3rd Wheel On Arbor Trolley?

[chris_girard]

Has anyone thought about adding a 3rd wheel to the front of the Arbor Trolley. I would think that this may help especially with large, heavy logs. I have spoken with Reg about this and he says that if I do this, to make sure that it could be bolted on and removed when necessary. Don't think that I would use it much on brush, just long, heavy wood. To be honest with you, I like it just the way that it is, but my ground guys have been harping on me to add a front wheel. I'm not sure that they understand the balance point engineering that Reg designed on the Trolley.

I know that WesSpur is selling a different (knockoff?) version of a Trolley called the BTS Hauler that does have a front 3rd wheel, but personally I LOVE the Arbor Trolley. I'm still proud to say, that I had the first one in the USA 5 years ago. Thanks again for a great product Reg!

Thoughts on a front wheel?

 

[Tim_B.]

I know that this seems obvious, but I would go over the "balance point engineering"concept with the guys one more time, and then try to demonstrate it so that they can see what you mean. If you yourself were able to easily take the biggest, fattest logs and easily, reliably load them onto the Arbor Trolley, and then show how it can be pivoted around its center easily, it might help them a lot. If their problem is an inability to reliably find center even after being shown the concept, maybe some chalk to mark the logs would help, along with some kind of lightweight, strong plastic triangle about two feet in length could be used as a field expedient fulcrum. Real low to the ground, so it would be easy to roll the logs up onto. Get the log balanced in the ballpark, mark it with chalk, then get it onto the arbor trolley with the chalk mark over the wheels, and see what it gets you.

I don't know, much larger, longer, more twisty pieces might require a different solution. Just brainstorming, here.

Tim

 

[chris_girard]

Thanks for the tips Tim.

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Sounds like operator error.

I've though about a third wheel. I also have PVC extensions and load it up as high as possible, at times.

Keeping the rear end of the load from drooping and dragging when lifted, helps. Know that if you lift the front 2", and your brush is 7' out the back, that the rear will drop much more than 2". That friction reduces what you can hold.


A simple clamp on bracket with wing-nuts or other tool-less fastener might help the wheel roll better, but it seems they guys don't understand the wheel rolling in the first place.

Paying attention when loading make a big difference!

I've easily spun 20' logs above the lawn by rolling them up on to a branch/ chunk of wood as a pivot point, at the center of gravity. Easy 800 pound log. Little effort. Let the ground do the work supporting the weight. All you have to so is spin. Same thing with the AT, let the machine bear the weight by properly loading it.

 

[chris_girard]

I agree Sean, but I just can't convince my ground guys about that. Will have to work on them.