Bush Shipping Part 2B Summer Transportation

In Bush Shipping Part 2A we covered the basics of summer transportation of materials. We will explore a little further in this post.
Many remote recreational lots are in areas where there were state land sales or state land disposals. Others are homesteads, remote parcels, patented mining claims, agricultural plots, manufacturing sites, open to entry sales and many other programs. In the old days you could take a dozer and blaze a trail to the site and this is still a possibility in some areas, however, things are much more regulated today for building trails, crossing streams, and private and government land. In most areas there is usually some sort of ATV trail that is suitable for hauling materials. It is important to take other users into consideration when using these trails in summer since hauling 40 loads of material over a fragile ATV trail can really tear it up and anger other users which is best to avoid if you plan on being a good neighbor. When you start cutting trees to make the trail wider you might meet with some resistance as well.
We have found in many instances if the trail is more than seven or eight miles and not improved it is sometimes more economical to use a helicopter to haul materials if there is a suitable staging area close by.

• Helicopters are expensive but they are very quick way to handle building materials, often you can get everything hauled to the lot in one day and be ready to build. You also have to consider the ferry time when you use a helicopter. You will be charged  when they leave their base of operations and the clock runs whenever the rotors are turning until they return to their base. Even at the higher cost this is a very efficient way to transport materials to a remote site.
• Float planes are a good option if you are near a suitable lake or river for landing. Dehaviland Beavers and Otters are the workhorses of the float plane world and you can move a lot of material with either of these aircraft. The important thing is you need to have a suitable spot to offload and people to help when the plane arrives.
• Boats and barges are a great choice if you are on a waterway suitable. Remember, the difficulty of getting materials and equipment from the landing spot to the site must be considered in figuring costs.
• Track Vehicles are an excellent means of transporting materials in the right area. They can haul a big load through wet and muddy areas usually right to the site. In some areas they are not practical since the trails are made for ATVs and the track rigs are too large.

There are many methods of  transporting materials to a remote building site, more than we have discussed in this blog. Remember to take into consideration transportation to the staging area, loading and unloading, and transportation from the landing area to the building site. These steps are very important and can take a lot of time and effort.

"In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” 

— Les Brown