U-haul no good

[sparksalot]

well i rented a u-haul to get my firewood...it was 50 miles one way and the whole thing ended up costing me 94 bucks...i guess you live and learn it was a beautiful drive though with snow on the mountains and deer and elk siteings to bad hunting season is over but that is how it is for me...i was able to get about a cord and a half of fir...does anyone know of a good trailer i could buy that i would be able to use to haul about two cords with? I will be hauling mostly fir and some spruce...any advice would be appreciated

 

[kevinmoelk]

First and foremost you need to consider the vehicle that will be pulling this trailer. That may limit you in your options.

I would suggest thinking about ALL of the activities you may want to do when purchasing a trailer. Do you haul cars around? Help your buddies move? Haul trash? Do you want an enclosed or open trailer?

Also, depending on your location there are laws governing what types of trailers you may use. Check the laws before buying anything.

-Kevin

 

[ChrisN]

Two cords is a lot to haul in a trailer. I help a guy once in a while who sells cordwood and he has a 4'X8' trailer that he stacks 4 feet high for his one cord delivery. With that load he has all he can handle pulling it with his p/u truck.

 

[Elderthewelder]

Two cords is a lot to haul in a trailer. I help a guy once in a while who sells cordwood and he has a 4'X8' trailer that he stacks 4 feet high for his one cord delivery. With that load he has all he can handle pulling it with his p/u truck.

does he have his truck bed loaded as well?, just curious as to what kind of truck he is running? I too am thinking of buying a trailer, was thinking either a 4' x 8' or a 5' x 8', would want to load it up with wood as well as the 6' bed of my Nissan Frontier, Hopefully the Frontier would tow it, but not sure after reading your post

 

[Jake]

I believe towing sapecs could be found at trailer life .com

I'mm looking at getting a 6x12 but have a 3x7 right now

 

[ecfinn]

You might want to review this thread where I essentially asked the same or a similar enough question....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/1803/

What came out of it all is that its cheaper to make more trips than it is to buy a trailer capable of hauling anything more than one cord. A cord of good green hardwood is likely to be 6000 pounds or more. Can't get a trailer like that for less than $2500 minimum.

I went with a used 6x10 I found on craigslist. Added wood sides and can haul 1/2 to 2/3 of a cord with it. My Durango is rated for 7200 lbs tow capacity and I could easily haul a trailer capable of holding 1+ cords but the trailer would weigh at least a ton so that would seriously take away my hauling capacity. I would look seriously into the towing capacity of your truck. Also note that anything with a rated GVWR > 3000 lbs requires brakes which ups the cost of the trailer. You can find trailers with 5K axles and brakes for the aforementioned $2500. Not much less than that will do.

Hope this helps,

Eric

 

[Elderthewelder]

You might want to review this thread where I essentially asked the same or a similar enough question....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/1803/

What came out of it all is that its cheaper to make more trips than it is to buy a trailer capable of hauling anything more than one cord. A cord of good green hardwood is likely to be 6000 pounds or more. Can't get a trailer like that for less than $2500 minimum.

I went with a used 6x10 I found on craigslist. Added wood sides and can haul 1/2 to 2/3 of a cord with it. My Durango is rated for 7200 lbs tow capacity and I could easily haul a trailer capable of holding 1+ cords but the trailer would weigh at least a ton so that would seriously take away my hauling capacity. I would look seriously into the towing capacity of your truck. Also note that anything with a rated GVWR > 3000 lbs requires brakes which ups the cost of the trailer. You can find trailers with 5K axles and brakes for the aforementioned $2500. Not much less than that will do.

Hope this helps,

Eric

Thanks, but I doubt i would be able to find a cord of hardwood in my area of the country (Seattle), My truck is rated for 5000 lbs tow capacity, but even a cord of softwood is 3000 to 4000 lbs, + the weight of the trailer, so I understand what you are saying

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Hey Sparky - take a look at a trailer such as this:



It cost me $1800 which I got back by moving house myself. Now I regularly haul 1-2 cords of wood on it, or 3 tons of gravel, but I try to limit my distances to below around 5-10 miles, or its not worth the effort. Truck is rated 5500 lb high gear and 7700 low, but I put a load more on it than that, you just have to be careful and don't knock it around. Trailer rated at 8000 lb load. I know people who haul cars around like that all over the country with a rover.

Dean

 

[DeanBrown3D]

one more pic

 

[Eric Johnson]

Dean,

The ends of those logs look as though they've got that moisture-release inhibitor that some dealers/mill-operators put on the their sawlogs....yes/no??

Also known as "wax."

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

It sounds like to me that he rented a truck, and not a trailer.
We just recently used U-Haul to move to our new house, and
no trailer costed even close to a $100!! It sounds like to me that he was
paying the $1/mile fee for a truck......

Rob

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Dean,

The ends of those logs look as though they've got that moisture-release inhibitor that some dealers/mill-operators put on the their sawlogs....yes/no??

No wax on anything. All that wood was cut by me directly before loading it into the trailer.

 

[Elderthewelder]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

 

[sgcsalsero]

If your Uhaul is close why not rent one of their trailers, range from $18 to $29 a day. I rented a Uhaul 14ft. earlier this year, spent $80 (incl. gas) but it was worth it, made a big haul early one Sat. and back in time for breakfast.

Some specs on 5x9 trailer below:
Capacity Empty weight: 1,250 lbs
Max load: 1,650 lbs
Maximum Gross Weight (trailer plus load): 2,900 lbs
Tow hitch required: Class 2 (3,500 lb. minimum rating)
Hitch ball: 1 7/8, 2 or 2 1/8 (3,500 lb. minimum)
Dimensions Inside: 9'2" x 4'9" (110" x 57") (LxW)
Ramp width: 57"

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

 

[KarynAnne]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

Is it ash?

 

[Elderthewelder]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

I am in process of splitting up a bunch of maple myself, and I though the bark looked about the same, so I thought I would ask. I know the maple on the east coast is much differant than here on west coast, think it is more dense. You east coasters got all the good types of wood

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

Is it ash?

No its not ash. Some of it was bright yellow wood, very very dense. Some was cherry.

I get a lot of maple though, some of it is very straight and easy to split, and some of it is a PITA and splits in all twisted and hard to stack.

 

[KarynAnne]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

Is it ash?

No its not ash. Some of it was bright yellow wood, very very dense. Some was cherry.

I get a lot of maple though, some of it is very straight and easy to split, and some of it is a PITA and splits in all twisted and hard to stack.

I was joking the first time - but I wonder if the bright yellow/dense wood was Osage? Man is that stuff good. Perfect for burning or bow making.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Dean, what type of wood is that??

Pic on top right is maple. On bottom its a mixture of other unknown hardwoods. Don't remember now. Why do you ask?

Is it ash?

No its not ash. Some of it was bright yellow wood, very very dense. Some was cherry.

I get a lot of maple though, some of it is very straight and easy to split, and some of it is a PITA and splits in all twisted and hard to stack.

I was joking the first time - but I wonder if the bright yellow/dense wood was Osage? Man is that stuff good. Perfect for burning or bow making.

I knew you were joking! (But I couldn't figure it out duh! Are you referencing my daughter Ashlena?)