I've had issues with my lower back ever since an accident when I was in school. I haven't been very smart with how I've taken care of it since then. In fact, I've been pretty stupid with some of the things I've done over the years. I figured it was time to start taking care of it better. I started looking into ways to load logs and other heavy objects without physically picking them up. This is what I came up with.
Last summer I found an old boat trailer for a good price. It didn't look like much.
I sanded, primered, painted, added supports under the deck, added side pockets, and beefed up the tongue. I also added a receiver in the front to plug a winch into.
I decided to go with an arch lifting rig. It uses a winch and a pivoting arch to lift logs onto the trailer. I use a 4000 lb winch and a snatch block to move the arch. You lower arch and chain it to a log. When you pull the arch back up it lifts the log and sets it on the trailer. You have to readjust the position on the log once. To unload them I chained them to the UTV and just drug them off the back of the trailer. It takes a little longer than loading by hand but it saves a lot of back aches. I'm going to use it to load and haul a tractor tiller box for my brother in law later this week. I plan to build a smaller ATV log hauler as soon as I can find the right kind of axles.
My Dad had to supervise the operation.
