Truck Loads ( grapple log loads )

[cptoneleg]

For you folks that buy these how do you judge how much it is , Does the seller say my truck hauls x amount of trees that usually equals x - cords of wood , or do you order x amount cords and here it comes, which is why im asking another post I think someone orderd 8 cords at x amount of dollars and was mad about a little poplar on board.
I see loads dropped at different places each yr. and am just curios.
Lets say in my area $150.00 acord is going price not dry seasoned , what would this cost per cord usually by truck load, which their still remains alot of work. cutting and splitting, stacking.

For us hanging out not burning but still here everday at hearth .com seems to be getting a little boring sometimes. So just wondering have asked but no response about these truckloads before.


Good Luck All

:zip:

just trying to strike up something to learn and chat about

 

[Woody Stover]

Never got a log load but based on what I've seen in other threads, probably would be <$100/cord in that market depending on the size of the load.
But I don't think my post is going to do anything to alleviate boredom... :lol:

 

[richg]

I got a grapple load in March of 2010, and unless it's free, I won't do grapple loads again. The stuff was excellent sugar maple and oak, but I couldn't get my hands around how much wood actually came out of it. The truck cracked my brand new driveway, cutting the stuff made a huge mess on my front lawn, and it took weeks to clean up and repair the damage. I much prefer the "surgical" method of getting wood onto my trailer which can be backed right up to my wood processing area.

 

[NordicSplitter]

I have a buddy at work who gets them all the time. One truck = 5 full cords or slighty over. Price=$700. He cuts one weekend. Splits the next and then stacks the 3rd weekend. Sometimes he will split a load with someone as well. Farthest I will go is splitting large rounds that I can handle. I will gladly pay for pre-cut & split wood. Rather work a few hours overtime in my nice cool lab than kill myself with temps in the high 80's- low 90's.

 

[cptoneleg]

I have a buddy at work who gets them all the time. One truck = 5 full cords or slighty over. Price=$700. He cuts one weekend. Splits the next and then stacks the 3rd weekend. Sometimes he will split a load with someone as well. Farthest I will go is splitting large rounds that I can handle. I will gladly pay for pre-cut & split wood. Rather work a few hours overtime in my nice cool lab than kill myself with temps in the high 80's- low 90's.

Well thats what I gathered from the other post that I have read not much discount and still alot of work left. I wouldn't do it unless it was at least 1/2 off the going price for a cord. Wow that $140.00 a cord

 

[Tiny Termite]

For the most part the loggers up here sell logger cords for 85.00 a cord. minimum 10 cord. One of my friends is a logger and will sell me a loggers cord for 40 bucks a cord just to cover labor and fuel.

 

[velvetfoot]

Maybe I was on that other thread, but I'm in the process of stacking a grapple load I got for 650. No way it pays-I could've gotten a split cord for 150. I figure 50 bucks a cord saved. While I didn't let the truck on the paved driveway (outriggers, heavy), cutting up, wrestling onto a little garden tractor trailer and then splitting (did I mention the hydraulic fluid drips on the driveway), the hollow logs, birch, etc. The pieces are very uniform though, unlike some wood deliveries. What with the above and fuel prices to run the splitter, wear and tear on everything, including body, 50 bucks a cord isn't worth it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

One of the nice things about buying wood this way is you have no brush to contend with; no limbing to do. That saves a lot on your time and effort. Then you also do not have to haul it to your place. True, you might have to move the cut wood to where you want it stacked but many will simply stack it right where it is cut. For me, if the price was right and I could no longer fell trees and do the hauling up to the house I'd think this would be the way I'd go. Simply put, I've not yet seen anyone who sells firewood cut to length and split that is honest plus most of them just cut when it is needed. That to me is one of the very best ways of turning people off to burning wood.

One case in point is a fellow we sold some wood to and he claimed he could haul 6 cord of wood on his truck. In the first place, it was not 6 cord; he didn't know how much a cord of wood was; to him it was a stack 4' high and 8' long. He was supposed to be selling at 16" lengths. I measured numerous logs and came up from 12" to 14" and a few under 12". I asked one of his men how much that truck held. He said it held 4 cord but sold as 5 cord. Yet the owner told e 6 cord.

That is only one case but I also know of many around this area who sell about the same way. We have one that lives only a mile from us by way of the crow. He is right now beginning to get his wood around for this fall's wood sales. He really lucked out this year it appears because he had a lot of oak all ready to go. Yes, he will tell them it is seasoned and ready to burn. Really sad..... What is worse is that these are not isolated cases; it seems to be the norm.

btw, one member of this forum bought some wood from me. Ask if he got shorted.

 

[PapaDave]

I got my first log load from the boss of the neighbor of my brother. :lol: Sorry, that just sounds funny.
Anyway, took it on faith that he would bring what he said he would. He's obviously been in to the log hauling for a long time, and the first load (10 cord) was what I asked for.
That was in '07, and got another (20 cord) from him in '09 that I'm just finishing this year. He asked if I wanted pine, or oak, or other hardwood, or a mix. Oak, please.
It has a few maple mixed in here and there, but I don't plan to mention that, since it's such a relatively small amount. The loads have been, if anything, a little on the heavy side. The first 10 was $650, and the 2nd load was $1500, if that helps. His price went up when fuel went up. Still, for $75/cord, it's good. Green loads of c/s/d oak around here are at least double that on up to about $195.
If I weren't retired, I'd probably just get it c/s/d or c/s/s. I may start doing that in a few years anyway.
As Dennis mentioned, no limbing, no brush to deal with or tromping in the woods works for me, although I do cut a few out there every year.
I set up an area to stack the wood so I'd know how much I got, and from then, I know this guy is honest. His business depends on that. When I have the need for another load, I WILL call this same guy. He would not deliver just after the spring thaw....I think he didn't want to get stuck. I don't have concrete or blacktop, so if he tore it up some, I would have just fixed the drive.
Good luck if you decide to go this route.

 

[snowleopard]

Sellers around here always advertise their truckloads by the number of cords they hold.

As for the wisdom of going that route, there are so many factors to consider, including your time, general wear-and-tear on your body and equipment, etc., how badly you need the wood, as well as price.

Bear in mind that prices up in our neck of the woods are over the moon, but I saw green birch selling last winter for $300 a cord. That made a logging-truck load sound pretty good, so I called around, but the best I could find was someone who would deliver in late summer at $1700 for 9 cords. Not so good, but still beat felling, limbing, loading, etc., in part because I'm trying not to beat up my body too much. As soon as winter was over, firewood prices plummeted. When I saw an ad for ten cords of green birch (that's the good stuff here) at $160 a cord, cut to length, split, and stacked, I called the seller, asked the right questions, talked to a reference, and bit the bullet.

They are rotating loads between all their buyers, so I haven't gotten all my wood yet, but so far what I've gotten has exceeded my expectations. They stack tight and their cords are a few inches over in all dimensions. Can't ask for better than that. There's no way I could harvest and put up that much wood in the time it would take me to earn the money to pay for it. I've got a lot of standing dead and laying dead poplar on my property that needs to get cleaned up, and if I concentrate on that and let the seller get me the birch, I'm happy. Between what they're bringing, and the four-and-a-half cords of birch I have already, plus the poplar, my goal is to have five years of wood on hand by the end of the summer. After that, I'll have the luxury of time on my side for scouting around for the best buy, or better yet, scrounges. Until I have that cushion, I have to do whatever it takes. A truck load looked real good to me until I ran across a better bargain. I just got lucky there.

I figure five years ahead is perfect. It gives me one for burning, two for seasoning, one in case something happens--sickness, accident, etc., and one if I feel like taking the year off and playing. Then all I have to do is put up one or two season's worth a year, and I can just cruise. Not that you asked, but you said you were bored. :lol:

 

[KB007]

I've bought a few loads from a fairly reliable guy here in the past. He says his truck will hold 7-8 cords (tandem truck) and I believe him. A full truck will do me for 2 years, so my out of pocket cost is $500 a yr for wood plus fuel for the saw/splitter.

Yes, it's a lot of work to cut, split and stack. Yes it makes a big mess with all of the saw chips, but I have 3 acres out in the country so lots of space to dump the chips (if I rake 'em up...)

Costs me 1000 bucks for a truck load, all good good, mostly maple and oak, sometimes a little birch. With face cords going for 125-140 here, I think I save a good chunk of change by adding some labour to the equation. Sometimes I split a load with my neighbour and the work goes a lot quicker with the 2 of us.

Around here, they usually only deliver in Winter, which is fine for me, I like getting out and doing the work in the cold, way better than doing it in the 90's in August.

I've learned a few things over the past couple of years:

1) touch the wood as infrequently as possible - reduces overall labour
2) Once it's bucked, we split directly onto trailer and then stack right away - avoids anohter handling stage
3) Keep a few extra chains around - they get dul pretty quick cuttting oak...

I'll keep buying it that way so long as my old bones will let me do the cutting/splitting - saves me way too much money.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For the most part the loggers up here sell logger cords for 85.00 a cord. minimum 10 cord. One of my friends is a logger and will sell me a loggers cord for 40 bucks a cord just to cover labor and fuel.

Hey Tiny Termite. Welcome to the forum.

 

[firefighterjake]

Estimate on wood: I think it's partially a trust thing and partially a best guess on the part of the logger . . . but honestly I suspect they're pretty good at figuring out how much wood their truck can haul . . . especially if they're also hauling wood to mills where they get paid by the cord.

Me . . . I've been tempted to buy a truck load of wood . . . a) cutting down the tree is my least favorite part of wood cutting and perhaps one of the most dangerous parts plus I'm not all that good at it, b) you don't have to deal with branches c) you have the wood delivered right to your home so there is no loading and unloading and d) you can work away at the wood right at your house at your own pace (which is nice if you're like me and have to travel to the wood lot). I think I may go this route some day as I get older, but for now I have the time and energy and I'm just too cheap to buy wood.

 

[peterc38]

Around here, grapple loads run about 8 cords. The guy I buy from goes by weight (max amount they can legally haul). I have gotten really consistent quality from this supplier, nice straight stuff with red oak being the predominant species. I like buying grapple loads a lot. I can typically process the 8 cord load in about 24 hours by myself, although since I hit the big 5-0, I'm slowing down a little. It's ralso eally nice if you have a little acreage like I do to have the room to process.

 

[KarlP]

I like buying grapple loads a lot. I can typically process the 8 cord load in about 24 hours by myself, although since I hit the big 5-0, I'm slowing down a little.

:bug: LoL. I'm in my mid 30s. My 24-hour strategy for log loads is to buck/roll/split/toss two cords in 9-10 hours and then move as little as possible for the next 14-15.

 

[hemlock]

I buy from a guy that sells it in 7 cord loads (tandem truck), and I usually end up with a little bit more than that. They guy is from a third generation logging/forrestry outfit, so they have a good reputation around here. He says he gives a bit more than the advertised 7 cords to make up for any rotten wood that might be in the load.
Cost wise, it works out to be a little less than half what cut/split/deliverd would be. You really have to enjoy the cutting/splitting, etc... process to go this route, because it is a lot of work.

Keep an eye for low hanging hydro wires if you order a load , too. The grapple truck just barely squeezes under a line at the end of my drive.

 

[flyingcow]

Obviously each region is different. I buy 60,000lbs+/- of treelength wood. Up here a cord=5,000lbs. So, 12 cords. price delivered figures $92 a 5,000lb cord. All beautiful rock/sugar maple. Clean(no dirt) straight wood. Easy to process. I've got a good deal going. I have plenty of ground to process the wood. Not a worry about mess. Avg price for cut/split/delivered is approx $175.

I have gotten prices from other contractors for treelength wood. They were asking $120 for mixed hardwood. At that price I will buy it processed at $175.