How do you get your lumber home?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but FWIW, we own a Tundra pickup and a Sequoia SUV. Both are full size and full frame vehicles and can haul wood and tow. We are paying more in gas, but also justify the fuel costs by the safety of the larger vehicles and the larger crumple zone around the ones we love.

I was hit head on in a Ford Crown Vic at highway speed in Oct of 2000, the car was totaled but I walked away. As a deputy sheriff for ten years I have seen the sometimes tragic downside to smaller vehicles in crashes. It's simply physics, the larger mass wins.

Consider your safety and that of your family in addition to how much 4/4 oak you can haul. Gas is a small cost of owning a vehicle when you calculate purchase costs, maint. and insurance costs.

Jeff,

I agree completely. I think of the extra money spent on fuel for larger vehicles as buying "life insurance". But this is the kind of insurance that can actually save your life.. No doubt that ,all things being equal ,I'd rather be in the heavier, bigger vehicle in a crash. I just wish the bigger vehicles were more fun to drive.

[Byron Trantham]

I use my 90' Nissan. It has 233,000 miles on it. I drive 5.5 miles to my distributor and if the load is too big (not often) I make multiple trips. I made a table that is stored above the garage door. When I need to process sheet goods, I lower the table, go get the [first] load back it up to the garage door opening and slide the sheets onto the table one at a time and cut them into smaller pieces. This keeps me from lifting a full 4x8 sheet. The truck can haul about seven sheets at a time.

[David G Baker]

Wilbur,
I too use my Camry and have carried 10 footers by sliding them all the way up to the windshield. I have a few scratehes on my dash to prove it. I also have a 1983 Chevy 3/4 ton but never think of it when shopping for small orders.

[Rob Will]

I just think it is dangerous to haul stuff like lumber inside of the passenger compartment. If you go to any BORG you will see somebody jamming large items into a car, often with long boards hanging out of the windows and the hatch left open. I simply put forth the question of how much does this lumber weigh and what happens to all that mass in case of an accident?

I'm sure everybody's idea of hauling lumber is different. A few small pieces of hobby wood is a lot different from an 8' mailbox post hanging out of the passenger window.....and that is a lot different from hauling an entire bundle of plywood.....or 16' poplar trim boards......or 27" x 12' white oak boards.

Rob

[Jim King]

Nothing to it and we dont worry about scratches on the dash as there is none.

[Paul Johnstone]

I agree with the renting strategy of the previous poster. It's a little more work, but it can be very economical.

Rent a truck, and use it to run all your hauling errands for the day. If you can save up and buy enough sheet goods and hardwood to last 6 months-1 year, you can really save a lot of money. That's what I did before I had all my kids. With 5 kids, you are pretty much forced to have a van.

[Alex Berkovsky]

...I think of the extra money spent on fuel for larger vehicles as buying "life insurance". But this is the kind of insurance that can actually save your life...

Since this thread has gone slightly OT... I hope you big vehicle proponents don't complain about the cost of gas at the pumps.
Back on-topic... I drive a 1996 Toyota Camry whose rear seat folds down and I am able to shove a few 8'-9' through the trunk. With the price of lumber in NYC, I am kind of happy that I can't fit more. Whenever I have to buy a 4'x8' sheet of ply, I make sure to take the plans with me and have them break it down slightly oversized.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Jim, I think most of those dents, dings, and scratches on the body will buff right out! Now that is a work truck.

Bruce

Nothing to it and we dont worry about scratches on the dash as there is none.

[Dan McGuire]

In my opinion there is not a better vehicle combination for a woodworker with a family than a minivan/pick-up truck combo. Especially now that some manufacturers offer the fold away seats. Yeah, I don't get the milage of hybrid, but if I owned one I would have to pick which kids got strapped to the roof before I could go anywhere. Between my hemi dodge and my grand caravan there has been nothing I couldn't haul.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I work at a lumber yard and see almost every load that leaves the yard while I'm there. Most of the contractors have a handle on securing their loads on trucks or trailers made for the job. But I'm amazed at what some people will use to haul lumber.

In the short time I've been working there I've seen some very scary loads. In the back side window, up between the front seats and up against the right front windshield. Aside from possibly scratching up the interior it can be deadly in an accident. Even a sudden avoidance maneuver can cause it to shift unexpectedly and hit either the driver or one of the passengers. I've also seen people using their side mirrors to haul lumber. Yeah, that'll work. Plenty of people,(every day) with short box pickups, (a waste of a good pickup in my opinion) put the lumber through the back sliding window and up onto the dashboard. It can damage the window track as well as the dashboard and if it's not very well secured it can slide left or right and hit someone in the front seat. On Monday I watched a guy load about a dozen pieces of bender board into his small import car. It went from through the driver's side rear window, through the interior, out the passenger side front window, over the side mirror and bent back and was secured to the front bumper with tape. I warned him it was unsafe but he just shrugged. I was tempted to call the Highway Patrol and tip them off but my boss said to just let him go. I wonder what a jury would say about our liability if the guy got into an accident on the way home. If that tape on the front bumper let go the boards were going to flip out about 4' to the right and possibly right into another car. That could cause a lot of people to drive right off of the road.

I used to work at a steel supply house/fabrication shop. At least once every couple of months I'd see someone pull in with a small car and ask to have the 20' lengths tied under their car to the front and rear bumpers! The guys doing the loading would refuse and instead just lay the steel out onto the street for the guy to drive over and tie up for himself. Insane! I've heard that people have tried to do that at the lumber yard too. It won't happen while I'm there. Side mirrors and bumper end caps were also frequently used to hold the steel.

Regarding using smaller cars or light trucks to pull trailers, keep in mind that if the manufacturer says you vehicle can pull a trailer that weighs XX amount that usually includes the weight of everything inside the vehicle including the passengers. Just recently there was another serious multi-car accident here because some idiot overloaded his utility trailer. His trailer was way too heavy for the car and it was loaded beyond the trailers capacity too. I don't remember how many other people were seriously injured but it wasn't pretty. But at least for a while the guy got great gas mileage and save a bundle of money because he didn't have to spend more money on a good truck! You people who think you can haul lumber in ways your vehicle was never designed to do will probably get away with it. But how are you going to feel if you end up hurting or killing someone because of it? It absolutely happens and they probably use the same excuse as some of the posts in this thread. "I only do it occasionally and it's been fine up until now. I didn't think it would be a problem and gas is too expensive for a big truck."

I've also been a delivery driver for two different companies hauling both steel and pipe. I drove everything from pickups with racks to 2 axle flatbed straight trucks to single and double flatbed trailers. I know all about the ugliest loads you've ever seen. A few people I worked with sometimes gave me a hard time for being really anal about how I secured my loads. But I never lost any part of a load and the same can't be said for most of the other drivers. I recommend using ratchet straps or good rope and learn how to tie a, "Trucker's knot". Use more tie downs than you think you need and don't forget what might happen if you have to brake really hard. Don't rely on those cheap cast pot metal hooks that screw to the sides of pickups. My dad has those on his truck and he's broken and replaced almost every one of them at least once.

Oh yeah, I haul my lumber in the back of my Suburban. Longer lighter wood goes on the rack on top but only very light items. I get 10 to 12 miles per gallon because of the big 454 but it has great brakes and is the only thing I could afford that will keep lumber dry and pull a heavy camp trailer. It also hauls my family and all of our gear or a few of their friends if needed. With what I pay per day in gas for commuting, (about $10) I could probably afford to buy a cheap used car that gets good mileage. I'm considering it but at least for now I feel pretty safe.

Bruce

[Cary Swoveland]

Lumber I can manage.

Smart with lumber.JPG

Sheet goods are the problem.

Walking with plywood.JPG

Cary

[Al Killian]

So Bruce, you think everyone should buy a truck to haul lumber? Even if it can be safely and legally hauled using a car? Just because a few decide that they dont want to do things proper, doesnt mean the rest of us should get a bad rap. I for one have been using my car for years to haul lumber and other goods. If the load is more then a few hundred pounds then I will find a truck to get what I need. I refuse to by a truck just so I can use it once a month or so just to get maybe 50 or 100 bdft. Yes you should call the highway patrol if you see something illegal. You are just as guilty as those that dont secure there load.

[Todd Jensen]

gee whiz, Al, take it easy. Bruce was making a valid point and just relaying his personal experiences. You can roll home on your bicycle with lumber tied to your head for all I care. I just prefer to roll like this: At 17mpg and diesel cleaner and cheaper than gas, I gotta say this is a lot better than the '83 audi 4000 I used to have to haul my tools around in, regardless of any money saved with better fuel mileage. My table saw never had a chance to come through my seat, but I gotta say I feel safer with 2 seats and some steel between me and my load.

[Roger Bell]

I really do think Bruce makes some valid points....and who among us hasn't pushed the boundaries good judgment by asking a small car to do the job of a truck...."just this once"? I know I have....too many times........and I am ashamed that I have allowed excuses such as poverty or expediency to substitute for mature, responsible behavior. I used to see the same thing when I worked a "customer pick up" at JC Penney's in high school....with jerks thinking nothing of asking skinny high school boys to load 200# air conditioners, water heaters and what-not into their Karman Ghias. "It'll fit!" And off they went......no tip, no nothing.

I bought my first truck new and it lasted 27 years. I am on my second, a Tundra. I expect it to last at least twenty years. On average I need the truck once a week or so...a truck...not a toy. For everyday, I drive a Civic. Once in awhile, I will put a few sticks in it....properly placed and secured.

[Bart Leetch]

Nothing to it and we dont worry about scratches on the dash as there is none.

Well it was a Ford beyond that it anyone guess!!!!