# Est. how much wood in a 6-1/2 ft F150



## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

I know this has probably been beat to death but how much split wood, hand tossed as high and as much as you can with no side rails into a F150 club cab pickup with a 6-1/2 ft bed? 1/2 cord or 2/3rd of a cord? I know someone on here must have measured it?


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## farmer steve (Feb 2, 2014)

my buddy brought me some maple stacked in his 6' or so chevy p/u probably stacked a foot above level. stacked in my rack was almost exactly 1/3 cord. ihave thrown the same rack intoa 6' bed truck and you have to make sure none will fall out till the customer gets home. iget a measured hand tossed 1/2 cord in my 8' bed F150 and it is full.


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## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

What I am trying to figure out is how much my "free" wood is costing me in gas? If I am only getting 1/3 cord per pickup load, vs having a 10 cord load of 100" logs delivered right to my house. My "free" wood is about $10 worth of gas a round trip and that is not counting wear and tear on my truck. So roughly $300 in gas alone for 10 cord.


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## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

Next question? What do you think would be more wood? Split hand tossed, or pack the truck with un-split rounds? The un-split rounds would be more back breaking work.


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## Big_Al (Feb 2, 2014)

Split it and stack it in truck, hold more that way. Maybe a set of racks? Although 300$ for 10 cords is pretty cheap & already cut & split. Log truck loads are usually 800 here, about 7 cords and its green.


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## UpOnTheHill (Feb 2, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> I know this has probably been beat to death but how much split wood, hand tossed as high and as much as you can with no side rails into a F150 club cab pickup with a 6-1/2 ft bed? 1/2 cord or 2/3rd of a cord? I know someone on here must have measured it?


Buy a cheap trailer on craigslist for a one time cost that will hold more wood than your pickup. I bought a 4x8 with sides and removable rear for $300 and it has served me very well. I can get about 2/3 of a cord on it and hook it to my tractor and take right into the woods. If I had a budget of $500 or $600 I could have gotten one to hold a full cord. I just have to be careful of what species of wood I'm cutting and the weight. A little trailer with a 3500lb axel will haul a good pile of wood.


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## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

problem is I already tow behind my 28 ton log splitter. If I did a trailer I would have to do whole rounds, I'm too old to be out there splitting it with a maul. I need some type of home made lifter to load big rounds of oak, then I could pull a big trailer also. I do have a big trailer with sides on it, but it sits so high up off the ground I would break my back lifting rounds into it.


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## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

Big_Al said:


> Split it and stack it in truck, hold more that way. Maybe a set of racks? Although 300$ for 10 cords is pretty cheap & already cut & split. Log truck loads are usually 800 here, about 7 cords and its green.



It is not already cut and split, I have to cut it then split it then load it. 30 pick up truck loads is a lot of work and time. But actually a 10 cord load would last me 2 years so I really only need to do 15 pick up loads a year, but this winter has killed me so far and already wiped out all my dry wood. I would like to stay at least one year ahead on my wood. But it is easier said than done. I can't devote all my spare time to firewood.


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## Woody912 (Feb 2, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> problem is I already tow behind my 28 ton log splitter. If I did a trailer I would have to do whole rounds, I'm too old to be out there splitting it with a maul. I need some type of home made lifter to load big rounds of oak, then I could pull a big trailer also. I do have a big trailer with sides on it, but it sits so high up off the ground I would break my back lifting rounds into it.


 8' 2"x10" to use for a ramp and roll 'em up. I loaded 20 rds of hickory last winter that averaged 150# each. I really doubt you getting a half cord of tossed wood in a 6 1/2 bed.


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## blackdogon57 (Feb 2, 2014)

Woody912 said:


> 8' 2"x10" to use for a ramp and roll 'em up. I loaded 20 rds of hickory last winter that averaged 150# each. I really doubt you getting a half cord of tossed wood in a 6 1/2 bed.


Yep more like 1/4 cord.


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## zogger (Feb 2, 2014)

Coldfront, they make those cherry picker loaders that can bolt to your truck. We've had some threads on them before. I don't think for a "forever" purchase that they are that expensive, and can be moved to a new truck or trailer, etc.

But you want it on your trailer, so you can move more wood at once, and split it at home, correct? Leave splitter at home? Small branches and saws and gear in the truck, larger rounds use the crane into the trailer.

I just looked, both harbor freight and northern tool have them, pickup truck cranes. Supposedly, just make the mounting deal a little more robust and use beefy bolts. You should be able to use some log tongs to load your big rounds.


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## John R (Feb 2, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> I know this has probably been beat to death but how much split wood, hand tossed as high and as much as you can with no side rails into a F150 club cab pickup with a 6-1/2 ft bed? 1/2 cord or 2/3rd of a cord? I know someone on here must have measured it?


 Should be able to haul about twice the amount a 1/2 ton Toyota will haul.


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## Coldfront (Feb 2, 2014)

blackdogon57 said:


> Yep more like 1/4 cord.



I never said a 1/2 cord, I'm figuring now on the high side 1/3 cord. I wonder if I could make a light weight cherry picker that would mount into a 2"x2" receiver trailer hitch? I think the only way I am ever going to get a year of wood ahead I have to bite the bullet and buy a 10 cord logger load. Then go for the free wood. If I can get a year ahead or more I should be able go the free route from then on. What sucks is that I was a good year ahead, but then we moved and I didn't want to haul all that wood during the move, was too much at once.


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## flotek (Feb 2, 2014)

1/4-1/3 of a cord .. It would be what a lot of people call a face cord ( nonsense really ) and that's usually a single row of stove length18" long wood that's 4 ft high and 8 ft long . Ford beds are 2" deeper than a Chevy bed. Wood in large rounds packed in tight will yield more after it's split at home


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## Sandhill Crane (Feb 2, 2014)

Find a used lift-gate on Craigslist. Used one for years and loved it. Makes a great table for staging rounds when splitting too.


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## Big_Al (Feb 2, 2014)

Why not stack it in truck? 6.5x5x2 would give ya half cord. Those cranes are pretty slow to use for wood. Friend has one on his f350 that he uses to load his wifes motorized wheelchair. We tried it loading big rounds & I could split and load 2 rounds in same time it took him to load a round. I'm in my mid 50's & no speed demon.


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## jrider (Feb 2, 2014)

As stated above. Just stack it. If space is an issue, this should be automatic


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## Coldfront (Feb 3, 2014)

I'm always looking for an easier way, but I should know by now there is no easy way.


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## jimbojango (Feb 3, 2014)

why would you toss wood into a truck? you're already there, pack that crap as tight as possible and make as few trips as possible


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## Locust Cutter (Feb 3, 2014)

I used to get right at 1/2 cord, tightly stacked splits in my '97 F-150 ext-cab, short-bed. It was heaped a bit on top, but it did alright. Un=split was closer to 1/4-1/3 cord, depending on the size of the wood. I had to strap my wheelbarrow on top when making deliveries. Thankfully I now have a 6x10' flatbed (or near to it, I need t measure it) and use of an 18' car hauler when necessary. Eventually I will have an 18-20', 14K or better rated equipment hauler to make wood more efficient. Honestly, w/stacking up your results several times and measuring, you don't know how much you're getting as it will vary with size.


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 3, 2014)

Big_Al said:


> Split it and stack it in truck, hold more that way. Maybe a set of racks? Although 300$ for 10 cords is pretty cheap & already cut & split. Log truck loads are usually 800 here, about 7 cords and its green.




Wrong. You can't put wood into a smaller space than nature already did. The smaller you split, the more room it takes. Figure an incrase of about 10% when splitting it. If buying wood, you get more actual wood per cord in unsplit rounds.

Harry K


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 3, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> problem is I already tow behind my 28 ton log splitter. If I did a trailer I would have to do whole rounds, I'm too old to be out there splitting it with a maul. I need some type of home made lifter to load big rounds of oak, then I could pull a big trailer also. I do have a big trailer with sides on it, but it sits so high up off the ground I would break my back lifting rounds into it.



Up to last year I busted them down to "loadable" size with wedge/sledge/maul. Wussed out and started noodling them to size. I'm not "getting old" any more, I have to admit I _am_ old (79). Can't go the way I used to anymore.

Harry K


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 3, 2014)

turnkey4099 said:


> Wrong. You can't put wood into a smaller space than nature already did. The smaller you split, the more room it takes. Figure an incrase of about 10% when splitting it. If buying wood, you get more actual wood per cord in unsplit rounds.
> 
> Harry K



There used to be a 'sticky' up top that both explained it and had demonstrations to prove it is true. Seems in the changeover the stickies have disappeared.

Harry K


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## blades (Feb 3, 2014)

Split and tossed level with bed rails a little less than a 1/3 cord, stacked tight level with bed rails 1/3 cord + a bit Mounded it up to cab roof height just shy of a 1/2 cord( with out side boards). Never ran side boards so can't estimate that. Stacking rounds to cab height I can get almost a cord in it when split and stacked at home. That was a 99 f150 extra cab set up for a slide in camper so springs were higher load factor, I was also using E rated tires. Can't go that far with c or d rated paws. I have an 06 heavy f250 extra cab at present a pallet of salt (2450 lbs) in that only settles that back end about 4" from empty again E rated tires. Its a stiff ride when empty though.


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## woodchuck357 (Feb 3, 2014)

Years ago my son came up with an idea for rolling rounds to the truck and pulling them up a ramp. Using the steel handles from old lawn mowers he constructed a yoke that could be loosely screwed to the center of either side of the round with a lag screw, turning the round into a wheel with a handle bar tongue. He and his sister could move a lot of wood that way, and with a ratchet in his pocket spent very little time installing and removing the lag screw axels.


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## Locust Cutter (Feb 3, 2014)

woodchuck357 said:


> Years ago my son came up with an idea for rolling rounds to the truck and pulling them up a ramp. Using the steel handles from old lawn mowers he constructed a yoke that could be loosely screwed to the center of either side of the round with a lag screw, turning the round into a wheel with a handle bar tongue. He and his sister could move a lot of wood that way, and with a ratchet in his pocket spent very little time installing and removing the lag screw axels.



That is pure Genius! I like it and have a few dead mowers that I'm going to rob now... Thanks for sharing that!


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## zogger (Feb 3, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> I never said a 1/2 cord, I'm figuring now on the high side 1/3 cord. I wonder if I could make a light weight cherry picker that would mount into a 2"x2" receiver trailer hitch? I think the only way I am ever going to get a year of wood ahead I have to bite the bullet and buy a 10 cord logger load. Then go for the free wood. If I can get a year ahead or more I should be able go the free route from then on. What sucks is that I was a good year ahead, but then we moved and I didn't want to haul all that wood during the move, was too much at once.



If you have access to the wood it is better to put the money into equipment

BUT...if you want to start buying truck loads, just get into processing at home and selling off some, get ahead that way. You should be able to 2 for 1 keep compounding what you get once the first load is sold off. Stop going out and cutting your own and hauling it back, just buck and split right where you are. Only do deliveries then. You should be able to make some coin, enough to cover costs, plus get years ahead for your own use.


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## Big_Al (Feb 3, 2014)

Haven't done it as long as some on here but this is my experience. If I cut & stack afull load of big rounds 28-36" in my truck, then take it home , split it & reload truck. It always comes up not as full, I figured it was cause you have such big gaps between rounds & rounds and truck bed. When it's split I can fill in all the gaps.


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## Ironworker (Feb 3, 2014)

Not only is it costing you money in gas and wear and tear on your vehicle, but you also have to take into consideration, what's your time worth. I have access to 70 acres of wood plus what neighbors and friends offer, but it is a lot easier to just have it delivered and cut at my leisure.


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## Coldfront (Feb 3, 2014)

It is nice having it delivered right along side my garage under my street light, I can work on it at night. I don't mind going and getting the free stuff once in a while, but to get a year ahead that is a lot of work.


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## dougs (Feb 3, 2014)

I haul firewood in my ranger. 6 ft long bed x 4-5 ft wide x 3 ft deep. Unsplit. Unloaded and split out is usually around 1/2 a cord. Your 1/2 ton should be 1/2 a cord or more, assuming you don't have toolboxes, gas cans, water tanks, etc. In there.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## Marshy (Feb 3, 2014)

My truck is a full size '84 K10 8ft box but it has a tool box in the back that takes up about 20" of my bed so I'm really using about 6 ft of my bed. Cut, split, packed and stacked to the roof I can fit 2 face cord on it safely, that's about 85 cube ft of wood.

The most I've ever fit was about just shy of 100 cube ft (2 rows 8' long, 4' tall, 18-20" long chunks). That was pushing the truck/tires (C rated) a little too much but I was paying by the truck load so, challenge accepted. So In general I always figure on carrying 2/3's of a cord. Anyone that says they can fit more than 100 cube ft is either using side racks or is BSing.


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## Coldfront (Feb 3, 2014)

Going by the weight when I pack the bed full of huge oak rounds stacked 2 high my tires were squatting bad and the box was sitting very low in the back. When I fill it with split wood I never saw it sit that low. I have to think I had more wood in there with the whole rounds?


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## Marshy (Feb 3, 2014)

I don't buy it, no way you can fit more rounds in a given area than splits. The space between the rounds really start to add up. I can't believe it's even debatable.


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## Marshy (Feb 3, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> Going by the weight when I pack the bed full of huge oak rounds stacked 2 high my tires were squatting bad and the box was sitting very low in the back. When I fill it with split wood I never saw it sit that low. I have to think I had more wood in there with the whole rounds?


Are you comparing green rounds to seasoned wood? It will lose a lot of weight once seasoned and still take up the same volume...


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## woodchuck357 (Feb 4, 2014)

Marshy said:


> View attachment 332093
> I don't buy it, no way you can fit more rounds in a given area than splits. The space between the rounds really start to add up. I can't believe it's even debatable.


It's very simple to show, but most people won't check it out. They just keep spouting their uneducated opinions. Rounds stacked the way I put them in the truck have very little space between them, except for the bottom there are no large empty spaces. 
Stack up a 4 X 8 between posts leaving the maximum spaces between the rounds, that means each round directly above the one below, then split into normal firewood sized pieces and restack as tightly as possible. Every time I have convinced someone to do this the split restacked wood would not fit into the same confined space.


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## Marshy (Feb 4, 2014)

woodchuck357 said:


> It's very simple to show, but most people won't check it out. They just keep spouting their uneducated opinions. Rounds stacked the way I put them in the truck have very little space between them, except for the bottom there are no large empty spaces.
> Stack up a 4 X 8 between posts leaving the maximum spaces between the rounds, that means each round directly above the one below, then split into normal firewood sized pieces and restack as tightly as possible. Every time I have convinced someone to do this the split restacked wood would not fit into the same confined space.


 
No need to get but hurt about it and start talking down to me. Iif it was so much better everyone would be doing it wouldnt they? And it would be documented some where to prove how foolish we are by stacking splits.

Challenge accepted. Next tree I cut up I will prove you wrong. Why dont you try to prove yourself right? opcorn:


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## Coldfront (Feb 4, 2014)

No, If I am cutting it and split


Marshy said:


> Are you comparing green rounds to seasoned wood? It will lose a lot of weight once seasoned and still take up the same volume...



No, If I am cutting it and splitting it, it is the same wood, not seasoned. When hauling the big rounds I was stuffing the spaces between rounds with some split wood, I had to split some of it just to lift it into the truck bed. This debate will never end. I guess it is all about the unused air space, because if you take a round that will just fit inside a 5 gallon bucket, and split it into 4 pieces, you will never get it to fit inside that 5 gallon bucket again.


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## Marshy (Feb 4, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> No, If I am cutting it and splitting it, it is the same wood, not seasoned. When hauling the big rounds I was stuffing the spaces between rounds with some split wood, I had to split some of it just to lift it into the truck bed. This debate will never end. I guess it is all about the unused air space, because if you take a round that will just fit inside a 5 gallon bucket, and split it into 4 pieces, you will never get it to fit inside that 5 gallon bucket again.


 
I dont disagree with what your said, it makes even more sense to add splits to the air gaps. However, I dont agree with what woodchuck stated. We can debated it all day and its just opinions until someone proves it.


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## Coldfront (Feb 4, 2014)

The reason most haul spit wood instead of rounds is 1. because it is easier to lift and load. 2. you are handling the wood one less time.
What would you rather do cut the wood laying on the ground, split it, load it into your truck, then unload and stack it where you want it. Or cut the wood, load it into your truck in rounds, then unload the truck split it, load it back into the truck and haul and stack where you want it.?


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 4, 2014)

Coldfront said:


> The reason most haul spit wood instead of rounds is 1. because it is easier to lift and load. 2. you are handling the wood one less time.
> What would you rather do cut the wood laying on the ground, split it, load it into your truck, then unload and stack it where you want it. Or cut the wood, load it into your truck in rounds, then unload the truck split it, load it back into the truck and haul and stack where you want it.?



Good points but I haul pieces as big as I can load. I want to minimize my time out there as much as possible. But then age is a factor. I can ...or could a year or two ago, fell and buck enough rounds for load without getting too tired. No way could I have added the work and time of splitting it also. Sadly, my loads now are down to about 1/2 of what I used to haul home.

Harry K


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 4, 2014)

Marshy said:


> No need to get but hurt about it and start talking down to me. Iif it was so much better everyone would be doing it wouldnt they? And it would be documented some where to prove how foolish we are by stacking splits.
> 
> Challenge accepted. Next tree I cut up I will prove you wrong. Why dont you try to prove yourself right? opcorn:



No need to get uptight, it isn't rocket science. It has been proved right here on the forum several times in the past. Used to be a sticky with some of them.

You can prove it quickly to yourself while watching TV. Take a box top, cut up a tapered tubular item (carrots work well if you can get some big ones, potatos also). Slice into rounds, pack as many as you can into a box top, dump out, split in half and try to fit them back in. You'll have several left over no matter how you fiddle with fitting them in.

You could also use wood dowels sliced into rounds but that doesn't give you different sizes of rounds.

Oddly the naysayers never seem to try any of the various experiments that are put forth...or at least if they do they never report back.

Harry K


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## singinwoodwackr (Feb 5, 2014)

when I worked on a firewood crew in the '80s/90s we sold Almond and Walnut out of the orchards on a 'U-haul it' basis. A full-size puckup bed came out to 1/2 cord if stacked and packed 4" above the bed sides all the way to the tailgate. Method was checked every now and then by unloading and stacking/measuring.


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## CRThomas (Feb 5, 2014)

Colfind some Ash and mix it you can burn some not so dry wood I only sell and burn Ash I get free hard wood t said:


> It is not already cut and split, I have to cut it then split it then load it. 30 pick up truck loads is a lot of work and time. But actually a 10 cord load would last me 2 years so I really only need to do 15 pick up loads a year, but this winter has killed me so far and already wiped out all my dry wood. I would like to stay at least one year ahead on my wood. But it is easier said than done. I can't devote all my spare time to firewood.





greyfox said:


> Not only is it costing you money in gas and wear and tear on your vehicle, but you also have to take into consideration, what's your time worth. I have access to 70 acres of wood plus what neighbors and friends offer, but it is a lot easier to just have it delivered and cut at my leisure.


 if you can find some Ash it will burn good if you have just cut it when the leavers are off. Makes a good filler to burn your wet hardwood. I have a lot of people buy a 4 ft x 4 ft x 16 inch just to get there wet hardwood that some clown sold them my nabor called me to come over and bring my checker and mall the man showed up with wood I. Necked it it was 42 to 62 percent and that was suppose to be dry if that was dry you could burn water. I sold him some Ash and stacked and stocked his hard wood in his garage his garage is heated. Thirty day later and 30.


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## Coldfront (Feb 5, 2014)

turnkey4099 said:


> Good points but I haul pieces as big as I can load. I want to minimize my time out there as much as possible. But then age is a factor. I can ...or could a year or two ago, fell and buck enough rounds for load without getting too tired. No way could I have added the work and time of splitting it also. Sadly, my loads now are down to about 1/2 of what I used to haul home.
> 
> Harry K



I hear you at 56 I cut one tank of gas through my 372xp and I'm done for the day.


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## mn woodcutter (Feb 5, 2014)

interesting, I also would have thought that split and stacked would take up less space than rounds stacked.


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 6, 2014)

mn woodcutter said:


> interesting, I also would have thought that split and stacked would take up less space than rounds stacked.



Yes it is interesting. I first read about that back in 60s and didn't believe it until I tried it. It seems so logical and commone sense that it would be the other way. Part of the cause is the increase in surface area every time you split a piece.

Harry K


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## mn woodcutter (Feb 6, 2014)

so, when figuring a full size truck bed with racks to the top of the cab, how much more wood can I get home with stacked rounds than splits? hmmmm


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## Big_Al (Feb 6, 2014)

The couple times that I checked it I came out being able to fit more split wood on truck. Last summer we found a fairly large blowdown tamarack. Was about 34" at the bottom. We were pressed for time so we just loaded the rounds on truck, no splitting. We were able to fit 24 rounds stacked, cut to 16". They were all large enough that you could fit 2 across by 2 high. Had 6 rows. There was some pretty big gaps between the rounds themselves & the rounds & bed/racks. Well after we got it split & stacked back on truck a few days later , the back 6th row was short by about half. Usually we would split some or use smaller rounds to fill in all the gaps to get a full load.


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## Coldfront (Feb 6, 2014)

mn woodcutter said:


> so, when figuring a full size truck bed with racks to the top of the cab, how much more wood can I get home with stacked rounds than splits? hmmmm



If I did that my rear tires would be flat, and the rear trailer hitch receiver would be dragging on the ground.


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## singinwoodwackr (Feb 6, 2014)

mn woodcutter said:


> so, when figuring a full size truck bed with racks to the top of the cab, how much more wood can I get home with stacked rounds than splits? hmmmm


space isn't the issue, weight is. most green hardwoods are in the 6,000#/cord range so trying to get that much into a 1/2ton truck ain't happening. A 3/4ton with beefed up suspension (front and rear) "can" haul a cord of dry with racks in the bed but I wouldn't go far with it since it will still be in the 4000# range depending on the wood. And then there's the issue of stopping the truck 
A better way to go is to haul a medium sized trailer that has brakes along with a 1/2 cord in the bed...but make sure you have at least a class 3 hitch.


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## Big_Al (Feb 6, 2014)

We normally cut dead wood and only have softwoods, tamarack, red fir, pines. So it's quite a bit lighter than green hardwood. Can fill up full size pickup with racks without sagging too bad.


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## mn woodcutter (Feb 13, 2014)

singinwoodwackr said:


> space isn't the issue, weight is. most green hardwoods are in the 6,000#/cord range so trying to get that much into a 1/2ton truck ain't happening. A 3/4ton with beefed up suspension (front and rear) "can" haul a cord of dry with racks in the bed but I wouldn't go far with it since it will still be in the 4000# range depending on the wood. And then there's the issue of stopping the truck
> A better way to go is to haul a medium sized trailer that has brakes along with a 1/2 cord in the bed...but make sure you have at least a class 3 hitch.


 well its a good thing I have a 1 ton then! it handles a serious load!


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## Coldfront (Feb 13, 2014)

I


mn woodcutter said:


> well its a good thing I have a 1 ton then! it handles a serious load!


I'll bet it burns some serious gas also.


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## mn woodcutter (Feb 13, 2014)

my '89 F350 has a fuel injected 351W which starts on the coldest of days and gets between 13-15 mpg which isn't good but it isn't that bad either when its only real job besides going to the dump on occasion or making a lumber run is hauling wood home from no more than 5 miles down the road and normally less than 5 blocks. I very much enjoy having the heavier springs and axels for the abuse that I put it through.


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