A truck is the most important tool of the woodworker.
A truck is the most important tool of the woodworker.
I agree completely! Unfortunately, my wife doesn't see it that way haha! I make our suburban, Jeep and CRV work whichever way I need it. However, a truck would be much more convenient. Strapping down sheet goods on the roof of my jeep is pretty shady to say the least.
A Jeep can make it work still.
Since you mention an access hatch I will assume a finished ceiling(?). Unfortunate because if your roof elevation presents a peak in the garage you can go vertical:
Vertical Lumber Storage add-on (1).jpg . Vertical Lumber Storage add-on (3).jpg
I do this but, also take advantage of the top two feet of the wall behind the door rails:
Lumber Storage Reorg (1).jpg
This is an older pic. I now stand my jointer, drum sander, shop vac and a drawer unit under this lumber. The jointer and sander are mobile and easily pull out a few feet to allow me ladder access to the lumber.
It is important to remember that you will go to the rack for larger material only rarely, such as the beginning of a project. The smaller panels and cut-offs are rummaged more often in my shop and I keep them a little easier to access. Sheet goods stand behind the "shorts" bins.
Lumber Storage 2014 (3).jpg
Panel cutoffs go here.
Cut-Off-Bin-2.jpg
Last edited by glenn bradley; 01-23-2017 at 9:22 AM.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
The solution is a small utility trailer...and it's a lot less costly than buying a pick-em-up-truck. I bought one when I eschewed my one and only pickup truck for an SUV after adopting our daughters and it's paid for itself many times over. Mine is 5'x8' and on the centerline I can actually accomodate up to 16' stock if need be with appropriate flagging.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
I can fit 10' in the CRV with the back window closed. Only a few pieces though. Haven't put any in the Suburban and probably won't (it's too nice). I've been looking at those trailers. Might just try to get by for a while. My truck "should" be the next vehicle we get.
I can do the same thing in my Grand Cherokee...in fact, I recently transported two 11' long pipe clamps in there with a little creative shifting of things. But as you say, it's limited to a small amount of material and great care has to be taken to avoid damaging things in the interior if there's a sudden stop or whatever. The utility trailer has more than paid for itself over the years...and it handles sheet good nicely, too.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Storage for small stuff is easy, just put shelves up near the ceiling where you're not using the space anyhow. Plywood is more difficult, but I knew someone who had a solution, he had lots of ceiling space, he took a 4x8 sheet of plywood, hinged one end to the ceiling joists and the other end he held up with rope and pulleys. Around the perimeter of the 4x8 sheet, he put cleats so that he could lower one end to the ground on the ropes, stack a few sheets of plywood on it, then pull it up against the ceiling for storage. It was out of the way, but still supported so it didn't warp or deform. Never tried it myself, but it might be something to think about.
My lumber is also stored vertically, under the peak of the roof, to allow room for the longest boards. Plywood is stored against a wall, standing on its long edge, with narrower sheets stored the same way, in a rack over the mostly/full sheets.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."