How do you cash and carry without a truck?

[nanama72]

I've been reading here about all the frustration of people who ordered in May/June like I did and never got their pellets and are waiting for refund from pelletsdirect.com and newenglandpelletllc.com and are scrambling now for other pellets and getting stuck paying higher prices. Then I'm reading about people who had this happen before and had to get the attorney general involved to get their money back. And then people who say anyone who is scrambling for pellets now should have bought them early when a lot of us tried and thought we'd have our pellets by JULY but couldn't get them. I agree with everyone who says they only want to pay for what they can get their hands on, but even as I speak we now wait for delivery from pelletsales.com and are buying pellets here and there in quantities of 10 bags. We also spoke with a small dealer who says the big internet pellet dealers are taking up all the pellets and he hasn't been able to get any and is having to order them from very far away and when they come will be selling them for $7-$8/bag. We do not however have a pickup truck and we don't have a close by dealer who we could do multiple trips to. It would be an hour each way at least to do multiple trips and I'm not sure if my Forester is rated to carry a ton at a time. The folks we bought the stove from only sell one bag at a time and don't deliver pellets. We would prefer to pick up ourselves. Are people renting UHaul vans? That would cost more than the delivery charge for a lot of local business. All of these online sales organizations require money up front before delivery. What else can we do?

 

[jj3500]

As I was reading your dilemma, I was thinking of the U-haul rental option. Are there Lowes or Home Depots by you. What about renting their 3/4 ton flat bed pick ups. I know you can put in at least one ton of pellets at a time. Does this make sense to you? I'm not aware of all of your logistics.

$7-8 a bag...wow, thats expensive.

do you have a neighbor or any buddies with an HD truck?

wish there was more I could suggest.

I wound up buying an older, not so pretty, dump truck. Fully functional but not purdy. I use this to move all my heavy stuff, pellets, wood rounds etc. etc.

 

[flashbang]

here is a deal and in stock. (broken link removed)
Sorry, delivery will cost you extra.
3/4 ton truck carrying more that it is rated for is a easy $350.00+ D.O.T ticket.

 

[moralleper]

I have a trailer for my Subaru Forrester that can carry 1000lbs, the car can only tow 2000lbs, so with trailer and pellets i am just shy. I usually just ask if I can buy a full ton but make 2 trips. This method has never been an issue for me, I just make sure that they write on the receipt that I took x number of bags. Most retailers I have bought from do not care as long as the pellets all leave in the same day. hitch was 150, trailer was 169 but I had to assemble and buy a couple pieces of plywood for the bottom and sides.

 

[richkorn]

I put a hidden hitch on my wife's Highlander ($199 total) and bought a 10x5 utility trailer from TSC that has a 2050 lb. payload ($999). That's how I plan on getting mine home. Now if I can only find some......

 

[kinsmanstoves]

You can get about 20 bags in a Ford Focus.

Pellet Pig rule #23 Minimum of 3/4 ton truck needed. Pellet Pigs should also have Fuel Pigs.

Eric

 

[rap69ri]

Find someone giving away a 1983 F-250 HD Diesel P/U like I did. She'll happily carry 2 tons in the bed and 2 more on the hitch.

 

[Panhandler]

I used to put about 1400 lbs in my Explorer and 600 in a Cavalier with my son driving. But I have put a ton in the Explorer by myself.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

You could always put an add on Craiglist under wanted...and perhaps a person with a decent truck/trailer in your area would be willing to drive down with you for some cash/something to barter....I always see the darndest items in the barter area. My vote is place an add in the wanted section, and barter section. Good luck.

 

[sinnian]

I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma and wouldn't dream of putting a ton on it to save a few bucks. Leaf springs and labor are not cheap.

I had looked around for a trailer, but anything w/o a dual axle would be asking for trouble imo. Guess I am not much of a risk taker, or wouldn't want to risk the safety of others while I was on the road.

I like ilikewood's idea / !

 

[johnnywarm]

these online sales organizations require money up front before delivery. What else can we do?

Call a shipping company.have them pick up & deliver your total load with a box truck and tailgate lift.

 

[tinkabranc]

I agree with everyone who says they only want to pay for what they can get their hands on, but even as I speak we now wait for delivery from pelletsales.com and are buying pellets here and there in quantities of 10 bags.

When is your delivery expected from pelletsales? Maybe local feed stores
will still have pellets in stock.

What is the max payload your vehicle can handle?
Try to fit in as many bags as you can without going over the weight limit.
Remember tho, passenger weight counts in the payload limit so kick them out
and go alone, you can get in about 3-4 more bags that way ;-)

 

[staplebox]

I thought everybody knew somebody with a truck. Everyone I know always remember I have a truck when they need one. I now leave the key in the ashtray and expect to find gas $$ in the arm rest or a full tank whenever I need to use it. And that 1/2 ton rating is a lie, she'll haul a ton just fine.

 

[tinkabranc]

I thought everybody knew somebody with a truck. Everyone I know always remember I have a truck when they need one.

That's one of the biggest reasons I sold my truck. Gets to be a burden when
everyone that knows you have a truck wants you to move stuff for them every weekend.
I don't mind helping out my friends, but when they call me constantly, it gets old fast.
Car insurance around here is too costly to let others drive my vehicles.

 

[hossthehermit]

2002 Tacoma, home made trailer, 1 ton at a time. How we do it in my neck of the woods.

 

[hossthehermit]

Find someone giving away a 1983 F-250 HD Diesel P/U like I did. She'll happily carry 2 tons in the bed and 2 more on the hitch.

Get enough bungee cords, you can put 1/2 ton on the roof, another 1/2 on the hood. WARNING!! Leave a hole to see through the windshield.

 

[escobarmj]

Lowes has allowed me to buy a ton, move the pallet to the door and take it home in two trips. I have a Toyota highlander that can fit just over a 1/2 ton.

 

[johnnywarm]

how many tons do you need to move???a stright truck can carry 6 tons a trip.

 

[packerfan]

I used to put about 1400 lbs in my Explorer and 600 in a Cavalier with my son driving. But I have put a ton in the Explorer by myself.

Wow, thats quite a bit in the explorer. I drive one too, and just last week I checked the cargo capacity, and it was only 900 lbs. I also have a toyota corolla and the cargo capacity for that is 800 lbs. Before I checked, I thought I would be able to really load up my explorer, but after checking, I guess I'll just have to make 2 trips per ton.

 

[Panhandler]

I used to put about 1400 lbs in my Explorer and 600 in a Cavalier with my son driving. But I have put a ton in the Explorer by myself.

Wow, thats quite a bit in the explorer. I drive one too, and just last week I checked the cargo capacity, and it was only 900 lbs. I also have a toyota corolla and the cargo capacity for that is 800 lbs. Before I checked, I thought I would be able to really load up my explorer, but after checking, I guess I'll just have to make 2 trips per ton.

900 lbs? Heck, thats only 4 guys and a cooler of beverages. I'm glad I didn't look. I've hauled that much in football players. I know I was too heavy, but both kids worked night turn and by 10:00 am I got antsy and said I gotta go. Tractor Supply is only 7 miles flat. the Exploder has 148,000 miles on it so I didn't figure I could hurt it after all its been thru. I barely drive it anymore.

 

[imacman]

I borrow my neighbors 1 ton trailer, or if he's using that, I rent a 2 ton open trailer from Uhaul for $27 a day

 

[Wet1]

I'm not sure if my Forester is rated to carry a ton at a time.

LOL, not even close! Please don't try it...

 

[nanama72]

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions. Ideal would be if we could find an old truck able to pass inspection with a plow hookup. Can't afford anything now, but maybe in the next year or to. Then we could rent a trailer from UHaul to pick up pellets and save hundreds a year in plowing. We do know some folks with trucks, but don't like to inconvenience our neighbors, especially since we just moved to this area 6 months ago. Hopefully pelletsales.com will deliver next Tuesday.

 

[Pellet1]

I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma and wouldn't dream of putting a ton on it to save a few bucks. Leaf springs and labor are not cheap.

I had looked around for a trailer, but anything w/o a dual axle would be asking for trouble imo. Guess I am not much of a risk taker, or wouldn't want to risk the safety of others while I was on the road.

I like ilikewood's idea / !

I just hauled home 50 bags(1 ton) in my old 1989 Toyota 4X4(before it was a Tacoma). It sagged the springs a bit, but never bottomed out. "course, I can easily replace any broken springs and I already had installed oversized shackles.

 

[Skinn]

5x10 trailer with 3500# axle behind my pathfinder fits the bill rather well, and yes it gets loaned out a fair bit but the nice thing is that the people that borrow it have their own tow vehicle and it is hard to do alot of damage to a utility trailer. I have owned trucks my whole life until recently and after seeing how convenient a trailer is I will always have one even when I go back to a pickup. I have a tongue jack that will support the whole weight that the trailer is capable of so I can unhook it full and unload at my leisure, that has worked well with everything from firewood that I split as I unload to landscape block that went into a wall as I unloaded.

No I am not a salesman, just love my trailer