Looking to buy semi load or End dump load of Hickory Hauled to CA

[flatbroke]

I need to find a supplier of Hickory wood. I know local restaurant suppliers buy it in bags, and sell it that way. I can not find out where they buy it from though. I would like to buy a load, doesn't need to be bagged. I will use some for BBQ and sell some. There is nobody in my state that I am aware of that sells it by the cord or any amount larger than the bag. If I bought it by the bag it pencils out to almost 2k a cord.
do you folks know of a supplier ? thanks. I could get a railcar too if that was an option.

 

[Huskybill]

Do a search for,,,, hickory firewood for restaurants

Lots of info.

 

[flatbroke]

Do a search for,,,, hickory firewood for restaurants

Lots of info.

That is one search I did not do. Thanks. I looked up all kinds of other stuff.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

In the past I delivered hundreds of cords of Oak to restaurants with great success. About 15 years ago it became difficult to bring any kind of wood into California. It may have become more doable. Some restaurants wanted black Oak and some wanted live Oak, but I could not discern the difference. I did spend some time moving some Mesquite. Thanks

 

[Ted Jenkins]

When I last was hauling large amounts of wood my lowest base price was $2.00 a mile. From MO. hauling was about $5500 a load for shipping only. Thanks

 

[flatbroke]

In the past I delivered hundreds of cords of Oak to restaurants with great success. About 15 years ago it became difficult to bring any kind of wood into California. It may have become more doable. Some restaurants wanted black Oak and some wanted live Oak, but I could not discern the difference. I did spend some time moving some Mesquite. Thanks

any advice where to look for hickory shippers? I have 28 cord of Oak already

 

[Ted Jenkins]

If you really want Hickory then you will need first to locate the wood you want and pay for it. Then you need to probably get a permit through Caltrans or get an exemption for ARB. When that is done you go to one of many boards and post your requirements. Transportation boards is like an electronic bulletin board that can broker your load to wherever. Once the truckers see the requirements they then bid on the load. A typical set of doubles can haul up to 12 cords of hardwood. A 53 dry van can haul maybe 10 cords of hardwood. Finding a trucker to move your load is the easy part all the other stuff is the more challenge. That is exactly what I did during the 90's. It is difficult to hire your load to be loaded with out the owner present. You maybe could buy your wood chip into bags and avoid some setbacks. Thanks

 

[4seasons]

As a former truck driver myself I can say that what TJ is telling you is true. I just want to focus on a couple of points.
You live in California so this makes everything more complicated and expensive. The laws there are pretty strict on bringing wood in from out of state. One way they allow wood in is heat treatment (check the laws yourself on this) but you may be looking at lumber or bagged wood prices. You did say that you have plenty of oak so I'm guessing you have been thru this before. Also the cost of trucking into California have went up due to all the regulations there. I would expect to see transportation cost in the $3 per mile range and since the nearest hickory growth is 1500-2000 miles away I would plan on $6000 transportation cost.
The second thing to consider is weight. Hickory is one of the heaviest woods available at 4000 lbs dry and close to 6000 lbs green. I know some BBQ guys like green wood in their smokers, but ten cords is more than a tractor trailer could legally haul if you can even bring it to California. I used to drive one of the lightest truck and trailer combos on the road to maximize payload for hauling sand. It was a daycab pulling a grain wagon with super singles and weighed 24k. I could haul 56k max but most trucks are not set up to haul over 48k. So a specialized setup may be able to bring 14 cords, 10-12 cords is more realistic. If you are looking for more than that a railcar maybe a better way to go. I have no experience with rail transportation but I do know that the grain hopper cars that unloaded the same place I hauled to hauled 100 tons, well over 3 times what I hauled per load.

 

[Hinerman]

It is almost unbelievable to me that someone would pay as much as you all are talking about for a load of wood. What does a pulled pork sandwich cost in CA, $30, and a slab of ribs $50? More possibly?

It is not like you can't smoke with other species of wood or even use pellets. Most (like 98%) people couldn't tell the difference.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I also have a little experience in rail transportation. I specifically sought out the best type car that I thought might fill my needs. A 100 ton car was $7500 from Northern Oregon to Southern California. Then they get you with a fuel surcharge which can be $4,000 to $5,000 depending on what I do not know. The big big problem is the port. You will have to truck your wood to a port which is often 200 miles away from wherever you might be able to cut it. When it arrives at the destination port you have a limited amount of time to get the wood unloaded and moved to a processing location. Then again the wood has to be hauled another 200 or 300 miles away. Just truck it in the first place and be done. I arranged to use a mill that was dormant, but was turned down flat. Possible to use a mill that is currently in operation might have some value. A good Oak BBQ is hard to beat. Thanks

 

[flatbroke]

Looks like I will stick to OAK. I started selling it last year. I have an almost endless supply if I need access to trees. Not much money in it and it is labor intensive. I've been making the most money selling it to city folk by the tote, at $10. comes out to about $540 a cord. at that price I could not make enough to break even if I hauled some in. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Flat what part of California are you operating from? I work in the San Bernardino mountains near San Bernardino city. Here I get on average about $425 to $450 for average field Oak. For select and stove wood price goes to $450 to $900 when we have winters. I am assuming that you are operating close to the Bay area farther North. I have been involved with bundles, but found that there was not too much extra money in the bundles. As far as you bringing in Hickory I can not comprehend how Hickory would be a great deal better that Oak. For years I hauled Almond out of Fresno and delivered it as far as San Diego with a decent profit. If you have Oak with a ample supply it is possible I could help you sell it. Thanks

 

[flatbroke]

Flat what part of California are you operating from? I work in the San Bernardino mountains near San Bernardino city. Here I get on average about $425 to $450 for average field Oak. For select and stove wood price goes to $450 to $900 when we have winters. I am assuming that you are operating close to the Bay area farther North. I have been involved with bundles, but found that there was not too much extra money in the bundles. As far as you bringing in Hickory I can not comprehend how Hickory would be a great deal better that Oak. For years I hauled Almond out of Fresno and delivered it as far as San Diego with a decent profit. If you have Oak with a ample supply it is possible I could help you sell it. Thanks

I am near San Jose CA. People around here want to pay 300 or less a cord. I cut it 16 inches, and split small to fit wood stoves and BBQ pits too (more labor intensive). I am selling it at $400 a cord but not many takers yet. People sure like the $10 totes. maybe when it starts cooling down the 1/4, 1/2 and cords will start moving. Man I would like to get in to that 900 range but can not see that happening here.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Yes I am familiar with San Jose. From your description that was what I was thinking. Last year there was no winter so nobody sold any wood. Nobody needed or wanted any. This year still do not know do you. Here in the mountains when we have 6' of snow for more than two weeks people get desperate. Money has no value. When families look outside and see more snow falling they start calling because they know sooner or later the power is going to be out and they need wood. It is not a matter of well it would be nice for the kids to sit around the fire no they need wood period. In San Jose nobody needs wood and the power never goes out so big difference. In the hills surrounding San Jose there is Oak everywhere. When the weather turns cool people will start thinking wow having a fire once and awhile would be very nice. So the prices climb quite a bit. About 30 miles up the street at Big Beat Lake people selling Pine are already out mostly because it is getting scarce. So if a winter happens it will be a sellers market. Often will sell a pickup load of mixed for $300 or $400 which ends up about $800 a cord for Pine and Oak. For most part see what the Mother Nature has planned. Thanks

 

[flatbroke]

Its been pretty warm here and I believe it is the reason the smaller amounts are selling so fast. I sold 3 pickup loads on Memorial day weekend just using a small tote from 12pm to 4 pm. it was a great weekend. See what Labor Day weekend brings. Memorial weekend was the first time I tried it.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I met this older guy about 25 or 30 years ago and we started talking. When he found out I cut and sold wood he says bring him some so I did. This was during the summer, but he had a driveway that was parallel to a busy roadway. So I emptied my trailer collected my money and went home thinking why does this guy want wood during the summer. Three or four days goes by and he's excited on the phone. He tells me he sold some of the wood. A few weeks go by and he says he wants more. This went on for at least fifteen years. Some times during the winter and on holidays he wants two cords a week. He just made up little stacks along the roadway with a price and he sold often ten a day on average. Some times he would go get his lawn chair with a book and read. It was simple and effective. After a few years people would knock on his door after dark begging for a stack of wood. We became good friends and will always remember him. Thanks