Does this mean your not coming over to split my wood for me?
100 cord by Christmas (?)
- Thread starter Sandhill Crane
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
A lot of used mid-sized trucks for sale around here have knuckle boom loaders on them. Seems to be the ticket for this. Building supply places use them all the time for unloading pallets of -whatever- at building sites. Bricks, blocks, shingles - they deal with this regularly. Might find a good deal on a whole new (used) truck setup for that.
I would forget about figuring out something involving a pallet jack or forklift. You won't be moving a pallet jack on anything except smooth pavement or concrete, and you still have to get the pallets from truck to ground - and a forklift capable enough will take up a lot of room on the back. And GVWR. And be in the way a lot of the time. And be another mechanical piece of gear with an engine & hydraulics to maintain.
I would forget about figuring out something involving a pallet jack or forklift. You won't be moving a pallet jack on anything except smooth pavement or concrete, and you still have to get the pallets from truck to ground - and a forklift capable enough will take up a lot of room on the back. And GVWR. And be in the way a lot of the time. And be another mechanical piece of gear with an engine & hydraulics to maintain.
Both good points. Yes, medium duty trucks are very reasonable. The piggyback usually hangs off the back of a truck and it is something I already have. It is a great piece of equipment in tight area. I use it for moving logs and pallets, and loading the truck. I bought it for its greater lifting capacity (6,500 lbs.) over a tractor front end loader. But now with 1/4 pallets that capacity goes unused. It is also a single purpose machine, unlike a tractor. Trade offs..
.View attachment 527920
View attachment 527921
.View attachment 527920
View attachment 527921
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
You have a pretty slick set up. I've been thinking of ways to change mine/make it more efficient or easier on the body. My problem is, I've been doing it this way for quite some time and without investing a serious chunk of money, I don't see myself changing. All of my wood is hand tossed into windrows to dry and then hand tossed into my dump truck. I could see people paying more for some sweet stacks like you have but I'm not sure it would be enough to cover the cost of the new equipment I need. I do applaud you for continuing to try new ways.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Is that all you could get on that truck. If you add a rack you could stack a little more over top of the cab and get a real load on that truck. In reality, I doubt I could get that load home without losing half of it along the way.
jrider: That is the rub. Is the equipment worth the cost?
And without a college education how do you figure cost/payback, or cost comparison of two choices realistically?
And without a college education how do you figure cost/payback, or cost comparison of two choices realistically?
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
The dilemma of most business owners.
IMO you have half of what you need and a truck that can deliver the bags is the other half. I think seasoned in the bag wood is a great selling point for many customers. You could advertise that for let's say $25 extra a bag and green bulk wood for less for the folks that are buying ahead.
F/L on the truck, you could set the bags nearly anywhere, but you have to haul the F/L and will need a twin axle truck. You said 25 bags will fit? (I think?). That's 8.3 cords... around 25klbs. F/L is what, 8k? Truck 15k empty... 48k, too much for a single rear.
Othe option is a knuckle loader. Can only offload on the curb or along a driveway more or less. Will lose ~4ft of bed, but could double stack the bags. Knuckle might weigh 3k.
My thoughts anyhow.
Just wondering whats the estimated weight of one of those pallets. While expensive, I would look at one of those small knuckleboom loader like you see on a forwarder. They have a small foot print so would be easy to mount just in front of the truck bed. Weight of boom assembly would be about the same as one of those pallets of wood. They can also be easily modified to handle pallets. Another plus of having the knuckle boom is you could use the truck to pick up logs to haul home for processing.
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2002
- Messages
- 4,800
- Reaction score
- 12,596
- Location
- North of Goderich, Ontario, Canada
What about a roll off type trailer? They make all sizes. This is a bigger one but lots more out there. They also use a roll off type for moving garden sheds. Google that too.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
I have been delivering with an F350 SRW and a military M101a2 trailer. I can fit most anywhere, and if I do not feel comfortable backing in, when the trailer is empty you can swing it around by hand to hitch up facing the other direction so I can pull out. This combanation can comfortably (and legally by GVW) deliver about 1 1/4 cords. Done about 1 3/4 before though.
Some good ideas.
They are not firewood bags, rather a netting that is wrapped around drum and the drum is pulled out the top. Each pallet is 4' x 4', and 1/4 cord each, estimated weight 1,000 lbs. seasoned, 1,450 lbs green (both numbers just a guess). 24' flatbed would only be three cord (12 pallets), single stacked, and 6,500 lbs. for the lift, 25,000 lbs. payload total if hauling green wood. 57" plus, for height plus the pallet. I don't think double stacking would work. It hardly works on flat ground, but I think the overall height would exceed the maximum road height, although I don't really know what that height is. I looked online at the Mt-52 mini skid steer. Capacity is 850 lbs. Scratch that...
I stopped and talked to a guy today that sells to restaurants. Uses wheeled metal carts, 5' long x 3' high x 16", and a lift gate.
Still drifting towards the big flatbed. With the piggyback lift there is good visibility even with a 5' high load, unlike say a skid steer.
Have to hit my goal first. I can work at getting a CDL. That is the first step towards a bigger truck, along with blogging with you guys and asking questions, even at the chance of looking stupid. There is a point, maybe an age, where that (looking stupid) doesn't carry much weight.
Also talk with a friend who has used dump trailers. He said they leave a long trail of wood when dumped. That doesn't work for me in most places I've delivered. Dump box on my truck would be much higher and is probably one of the cheaper options. Or, simply a trailer for the forklift. Some tilt trailers have a 4' flat deck on the front for two more pallets.
Lots of time to think about it. Thanks for the ideas.
They are not firewood bags, rather a netting that is wrapped around drum and the drum is pulled out the top. Each pallet is 4' x 4', and 1/4 cord each, estimated weight 1,000 lbs. seasoned, 1,450 lbs green (both numbers just a guess). 24' flatbed would only be three cord (12 pallets), single stacked, and 6,500 lbs. for the lift, 25,000 lbs. payload total if hauling green wood. 57" plus, for height plus the pallet. I don't think double stacking would work. It hardly works on flat ground, but I think the overall height would exceed the maximum road height, although I don't really know what that height is. I looked online at the Mt-52 mini skid steer. Capacity is 850 lbs. Scratch that...
I stopped and talked to a guy today that sells to restaurants. Uses wheeled metal carts, 5' long x 3' high x 16", and a lift gate.
Still drifting towards the big flatbed. With the piggyback lift there is good visibility even with a 5' high load, unlike say a skid steer.
Have to hit my goal first. I can work at getting a CDL. That is the first step towards a bigger truck, along with blogging with you guys and asking questions, even at the chance of looking stupid. There is a point, maybe an age, where that (looking stupid) doesn't carry much weight.
Also talk with a friend who has used dump trailers. He said they leave a long trail of wood when dumped. That doesn't work for me in most places I've delivered. Dump box on my truck would be much higher and is probably one of the cheaper options. Or, simply a trailer for the forklift. Some tilt trailers have a 4' flat deck on the front for two more pallets.
Lots of time to think about it. Thanks for the ideas.
Well, the hudson 400 log loader is rated at 1260 lbs at 13ft, so right in the load range of your pallets. I dont agree with your friend about the dump trailers leaving a long trail of wood when they dump. I have never had that problem with my dump trailer. I suppose if you try to dump and pull forward at the same time it could leave a trail of wood. I raise my dump all the way and then drive out from under the wood and it ends up in a big pile. .
Dump trailer will leave the pile more spread out than a dump truck. Just the simple fact it's lower to the ground.
sent from a field
sent from a field
I cant agree or disagree about the difference in dumping between a dump truck and a dump trailer. I have never used a dump truck to haul firewood. I dont really consider what I have dumped from my dump trailer to be spread out, but Maybe I just dont know what I am missing.
It looks like your doing mostly tree service wood, in which case, this might be a good fit for bigger wood.
I have always been drawn to the self propelled PowerSplit or TimberDevil vertical split machines with conveyor. No idea what the pricing is on a one man machine, but the ergonomics of standing up straight, the log lift, and conveyor may just be worth it in the long run.
It is a shame there is no way to try one out before buying.
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
Wow, you are a mind reader because I have recently been looking at those machines and thinking they are pretty slick. I could still windrow my splits like I do now which I've had great success with so I don't see any reason to change that aspect of how I do things. I would love to demo one of them for a day if they were only closer or if I knew someone who had one.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Dump truck leaves a fairly long trail. Metal floor helps it slide better. (one of mine is metal, the other is wood). Also dump angle.
I usually dump and at a certain point start creeping forward (it almost pushes the truck anyhow). A 2 cord load spreads to around 10-12ft wide, 20-25ft long.
We are certainly comparing different size trucks and trailers, apple to oranges. Probably my fault, since I dont sell firewood, I dont think on the same size scale as folks that do sell wood. My little 6x10 dump only holds around a cord or so. A trail 12ft wide and 25ft long behind my trailer wouldnt be a pile, it would be more like spreading grass seed.
