Need help with a winch

[Dave Zellers]

Very carefully using the correct vowel....


I’ll start here: Zero experience with power winches.
Harbor Freight has a small 2500 lb winch on sale for under 60 bucks. Here’s what I want to do-
Right outside my basement is a drop off of 12-14’ at a very steep angle. Basically, the slump angle of bulldozed sandy fill. At the bottom are two large oaks that are dying and have to come down. I want the wood for the wood stove but I have no way of getting it up to my basement level where I want it. The walkable slope to get down there is 50 feet away and pushing a wheelbarrow filled with wood up that 50 or 100 times is out of the question. I could rent a machine like a bobcat but that would get expensive I think.


My idea is to build a 16 - 20 foot long rail system out of 2x4 or 2x6’s on edge and make a cart with wheels that would ride the rails and use the winch to pull it up. Maybe a loaded cart would weigh 5-6 hundred lbs. Just guessing- it seems like the winch could handle that.


Is this doable? I’ve read a little about winches over heating if they are taxed too much, but I don’t know how to figure what it can and can’t handle.

[Myk Rian]

Sounds like a good idea to me. No reason it wouldn't work.

[Lee Schierer]

You're going to need a strong anchor point including the bolts that secure it for that winch or things could go south in a hurry.

[Dave Zellers]

would bolting it to the end of the rails work?

[John K Jordan]

Be sure the winch has enough cable on it to cover the distance. The two 12v vehicle winches I have (8000 and 9000 lb) can be run at their capacity without overheating. I have dragged a truck up a hill with the breaks locked. The motors are geared down a lot so the load is relatively small. However, these are quality $600 and $900 Warn winches - I have no experience with the cheap winches. (BTW, my long-term policy is to never buy anything from Harbor Freight that has an electric motor or engine. My apologies to all the Harbor Freight fans with stories of excellent experiences but I am old and set in my ways.)

For me it would be easier and quicker to move the logs up the hill then cut and split the wood there.

Can you get some kind of vehicle near the slope? Don't know if it will work for you but I've rolled some very large logs up steep slopes with the cable method: wind a steel cable or chain around the log then pull the cable/chain with a vehicle to roll the log. I always rolled the logs up a couple of I-beams with one cable in the middle of the log.

If worried that the log might not roll straight, two cables, one towards either end and pulled at the same time would work, but I've always been able to steer the log by skidding one end a bit with a pry bar. (since it's balanced in the middle it can be "aimed" easily) Just be sure to wind enough turns around the log to cover the distance.

If there is no room for a vehicle to pull straight up the hill but there is room to pull off to the side (such as at 90 degrees), a snatch block (a pulley with a hook) fastened somewhere at the top of the hill perhaps to the basement will let you pull from the side but have the logs roll straight up the slope. (A snatch blocks is an essential part of any winch kit.) Feed the cable through the snatch block and you can pull from any angle. A snatch block won't work with a chain.

Even fairly large branches can simply be dragged.

If you are not experienced with winches, one caution: stay out of the "line of fire". If the cable or chain breaks under tension the end can come whipping through the air and seriously injure anyone in the path. People have been killed like this. I always try to hide behind something solid or at least stand well off to the side. I always wear safety glasses or better, a face shield.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

would bolting it to the end of the rails work?

Probably not. If you do that, when the cable starts to get tight the rail will act like a bow as the cable tightens and just lift up off the ground in a curve.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Just understand that a winch is a VERY slow device, made for torque and not for speed. It's going to creep your cart up the hill at a few feet per minute. It also isn't made for pulling things long distances, but rather for pulling something out of being stuck or moving it a short distance. Constant use is going to put a lot of heat on the motor- especially for a Harbor Freight tool.

I would rent a Bobcat for a day. You may be surprised at how affordable it is once you compare to the cost of winch, converter (assuming this is a 12v winch), lumber, wheels, cable, and all the other little parts. With the Bobcat you can not only move the wood, but also use it to clear the scrap and maybe do some other chores while you have it.

[John K Jordan]

I would rent a Bobcat for a day.... With the Bobcat you can not only move the wood, but also use it to clear the scrap and maybe do some other chores while you have it.

Oh yes! (assuming you can get it to the tree) I use my tractor for most things but about 4-5 years ago I bought a used "bobcat" (John Deere model) and trailer. I can't believe how useful it is. I've moved a lot of logs, pushed over trees, dug up and moved some 3-ton rocks, dug out huge stumps, built some roads, cleared and leveled for my shop and new barn, spread 100s of tons of gravel, have forks for loading/unloading, etc. Around the farm here I've used it so much already that even though the rentals are reasonable, buying one has saved me money (and a whole bunch of time).

JKJ

[Dave Zellers]

Appreciate the replies very much. It's clear to me I need to at least look at this issue from a different angle.

What appealed to me with my idea was having the ability to chip away at the task whenever I had some extra time.

Probably a number of ways to deal with this. The super slow speed of a power winch is definitely a problem. I used to see masons move a load of bricks up a ladder in 2-3 seconds with some sort of power lift. I don't care about the 2500 lb capacity, I just want to pull maybe 500 lbs up a 20 foot incline, in a wheeled cart, in a reasonable amount of time (30 seconds?).

So, barring that, what does it cost to rent a bobcat for a day? Gotta be a couple hundred, no?

[John K Jordan]

For firewood I would want to move the logs/log sections to a flat spot and use a hydraulic splitter. You can split a huge amount of wood in one day with a splitter. I have a splitter but they are pretty cheap to rent.

I don't know bobcat rental prices but google will, search for skid steer also, the generic name. But if you can use the vehicle/snatch block method I mentioned you could easily pull a cart/wagon (with lawnmower type tires) up a steep slope, and quite quickly.


If the log was cut into chunks you could drag them straight up a slope with most any vehicle depending on the weight of the chunk, the traction of he vehicle, and how much you can stand tearing up the ground. I use skidding tongs for this but big tongs are expensive. Cable/chains work fine. I( keep a 50 ft length of 3/8" chain for exactly this sort of thing.)

Another option is to contact a tree service company. They often have equipment or know someone who can come move your wood quickly and safely. (There are lots of ways to get hurt bad in an instant with trees/logs.) They might give you a good price on the whole job, taking down the trees, etc.

if you haven't done so, you might also ask on the Sawmill forum here fot suggestions. Many people with small sawmills, like me, have a lot of experience moving logs.

JKJ

[Rich Lester]

Do you have a friend or a friend of a friend that has an ATV and trailer? That's how we get logs from downed trees out of the woods and back to the cabin. Load the logs, haul back, dump on pile, then split and stack when in the mood or as required.