Transporting a cord with a Pickup

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Let's not forget that the 3500# axle weight rating is total, to include the empty weight as well as the cargo weight. My trailer has a pair of 5200# dexter axles but the trailer weighs 2500 so I can only carry somewhere under 8000# of cargo.
 
Highbeam said:
Let's not forget that the 3500# axle weight rating is total, to include the empty weight as well as the cargo weight. My trailer has a pair of 5200# dexter axles but the trailer weighs 2500 so I can only carry somewhere under 8000# of cargo.

My trailer may weigh in at 300-400 but not trying to run the whole cord in the trailer. I have some room in the truck as well and no tounge weight you can pull this off with little effort!
 
What's it a cord of? That makes all the difference in the world on this.

I think I'd do it with my Ram and not feel unsafe at all.

4000lbs would end up being 2500 on the trailer with 200lbs on the tongue and then 1500lbs in the truck.

I'd do this if it was only a few miles away, definitely not on an interstate. If it's green oak, then I'd start to second guess the max weights and probably take it in two loads. One with the trailer and one with the truck only.

If it is seasoned pine then I'm putting sideboards on the truck and loading it up! Leave the trailer at home for that (j/K)
 
Danno77 said:
What's it a cord of? That makes all the difference in the world on this.

I think I'd do it with my Ram and not feel unsafe at all.

4000lbs would end up being 2500 on the trailer with 200lbs on the tongue and then 1500lbs in the truck.

I'd do this if it was only a few miles away, definitely not on an interstate. If it's green oak, then I'd start to second guess the max weights and probably take it in two loads. One with the trailer and one with the truck only.

If it is seasoned pine then I'm putting sideboards on the truck and loading it up! Leave the trailer at home for that (j/K)

You should be able to load at net 0 or heck -200 at the tounge if you wanted to (Or more)......Lots of ways to run a load your mph is key. I seen some pretty big loads of hay in my day as well! ;-)
 
smokinjay said:
Danno77 said:
What's it a cord of? That makes all the difference in the world on this.

I think I'd do it with my Ram and not feel unsafe at all.

4000lbs would end up being 2500 on the trailer with 200lbs on the tongue and then 1500lbs in the truck.

I'd do this if it was only a few miles away, definitely not on an interstate. If it's green oak, then I'd start to second guess the max weights and probably take it in two loads. One with the trailer and one with the truck only.

If it is seasoned pine then I'm putting sideboards on the truck and loading it up! Leave the trailer at home for that (j/K)

You should be able to load at net 0 or heck -200 at the tounge if you wanted to (Or more)......Lots of ways to run a load your mph is key. I seen some pretty big loads of hay in my day as well! ;-)

You need some tongue wt to keep the trailer stable. 10% is ideal. Don't ask how I confirmed that rule. :red:

I could stack hay on a pickup with the best of 'em as a kid. Like it was my job or something! :lol: Miss those days sometimes.
 
MasterMech said:
smokinjay said:
Danno77 said:
What's it a cord of? That makes all the difference in the world on this.

I think I'd do it with my Ram and not feel unsafe at all.

4000lbs would end up being 2500 on the trailer with 200lbs on the tongue and then 1500lbs in the truck.

I'd do this if it was only a few miles away, definitely not on an interstate. If it's green oak, then I'd start to second guess the max weights and probably take it in two loads. One with the trailer and one with the truck only.

If it is seasoned pine then I'm putting sideboards on the truck and loading it up! Leave the trailer at home for that (j/K)

You should be able to load at net 0 or heck -200 at the tounge if you wanted to (Or more)......Lots of ways to run a load your mph is key. I seen some pretty big loads of hay in my day as well! ;-)

You need some tongue wt to keep the trailer stable. 10% is ideal. Don't ask how I confirmed that rule. :red:

I could stack hay on a pickup with the best of 'em as a kid. Like it was my job or something! :lol: Miss those days sometimes.

I miss them! I like to get the new guys to drink the cream in the milk house. Then put them in the top of the barn (4 bales on the belt). Few min's later we called them RALF for the day. :lol: (Oh and I am pretty close to 0 tounge weight)
 
Let's say a cord is 4k lbs. A 6.5' pickup box will hold about .33 cord, or 1320 lbs. The remaining wood goes on the trailer, or 2680. Add the tongue weight of the trailer (10%) back to the truck and your truck is carrying about 1600 lbs. So according to the advertised limits, your truck and trailer are both 600 lbs over capacity.

With all that being said, I would still try it because I've done FAR worse overloading in my day... triple the ratings hauling hay...needing to lock it in 4x4 on pavement to get traction. Man, thinking back I used to be really stupid. I've since matured and now only do moderately stupid stuff, like this. Someday I expect I will be downright cautious about weight limits, but that day isn't today.
 
lukem said:
Let's say a cord is 4k lbs. A 6.5' pickup box will hold about .33 cord, or 1320 lbs. The remaining wood goes on the trailer, or 2680. Add the tongue weight of the trailer (10%) back to the truck and your truck is carrying about 1600 lbs. So according to the advertised limits, your truck and trailer are both 600 lbs over capacity.

With all that being said, I would still try it because I've done FAR worse overloading in my day... triple the ratings hauling hay...needing to lock it in 4x4 on pavement to get traction. Man, thinking back I used to be really stupid. I've since matured and now only do moderately stupid stuff, like this. Someday I expect I will be downright cautious about weight limits, but that day isn't today.

Its going to be much closer to 3k unless its green oak. (That put you 25 percent high off the bat)
 
smokinjay said:
lukem said:
Let's say a cord is 4k lbs. A 6.5' pickup box will hold about .33 cord, or 1320 lbs. The remaining wood goes on the trailer, or 2680. Add the tongue weight of the trailer (10%) back to the truck and your truck is carrying about 1600 lbs. So according to the advertised limits, your truck and trailer are both 600 lbs over capacity.

With all that being said, I would still try it because I've done FAR worse overloading in my day... triple the ratings hauling hay...needing to lock it in 4x4 on pavement to get traction. Man, thinking back I used to be really stupid. I've since matured and now only do moderately stupid stuff, like this. Someday I expect I will be downright cautious about weight limits, but that day isn't today.

Its going to be much closer to 3k unless its green oak. (That put you 25 percent high off the bat)

Agree...i was thinking worst case scenario.
 
Now i feel kinda bad. A guy who just the other day hauled close to half a cord of green hedge on a 1k lb harbor freight trailer pulled by an ATV rated a 800 lbs just gave "safe hauling" advice. My math is correct, but my advice is suspect at best based on my track record.
 
lukem said:
Now i feel kinda bad. A guy who just the other day hauled close to half a cord of green hedge on a 1k lb harbor freight trailer pulled by an ATV rated a 800 lbs just gave "safe hauling" advice. My math is correct, but my advice is suspect at best based on my track record.

I think this time of year, and I could be wrong. Seems the wood is a little lighter than say in May June?
 
smokinjay said:
lukem said:
Now i feel kinda bad. A guy who just the other day hauled close to half a cord of green hedge on a 1k lb harbor freight trailer pulled by an ATV rated a 800 lbs just gave "safe hauling" advice. My math is correct, but my advice is suspect at best based on my track record.

I think this time of year, and I could be wrong. Seems the wood is a little lighter than say in May June?

This was heavy. Tires aired up to 80 PSI were almost flat...but it was hard to tell when I was loading it because the ground was soft. Once it got on firm ground it was "oh crap...oh well.... it is already on the trailer, might as well drive it home."
 
How about one of you guys tell me where to pick up a 3000 lb cord of Oak? They seem to go 5K plus around here.
 
SolarAndWood said:
How about one of you guys tell me where to pick up a 3000 lb cord of Oak? They seem to go 5K plus around here.
That's pretty likely. Depends on what type of oak and how seasoned it is. I've seen estimates of oak upwards of 6K for green, so 5K sounds reasonable. I can't imagine a cord of oak weighing less than 3K, but that 3K should be possible for some really dry lesser BTU oak.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.