Good wood hauler

[bcorradi]

Space you old rocket scientist, uhhhh, 1/2 tons with the car rear axle and little springs, try loading one with what you can put on a real 3/4 ton (full floating axle), and you''ll be walking home. Right tool for the job.

I agree with space a 1/2 ton with or without a trailer would suit him just fine. He isn't going into the firewood business or anything..he just wants a truck to haul his personal firewood home (probably around 10 cords) plus pull a couple of horses every once in a while. Plus you'll have a lot bigger selection of trucks to pick from with the 1/2 ton vs the 3/4 ton.

Just for price comparison I spotted a 93 f250 4x4 with the 7.3 L in the paper today with 198k on it for $5500. Thats probably not a bad price, but he would be able to buy a 1/2 ton, a wood hauling trailer, plus a horse trailer for that same price.

 

[Wood Junkie]

my ideal wood hauler would be a diesel 3/4 ton with dual axle trailer. I can't afford my ideal so i have a dodge dakota with the 4.7 liter V8. It hauls a bed full (stacked to cab height) just fine (I installed Firestone air suspension bags in the rear to keep from overloading the springs and Timken heavy duty bump stops up front).

Nice backdrop, I like your truck too.....
Yeah, I'd love to find a 90's Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 ext cab w/ cummins and a five speed with say 100k for say.....$3500....anybody.....hello?!? :monkey:

Does anyone still make a heavy half version in trucks?

 

[clearance]

I agree with space a 1/2 ton with or without a trailer would suit him just fine. He isn't going into the firewood business or anything..he just wants a truck to haul his personal firewood home (probably around 10 cords) plus pull a couple of horses every once in a while. Plus you'll have a lot bigger selection of trucks to pick from with the 1/2 ton vs the 3/4 ton.

Just for price comparison I spotted a 93 f250 4x4 with the 7.3 L in the paper today with 198k on it for $5500. Thats probably not a bad price, but he would be able to buy a 1/2 ton, a wood hauling trailer, plus a horse trailer for that same price.

Lets just talk trucks without trailers, which is what was originally asked. Wet wood is pretty heavy, probably around 3000 lbs. per cord. An old Chevy 3/4 ton wieghs around 5400 lbs. and has a g.v.w. of 8600 lbs. So, you can haul it in one trip. Now if you had a 1/2 ton that wieghs a little less but has a g.v.w. of say 6500 l.b.s, you will be making two trips, burning almost twice as much gas and driving twice as much. Trailers are cool, but if you have to go offroad they can be a real p.i.t.a. Also, a real 3/4 ton is better for pulling trailers than a 1/2 ton, stronger drivetrain and a stiffer suspension for more trailer control. 1/2 tons are not really that usefull for hard work.

 

[bcorradi]

Lets just talk trucks without trailers, which is what was originally asked. Wet wood is pretty heavy, probably around 3000 lbs. per cord. An old Chevy 3/4 ton wieghs around 5400 lbs. and has a g.v.w. of 8600 lbs. So, you can haul it in one trip. Now if you had a 1/2 ton that wieghs a little less but has a g.v.w. of say 6500 l.b.s, you will be making two trips, burning almost twice as much gas and driving twice as much. Trailers are cool, but if you have to go offroad they can be a real p.i.t.a. Also, a real 3/4 ton is better for pulling trailers than a 1/2 ton, stronger drivetrain and a stiffer suspension for more trailer control. 1/2 tons are not really that usefull for hard work.

Your able to get a cord of wood in the back of a longbed truck...but your going to need sideboards. So lets say he hauls a 1/2 cord of wood with the 1/2 ton vs 3/4 cord with the 3/4 ton. If he needs 10 cords of wood per year he is going to need to make 20 trips with the 1/2 ton vs roughly 13 trips with the 3/4 ton. At 10 miles per round trip he will need to travel 200 miles with the 1/2 ton vs 130 miles with the 3/4 ton. Even with gas prices as high as they are, overall its fairly neglible even if both trucks get the same mileage. Timewise, say it takes him say 20 minutes to make a round trip. For the year he would spend roughly 140 more minutes using the 1/2 ton vs the 3/4 ton. If what he was planning to do was on a grander scale (larger quantity or a longer travelling distance) yeah a 3/4 ton would be a better fit...but not in my opinion for what he wants to do.

I agree trailers can be a pita if your dealing with tight places or need to travel offroad.

 

[dan365husky]

whats wrong with a early to mid 90 chevy truck 1/2 with low miles with helper springs in the rear 350 v8 4x4 longbox extended cab perfect kids horses and firewood. these trucks are great work horses and had very little troubles. my last one had 325000 miles and still ran great when i sold it. and my current 90 with 187000 miles still runs great easy to work on and no carb issues to do deal with fuel injection i overload my all the time their is not alot of difference in a 3/4 ton and 1/2 unless you buy a heavy 3/4 ton
the heavy 3/4 has larger axles front and rear. unless your hauling a house you dont realy need a 3/4 ton for the extra cost.:greenchainsaw: :

 

[clearance]

I have hauled many full cords of wood in 3/4 ton trucks, I never used sideboards, I just used chain with loadbinders to my headache rack/rail. That is another thing a firewood truck should have, a headache rack, you can just huck in the wood, no worries. And you can haul long stuff no problems, like 20' lengths of rebar, for example.

Dan 365, "what is wrong with 90s 1/2 tons" Where do you want to start? Especailly the 4x4 ones, they don't even have a front axle, this is where Chevy lost thier way, bigtime. Nothing like changing the fuel pump on one of those, one of the other things that comes to mind right away. Notice how you say "heavy 3/4 ton"-Prior to 1981 all Chevy 3/4 tons were heavy duty, they all had the big, strong full floating corparate 14 bolt rear axle. Then they started getting cheaper and weaker as time went on, aluminum chaindrive transfer case instead of geardrives, thinner steel in the box, smaller box, more plastic...it just goes on and on.

 

[dan365husky]

ok sorry i hit a sore spot with the mid 90 chevy post. i just know i beat the crap out of my old chevy and it just keeps on going and nothing has broke as of yet and if it does i will fix it and keep running it. yes i know all the older trucks had super heavy solid front and rear axles and were made like tanks but this guy talks about driving around with horses and such then old trucks werent the best on the road handlers. :greenchainsaw: :greenchainsaw:

 

[bcorradi]

I have hauled many full cords of wood in 3/4 ton trucks, I never used sideboards, I just used chain with loadbinders to my headache rack/rail. That is another thing a firewood truck should have, a headache rack, you can just huck in the wood, no worries. And you can haul long stuff no problems, like 20' lengths of rebar, for example.

Dan 365, "what is wrong with 90s 1/2 tons" Where do you want to start? Especailly the 4x4 ones, they don't even have a front axle, this is where Chevy lost thier way, bigtime. Nothing like changing the fuel pump on one of those, one of the other things that comes to mind right away. Notice how you say "heavy 3/4 ton"-Prior to 1981 all Chevy 3/4 tons were heavy duty, they all had the big, strong full floating corparate 14 bolt rear axle. Then they started getting cheaper and weaker as time went on, aluminum chaindrive transfer case instead of geardrives, thinner steel in the box, smaller box, more plastic...it just goes on and on.

Ok...take a picture of your hotrod 3/4 ton chevy with the headache rack just for curiosity sake.

I agree with you on the newer trucks being made cheaper and more like cars instead of trucks. I guess modern trucks like chainsaws have evolved to real disimilar beasts to what they once were.

 

[spacemule]

Space you old rocket scientist, uhhhh, 1/2 tons with the car rear axle and little springs, try loading one with what you can put on a real 3/4 ton (full floating axle), and you''ll be walking home. Right tool for the job.

He's hauling less than 5 miles. My brother in law sold wood professionally for a couple years with a half ton. They're fine for a wood hauler. I think you're letting little man syndrome get to you here, clearance.

 

[clearance]

He's hauling less than 5 miles. My brother in law sold wood professionally for a couple years with a half ton. They're fine for a wood hauler. I think you're letting little man syndrome get to you here, clearance.

Space, your brother in law overloaded his truck bigtime or made too many trips, niether of which is that smart. All I ever have is 3/4 tons, cause I don't want 1/2 a truck.

 

[bcorradi]

Instead of 3/4 of a truck you should opt for a 1 ton then you'd get a full truck. What are rangers, s10's, small toyotas, etc ? 1/4 trucks .

 

[spacemule]

All I ever have is 3/4 tons, cause I don't want 1/2 a truck.

Nothing wrong with overloading a truck used on a farm. I'd take a babied 1/2 ton over a beat to death 3/4 ton for the same price any day. As a side note, a lot of people are happy only cutting enough for a 1/2 ton to haul when they do their wood. There's no need to spend exponentially more money for just a personal firewood hauler.

Again though, this all depends on what's available and what your application is.

 

[spacemule]

Instead of 3/4 of a truck you should opt for a 1 ton then you'd get a full truck. What are rangers, s10's, small toyotas, etc ? 1/4 trucks .

Well hell, why not just go all the way and get an ex uhaul truck or an old Peterbuilt?

 

[clearance]

Instead of 3/4 of a truck you should opt for a 1 ton then you'd get a full truck. What are rangers, s10's, small toyotas, etc ? 1/4 trucks .

Thats pretty funny.

 

[Dok]

I tried the half ton truck thing, didn't work out. Rear axle seals, twisted rear axle splines, finally the auto tranny went out. This was a 99 Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab short bed 2wd. I didn't install any sides or rack on that truck and I never got more than 2/3 cord out of it.

I replaced that truck with a 70 3/4 ton Dodge W200. 318, manual tranny, built like a tank. This was a great wood truck. If I didn't need to haul more than one other person I would still have it.

I now take my wife and two kids and dog when I cut and hunt, so I sold the Dodge and bought a used 01 Ford F250 Crew Cab long bed diesel. No regrets there.

These are just my experiences, take it for what its worth.
Dok

 

[bcorradi]

I tried the half ton truck thing, didn't work out. Rear axle seals, twisted rear axle splines, finally the auto tranny went out. This was a 99 Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab short bed 2wd. I didn't install any sides or rack on that truck and I never got more than 2/3 cord out of it.

I replaced that truck with a 70 3/4 ton Dodge W200. 318, manual tranny, built like a tank. This was a great wood truck. If I didn't need to haul more than one other person I would still have it.

I now take my wife and two kids and dog when I cut and hunt, so I sold the Dodge and bought a used 01 Ford F250 Crew Cab long bed diesel. No regrets there.

These are just my experiences, take it for what its worth.
Dok

What do you have in your 01 for a motor and tranny?

You got 2/3 of a loggers cord in your 6' bed? According to my calculations you would have had to have it stacked over 5' high.

 

[Dok]

What do you have in your 01 for a motor and tranny?

You got 2/3 of a loggers cord in your 6' bed? According to my calculations you would have had to have it stacked over 5' high.

The 01 has the 7.3L Powerstroke, 6sp manual, manual xfer case, manual hubs. See where I'm going here? :greenchainsaw:

2/3 cord, not usually. Usual was 1 face cord (cut to 16" so 1/3 cord). I haul the wood home then split it. The 2/3 cord came from a load of large unsplit rounds that stacked out to 2/3 cord after splitting. Large pine rounds, the smaller loads of oak weighed more.

 

[bcorradi]

The 01 has the 7.3L Powerstroke, 6sp manual, manual xfer case, manual hubs. See where I'm going here? :greenchainsaw:

2/3 cord, not usually. Usual was 1 face cord (cut to 16" so 1/3 cord). I haul the wood home then split it. The 2/3 cord came from a load of large unsplit rounds that stacked out to 2/3 cord after splitting. Large pine rounds, the smaller loads of oak weighed more.

Ok cool great combination on the 01.

I screwed up on my calculation anyhow ...i was calculating for a full cord . 2/3 of a cord would need it stacked roughly 3.5' high so that makes more sense.

 

[ropensaddle]

I have an old 85 one ton dump not pretty but can haul 2 cords!
I put side boards four feet high and when loaded it can tell!

 

[Dok]

Ok cool great combination on the 01.

I screwed up on my calculation anyhow ...i was calculating for a full cord . 2/3 of a cord would need it stacked roughly 3.5' high so that makes more sense.

That sounds right. I sometimes miss that 6' bed, doesn't take any time at all to fill it.
Dok