# What size truck and trailer to haul 1 cord



## Weesa20 (Jan 23, 2014)

Looking to deliver some firewood...wondering what size trailer and truck? Would be green oak. Would prefer to put it all in trailer if possible and keep gear in truck. Thinking Silverado 2500 4x4 and utility trailer. If so what size? How about in a dump trailer? will a 1/2 handle this load?


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## memory (Jan 23, 2014)

We use a 2500HD and sometimes a 16ft livestock trailer to haul our firewood, most of the time we just use a truck. I would say the trailer will hold a cord with only filling it half way up the sides and the truck will handle it but wouldn't mind having more truck. That is almost too much weight for the trailer, this was green wood.

IMO, I would not look at a 1500 for hauling firewood. I am sure you could get by with a 1500 but there are times where you will want more of a truck. With firewood, I would always go bigger than what you think you need. I know there are people on here that haul firewood with a half ton.

I would think a 14ft or 16ft dump trailer would hold a cord but you would want to be careful about the weight, anything green is going to be alot of weight.


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## sb47 (Jan 23, 2014)

Green wood is very heavy, around 4500lb cord or more. You’ll need a trailer that can handle the weight you will be hauling. Do a few sample loads and run it by a truck stop and use there scale to get an accurate weight. I recommend a trailer rated at least to 5000lb.

Be aware not to overload, DOT is lurking out there and will stop anything that looks overloaded.

I use a ½ ton truck but it’s outfitted with supper springs so I can safely carry full load.


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## VW Splitter (Jan 23, 2014)

That's the way I do it, gear in the truck and wood in the trailer. The trailer sits a lot lower. With a ramp you can roll some really biggens in the trailer, haul them home, then roll them off the trailer and onto the splitter. The 2500 4x4 is a good choice. I would get a tandum axel trailer with trailer brakes. I use a 7.5' wide x 12' long trailer. 1 cord is a good load. You can get greedy and stack a little more on it.


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## Hinerman (Jan 23, 2014)

For 1 cord you don't need a 3/4 ton,,,unless you go Chevy. As previously stated a green cord is around 4500 lbs. A 1/2 ton Tundra will be more than enough and out pull any Ford/Chevy 3/4 ton, except a diesel. I have a 16 foot trailer with 2 3500lb axles that will hold a cord if you stack it high enough.


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## jimbojango (Jan 23, 2014)

My 3/4 ton Cummins holds a cord but I made some side boards. Stacked right and 33 inches tall in a long bed is a cord. BTW. Weigh 12700 with oak on her.


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## Squintacular (Jan 23, 2014)

Hinerman said:


> For 1 cord you don't need a 3/4 ton,,,unless you go Chevy. As previously stated a green cord is around 4500 lbs. A 1/2 ton Tundra will be more than enough and out pull any Ford/Chevy 3/4 ton, except a diesel. I have a 16 foot trailer with 2 3500lb axles that will hold a cord if you stack it high enough.




These Chevys didn't have any issues pulling that....ford didn't do to shabby either....that is about 5 cords or so


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## John R (Jan 23, 2014)

Hinerman said:


> For 1 cord you don't need a 3/4 ton,,,unless you go Chevy. As previously stated a green cord is around 4500 lbs. *A 1/2 ton Tundra will be more than enough and out pull any Ford/Chevy 3/4 ton, except a diesel.* I have a 16 foot trailer with 2 3500lb axles that will hold a cord if you stack it high enough.


 WAKE UP, your having a wet dream.


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## Homelite410 (Jan 23, 2014)

I like the wood in trailer gear in box on the tongue of the trailer. This way if your in a hurry you can dolly down the load and the truck is free. When I cut, the nice woos is stacked in the trailer and the crookeds, knots, and crap goes in the truck for the shop stove. My trailer measures 200 cu ft so I heap it and have 1.5 cords behind a 3/4 ton. 

Whatever trailer you end up with be sure it has brakes on it!


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## Jester4736w (Jan 23, 2014)

I worked with a guy that told me his Subaru baja would out pull my Chevy 2500. Reminds me of that time.


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## jimbojango (Jan 23, 2014)

If you use a trailer just get your tape measure out and use your brain. Any combination that adds to 128 cubic feet. And any half ton should pull 5k weight... if not you might put it in Barrett Jackson cause it's an old old truck...


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## woodchuck357 (Jan 24, 2014)

A dump trailer sure makes loading big rounds easier and unloading most logs and rounds. Mine doesn't get steep enough to unload splits, to make it go that steep it would have to set taller. Trailer brakes are necessary when hauling wood and are required by law most places.


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## Cheesecutter (Jan 24, 2014)

Figure the wood weighs 4500 lbs and the trailer weighs 2500 lbs. At the bare minimum you will need a 7000 lbs capacity trailer and a 1/2 ton will pull it, but you're pushing the rated limits on both. I have a 6x12 skid-loader trailer rated at 8K and pull with a 1/2 ton. A few loads per year and fairly local you would be OK. A 3/4 ton is better suited for this type of towing. As far as trailers, a 10 or 12' dump trailer with 10k capacity should work nicely. Utility trailers in the 16 foot range would work as well.


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## Sandhill Crane (Jan 24, 2014)

Couple things. Just starting to deliver this year and have done about nine cords is all. Lots of 1/3 cord deliveries. Starting to do more 3/4 cord ones, partially because that is the size of the racks I load. 4'x4'x6' tall green oak weighed 4,000 lbs at the scale, and i've read Red Oak goes 5,800 a cord green, so it is in the ball park. I am using a 2000 TopKick 5500 flatbed. Stuck in the snow a lot at first so a 4x4 pickup and trailer seemed better than what I'm doing. However, one third of the places I've gone to have no place to turn around a trailer and narrow long curving driveways backing a straight truck up would be near impossible let alone a trailer. (and I can back a trailer) Several here have suggested small dump trucks. One said he has the set-up your talking about and is switching to a dump. A friend had a pickup with a dump insert, and a dump trailer. He was happy with it, especially the insert for smaller loads. The trailer he had trouble with the brake adjustment between empty and loaded, and wiring for lights. "Don't buy cheap... ", he said. He also had trouble maneuvering to Lake Michigan homes with narrow roads, drives and hilly dunes in the winter. I only use my truck for firewood deliveries. Therefore the entire cost, the operating expense, has to be covered by firewood. Three cord going out tomorrow, but have to sell a lot more than 12 cord before hitting break even. Hoping to double next year what I do this year. The customers I'm getting are happy. Craigslist really helped.


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## Oliver1655 (Jan 24, 2014)

Trailer Brakes! What you can pull & what you can stop safely don't always match. I have a van I can pull a cord of wood with no problems but if I had to stop quickly in an emergency without trailer brakes no way, the van is not heavy enough. With trailer brakes, no problems.

I make my trailers, (personal use only), with 7,000 mobile home axles using 14 ply tires. I have a 6' x 12' single axle trailer with brakes that handles a cord of wood easily.


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## Hinerman (Jan 24, 2014)

Squintacular said:


> These Chevys didn't have any issues pulling that....ford didn't do to shabby either....that is about 5 cords or so
> 
> View attachment 329689


 


John R said:


> WAKE UP, your having a wet dream.


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## mainewoods (Jan 24, 2014)

Borrowed a friends dump trailer several times, and it is the only way to go. If you can afford one, or find a good deal on one, I highly recommend you don't hesitate. A 1/2 ton will haul it fine but, a 3/4 ton - 4x4 is a better set up.


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## Mad Professor (Jan 24, 2014)

Weesa20 said:


> Looking to deliver some firewood...wondering what size trailer and truck? Would be green oak. Would prefer to put it all in trailer if possible and keep gear in truck. Thinking Silverado 2500 4x4 and utility trailer. If so what size? How about in a dump trailer? will a 1/2 handle this load?



Not much will beat a M715 Kaiser. Can find them in good shape for less than a good trailer, and they will go and come back with a load, where a C2500 can't get too in the first place.

But you won't have good heat, music, or maybe a hard top.......and 40 mph is FAST


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## mdavlee (Jan 24, 2014)

A cord of green oak and a dump trailer is going to be in the neighborhood of 10k lbs. I went with a 6.6x12.5' homesteader dump trailer to get rock. My crew cab short bed 1 ton SRW dodge and the trailer weighed over 13k without rock. I got 6 ton and it handled it fine leaving the quarry at 25.3k lbs.


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## autoimage (Jan 24, 2014)

VW Splitter said:


> View attachment 329661
> That's the way I do it, gear in the truck and wood in the trailer. The trailer sits a lot lower. With a ramp you can roll some really biggens in the trailer, haul them home, then roll them off the trailer and onto the splitter. The 2500 4x4 is a good choice. I would get a tandum axel trailer with trailer brakes. I use a 7.5' wide x 12' long trailer. 1 cord is a good load. You can get greedy and stack a little more on it.


I just have to say vw I love that woodshed


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## muddstopper (Jan 24, 2014)

I dont sell wood, but I use a chevy 1ton pickup and a 6x10 dump trailer to move my wood. A 6x10 stacked 2ft high, rounded up, will haul a full cord. And I can probably hook that toyota up behind it and pull it at the same time.


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## downey (Jan 31, 2014)

I have been selling firewood on an off for the last 6 years.

I mostly use my 94 4.0 ranger and a 5x8 trailer with 1.5 foot sides. Between the truck and trailer I get exactly one cord of wood. 

Now I don't sell as much as I did in college. But when I do now. I use my ranger and my 18 foot trailer built out of a camper frame. I put a box right over the axle. That measures out to a cord of wood. The bigger trailer is so much nicer IMO.

This year I was given a little over a tri axle load as a wedding present. When I fill my 18 foot trailer with the sides It holds 3 cords. But I pull that with my dads 2500 duramax.


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## FLRA_Dave (Jan 31, 2014)

I used to haul 1 cord between the QC Dakota and 6'x12' single axle trailer. Now I have an 18' tandem axle (7k). I can comfortably haul 1 cord on just the trailer and all the gear (and up to 4 helpers) in the truck.


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## Walt41 (Jan 31, 2014)

Guys, all I can say on this is please know your legal capacity and don't push it. All the Chevy/Ford/ Dodge stuff will not go very far when you get in an accident with some legal eagle that has a lawyer on speed dial. Slow down and make multiple trips if necessary, the prospect of loosing everything you own is a real one in today's lawsuit happy culture.


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## Mad Professor (Jan 31, 2014)

One of these (in better condition):

http://burlington.craigslist.org/cto/4305704878.html


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## isaaccarlson (Feb 1, 2014)

I have a 1991 f250 and haul a full cord on the truck. I have a 20 foot trailer, but rarely use it. I will probably use it more this year, just so I can haul more wood per trip. My problem is getting the trailer into the woods. It takes a bit of room to turn it around.

I have thought about putting a small loader on the garden tractor and using that to haul the wood out to the trailer.


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