Thread: pickup truck chip box ideas please

Guys, I have a small problem I need help with. I am chipping into the back of my pickup truck with a 6'' disc chipper that has no problem blowing chips about 35'. My problem is coming up with a chip deflector for the bed of my truck that is not permanent. I use this truck to pull a 5th wheel trailor so what ever I put in the bed to deflct chips needs to be portable and be easily set up by myself. My first try at chip deflector was 2 pieces of plywood with a hinge in the middle so it would fold open and set it in the front of the bed. The hight of this deflector is about 12'' above the cab. I thought this would work good, but I was wrong.
Im catching about 95% of chips and the other is being blown all over the cab & hood and all around the truck. Cleaning up the mess from the chipper is adding about 30 min to job time. I have some ideas to try, but learning by trial & error can be time consuming & costly. I am considering biulding a headach rack to protect the cab, but that probly wont happen untill this fall. That could be used as an anchor point for a portable deflector.

I need some good ideas........HELP......... Im sure some of you have been where im at now.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
Unless you can come up with something totally original, I do not know what to tell you. I would recommend a dedicated chip truck, which dumps. I have never seen any efficient way of manhandling chips the way you are attempting. And ALL chip trucks without a top will blow chips all over the hood of the truck as well as the ground around the truck. [/QUOTE


What more can be said?

Howabout some bows and a tarp to go across the top of the plywood sides.

Tarps will work good, only don't use those flimsy plastic ones, flying chips or a windy day will tear it to shreds. Using heavy canvas like what semi - haulers use, this will work good and last, just make sure you can fasten it down tight.

Another thing that will work is to build your sides. At the top make some kind of slide guide [ a track ] for a plywood top. A good top has 2 pieces of plywood with 2x2's or 2x4's between them. Then get some of those load binding racheting straps to pull it together and keep it tight.

A tarp over plywood sides will work as good, as long as it it fastened down good, especially in the front behind the cab.

Larry

Originally posted by MasterBlaster


What more can be said?

only that those chips landing on the top and hood of the pickup will always find their way into the heater box and burn up the heater fan motor
-Ralph

David,

I agree with Brian's posts 100%. I don't how your fifth wheel is set up in your truck. But I would think that shoveling chips out of the truck with a ball sticking up would get annoying after awhile, I know it would with me. If your ball is below the bed, cleaning chips out from around it would also be a source of irritation after a while with me. Unless you have one of those fancy ones with a cover over it.

Using a truck for two different purposes, just doesn't work out. What if your main truck is broke down, then your out on two things chipping and hauling. I'd seriously consider a second truck. It will make life so much easier.

Just my 2 bits on the subject.

Larry

Begley, My heater fan is holding up just fine but the chips keep sifting down under the actuator arms for the windshield wipers and jamming them-I have to flood them out at the carwash periodically.

David, Brian is right about the chips blowing out but I'll give you a couple of suggestions to try to keep it manageable. Make yourself some sideboards. I have a permanent overhead rack with side panels on my truck but you can do the same sort of thing and have it removable. Get the headache rack and back it with a piece of Lexan-that will allow you to blow chips at it without shooting them into the gap between the cab and bed. An ensilage fork/cottonseed fork is great for moving chips but for working with them in your truck try this: Get a GOOD long tine garden rake. With that rake you can drag the chips out of the bed when unloading and also use it to push chips around in the bed while chipping. That will allow you to aim the deflector on the chute a bit lower and just give a couple of shoves with the rake occassionally to fill the front corners. Those methods should get things down to the point that you don't have to do clean-up in front of the truck. A dump with a covered bed is still ideal but your pickup can serve fairly well for a while.

the person that i do work for has a mitshubisi pick up he has put in a wooden base, and had a cage made up puts up a bit of board at the front so chips dont go over the cab, and the to help removal has a draw sheet attached to the tale gate so you wind most of the chips out, i think they orignally used the draw sheet for moving blocks off the back of pickups not sure, i do know that when he bought it the people selling them said it was this first time they had known anyone use this product for this type of job, will try and get pics (probably end of the week now) if your interested.

Had a buddy who build a chainsaw holding rack level with his cab.
He stowed his 6 or so chainsaws in it during the day and would just run a cable thru them at night lock them up and cover them.
It looked cool and boys did it make the heads turn and notice him his chainsaws sticking up above his cab. Bar down into a 2x6 they sat.

David, how about this...

Jeff

Jeff, that looks nice. He could use hinges in the inside corners to hold them together. Instead of normal hinge pins, use pins that are easy to pull out. That way each side can be removed sperately.

Having a dedicated truck is nice too, but for a guy just starting out there are a lot of nice things you probably won't have right away.

Thanks Mike, this box is screwed and bolted together. It can be removed as a unit or by removing about 12-15 carriage bolts it can be removed in pieces. It has 2x2 framing and a top over half the box. Unfortunately it fills up WAY to fast and unloading is a PITA. The upside is it's CHEAP!!!!!

Jeff

Jeff, That is a very nice, simple box. I know what you mean about filling too fast! I keep looking at 1 Ton dumps and saying,"I'm gonna get me one o'dem."

If you're willing to put a little work into them, older 1-ton's can be had fairly cheap.

I see alot of them around here for under $1500.

Speaking of 1-tons, what's the most you've ever seen in one?

Picked up some sand at the quarry with mine, scaled at 14,700 pounds! Guess I went a little overboard, eh?