Bundled Firewood Stand!

[shorty2000us]

Hey guys!

Just thought I'd share this with the fellow members of AS. I sell a little bit of bulk firewood during the winter but wanted to try something new this year.

I live on main highway, so get plenty of traffic. I put up a little self-serve stand and gotta say, one of the best things I've ever done. I make my bundles larger than the gas station, and beat their price by $2. Only had this up for 3 weeks now, and I'm very close to $500 in sales, and haven't even gotten into the prime camping season yet. I have at least 3 campgrounds near by that I know of.

I'd guess I only interact with 25% of customers, either I'm at work or out back at the wood pile, and so far everybody loves it! Just wanted to share this with you guys.

 

[absrio]

I really like your stand and set up, I just wonder if its good in the long run to under cut the competition so much???

 

[cat10ken]

What do you use for a money drop? Do you feel it is secure? Ever been ripped off by non payers?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

You've sold ~10 bundles a day out of that stand?

 

[shorty2000us]

I just made a little box out of plywood with a hasp & lock on it. Far as I can tell, may have been ripped off one or two bundles, I expect it to happen from time to time. During the week I sell roughly 10 bundles total, but friday nights & Saturdays if I don't keep an eye on it, it'll be empty. Has happened a few times already

 

[absrio]

I just made a little box out of plywood with a hasp & lock on it. Far as I can tell, may have been ripped off one or two bundles, I expect it to happen from time to time. During the week I sell roughly 10 bundles total, but friday nights & Saturdays if I don't keep an eye on it, it'll be empty. Has happened a few times already

so how much do you charge per bundle? I would think selling bigger bundles for the same price, or selling the same size bundles for 2 bucks less would be better options. essentially your making money and thats great!! but your hurting the industry, yourself, and your own future firewood sales.

 

[Dogsout]

I think I am on the same page as Absrio. I purchased a used Hudson hand crank bundler this winter, that came with 8 rolls of shrink wrap, off of Craigs list for $810 total shipped to my front door. I sell the bundles for the same price as the local hardware store. $5.00 per bundle or I do discount on 5 bundles for $20. I have the bundles listed as 3/4 CuFt but actually they are closer to 1 CuFt. I feel that my product is better then that crap you see at the local farm store so I don't see the need to sell at a discount. When I started bundling this spring I thought if I sold 40 bundles all summer I would be very happy with that rate of return on my money invested. I do this for a hobby and not a living so I can afford to set my sights a lot lower then most. As it sets right now and we are not in to camping season yet, I have already sold 25 bundles and that is pretty much by word of mouth. At the rate you are selling I think you could raise your price closer to that $5 mark and still not hurt your bottom line much at all.

 

[zogger]

That's excellent!

 

[rarefish383]

I've been thinking about putting my trailer at the end of the road with 10 or 12 bundles on the back edge. I have a steel drop safe out of an old gas station. It has a slot in the top and you turn a handle and the money drops down. I was going to bolt it to a fender on the trailer. Since the trailer is a dump, it has a battery for a power source. If I had any bundles stolen I was going to put one of those dash cams facing back. But been too busy with other stuff, Joe.

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

Nice looking rack you have there!

I do agree with the other's about selling larger and cheaper. I don't sell any at my house, just supply other's with firewood bundles. Only loosing a couple a week is also pretty good. One of the guys I supply with bundles say's he expects to loose 15-20% a year on theft at a campground he sells at. He also has a stand out front and figures at least 5-10% and stolen.

This trailer has 500/bundles loaded for delivery, and usually from May to September deliver at least two-three trailers a week.

This load below cracked the factory receiver while backing it up at the customers house :0 Stupid GM wimpy hitches. This hitch belonged on a Tacoma!

 

[unclemoustache]

Nice. Wish I could sell more bundles. I've got a gas station and a hardware store. I sell 1 cu/ft for $4, and they resell for $5 and $6. No campgrounds around here.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Lousy wet weather has robbed my sales this year. Hail threats, strong winds, smoke clouds form Alberta, etc. Just have to bide my time and wait. Some things are beyond your control. I also have an after-hour drop box that works. Just make sure it's rather waterproof and almost hammer proof. In general, people are honest, especially if you beat the quality and price of the gas stations. Heck, I've had them leave tips on occasion.

 

[jr27236]

Nice looking rack you have there!

I do agree with the other's about selling larger and cheaper. I don't sell any at my house, just supply other's with firewood bundles. Only loosing a couple a week is also pretty good. One of the guys I supply with bundles say's he expects to loose 15-20% a year on theft at a campground he sells at. He also has a stand out front and figures at least 5-10% and stolen.

This trailer has 500/bundles loaded for delivery, and usually from May to September deliver at least two-three trailers a week.

This load below cracked the factory receiver while backing it up at the customers house :0 Stupid GM wimpy hitches. This hitch belonged on a Tacoma!

You broke the two inch receiver on that ? That's a 2500 diesel right

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

You broke the two inch receiver on that ? That's a 2500 diesel right

Yes sir. The factory hitch on the 2500hd and 3500's is only rated for 750lbs tongue weight and 7500lbs overall trailer weight "this is without a weight distribution hitch, which I don't use". That trailer weighed in at over 13k lbs with a hitch weight of right close to 2160lbs. Might have just exceeded the limits by just a bit. it does not help, the yard I deliver to is soft grass and I have to crank on the trailer pretty good just to get it into the tight unloading spot.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

What wood are your bundles? I get about 100 bundles to a cord, that about what you get too? I'm just thinking 5 cords on that trailer and only ~6 tons of wood isn't making sense, should be closer to 10-12 tons.

 

[jr27236]

That is insane!! You need a 3500 dually to pull that Trailer. 23k total weight is incredible. Hope you didn't have many steep hills to decend on. You rear and drive shaft must of been stressed to the max also. Do you put that in four wheel to back it up?
Curious, what is that trailers gross vehicle weight rating at??
Where I live, the dot guys and the motor vehicle safety vans would pull you over and throw you on the scales. That Trailer combo would make the poster for the following years signs. Lol

 

[GilksTreeFelling]

I agree, you would be better off looking for a used topkick or other medium/heavy truck with a dump box for a couple grand then hauling those loads he'll pick up a surplus 5ton army dump truck they are cheap and can handle the bigger loads

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

What wood are your bundles? I get about 100 bundles to a cord, that about what you get too? I'm just thinking 5 cords on that trailer and only ~6 tons of wood isn't making sense, should be closer to 10-12 tons.

The bundles going to this particular place are about 145 bundles to a cord. It is about 50% white oak and 50% red oak.

Compared to yours, these are tiny. He buys them from me for $3/bundle and marks them up to $5 for resale. His campground must like them, as last year he sold close to $45k in bundles there. This year he has already committed to purchasing 6000/bundles from me "he wraps at his place as well"

I have three sizes I sell and this being the smallest ones with a couple places buying the larger bundles the size you have "they cost more". There is no way I would wrap bundles for $300 a cord, when it sells in bulk around here for $250-$275!

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

That is insane!! You need a 3500 dually to pull that Trailer. 23k total weight is incredible. Hope you didn't have many steep hills to decend on. You rear and drive shaft must of been stressed to the max also. Do you put that in four wheel to back it up?
Curious, what is that trailers gross vehicle weight rating at??
Where I live, the dot guys and the motor vehicle safety vans would pull you over and throw you on the scales. That Trailer combo would make the poster for the following years signs. Lol

No Dually needed. Truck hauls the load just fine.

Factory bumper pull rating for the 2500HD/Duramax is 12k lbs. While technically I was over that by 1940lbs, everything else is within specs. GAWR for this truck is 6084lbs and I was only at 5760lbs. That GAWR rear, corresponds to the wimpy tires "3042lbs per tire" that come on them from the factory. With this load I had my LT285/65R18 load E tires on it 3640lb capacity each for a total of 7280lbs capacity. Also the same axle is used on both 2500hd's and 3500's, the AAM 11.5 is rated at 10k. The truck also had another leaf installed, which I have now removed in favor of rear airbags to level the load better and give a better ride when empty "put an in-cab controller with onboard air compressor to adjust on the fly".

I will also assure you the drive shafts on these trucks can haul this load just fine. The truck is rated to pull a 15700lb 5th wheel. That and have you every seen one of these trucks at a sled pull? They are running factory drive shaft's while also pushing 6-800hp.

As far as the trailers GRVW is 14k, so I was under that by 60lbs!

Now. I know the trailer hitch was way overloaded but with no sticker on it, how would the DOT know what it could carry? I did not even know until it cracked that it was such a wimpy hitch. That has also been upgraded to a Curt
CLASS 5 COMMERCIAL, it has a rating of 18000lbs, with a tongue weight capacity of 2700lbs. To match that I now run a forged steel ball mount that is rated at 20k/2700lb, as I also found out that the $250 B&W ball mount was only good for 10k lbs.

As far as DOT, I know the two of them on a first name basis. My full time job is in the USDOT Crash Investigations Division where I work with them. That does not mean I will get special treatment from them, just able to pick their brains about what they look out for. The firewood is just a little side job I do on weekends and nights after work. I do the delivering, and have kids in high school do most of the wrapping.

 

[unclemoustache]

That's a 12' trailer, stacked about 5' high, and I'm guessing about 7' wide. That comes to 420 cubic feet or a little more than 3 full cords.