How Do You Get Your Pellets Home ?

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Ductape

Member
Jul 16, 2008
225
Central NH
I picked up my last ton of pellets for the winter the other day at Tractor Supply. I use my dump trailer to haul my pellets home........ natural for me since i've used it for my firewood for years. I imagine that if you don't have a truck, it must be a challenge to get your pellets home. How do you get it done??

Pellets002.jpg
 
get them delivered if the cost isn't too high...otherwise, I borrow my neighbors 1 1/2 ton trailer.
 
Put a ton at a time in my 1/2 ton pick-up. Definetly not recommended. I travel less than a mile though and on no highways so it ain't so bad. Just didn't want to load half a ton of pellets at the dealers onto the truck and then have to make additional trips. Would like to find a trailer like the one pictured eventually, that looks like the way to go. Those delivery costs are outrageous, but if you have no choice, what else are you to do?
 
packerfan said:
3 tons this year, 20 bags at a time in my toyota corolla. 3 stops a week on the way home from work per ton. Not too much of a pain in the $$$, wish I had an easier way though to get more at a time.


Damn and I thought I was pushing it with 20 bags in my minivan (Mazda MPV). I thought I was going to break the old Escort wagon with anymore than 10 bags. Are you sitting on a couple of those bags as you drive your Corolla??
It is a pain in the butt...that is for sure. I can remember waiting at Home Depot for the truck to come with the pellets. Few hours of my life I will never get back. And you always bust a bag in the back during transport. I haven't hauled pellets with the MPV since MArch...I was out a couple of days ago cleaning the van and found a few pellets. They get everywhere.
Delivery is much better option. Got 3 tons neatly stacked in my always dry basement. 289 a ton with a 25 dollar delivery charge. Even got them to bring them right up to my basement door. Love thise little pallet fork lift things.
 
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It's about all she wants to haul, 16 miles from my friend's garage. 1 ton at a time
 
Pay the delivery charge. Pelletsdirect had a $90 flat fee, spread over 6 tons = 30 cents extra per bag. Even when I had my pickup, the wear and tear and fuel and time wouldn't have been worth it to me.
 
How do you get it done??
Two pallets at a time.
 

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That Dump A Roo looks like a sweet way to get the job done. Looks like it would cost some serious change though. Have to find some other uses for it as well to justify the cost. Keeping my eyes open for some kind of cheap but reliable trailer. Maybe get all the others from around here with stoves involved in some kind of group endeavor to purchase and multi-use. Some are using pellets, some wood, some both. Ahhh, but this is my first year, put out enough cash already, let's see how the first winter goes before I figure out some way to explain to the wife how we need to spend a few more grand to get the pellets home. The delivery fees are looking better all the time.
 
Delivering 3 tons at a time.

Eric
 

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Ductape said:
I picked up my last ton of pellets for the
winter the other day at Tractor Supply. I use my dump trailer to haul my pellets home..........
How do you get it done??


Easy. I call Pelletsales (usually place the order in April) and they deliver them all in one shot.
This year I paid more than last yr. but still less than what people (in my area) are paying right now
to haul them home themselves. ;-)
 
Nothing the Ford can not handle, it is rated for 10k. I run 3 tons approx. 5 times a week. So far this year Kinsman Stoves has moved 58 trucks of 22 tons each. We are not the Big Dog out there but we move some pellets.

Eric
 

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Souzafone said:
Pay the delivery charge. Pelletsdirect had a $90 flat fee, spread over 6 tons = 30 cents extra per bag. Even when I had my pickup, the wear and tear and fuel and time wouldn't have been worth it to me.

well they don't deliver to upstate ny as far as I see. Last year I found my local concrete place that has them and they deliver. If I can't do that than 15 bags in my mini van...
 
Last year a local dealer delivered 2 ton and dropped them in the driveway by the road.
What a PIA to bring a few bags at a time around to the back of the house to basement
door and then lug them down into the basement.
The 3rd ton I picked up about 10-15 bags at a time of different brands to try
out throughout the season.

This year pelletsales delivered right to my basement bulkhead door for me in April.
Great service and they were cheaper (including delivery) than the local dealers around
here that were selling the same brand this spring.
 
Usually haul about 1500 lbs in Explorer and 500 in son's cavalier with both kids (college) loading and unloading. Got antsy waiting on them couple weeks ago and hauled a ton in '98 Explorer. All flat route, but not fun to drive. Just had to see if I could do it.
 
Panhandler said:
Usually haul about 1500 lbs in Explorer and 500 in son's cavalier with both kids (college) loading and unloading. Got antsy waiting on them couple weeks ago and hauled a ton in '98 Explorer. All flat route, but not fun to drive. Just had to see if I could do it.

Any one with a pickup truck has done silly things like that before. I hope you didn't have the Bridgestone tires on that Explorer that tended to blow up!


Speaking of silly things, when I bought my stove last Nov. the deal included 2 tons free. The salesperson called me the Saturday before the stove was to be installed (on a Tuesday) and told me "by the way, we forgot to tell you the pellets are not delivered with the stove".

Oh well I thought, I've got a 3/4 ton Ram PU with a Cummins diesel and camper package (overload springs), I'll just haul them myself. Here's where it gets silly. I put both tons in the truck in one load. Tires where at max PSI (80), all back roads, and the Cummins did not really feel the load. Sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Would I do it again, No. But it sure was fun.

I hauled 2 additional tons (one at a time, a month apart) later in the season. No problems.

This year's supply, delivered directly into my garage.
 
TboneMan said:
Panhandler said:
Usually haul about 1500 lbs in Explorer and 500 in son's cavalier with both kids (college) loading and unloading. Got antsy waiting on them couple weeks ago and hauled a ton in '98 Explorer. All flat route, but not fun to drive. Just had to see if I could do it.

Any one with a pickup truck has done silly things like that before. I hope you didn't have the Bridgestone tires on that Explorer that tended to blow up!


Speaking of silly things, when I bought my stove last Nov. the deal included 2 tons free. The salesperson called me the Saturday before the stove was to be installed (on a Tuesday) and told me "by the way, we forgot to tell you the pellets are not delivered with the stove".

Oh well I thought, I've got a 3/4 ton Ram PU with a Cummins diesel and camper package (overload springs), I'll just haul them myself. Here's where it gets silly. I put both tons in the truck in one load. Tires where at max PSI (80), all back roads, and the Cummins did not really feel the load. Sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Would I do it again, No. But it sure was fun.

I hauled 2 additional tons (one at a time, a month apart) later in the season. No problems.

This year's supply, delivered directly into my garage.

I have been known over the years to haul strange things in or on my vehicles, once 250' of three-eight rebar on roof of Bronco II. Used to have Killer Tires, but that was a few years back. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I don't like asking favors from others.
 
I was lucky in the fact that a very good friend of mine has his own warehouse with both truck and ground level loading docks. He also has a pellet stove. My friend and myself and two others purchased a full load ( 20 tons ) of LG pellets last year for $150.00 a ton ( CDN funds ) taxes and delivery included and had it sent straight to his warehouse. We then proceeded to pick up our pellets at our liesure. I have a dodge grand caravan and if I remove the back seats I am able to transport 800lbs at a time, so after about 7 trips I had all 5 tons at home on pallets which I wrapped with stretch wrap and placed in my car port. It was also good exersise which I need. :)
 
Treebeard said:
I was lucky in the fact that a very good friend of mine has his own warehouse with both truck and ground level loading docks. He also has a pellet stove. My friend and myself and two others purchased a full load ( 20 tons ) of LG pellets last year for $150.00 a ton ( CDN funds ) taxes and delivery included and had it sent straight to his warehouse. We then proceeded to pick up our pellets at our liesure. I have a dodge grand caravan and if I remove the back seats I am able to transport 800lbs at a time, so after about 7 trips I had all 5 tons at home on pallets which I wrapped with stretch wrap and placed in my car port. It was also good exersise which I need. :)

You have great faith in that Caravan to haul 800 pounds, wonder the tail pipe wasn't dragging the ground. Just kidding I have a plain Caravan with the 3 liter engine and have had 500 pounds of weights in the back but wouldn't want go with anymore, but my springs not as strong as in a Grand Caravan. Are you right in Montreal? I am about 2 1/2 hours away just east of Kingston Ont. I ended up having to go to Cornwall to buy an Enviro to make sure I had a pellet stove this year.
With my pellet dealer delivery is free but if needed I could haul a ton at a time in my 3/4 ton truck. Or use my dads trailer we use to go to take the Farmall M to the antique tractor pulls. The trailer is rated at 12,000 so could take 5 ton safely and the Chevy with the 305 could handle towing it easy enough. A trailer is real handy and if get one with brakes on it they are even more handy if you don't overload them. But with what a trailer costs and gas and wear and tear on a vehical I would think depending on the delivery fee it just might be worth paying it.
 
I just have the guys deliver. They send it on a truck with a fork lift, and will send a pallet jack if you ask. The driver moves the pallets to the back of the garage for you.

Cheers

Kenny
 
TboneMan said:
Oh well I thought, I've got a 3/4 ton Ram PU with a Cummins diesel and camper package (overload springs), I'll just haul them myself. Here's where it gets silly. I put both tons in the truck in one load. Tires where at max PSI (80), all back roads, and the Cummins did not really feel the load. Sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Would I do it again, No. But it sure was fun.

LOL, you could have added another ton and probably been okay. I have the same truck (mines a '97 12v Cummins) and I've hauled over three tons of stone in the back on two occasions, I believe the first load I believe was around 6700 lbs. The engine has no problem with the load, but I definitely knew there was some weight back there going over bumps and around corners! I've had two tons of pellets and 3/4+ cord of wet wood in the back of this truck more times than should be mentioned.

I added a set of Timbrens a while back and the truck handles the heavy loads noticeably better, anyone that routinely & foolishly overloads their vehicle should consider buying a set... money very well spent. Having "E" rated tires that are in good shape is a smart move as well.


I also have a 6x12 single axle landscaping trailer I bring along if I need even more capacity, but I don't put more than a ton on it at a time. I've been looking for a 6x12 or 7x14 dump trailer (like Ductape has), but finding one for a reasonable price has proven to be difficult. I might just bite the bullet and shell out the $6500 for an almost new 7x14 dump with a 14k GVW... I've just having a hard time justifying spending this much on a trailer!
 
Wet1 said:
TboneMan said:
Oh well I thought, I've got a 3/4 ton Ram PU with a Cummins diesel and camper package (overload springs), I'll just haul them myself. Here's where it gets silly. I put both tons in the truck in one load. Tires where at max PSI (80), all back roads, and the Cummins did not really feel the load. Sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Would I do it again, No. But it sure was fun.

LOL, you could have added another ton and probably been okay. I have the same truck (mines a '97 12v Cummins) and I've hauled over three tons of stone in the back on two occasions, I believe the first load I believe was around 6700 lbs. The engine has no problem with the load, but I definitely knew there was some weight back there going over bumps and around corners! I've had two tons of pellets and 3/4+ cord of wet wood in the back of this truck more times than should be mentioned.

I added a set of Timbrens a while back and the truck handles the heavy loads noticeably better, anyone that routinely & foolishly overloads their vehicle should consider buying a set... money very well spent. Having "E" rated tires that are in good shape is a smart move as well.


I also have a 6x12 single axle landscaping trailer I bring along if I need even more capacity, but I don't put more than a ton on it at a time. I've been looking for a 6x12 or 7x14 dump trailer (like Ductape has), but finding one for a reasonable price has proven to be difficult. I might just bite the bullet and shell out the $6500 for an almost new 7x14 dump with a 14k GVW... I've just having a hard time justifying spending this much on a trailer!


I didn't mention, the two tons were both under the fiberglass bed cap! No room for a 3rd ton! I figured I was around 11,000 pounds. Load E tire are rated for 3042 pounds at max PSI. That's 12,168 pounds combined in a theoretical equal distribution of weight.
 
I hauled the Harman and a ton of pellets home on the first trip with my f-250. Went back with my brothers F-450 and hauled another 3 ton home.
 

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TboneMan said:
Wet1 said:
TboneMan said:
Oh well I thought, I've got a 3/4 ton Ram PU with a Cummins diesel and camper package (overload springs), I'll just haul them myself. Here's where it gets silly. I put both tons in the truck in one load. Tires where at max PSI (80), all back roads, and the Cummins did not really feel the load. Sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Would I do it again, No. But it sure was fun.

LOL, you could have added another ton and probably been okay. I have the same truck (mines a '97 12v Cummins) and I've hauled over three tons of stone in the back on two occasions, I believe the first load I believe was around 6700 lbs. The engine has no problem with the load, but I definitely knew there was some weight back there going over bumps and around corners! I've had two tons of pellets and 3/4+ cord of wet wood in the back of this truck more times than should be mentioned.

I added a set of Timbrens a while back and the truck handles the heavy loads noticeably better, anyone that routinely & foolishly overloads their vehicle should consider buying a set... money very well spent. Having "E" rated tires that are in good shape is a smart move


I also have a 6x12 single axle landscaping trailer I bring along if I need even more capacity, but I don't put more than a ton on it at a time. I've been looking for a 6x12 or 7x14 dump trailer (like Ductape has), but finding one for a reasonable price has proven to be difficult. I might just bite the bullet and shell out the $6500 for an almost new 7x14 dump with a 14k GVW... I've just having a hard time justifying spending this much on a trailer!


I didn't mention, the two tons were both under the fiberglass bed cap! No room for a 3rd ton! I figured I was around 11,000 pounds. Load E tire are rated for 3042 pounds at max PSI. That's 12,168 pounds combined in a theoretical equal distribution of weight.





Two tons doesn't surprise me either. Once when coming home with a full trailerload of green oak firewood, i stopped @ a truckstop and weighed my truck and trailer. I thought sure the trailer would be well over 7000, but was right on the money @ 6880. My truck with all my woodcutting gear was 7720. Subtracting that from the axle ratings in the doorjamb..... i can legally put two ton in my one ton truck (as long as i could distribute it properly). I haven't attempted to get two ton of pellets in it, but i'd do it in a pinch if i needed to !
 
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