavator because the ground was wet and the machines would have left deep wheel ruts. Also, it was easier to arrange the rocks with a small machine. I used my White garden tractor to pull the arch when hauling small rocks, and my Ford Explorer or Jeep for larger rocks."
To get an idea just how heavy the rocks were, Edes bought a weigh scale from Northern Tool that's rated to 5,000 lbs. He paid $1,175 for the log hauler and $265 for the weigh scale.
He says you have to be careful when using the high-lift jacks, which can raise objects up to 4 ft. "As a safety precaution, I insert a steel pin into holes in each jack as they go up in case they would ever let go."
The inventor of the log hauler, John Thomas, says it has been on the market since 1999. He also offers a smaller unit designed to drag one end of the log on the ground. It sells for $575 plus S&H. A hand winch and cable is available for $75 plus S&H.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Edes, 16 Sunrise Ave., Dexter, Maine 04930 (ph 207 924-6222; dextergardener@ yahoo.com).
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