Loading logs into a pickup

Just looking for some advice on the easiest way to load some logs into the back of my pickup. I am going up to my wood lot in the morning to cut 6 yellow birch logs. I’m thinking they will square about 8x8 or 10x10, 8 feet long. I’m thinking of trying to use a tackle to hoist them up a nearby tree then hopefully back the truck under. Is there an easier way? I’m not sure if this is going to work. I have no equipment there.

I could load them by hand before you could rig the ropes and pulleys. Use leverage and a little muscle.

I cut pulp wood most of my life and couldn’t think of loading a yellow birch that squared 10x10 by hand. Spruce, no problem.

Is your estate in order? I hope you have help ! Do you have a hanging pull tackle chain crane, you could pull them up with one of those by your self, then back under, just getting the tackle in place would be the problem, you would need a decent ladder at least.

how fast is your truck?

Lol, my brother is coming down to give me a hand. I’ll take the chain blocks too.

Get another guy to help and back up close to them, then lift one end straight up in air against tailgate. Then lower slowly into bed then push it on. The hard part is getting them straight up, the rest is gravity feed. Take some meds and 1st aid kit, repeat.

Get a low trailer and use your truck to skid them onto the trailer.

Make a platform behind the truck and roll back and forth till above truck bed height, then use a winch to bring them in, do not use the tail gate , they bend, take it off.

if you look where center is on every kcant is then that is where you start the bridge building, so you are not lifting but moving it like a tetter-totter.

i I have moved many 24" oak logs that way from back yards.

Hire a guy with a clam and get it done right if you drag them in the dirt the saw will pay the price! Cut enough extra to pay for what you need then save some time and money.

if 2 men can't lift one end of the log and place it on the tail gate then 6 logs will be to much weight for the truck unless you have more than a 1 ton truck

2 men should be able to lift a 2 hundred pound end of a 4 hundred pound log to the tail gate then go get the other end and slide it in 6 4 hundred pound logs is 2400 pounds


if I had to load them myself I would bring a few planks , a tow strap, a come along and a chain or 3

if I didn't have a good place to pull in the truck bed I would pult the tow strap as high as I could in the tree in front of the truck and back up so that the end of the tow strap is right above the cab then use the come along and chains to pull them up the planks into the back of the truck.

but really be careful on the weight especially with so much of it so far back

Excavator with a thumb, is what I use

x2

to yield 10x10 you are looking at 14" dia. an 8' length of yellow birch will weigh around 490lbs ea.

If you have a 1ton pickup you might get 4 or 5 onboard.

A couple guys ought to be able to manhandle them. Rigging of any sort may be more time intensive than could be justified.

I say a 12 pack and a couple friends are the answer.

Last time i loaded logs on my truck it cost me $300 for a rear window. Be safe!

This is the best advice so far. Although the 30 pack and a car load of friends would work. If rigging them from a tree; use the tree trunk not a limb to support the load. Using two tree trunks would be better.

This will also work, a 200# man can wrestle a 600# log if he uses simple mechanical leverage and balance.

get a third guy an use a small log or branch under log about a third of the way on log two guys lift there the other guy lift an balance the end done this many time

Easy. Dynamite.

Get yourself a 2500-3500 atv/utility winch at your local F&F or what ever you have up there and mount it on the tongue of a low trailer or in the bed of your truck. Throw a 1/4-3/8 steel choker around log, use a sheet of 3/4" plywood for a ramp and winch away.

If you have or can borrow a set of bull-hooks from someone the two of you should be able to pick up one end of the log and drag it forward enough to hang on the truck bed, then pick up the other end and scoot it on up into the truck. Also called a "timber carrier". The problem with trying to move heavy logs by hand is that it is hard to get a hold on them.
You could also use a couple sets of hand held log tongs but they would not work as well as the bull-hooks.

know anybody with a helicopter??

Homemade Log arch and homemade log loader. This is how I do it by myself.

Mill it where it sits?

Nice tail gate lifter MGGC, good design with the car jacks for stability.
Had one on a front of a trailer so could swing them in sideways, but the trailer always went down a foot on the incoming log...sideways.
Was great when doing a road kill deer survey......45 seconds and they were off the road in in the trailer.

MGGC, that loader for the hitch is awesome! I’m definitely steeling your idea lol. We got 3 loaded up this morning, used the block and tackle to drag them out and got lucky and they were on a 4 foot bank off the road so just backed in and bulled them on.
Biggest will square 12x13 approximately. Thanks for all of the replies on this everyone

glad to help.