Trailer Question...

[Tank29]

Hi All,

I am new to the site and have been reading through a bunch of the posts...Here is a little background info about myself...When growing up living at home I can remember cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking wood all summer long...I enjoyed it for the most parts but it did use up the WHOLE summer break!...We used to cut enough wood for our house and both sets of grand parents houses...Once I went off to college that was the end of my wood cutting career...LOL...

Now 16 years later, my wife and two boys up-graded to a bigger home in April 2008 and now we have two fire places...One in our living room and one in our 3/4 finished basement...It is a brick ranch house and was built back in '62...The basement chimney had a fire in it at one time and they have a S.S. liner in it now...We had everything cleaned and checked prior to us buying the house...The house has a 2-1/2 ton air-air heat-pump with 120kw electric auxillary heat...Now my wife has had the fireplace in the living room burning off and on over the past 2-3 weeks basically just for looks...This got us thinking and we have decided that we would like to install and insert in this location and burn wood next year when it starts to get real cold out...What we have looked at and think we may go with is a Napoleon 1402 Fireplace Insert...The local chimney guy that we used also recommended this one too...We may 2-3 years down the road install one in the basement just for the "looks", we are not sure...

Now to my question...Since we are pretty sure that we are going to do something like this next year, I want to get started on "gathering" some wood now...I am in need of a small trailer and I was looking at this trailer at my local Tractor Supply http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0551_10001_133560_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1 ...Now my plan is to use some pressure treated decking to build the sides up to 24" high...I have a '07 Jeep JK Unlimited which is rated for 3500lbs of towing weight and the the trailer I think has a total towing weight of 2990lbs...I am figuring that the trailer weighs roughly 800lbs as is and if I had another 300lbs with the wood decking that should give me about 1800lbs that I can load with wood, correct?...I know that 1800lbs is not that much (maybe a cord of pine or 1/2 cord of oak) but I have to look at what I have towing this too...I will be using the trailer mostly for hauling some chemical drums for work, lawn mower, and some lumber here & there...I guess what I want to confirm are my figures on how much wood weight I would be able to haul using this trailer?...

There are a few suppliers in the area that will deliver tri-axle load of hard wood in the price range of $600-$800 and I will probably do this to get me "stash" started for the 2010-2011 seasons...But for right now, I will be "gathering" until summer and I know I will have to buy some seaoned stuff for next fall if we want to burn...Thanks for the input in advance and allowing me to part of the forum...

Todd

 

[awoodman]

I have that same trailer only the 8' long version from Tractor Supply.
The steel mesh bottom is very flimsey and I would lay plywood or
osb on the bottom to keep it from getting bent up.

I have a 16' tandem axel trailer I pull behind my V6 half ton pickup truck I haul
wood in.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/318456/

 

[smokinj]

i would look around for a used one, you have some time and wood seems to be easier to get in the spring storms

 

[Jack33]

Do a search for a"firewood btu chart" on this site or google. Pay attention to what the weight represents (green vs. dry). I will tell you that a cord of green oak weighs aprox. 5000 lbs. Your trailer and truck would legally haul about 1/3 of a cord of oak. Be cautious of the tongue weight as it is likely quite low for your truck.

Also, if you KNOW that you are going to be buying wood for next season, you should do that now. Anyone on this site that buys wood cut & split can tell you the truth about buying "seasoned" wood.

 

[Tank29]

Thanks for the replies...

I understand that "green" will be more weight and I also understand that a wood floor wood be better then the mesh...I will do some looking and see what I can find used that I can haul at least a 1/2 cord or 2000lbs...I really can't justify buying a truck just to haul wood right now, and I do need a trailer so, I will look and see what is in the used market...

I found out that there is a place that sells a truck load (20 yard dump) of "seasoned split wood" for $800 + delivery...I am not sure if this is a good deal or not but the guy claimes that it is a minimum of 1 year seasoned...I will have to look into this also for next year...How many cord would this be?...Thanks again...The search continues...

 

[JustWood]

Check this company out. They make a pretty beefy trailer and I have seen them on the highway almost everywhere I go. I'm
considering buying one from them.

http://www.kaufmantrailers.com/

 

[LLigetfa]

How many cord would this be?

One yard is 27 cubic feet. One cord is 128 cubic feet. They most likely loose pack it in the truck so you will get less yeild. A rule of thumb for a cord loose packed, depending on bucked length to be between 180 and 195 cubic feet.

So, a rough calculation for 30 yards loose is around 4 cord.
{edit} oops... you said 20, not 30 yard dump... closer to 2 - 3/4 cords.

 

[Dix]

A trailer for now would give you alot of hauling options with your current vehicle, and it sounds like it's certainly economical for you to purchase one.

And I agree, that purchasing another , bigger tow vehicle makes no sense right now.

As long as the combo of the two can STOP safely,when loaded, I'd go for it

Lee's Wood....gooseneck trailers!! I haven't seen them up here !! My head is spinning with the options I could have, with a smaller gooseneck, instead of the 2 horse slant load ;-)

 

[Tank29]

Check this company out. They make a pretty beefy trailer and I have seen them on the highway almost everywhere I go. I'm
considering buying one from them.

http://www.kaufmantrailers.com/

I checked out the website and they do have one that seems pretty beefy... (broken link removed to http://www.kaufmantrailers.com/heavy-equipment-trailer-store/Landscape-Trailers/10-Ft,-2,990-lb.-GVWR-Landscape-Trailer-p90.html) ...I don't think this is a bad price either $1100...I am searching...

 

[ccwhite]

That trailer would be fine for your situation. It already has wood 2X8 floor according to TSC website. Just put 24" sides on it and you could haul 1 cord on there which should be right at 1 ton. 2000 lbs + 1500 lbs (If the trailer even weighs that much) = 3500 (rated capacity of your jeep and the trailer has a 3500 lb rated axle) That's right on the money. I think you found a good trailer right off.

 

[lobsta1]

That trailer would be fine for your situation. It already has wood 2X8 floor according to TSC website. Just put 24" sides on it and you could haul 1 cord on there which should be right at 1 ton. 2000 lbs + 1500 lbs (If the trailer even weighs that much) = 3500 (rated capacity of your jeep and the trailer has a 3500 lb rated axle) That's right on the money. I think you found a good trailer right off.

I think your cords are a lot lighter in Ohio than elsewhere. Look at the chart in the included link. The lightest seasoned wood (basswood) is 2100 lbs. per cord. The good hardwoods such as hickory, white oak & so on, are over 4000 lbs.
Al

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/heating_value_wood

 

[CowboyAndy]

Tank, your link didnt work for me, what model is the trailer? I have a 4x6 that you can get at lowes/hd/tcs. I haul 1/2 a cord of green maple, cherry and hickory with it. I have found it to be pretty decent for the price... I actually bought it used, was about a year old and the guy had spend about $200 on plywood for it. we paid $400 this summer for it. I have no issues with how it handles, but the lights leave something to be desired. The style that they are where the bulbs go are pretty cheap, and the actual lamp holder is busted on one of them and part of the contacts are not making contact. This summer we are upgrading the lights.

That being said, the only time I ever had an issue was with loading it. Had a mixed load of fresh cut green yellow birch, and some 2 yr down pine. I loaded all the birch towards the back and the pine in front and it really messed with the tongue weight and was wagging its tail the whole way home.

 

[Tank29]

We have a 6ft. x 10ft. trailer from 1984 that is only rated for 1500lbs (I think)...I had it loaded from the axle to the tongue (front half of trailer) with oak about 3 weeks ago and that was about all It would handle...I had it stacked in an area of 5ft. x 6ft. x 3ft...I would like to find a tandem axle 6ft. x 10ft. and throw some 24" sides on it...I have been watching the local papers and Craigslist to see if I can find something used...Even if I can find a single axle and add another to it would be fine...

 

[ManiacPD]

I've got an aluminum-framed landscape trailer, similar to the one Thule makes now, that I bought a few years ago. Same specs as what you're looking at, with a 3,500 lb torsion axle and a GVW of 2990 lbs (trailers above 3,000 lbs need to be titled so the manufacturers avoid this PITA by sneaking under the limit by 10 lbs.). It is 5.5' wide and 12 feet long with stake sides with 5/4 PT 8" wide decking. So it's about 1.5' tall. I load it even with the top of the sides and that's all it wants, around 1/2 cord dead-piled.

A few years ago I hauled a load of sand for our sons' sandbox, around 1.5 yards, and it was not a fun trip home. Axles were on the stops and the tires were squatted badly. It didn't hurt anything permanently so I don't get too nervous pushing it with 1/2 cord of wood, and besides I'm only traveling 4 miles to the woodlot.

As already stated, get something with a wood deck. That mesh will dent and sag quickly.

Paul