The safe way to carry a chainsaw on an ATV is a clamp mount that grabs the bar and holds the saw low on the rack, with the engine off, the chain brake on, and the scabbard on. A bungee across the rack is how saws end up in the trail. Your saw manual already tells you what to do before any transport, even a short run to the next tree: switch the saw off, engage the chain brake, put the scabbard on, and secure it so it can't turn over or spill mix on the rack. Keep the saw inside the rack edges, clear of your legs and the handlebar sweep, and stay under your machine's rated rack capacity. Then check the clamp after the first rough stretch, because a mount that loosens and lets the saw swing does more damage than no mount at all.
- Key Takeaways
- How do chainsaws get wrecked riding on an ATV?
- What should you do to the saw before it goes on the rack?
- Where should a chainsaw ride on an ATV?
- How does a clamp-style ATV chainsaw mount hold the saw?
- Is a bungee or a homemade bracket good enough?
- What about a UTV?
- How do you cut firewood off the back of the machine?
- Where Herc fits
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Set it up before the woodpile
Key Takeaways
- Engine off, chain brake on, scabbard on, every time the saw rides. That rule comes from the saw manual.
- Carry it low, inside the rack edges, and clear of your legs and the handlebar sweep.
- A bar clamp only works if it pinches evenly and stays tight.
- Your rack capacity covers the mount, the saw, and everything else up there.
- Cutting a log where it touches the ground ruins the chain. Get the wood up off the dirt.
How do chainsaws get wrecked riding on an ATV?
The obvious failure is the saw coming off. A bungee holds the saw down until the machine bounces hard enough to lift it. On a trail, that's most of the ride. You reach back for the saw at the downed tree and find only a loose cord.
The less obvious one is the saw getting beat up while it stays put. A loose saw slides against rack tube all morning. Cutters knock steel, the bar takes side hits, and by the time you cut the first log the chain has already lost some edge. You can feel a worn chain in the first pass.
Some saws just ride in the way. Across a lap, or with the bar hanging off the front rack where every sapling gets a free shot at it.
This time of year the saw is on the machine most days, between firewood, storm cleanup, and clearing trails to stands before rifle season.
What should you do to the saw before it goes on the rack?
Your saw manual already answers this, so start there. Using Stihl as the example, the MS 362 C-M instruction manual says to switch the saw off, engage the chain brake, and attach the scabbard before any transport, even over short distances. In a vehicle, it says to secure the saw so it can't turn over, spill fuel, or get damaged. Other brands say close to the same, and it applies to the two hundred yards to the next tree too.
Check that the fuel cap is locked down, because one that backs off on rough ground puts mix all over the rack. Let the muffler cool before the saw sits against anything that can melt. Spare mix and bar oil ride in proper containers, strapped down on their own.
We get asked whether the scabbard can stay on while the bar is in a clamp. That depends on your scabbard and how much bar sits between the plates, so try it in the garage. If it has to come off to clamp, mount the saw with the exposed chain facing away from you, and put the scabbard back on as soon as the saw comes off the rack. Don't skip that step on a ride home.
Where should a chainsaw ride on an ATV?
Front rack or rear comes down to what else you're hauling. A saw with a full tank is real weight, so put it where the rest of the load balances it. Your owner's manual lists each rack's capacity and usually a front-to-rear split. The SAIF ATV safety guide says what every machine manual says: stay under the stated capacity, distribute the load, and fasten it down. A saw is no exception, and a few more rules go with it:
- Nothing past the edge of the rack. A bar hanging off the side finds brush.
- The chain faces out, away from the seat and your legs.
- Turn the bars to full lock both ways before you ride and make sure nothing touches.
Add a gas can and a bucket and the rack fills up fast, which is the real case for dedicated mounts. It's laid out in our guide to setting up an ATV or UTV for real work.
How does a clamp-style ATV chainsaw mount hold the saw?
By pinching the bar between two plates. It's a simple design on purpose.
On the ATV Chainsaw Carrier Kit we build at Herc Outdoors, the bar slides between an inboard and an outboard clamp plate. The top bolt takes a knob nut so you can set tension by hand, and the two lower bolts get snugged so the bar is pinched evenly. That even pinch is the step people skip. Clamp it hard at one end and loose at the other, and every hole you drop into lets the saw lever against the plates.
The clamp sits on a pivot bolt with a second bolt that sets the angle, so you can tuck the saw in tight to your rack. To mount it, the base plate and a backing plate sandwich onto a solid surface or a tube rack, and U-bolts are included for round tubing. On most Polaris and Can-Am machines you can use the factory twist-lock rack points instead. No drilling either way. The kit weighs 9 pounds, which counts against your rack capacity like anything else up there.
Two rules straight from our install sheet. The carrier is for moving from spot to spot on the machine, not for riding down the road while the ATV is on a trailer, so take the saw off and secure it in the truck for the drive. And keep it tight. If the clamp loosens and the saw rotates, you can damage both the saw and the ATV.
Clamp-on versus bolt-on versus receiver mounts is its own question, covered in our heavy-duty ATV mounts guide.
Is a bungee or a homemade bracket good enough?
A bungee is the easy way out. It holds the saw down until the machine hits the one bump that lifts it. That can happen on any trail, and it usually does.
Ratchet straps do better than a bungee, but a strap around a saw tends to bear down on the chain or the handle, and over a morning the saw creeps anyway.
A homemade bracket is a different story, and we'd rather not dismiss it. Plenty of you weld, and a lot of decent carriers started on a shop bench. The catch is fitment and finish. A bracket fit to one rack rarely moves to the next machine, and bare steel rusts out after a winter or two. You can build it, but a kit that bolts on in minutes with a warranty behind it is a lot easier to live with.
Our piece on what fails first on low-cost accessories is worth a read before you buy any carrier, ours included.
What about a UTV?
Our chainsaw carrier is an ATV kit, and we'd rather say so than stretch it to fit a side-by-side.
On a UTV the saw usually rides in the bed, under the same saw manual rules. Tie it to the bed rails or anchor points so it can't slide or tip, because a saw rattling loose in a steel bed wrecks itself quickly.
Herc's UTV piece for this job is on the cutting end.
How do you cut firewood off the back of the machine?
Stihl's manual covers this as well: don't cut a lying log where it touches the ground, or you'll damage the chain. One pass through dirt means stopping to sharpen, and a rock can end your day. The same manual says to support smaller wood on something sturdy like a sawhorse, and never hold the log with your foot or have someone else hold it.
The Herc Log Jaw does that job off a hitch. It drops into any standard 2 inch receiver, on a truck or a UTV, and locks logs from 2 to 10 inches in diameter up off the ground. It's formed from solid steel, and with the log sitting higher you're cutting from a better stance instead of stooped over the leaves.
It doesn't change how a saw kicks back. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety explains that kickback comes from the upper nose of the bar hitting something or the chain getting pinched in the cut. Raising the log keeps the bar out of the dirt. Watching the nose is still on you.
Before cutting off the back of the machine, shut it off, set the park brake, and keep the bar well clear of the hitch and bumper. Steel stops a chain fast. If you're not sure what receiver your machine has, our UTV hitch guide covers sizes.
Where Herc fits
Herc makes a piece for each end of the job: the ATV Chainsaw Carrier Kit holds the saw between cuts, and the Log Jaw holds the wood while you cut. Herc gear is designed, welded, and assembled in Pine City, Minnesota, by Product Fabricators, the fabrication shop behind the brand, and we run it on our own machines before it goes on the site. Everything carries a 30 day try it policy and a 2 year warranty, with free U.S. shipping on orders over $100. Your saw manual and your machine manual still come first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Herc chainsaw carrier fit my ATV?
It's built as a universal fit for most ATVs. It mounts to solid surfaces and tube racks, includes U-bolts for round tubing, and can use the factory twist-lock rack points on most Polaris and Can-Am machines. If your rack is unusual, call before you order.
Can I leave the saw on the carrier while I trailer the ATV?
No. The carrier is designed for moving around on the machine, not for road travel on a trailer. Take the saw off and secure it in the truck or trailer for the drive.
Do I need the chain brake on if the engine is off?
Stihl says yes, before any transport. The brake locks the chain so it can't spin if the saw gets bumped or started by accident. It's one push of the hand guard.
Does the Log Jaw work on an ATV?
It's built for trucks and UTVs and fits any standard 2 inch receiver. Some ATVs run a 1 1/4 inch receiver instead, so check yours, and if you have a 2 inch receiver on an ATV, call us about clearance before you order.
Set it up before the woodpile
Bolt the carrier on in the garage, not at the downed tree. Set the clamp to your saw, turn the bars to full lock, take one rough lap around the yard, and check it again.
The chainsaw holder collection has the carrier and the Log Jaw side by side. If you're not sure what fits your machine, call the shop at (651) 674-0007 and we'll walk through it with you. The 30 day try it policy means a wrong call isn't a lasting one.
