Big box wooden komatik. Hard to beat for junked wood. Some people build the box as more of a "fence" with lumber spaced 2-4" apart to shed bark/debris/dirt. A plastic tub can also work but won't take the same pounding.

The "best" is very hard to define as it depends on your terrain, your choice of wood and how you haul it i.e. junks vs. lengths.

 

I'm a lengths guy , 8' deck with center uprights 8" off center and 32" from them to centers of front and rear uprights . It allows me to cut 16" sticks on the sled without measurements quite easily .

 

Thanks.

I usually cord the 16" logs in the sleigh side to side back to front in the sleigh box and add some rope or ratchet tiedowns. The bottom of my wood hauling sleigh is made of expanded metal with pieces of plywood that can be put in to make a solid floor. 8" tall skis.

 

Did you see the thread on sleighs/komatiks? It's in the Tundra Forum, lots of good ideas there:

http://www.dootalk.com/forums/topic/190660-cargo-sleds/page__view__findpost__p__3718050__hl__%2Bkomatik

 

Did you see the thread on sleighs/komatiks? It's in the Tundra Forum, lots of good ideas there:

http://www.dootalk.c...0__hl__+komatik

Yep i certainly did. Have a few myself.

 

Here is the sled I built, it is set up for 6 foot minimum lengths, but could could very easily be adapted to 18" to 20" lengths. This was the first load with hte sled, very close to a chord of birch, The ACE WT handled it very well

 

Here is a photo of the sled unloaded

 

I like the looks of that, I bet it hauls great with the front independent from the rear!

 

Interesting design snolan.

 

I wish I had documented the build better.
Basically what it is is a short trailer (we call it a jeep) in the front attached to the Skandik with an automotive 1-7/8" trailer ball. The jeep has three settings for another trailer ball that threads to it, this allows the rear trailer section to be moved forward or rearward to add or remove weight on the Skandik. If you notice, there are leaf springs on the rear trailer section, and I think that I will remove them and make the skis rigid to the trailer as it is on the front Jeep. I am getting a bucking from the rear trailer while heavily loaded.

 

Nice build, takes some load of the sled with front sleigh pivoted from the rear.

Basically what we here call a "timmerdoning" based on the sleighs used when the logging where made by horses and it have worked for over 100 years.

Make a google pic search for Timmerdoning skoter and there are a bunch of different pics with short and long ones used for logging/wood hauling of free length wood up to 20 feet or more .

 

Thanks for the Timmerdoning name to search I got a whole bunch of ideas now, started making skis today.
Jon

 

Interesting. Around here people don't commonly haul out trees at length or " bois a longeur" by snowmobile. They cut the tress into the usual 16" long pieces and cord them inside the sleigh frame or box. Much like you would cord the wood in your shed. People still get "bois a longeur" delivered by a truck with a prentis though.

 

I was noticing on those logging sleighs some have articulating skis with a rigid tow bar and others the opposite with rigid skis on posts with conventional tow bar. I wonder which way is better? I am going to build one to haul timbers out of the bush.
For firewood I have been using one like in the picture for years, works great.
Jon

 

This type is a modern one and has proven reliability with really heavy loads (+2000 lbs) as the articulating skis reduces the stress on the sled alot, front sleigh also has a pivot in the center that allows free movement of the front sleigh.
Many uses them as you with your sleigh, for long wood taking it home to cut it or put a big box on top for short wood or whatever else you need to haul.

 

here is the same sleigh with sides for blocked up wood, I was surprised the Skandik will pull the loaded sleigh even on unpacked trails.
Jon

 

Thanks for the photos.

Yes the skandic is impressive. Particularly the 24", now if they had a decent diesel in there i would be sold.

 

Nice sled and sleigh Yukon7. Those Skandics are beasts.

 

last year I saw a video about a guy in Russia and he was hauling his wood sidewise on a sleigh in 3 or 4 foot chunks so I thought I would give it a try. The picture is deceiving as there is a lot more wood than it appears. I don't think you would fit 2 of these in a pickup box without extended sides.
Jon

 

Well, I think I've got probably the worst firewood hauling sleigh out there. Just built it last year.

We had an terribly rough winter and I never got to try it out loaded on hard packed trails, but I did pull it once in fresh powder. It was all my SWT v-800 could do to pull it empty since it sunk enough that the snow caught the cross bars. The runners are about 8 feet long, triple rough 2x6 pine with uhmw underneith held on with countersunk deck screws. The vertical bars are 2 foot jackleg steel, used in mining, and fit perfectly inside 1 inch black pipe.

Sees like these komatic style sleighs are for hard snow only. Hopefully I'll post up some big loads this winter.

 

Very nice! Built like a tank.

You could add a couple crazy carpets to the underside of the floor with a smooth curve, would prevent the cross members from snagging, give you a little more floatation in deep snow. Leave a little room for any snow or ice to melt away and dry.

Well, I think I've got probably the worst firewood hauling sleigh out there. Just built it last year.

We had an terribly rough winter and I never got to try it out loaded on hard packed trails, but I did pull it once in fresh powder. It was all my SWT v-800 could do to pull it empty since it sunk enough that the snow caught the cross bars. The runners are about 8 feet long, triple rough 2x6 pine with uhmw underneith held on with countersunk deck screws. The vertical bars are 2 foot jackleg steel, used in mining, and fit perfectly inside 1 inch black pipe.

Sees like these komatic style sleighs are for hard snow only. Hopefully I'll post up some big loads this winter.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkSqo3_Ul64

 

 

great videos bigmikael , thanks for sharing . Are you accessing the wood lot with an ATV to cut poles ?

 

Yes, I like the videos as well bigmikael. Everyone has to go 100 mph nowadays, it's nice to see people using snowmobiles for work and taking their time.

 

Great videos bigmikael !!
Looks exactly like the kind of riding and work that we do. I could have made the same videos, even the scenery looks the same around our cabin !!

I'm new to this forum here, and this is my 1st post. I registered last week because I bought a 2000 SWT 500. Nice condition, low mileage. This is my first Ski-Doo machine. Before that, I used my old... well you may not believe what is my other sled !!

Our cabin belongs to close relatives (me, my Dad, brother, uncles, cousins), the sleds we have are mostly WTs (550 and 600LC), and we also have a couple old Alpines (640 and 503). Sleds are used to open up trails, haul wood, riding around for fun of course, and we also have a small maple syrup production in the spring.

Back on the topic of sleighs, we have 3 of them. One is mostly used for hauling wood, it is a 4 skis design with cross chains, like in the videos, although somewhat smaller. We have a plywood box that we can put on it so we can carry logs cut in 16in lengths (what we do most of the time).

The other sleigh is like a larger and sturdier dog sleigh (one can ride standing up behind). All made of oak and maple, also made by my Dad, and is almost a work of art ! We mainly use it to carry our stuff to and from our cabin, which is only accessible by snowmobile, or haul water (no running water at the cabin).

The last sleigh we have is used mainly in the spring to carry the maple sap. It is a very sturdy, flat sleigh, and we strap a large 45gal plastic barrel on it. It is also made of oak and maple, but the underside and runners are all metal (stainless steel actually) because quite often at the end of the maple season there isn't much snow left and we ride in the mud, gravel and rocks.

I'll see if I can find a few pictures, if not I'll take a few next winter, and some SWT videos as well.

Carl in Quebec City

 

Great videos bigmikael !!
Looks exactly like the kind of riding and work that we do. I could have made the same videos, even the scenery looks the same around our cabin !!

I'm new to this forum here, and this is my 1st post. I registered last week because I bought a 2000 SWT 500. Nice condition, low mileage. This is my first Ski-Doo machine. Before that, I used my old... well you may not believe what is my other sled !!

Our cabin belongs to close relatives (me, my Dad, brother, uncles, cousins), the sleds we have are mostly WTs (550 and 600LC), and we also have a couple old Alpines (640 and 503). Sleds are used to open up trails, haul wood, riding around for fun of course, and we also have a small maple syrup production in the spring.

Back on the topic of sleighs, we have 3 of them. One is mostly used for hauling wood, it is a 4 skis design with cross chains, like in the videos, although somewhat smaller. We have a plywood box that we can put on it so we can carry logs cut in 16in lengths (what we do most of the time).

The other sleigh is like a larger and sturdier dog sleigh (one can ride standing up behind). All made of oak and maple, also made by my Dad, and is almost a work of art ! We mainly use it to carry our stuff to and from our cabin, which is only accessible by snowmobile, or haul water (no running water at the cabin).

The last sleigh we have is used mainly in the spring to carry the maple sap. It is a very sturdy, flat sleigh, and we strap a large 45gal plastic barrel on it. It is also made of oak and maple, but the underside and runners are all metal (stainless steel actually) because quite often at the end of the maple season there isn't much snow left and we ride in the mud, gravel end rocks.

I'll see if I could find a few pictures, if not I'll take a few next winter, and some SWT videos as well.

Carl in Quebec City

Sounds like fun. Welcome to Dootalk Carl, this will become a curse for you. You will find yourself looking at these forums in the middle of the summer and your wife will think you're on crack or something!

 

welcome Carl

 

A friend of mine has one made just like the old time horse drawn bob sleighs in miniature. Both sets of skis , front and rear,can be streed . The rear end of the right front ski is attached by a chain to the front of the left rear ski. The rear end of the left front ski connects to front end of right rear ski. This sled really tracks nicely through the trees.

 

The rear end of the right front ski is attached by a chain to the front of the left rear ski. The rear end of the left front ski connects to front end of right rear ski.

That's exactly how ours is set up.

 

Nothin' beats a good old fashoned set of juniper bobsleighs. It's partially unloaded here, the GTX normally can lug off 10-12 logs depending on the average size.

 

Inspired by this thread and the $600 price tag on a large Otter sled, I tried a custom wood hauling sleigh build.

I wanted to be able to haul blocked firewood and designed this home-made sled from mainly free materials I had kicking around:

• 2 downhill skis and 2x6" for runners
• 3" abs pipe to protect front of runners.
• rigid conduit (pipe) and hinges for draw-bar
• plywood for the box

box is 40" wide (matching 1995 Ski-doo Touring ski stance) x 85" long.

It's probably over-engineered (i.e., heavier than necessary) in some places and insufficiently strong in others (e.g., the hitch hindges), but I wanted to start with free materials I had on hand and replace as needed.

we'll have to wait for a good crust in the bush and try her out for hauling...

 

Big box wooden komatik. Hard to beat for junked wood. Some people build the box as more of a "fence" with lumber spaced 2-4" apart to shed bark/debris/dirt. A plastic tub can also work but won't take the same pounding.

The "best" is very hard to define as it depends on your terrain, your choice of wood and how you haul it i.e. junks vs. lengths.

This is what we use. A closed in fence like box. You junk up the wood and throw it in. Most efficient as we've been doing it for many decades.

 

Maplelogger we used to use the same idea as yours but the bottom was the old style corrugated metal roofing. Make a couple trips on a cold day and let it set up overnight and it was like a groomed trail. It never really tried to slide sideways because of the corrugations in it. We had a rope hitch with pipe on it so it wouldn't try to run you over. But you could get a little slack to give it a little jerk to get it started. Used to pull about 3/8 a face cord with a 1979 300 citation!

 

this is my new creation

probably not the best hauling sleigh but runs great!