Firewood pricing

[Full Chisel]

Just getting into the "business" myself...I have been selling loads of soft maple cheap for bonfire wood but the oak doesn't come off so cheap. $75 level 6ft truck load, $100 8ft, $250 full cord. Delivery extra. This is 1+ year stacked and seasoned wood.

Been working for a tree service on my days off and they have been keeping me in primo pin oak lately. So I haven't been needing to scrounge which is nice.

 

[Tenderfoot]

I don't know about you guys, but I can charge a little extra now and then since I started to donate part of my profits to my local Community College's honors society. They really like the extra cash and I get a few teachers ordering my way. I really like it since I was (am) a member and they helped me out with organization and leadership skills.

 

[Boomer 87]

Not to sound like a idiot but what are the dimensions of a "cord" i see the term thrown around alot but how much exactly is a cord

 

[Tenderfoot]

A neatly stacked pile 4 ft x4 ft x8 ft or a pile about 160-180 cubic feet depending on the length of the wood. Shorter splits throw easier.

 

[Boomer 87]

So in theory if you had side rails a guy could stack a cord in an 8ft truck bed if he could go high enough

 

[Boomer 87]

Mines more than 4ft wide 8 ft long id just hafta go 4ft high

 

[Tenderfoot]

So in theory if you had side rails a guy could stack a cord in an 8ft truck bed if he could go high enough

Yes but you would be well over your safe payload. Even bone dry the lightest hardwoods I can think of is still nearly 4300 lbs.

 

[Boomer 87]

I think you underestimate nelson

 

[Boomer 87]

Joking..... or am i, ive had some weight in him but i dont think that much!

 

[Tenderfoot]

I dont know what year yours is, but my 2000 super duty struggles to stop 2 tons in the bed on a long hill. Did it once. Never again. You feel like driving a boat.

 

[Boomer 87]

69.chevy c20 with big coil springs trailing arm.rear suspension. And a overload leaf spring also. its the truck in my avatar

 

[TysonH]

A neatly stacked pile 4 ft x4 ft x8 ft or a pile about 160-180 cubic feet depending on the length of the wood. Shorter splits throw easier.

I think I'd recheck your math on that if I were you 4x4x8 equal does not equal 160-180 cubic feet, 128 cubic feet in a cord.

 

[svk]

Yes but you would be well over your safe payload. Even bone dry the lightest hardwoods I can think of is still nearly 4300 lbs.

IIRC a cord of white oak at 15 percent MC is a tad over 4000 lbs a cord. Aspen or cottonwood would be half that.

Of course a cord of wet oak would be nearly double that

 

[muddstopper]

I think I'd recheck your math on that if I were you 4x4x8 equal does not equal 160-180 cubic feet, 128 cubic feet in a cord.

His math is right, just different stacking methods. Generally 128 cuft, stacked 4x4x8 is considered a cord, but if the wood is just thrown into the back of a truck and not stacked, 180 cuft is the number that is used to determine a cord. Nether method is accurate. You are dealing with volume and split wood isnt a solid 4x4x8 block of wood. Depending on how tight the wood is stacked or how loose the wood is just thrown in the truck, you might get more or less than the advertised amount when you stack and measure it. Best of all someone can come by and tear your stacks down and restack it and come up with a different amount for the same amount of wood.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I dont know what year yours is, but my 2000 super duty struggles to stop 2 tons in the bed on a long hill. Did it once. Never again. You feel like driving a boat.

91 Super Duty handles 2 cords with ease. GVWR of 17,000, truck is about 7500.

Sounds like you might have a brake problem.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

His math is right, just different stacking methods. Generally 128 cuft, stacked 4x4x8 is considered a cord, but if the wood is just thrown into the back of a truck and not stacked, 180 cuft is the number that is used to determine a cord. Nether method is accurate. You are dealing with volume and split wood isnt a solid 4x4x8 block of wood. Depending on how tight the wood is stacked or how loose the wood is just thrown in the truck, you might get more or less than the advertised amount when you stack and measure it. Best of all someone can come by and tear your stacks down and restack it and come up with a different amount for the same amount of wood.

That's why I stack it well. In 6 years I've had 2 customers call (out of thousands) and say they didn't get enough wood.
One his neighbor had stolen a bunch of it, the other he had spent nearly 40hrs stacking the 1 cord and it was just about a solid wall of wood.... and evenbstill, he was "short" about a wheelbarrow load.

 

[farmer steve]

here's how i sell most of my wood. buyer picks up. it's a strong 1/4 cord.(32 cubic feet) $60. mostly a mix of oak and ash. i have the bins sitting along our road with my phone # and have a hard time keeping them filled.the pic is actually some apple wood i got last fall and charged $70. through the summer i sell a few bins to seasonal campers at the local campgrounds. the stack in the background is about 2/3 cord.

 

[muddstopper]

That's why I stack it well. In 6 years I've had 2 customers call (out of thousands) and say they didn't get enough wood.
One his neighbor had stolen a bunch of it, the other he had spent nearly 40hrs stacking the 1 cord and it was just about a solid wall of wood.... and evenbstill, he was "short" about a wheelbarrow load.

Sounds like the second customer was a little ODC, but does prove the point that no two people are going to stack the same wood the same way, so out comes will be different. I think two complants in 6 years is a pretty good record.

 

[Tenderfoot]

I think I'd recheck your math on that if I were you 4x4x8 equal does not equal 160-180 cubic feet, 128 cubic feet in a cord.

Thats why I said pile. I meant a thrown pile, not a stack. A thrown cord's volume is related to the length of wood.

IIRC a cord of white oak at 15 percent MC is a tad over 4000 lbs a cord. Aspen or cottonwood would be half that.

Of course a cord of wet oak would be nearly double that

We dont have that up here! All I burn and sell is cherry, beech, red oaks, a bit of white oaks, and maybe some soft maple. I cannot remember all the weights off hand so I just use Red Oak as a judge.

91 Super Duty handles 2 cords with ease. GVWR of 17,000, truck is about 7500.

Sounds like you might have a brake problem.

The pre '97 super duty's are F450 equivalent, the '99 and up super duty's are the F250 and F350s. I have an F350 SRW with a GVW of about 9900lbs. That generation of pickup will stop that load once, maybe twice, then your brakes will be faded to near uselessness.

 

[Gypo Logger]

That is still too low if you rack it up. My racks are only 9" high, almost that same as the ones shown in your avatar. You can pack 100 cu ft in your truck as shown. I say no less than $130 for your load, especially for split logs delivered.

Make sure your springs are heavy duty. Mine are.

Yes, your load in your avatar looks to be on the generous side to be call 1/2 a cord. If it was thrown on loose and was 16", I'd bet you'd be dead on 64 cubic feet + once it was stacked since your truck looks like it has 8" rack extensions. A loose thrown 16" cord occupies 180 cubic feet, so 1/2 cord would be 90, which is accurate to 5% +-
To be certain stack your load 4' high, it should be one row 12' long. To be extra certain that your customers get a generous load, cut your 16" at 15".