Appreciate your opinion but I think this will fit my needs just fine. Especially considering Ive only got a 1/2ton truck. My truck is only rated for 9k. If I completely fill this with splits I’m looking at 1.17 cords. Given wet wood it’s probably close to 5000/cord that’s 5850lb plus the weight of the trailer. Pretty much perfect for 7000lb rated axles. Would I like a 9k dump? Absolutely but it doesn’t fit my budget and how much extra wood would i really be able to haul with my 1/2ton. Probably hardly much more at all considering how much a 9k dump trailer weighs. Plus almost every trailer out to 20’ long I’ve seen has had 7000lb axles so yea there’s some additional length but no more payload. As for the splitter, it’ll ride in the truck box with my other gear.
Trailer for hauling wood
- Thread starter adubree86
- Start date
-
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.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Actually, you have a good point. I was neglecting that, when splitting on-site, you can fill that box to the top. I’m loading full logs, so it’s pretty much always just a single layer deep. We’re both hitting the same numbers, about 5500 lb. payload per load.
I went with the 16 foot box, mostly so I can haul my tractor and mower. But now that I’ve used it for moving a lot of wood, I think it’s the perfect length for hauling logs.
How on earth do you get a “splitter” in and out of your pickup bed out in the field? I think mine must weigh damn close to 600 lb. Is your “splitter” a maul?
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Sounds good. No reason to go overkill on a wood hauler.
Ashful means well, but he treats lots of his decisions /opinions as though he's going into business and needs the best, biggest, most durable option. Which, in his situation, may be case.
Some of us like to operate at lower RPMs, and don't want our money saving endeavor costing too much money.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
LOL... my motto is, "go big, or go home". Not always the most sensible, but it is usually the most fun.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
There are about a million worse ways to spend money. We may spend too much on a few of those, as well, but that's for other threads ( ex.- "What's your favorite beer"?).
Ashful
Minister of Fire
If you don't mind, I'd like a photo of that operation. Do you have it mounted to the floor of your pickup bed? I'd think the front wall of the bed too weak for something like this.
Well the trailer came home with me. Overall it is in pretty good shape especially for the price. The jack was shot so I picked up a new one from Harbor Freight for $23 and replaced it. He had just put on brand new lights two weeks ago. And for the best part both axles have the mounting flange for brakes. He had told me it didn’t so now i don’t have to mess with having them welded on. The ramp is pretty rough. I’ll probably see if I can use the shop welder at work and build me up a better gate at some point.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Nice! Now you're in business.
If building a new ramp/tailgate, use expanded metal, less air resistance while towing.
If building a new ramp/tailgate, use expanded metal, less air resistance while towing.
1k empty, quad trailer or landscape, my trailer for 7k was used to haul bulldozer by the po and its 1400 empty. not sure why they do it but nothing they do makes sense, besides every law is based on maximizing the money in their pocket
Use the heavy gauge expanded stuff so you can weld it properly...I have the light weight stuff on 2 trailers I have here and I am always retacking to keep it from rattling..next trailer won't have any expanded metal.
salecker
Minister of Fire
Your trailer has hubs that use the same 15" wheels that Ford P/U's had in the 90's.So if you want to spruce up the appearance of it you should be able to find a set of aluminum wheels off a ford pretty cheep at a wrecking yard.Nobody uses 15" tires on their trucks anymore. Plus if you look around a wrecking yard you can probably find good LT235/75-15 tires with a load range of C or higher.
I have had a 18' flatdeck trailer with 16" tires for 20 yrs,i have never bought a tire for it.The old ones from my trucks end up on it or tires that are unwanted and at the landfill.
I have had a 18' flatdeck trailer with 16" tires for 20 yrs,i have never bought a tire for it.The old ones from my trucks end up on it or tires that are unwanted and at the landfill.
Thanks for the info Salecker. The first things I'm going to do to this thing is a new gate and then pull all the boards and hit the frame with a wire wheel and rust converter.
Well working in the construction business and knowing good steel fabricators may pay off. I talked to a guy that does the vast majority of our steel fab to see what he would charge for a gate and as it turns out he has a trailer project that was abandoned on him with a pretty stout gate already built that he's gonna modify and mount up to the trailer. Sure will save me a lot of time and energy. He's also gonna gusset and cross brace the tongue and reweld a couple spots that need some attention.
Perfect! Nows the time to address any issues...not when your broke down out on the road! BTW....I would check and repack those wheel bearings...they are often neglected...cheap to maintain but expensive to repair...and bearing buddies are your friend! You will be able to haul a pretty good jag of split wood on that puppy after you get her ready!
salecker
Minister of Fire
Be careful with bearing buddies,and over servicing the wheel bearings.When i got my trailer 20 yrs ago the PO had over serviced the bearings and 3 of the 4 wheels had grease pumped through the wheel bearings and into the brake area.
I removed the bearing buddies and sold them,replaced the seals and brakes packed the bearings to a normal level and haven't touched them since.Adjusted the brakes and have replaced the shackles 2 times since. But every time i use the trailer i feel the hubs after i have driven the first leg.The temp of the hubs is always good.It dosn't mater what i am driving i always check the temp of the hubs of the truck and trailer.If one heats up more that the rest you have an issue.For a few years i rented the trailer out as well.My guess is there have been at least 50 thousand miles on the trailer since i got it,and since the bearings have been packed.I don't take it easy on this trailer.i once had a load of 24 full barres of diesel on it.20 barrels of waste oil was an manual 200 mile trip for it till i emptied that yard of oil.
I have semi trucks and lot's of different trailers,they are all oil bath bearings,but i use the same feel the hubs when i drive them,i have never had a bearing issue away from home.
I removed the bearing buddies and sold them,replaced the seals and brakes packed the bearings to a normal level and haven't touched them since.Adjusted the brakes and have replaced the shackles 2 times since. But every time i use the trailer i feel the hubs after i have driven the first leg.The temp of the hubs is always good.It dosn't mater what i am driving i always check the temp of the hubs of the truck and trailer.If one heats up more that the rest you have an issue.For a few years i rented the trailer out as well.My guess is there have been at least 50 thousand miles on the trailer since i got it,and since the bearings have been packed.I don't take it easy on this trailer.i once had a load of 24 full barres of diesel on it.20 barrels of waste oil was an manual 200 mile trip for it till i emptied that yard of oil.
I have semi trucks and lot's of different trailers,they are all oil bath bearings,but i use the same feel the hubs when i drive them,i have never had a bearing issue away from home.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
@salecker, just because one prior owner of one piece of equipment you owned happened to mis-use the product, it’s not a reason to malign the most-frequently (and maybe best, esp. for boat trailers that get submerged) solution to bearing packing issues.
The design is simple, a spring-loaded cap. Pump some grease in, watch the cap press back against the spring. Some of the old-designs could be over-filled (pumped up past the point where the spring is 100% compressed), but the newer designs all have an automatic pressure relief that prevents over-filling. As long as your inner bearing seals are good (meaning they can hold a minor 3 PSI), you should not have this issue. If your seals are bad, then fix them.
The design is simple, a spring-loaded cap. Pump some grease in, watch the cap press back against the spring. Some of the old-designs could be over-filled (pumped up past the point where the spring is 100% compressed), but the newer designs all have an automatic pressure relief that prevents over-filling. As long as your inner bearing seals are good (meaning they can hold a minor 3 PSI), you should not have this issue. If your seals are bad, then fix them.
I got ez lube hubs for all my trailers, they have a channel to both bearings. I was told by the guy at the trailer supply place the buddies cant lube the inner very well.
Is the trailer floor wood? If it is those original deck screws are going to give you hell removing them as they be rusted in place most likely.If thats the case they are easy to replace...proper drill bit size and appropriate sized screws.
Last edited:
salecker
Minister of Fire
Absolutely they have there use for sure,boats being the one.I have a service station on the Alaska Highway.I get 3-4 people a month asking to borrow a grease gun for their bearing buddy's.As humor for myself i will take the gun to their trailer and kneel down by the tires and give the tire a reach around.50% of the time there is grease on the inside of the tire.
It is just like anything...learn how to use it and you will be fine.If you don't know how to find your a$$ with both hands let somebody else do stuff for you.
There was no use for them on my trailer,it was never going to be submerged.I was planning on renting it out and didn't want someone to think they were doing the right thing and over grease my trailer.Wheel bearings that don't go near water will run for years without an issue if greased properly during installation.
Just think how many old cars and 2WD pickups went 100,000 miles and nobody ever gave the front wheel bearings any thought.
Similar threads
