Finally got myself a truck yesterday!

[Slow1]

Here it is - it isn't exactly new, or pretty by most standards (note the door that doesn't match) but I like it. Runs well! I picked up the truck yesterday and my first CL score in it today (apple and some misc other hardwood pieces you see in there). I'm a happy camper this week, heh. Only need to pick up what 200 more loads like this for free and it will be paid for? ha!

 

[Dix]

Can't see the door that doesn't match ;-P

Nice job.

If your happy with your truck, your happy :coolsmile:

 

[Slow1]

Or as my wife says - that is the most expensive load of wood ever

 

[Dix]

True.

But a truck opens up a new world of possibilities !

I didn't have anyone to complain when I bought my truck. Made life alot easier ;-)

 

[Slow1]

Agreed. Like being able to grab 1/4 cord of mostly cut up wood in an evening with minimal effort. Prior to the truck I'd have had to take the seats out of the van, set up the tarp etc.. then clean it all out after. Basically add about 2 hrs to the process. I figure if I can find little piles close enough I may even be able to grab them during my lunch break eh? Need to keep a set of gloves etc in there....

 

[North of 60]

Enjoy your new piece of hauling freedom. There's nothing the matter with the looks of that truck. Just keep filling it with free wood and it will be like hauling money to the bank.
N of 60

 

[Slow1]

So... how much can I haul in it anyway? I measured the bed and figure if I were to stack wood neatly in it I could put in 1/2 cord so I think my limitation is likely to be weight, right? F150 according to what I find online (I don't have owners manual) for 2004 is rated for around 1750lbs. I see according to sweeps library that Oak (20% mc) is about 4000lbs/cord so that would be about 2Klbs for 1/2 cord so it seems that if I'm hauling well seasoned oak I should not pack it in too tight... Then again I doubt I'll find very many opportunities to haul 20%mc oak home (would be nice but let's be real eh?) so practical question becomes how much will green wood weigh and thus translate into maximum volume?

I'm not much of a truck person - i.e. never hauled much in them before... how (other than breaking something which is rather late) do you know when it is fully or close to overloaded?

 

[North of 60]

Carrying a little less would make it safer and easier on the truck. This is where you start a new endeavor with the wife on a tandem axel trailer with electric brakes. Just explain to her it will be a great help on transporting exotic shrubs and A1 topsoil for the garden. ;-)

 

[Flatbedford]

Congrats. You probably shouldn't fil the box completly with the 1/2 ton truck. You will learn how much weight it can take after a few loads. I not the trailer, get a bigger truck.

 

[Stevebass4]

congrats and be ready to help all your friends and family who don't have a truck to move stuff

 

[savageactor7]

A truck is almost a necessity if you scrounge wood ...congratulations.

 

[Wet1]

Congrats on the new truck!

I'm not trying to be an azz, but if you bought this truck for picking up wood, you definitely bought the wrong truck. While 1/2 ton trucks (such as the F150) basically look like their more heavy duty counterparts, they are not built to do any significant 'work'. The 3/4 and one ton versions have a much beefier axle(s), suspension, and brakes, which make them MUCH better suited for hauling/pulling wood or other heavy loads. The 1/2 tons are great trucks, but they aren't built to carry much more weight than they are rated for. There are countless documented cases of guys overloading 1/2 ton trucks where significant damage is the result... and it doesn't take much weigh to do it. By contrast the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks can handle a LOT more than they are rated for (although maybe not legally) w/o fear of something breaking. If you are planning to haul a lot of wood with this truck, you should consider getting a trailer, or just keep heavy wood well below the rails.

Again, congrats on the new truck, it looks nice.

 

[Slow1]

No offense taken Wet1!

I shopped around for quite a while and had to choose a truck with a very limited budget. Sometimes one has to accept less than idea solutions and make compromises. In this case this is the caddie solution compared to only getting a hitch for my minivan and borrowing a trailer from my friend every time I need to haul more than will fit in the van. Talking with my mechanic he suggested the possibility of adding a bit more suspension to the truck but I'm not sure if that is a good idea or not - I think I'm going to wait and see what happens before going that route. This is the lightest of the F150's - 6 cyl 4x2 so I suspect that the limits it has are just about right already.

On the bright side - this truck does have a hitch and I'll bet that it can pull that trailer at least as well as the minivan. I just have to get the right parts and verify that the wiring is all functional etc then give it a go. That trailer is pretty good - I've hauled almost 1/2 cord (2 year old oak) in it behind his minivan and the trailer was happy.... his van was being pushed a bit (I only did that once).

For those that know - can I load up a trailer and the bed of this truck at the same time or is it one or the other for loading? How does that work for calculations anyway?

 

[stee6043]

First - congrats!

Second - this truck will tow SOOOOO much better than any minivan, regardless of whether its the lightest duty F150 or not. Big improvement for so many reasons. Wheelbase being one big one.

Third - your gross vehicle weight should be on a sticker on your driver side door (at least it is on GM's). That's the limit of what you can load into your truck, minus the actual weight of the truck, minus the tounge weight of any trailer. So take GVWR and subtract the weight of the truck and the tounge weight of your trailer (usually 200-300lbs) and there is how much your truck is rated to haul (roughly since gas and people should also be subtracted). You most certainly can haul a trailer at the same time as having a loaded bed. In theory a trailer with brakes and properly loaded should be almost neutral to the truck once you take into account the tounge weight. Just realize starting and stopping (more important is the stopping) will be harder on the truck, especially if the trailer doesn't have brakes....

I've hauled a beast of a trailer with a Chevy 2500HD, no trailer brakes, loaded with 2 cord in the trailer, a few rounds in the truck bed and all of our gear in the back of the truck with no problems. Just don't over do it and avoid the highway / high speeds...

 

[SolarAndWood]

Overloading your truck will cost you more in brakes and suspension than you will ever save by putting too much wood in the truck. It will also make your good looking truck look like a lot truck. Trailers save a lot of wear and tear on light duty trucks.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I think its a great truck for scrounging and getting stuff done at the lumber store, etc...
Around here, there is a huge price difference on the 4 X 4's vs 4 X 2's, so I bet you got a really good deal on it.
Lets face it, most scrounge trips out here MA are not huge scores, so I think that truck will serve you well.
Good pick Up

 

[Wet1]

Good, I'm glad you didn't take my comments the wrong way Slow. As others have stated, just stick to the sticker weight and you should be safe. You can probably even go a little over (don't get caught) and the truck should handle it. What will bite you hard is trying to push the limits... you will break something, and there's a good chance it will be costly and could also be deadly!

Regarding adding a leaf, I'd leave it alone. The rear axle is a real weak link in that truck. A sagging suspension will certainly show you the truck is under strain. If you add leafs to the suspension, the truck will likely not 'show' you it's being overloaded. The last thing you want to do is break or warp your axle while unintentionally overloading your truck.

Again, congrats on the new truck. Use it like it was designed to be used and I'm sure it will take good care of you for a long time.

 

[Hurricane]

Nice Truck, congrats !

my 1/2 ton truck does just fine scrounging wood. You will get to know how much is enough of a load. Yesterday on my way home I passed some red oak cut on the side of the side of the road turned right around and loaded 4 logs in the truck and drove on my way. The other pieces had branches attached and seemed like too much work without a saw. So for 2 minutes work I scored four decent oak logs.

I do not think I will ever be without a truck again. I am not sure I want a trailer laying around my yard all of the time, it would making loading larger pieces sooo much easier by rolling them on the trailer. I came up with a better way for me to get larger rounds on the truck by myself without lifting them about 2 months ago. I flipped the larger log on top of a smaller log then onto the tailgate. I got some rounds that would have busted my back for sure on the truck with minimal effort. When I finished rolling the larger logs I just picked up the smaller one up and tossed it into the truck. I guess you could use a ramp but I do not drive around with one in my truck and when scrounging if you do not get it when you see it it is usually gone when you get back.

 

[Highbeam]

I used to use my half ton chevy to haul wood. It is silly to think that a half ton is not an appropriate wood hauler. A little Toyota pickup is also a decent wood hauler. The trick is that you only load within the abilities and ratings of the vehicle. Yes, a one ton can haul more. I now own an F350 so I can haul more, Yeah!

The fact that you chose a smaller engine and a 4x2 might actually help your cargo capacity since the GVWR of the chassis is usually the same despite these heavy options so instead of losing cargo capacity to the 4x4 system, you can load that much more weight into the truck. Weigh your empty (but full of fuel) truck at a quarry, landfill, DOT weigh station, or whatever and write that weight down. Find your GVWR on the door jamb sticker and subtract the empty weight from it to find your allowable cargo capacity.

You will run out of weight capacity before you run out of room in your bed. This means you have a place to put your saws and the cooler, you don't have to build side boards, and you have more safety margin against stuff falling out on the road.

I learned to gauge how much weight was in my truck by looking at the distance between the rear axle and the suspension bump stops. If you must add capacity to the suspension then I highly recommend timbren overload springs, and I highly discourage any sort of air shock or overload shock. Be sure that the tires are up to the task too.

I overloaded my half ton truck for 170,000 miles and the only casualty was the rear axle bearings.

 

[TreePapa]

Compared to my '94 Ferd Ranger, that is (a) one purty truck, and (b) a heavy hauler (comparatively speaking). I know I've overloaded the Ranger from time to time (not weekly or anything like that) with firewood, but even more so with bricks, sand, etc., and it's still going strong @ 15 yrs. old (10+ while I've owned it) 193,xxx miles.

Having said that, when it looks like the truck is overloaded (1) I drive surface streets only; (2) under 30 mph; (3) leave plenty of room to stop; and (4) only travel short distances, mostly under 20 miles. The few times that I've gone longer than tha - 35 miles some of which has to be fwy, w/ a full load of booth lumber, including on the rack ... well, that was real interesting. I think I drove about 45 mph on the fwy (any slower and I would have been run off the road) and got off the fwy as soon as I knew my way home via surface streets.

Enjoy your "new" truck!

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[pybyr]

Congrats on the new truck!

I'm not trying to be an azz, but if you bought this truck for picking up wood, you definitely bought the wrong truck. While 1/2 ton trucks (such as the F150) basically look like their more heavy duty counterparts, they are not built to do any significant 'work'. The 3/4 and one ton versions have a much beefier axle(s), suspension, and brakes, which make them MUCH better suited for hauling/pulling wood or other heavy loads. The 1/2 tons are great trucks, but they aren't built to carry much more weight than they are rated for. There are countless documented cases of guys overloading 1/2 ton trucks where significant damage is the result... and it doesn't take much weigh to do it. By contrast the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks can handle a LOT more than they are rated for (although maybe not legally) w/o fear of something breaking. If you are planning to haul a lot of wood with this truck, you should consider getting a trailer, or just keep heavy wood well below the rails.

Again, congrats on the new truck, it looks nice.

3/4 ton and 1-ton trucks are a mixed bag in some ways. I've owned an F250 SuperDuty and a Dodge Cummins 2500, and I've also owned a couple of Toyotas and presently a Dodge 1/2 ton.

Both (especially the Dodge 2500) were capable of tasks that'd make the smaller trucks wilt. The Dodge 2500 easily carried- and did not even seem to notice- loads in the 1200 + pound range that would have made my former Toyota Tacoma ride on the axle bumpers and barely wheeze up hills. The Dodge 2500 didn't burn any more fuel working hard than running unloaded- again, totally different than my light trucks (The Toyota would drop to 14 MPG if you really used it to haul much)

BUT - when you get into replacing parts, sometimes the parts (like brake drums/ rotors, etc) on a 3/4 or 1 ton, you can spend a lot more on parts than you'd spend for the same parts for a 1/2 ton or small truck. There is a lot that I like about the bigger category, but unless you really need the capacity frequently, the lighter-category trucks may be more economical to own/ keep.

 

[Slow1]

Well I'm quickly learning that this truck seems to be good for hauling (whew!). I helped a friend pick up 1000lbs of lime for his yard. Loaded it up (put it right over the axle for the most part) and I didn't really notice much of a drop in the back. Drove great even with three of us in the cab and even after picking up an old 18' wooden canoe on the way home. I took it easy on stops etc of course just to be safe but I'm not sure that I could tell I had it loaded all that heavy even though by calculating things out I was near the spec limit for weight (once you include weight of passengers and the 150# boat on top). Springs had plenty of play remaining and it didn't feel bad even going over bumps etc.

As a bonus my friend gave me some wood he had 'laying around' his yard. Turns out to be almost a full bed of 5 year old oak cut in 36-40" lengths that he had stacked against his fence line. Um... yeah, I'll take that! Big thanks there - I think I was happier with the deal than he was.