He Harvests Firewood With This ATV Setup

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #1, Page #30

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“An ATV and a simple, home-built log skidder are all I need to get firewood,” says Eric Petrevich, Glen Gardner, N.J.
    He uses his Suzuki King Quad 4-WD ATV to pull the 2-wheeled skidder, which rides on a pair of 10-in. wheels. The front end of the log is chained to a cross member located just ahead of the wheels.
    All the tools that Petrevich needs to make firewood are bunge strapped to plywood racks that bolt to the front and back of the ATV. There’s a chainsaw and machete on front, and a lumberjack peavey, splitting maul, toolbox, gas tank, and a coffee can that serves as a chain holder on back.
    “It’s a really handy setup because I always have everything I need right with me. It’s also quick and easy to use,” says Petrevich. “I came up with the idea because I cut firewood as a sideline business and needed something that would let me haul big trees out of the woods with less damage than using a big tractor.
    “This downsized system also gives me a lot of flexibility. I can cut down a small tree and bring it home and cut it up, whereas with big equipment I’d have to drag out 5 trees at a time to justify using the equipment.”
    The skidder’s wheels ride on stub axles that go through the frame and are held on by cotter pins. “Without any suspension the trailer rides extremely low to the ground, which makes it easier to get logs up onto it,” he says.
    He used 4-in. channel iron to weld together the skidder’s frame. The cross members are bolted to the frame in front of and behind the wheels, and another set of bolts secure the trailer hitch. “By removing 10 bolts from the frame and 2 cotter pins from the wheel stub axles, I can disassemble the skidder and fold it up for storage without taking up a lot of space,” says Petrevich. “To remove the plywood racks from the ATV I just remove 4 bolts.”
    He uses the toolbox to store gloves, eye protection, and tools for sharpening the chainsaw chain and machete, which he uses to chop overgrown vines.    The chainsaw’s bar is protected by a wooden holder, which Petrevich made by sandwiching together sections of plywood.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eric Petrevich, 210 Route 513, Glen Gardner, N.J. 08826 (farmshow@megageek.com).

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He Harvests Firewood With This ATV Setup ATV S “An ATV and a simple home-built log skidder are all I need to get firewood ” says Eric Petrevich Glen Gardner N J He uses his Suzuki King Quad 4-WD ATV to pull the 2-wheeled skidder which rides on a pair of 10-in wheels The front end of the log is chained to a cross member located just ahead of the wheels All the tools that Petrevich needs to make firewood are bunge strapped to plywood racks that bolt to the front and back of the ATV There’s a chainsaw and machete on front and a lumberjack peavey splitting maul toolbox gas tank and a coffee can that serves as a chain holder on back “It’s a really handy setup because I always have everything I need right with me It’s also quick and easy to use ” says Petrevich “I came up with the idea because I cut firewood as a sideline business and needed something that would let me haul big trees out of the woods with less damage than using a big tractor “This downsized system also gives me a lot of flexibility I can cut down a small tree and bring it home and cut it up whereas with big equipment I’d have to drag out 5 trees at a time to justify using the equipment ” The skidder’s wheels ride on stub axles that go through the frame and are held on by cotter pins “Without any suspension the trailer rides extremely low to the ground which makes it easier to get logs up onto it ” he says He used 4-in channel iron to weld together the skidder’s frame The cross members are bolted to the frame in front of and behind the wheels and another set of bolts secure the trailer hitch “By removing 10 bolts from the frame and 2 cotter pins from the wheel stub axles I can disassemble the skidder and fold it up for storage without taking up a lot of space ” says Petrevich “To remove the plywood racks from the ATV I just remove 4 bolts ” He uses the toolbox to store gloves eye protection and tools for sharpening the chainsaw chain and machete which he uses to chop overgrown vines The chainsaw’s bar is protected by a wooden holder which Petrevich made by sandwiching together sections of plywood Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Eric Petrevich 210 Route 513 Glen Gardner N J 08826 farmshow@megageek com

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