Anyone stack wood in totes?

[SamT1]

Guys I’m trying to cut down on my wood handling. I have a pretty much endless supply of the tote cages. I’m thinking I could shift some of my firewood into the totes so I can mainly load them with green wood and not have to unload it at the yard and reload it to deliver by hand. I don’t currently sell a whole lot, because I have a day job and I get way behind when a cold front comes. I’m kinda high, but deliver and stack it all as well as guarantee a full stack and do custom cuts if requested. I’m wondering about a lower cost skid loader? Will they pickup the totes loaded with green wood? Something like this one. Gehl 4610 skid steer loader perkins diesel https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/254024841805

I can’t afford a 10k plus machine, but 5k or less would be great if it has the lift capacity. Kinda looks like the rated capacity is only 50% of what they really do, assume it will tip if you go too much. I think I could fit this one on the back of my trailer and 3 cords of dry wood in totes on the front. Hauling green I wouldn’t be going too far so I’d probably just run it overloaded 10 miles.

I can get a tractor that I could use for lots of things, but it’s too big and heavy to haul with the wood. I’ve thought about just loading the wood in the totes on the trailer and unloading them at a friends place with his equipment to get me started.

 

[Big Red Oaks 4 me]

I haul my wood from the shed to the house, where I have 3 totes on the porch to store it until it goes in the heater. Works ok for me.

 

[JeffHK454]

You mean stack totes full of wood , right?

I use to keep limb wood that I wasn’t planning on splitting piled in totes and would move them into my garage with a 3-point fork attachment..worked great.

If your talking the metal totes built of thin wall tubing that looks like electrical conduit and ment to hold a plasting bladder then I’d say no to stacking them..the ones I had said on a big bold placard “DANGER - DONT STACK WHEN LOADED”.

 

[cantoo]

They usually have a limit as to how many high you can stack. There are many different sizes and strengths of steel totes. They come from factory usually with liquid in them so of course you couldn’t stack them very high as the liquid would be really heavy, split wood is no where near as heavy. Tons of people use them but not many that I know use them for the actual delivery.

 

[Waltzie]

I use the IBC totes, with the bladders removed.

Stack 2 high on dirt, and three high on asphalt.

 

[SamT1]

Yea IBC totes with bladders removed.. I’m more concerned with equipment needed to move them around. I can get the cheapo ones all the time. Folks beg me to take them, but might have an opportunity to get some really nice ones. I don’t currently have any means to move them around.

I think I’m going to cut a V in one side to ease loading and unloading so I won’t stack them over 2 high if even that. I may have wood coming out the top to get a face cord in them.

 

[Waltzie]

I have used skid steers and a compact FEL to move them around. Prefer the skid steers.

 

[NSMaple1]

It really all comes down to what gear you have to handle them. Totes are really good stuff. But if you have something that can handle something bigger, could go bigger.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

What kind of trailer are you pulling that will haul 3 cords of wood and a skid steer? I know the wood density will make a big difference, but man that sounds like a bunch of weight.

 

[SamT1]

What kind of trailer are you pulling that will haul 3 cords of wood and a skid steer? I know the wood density will make a big difference, but man that sounds like a bunch of weight.

It’s just a 20’ lowboy gooseneck. I do have a rear extension for it that adds 2’ but it’s not on now. It has 2 7k axles. I used to haul 4 cords of green wood on it all the time. So I figure if I put the 3 cords in totes they will take up 10’ or so of the trailer up on the neck and leave me 10 for a skid steer on the back. It just can’t be one of the new big skid steers because they are too heavy and too expensive.

 

[Cheesecutter]

I would look for a skidsteer with a minimum lift capacity of 1300 lbs. That should put you in the ballpark as far as lift capacity, otherwise yes, if overloaded it will tip forward in a nosedive.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

It’s just a 20’ lowboy gooseneck. I do have a rear extension for it that adds 2’ but it’s not on now. It has 2 7k axles. I used to haul 4 cords of green wood on it all the time. So I figure if I put the 3 cords in totes they will take up 10’ or so of the trailer up on the neck and leave me 10 for a skid steer on the back. It just can’t be one of the new big skid steers because they are too heavy and too expensive.

Fair enough. I'm new to the gooseneck world. Just bought my first a couple of weeks ago. What kind of wood are you working with?

 

[SamT1]

Fair enough. I'm new to the gooseneck world. Just bought my first a couple of weeks ago. What kind of wood are you working with?

Almost all mesquite for me. I’ll cut some pecan if given the opportunity at a little here and there or someone will pay me to thin an orchard. No oaks here, but I get calls for it a lot. Woodyards on the caprock have told folks for years that mesquite cracks your fireplace to try and shut down the cheaper mesquite coming in and sell their piñon pine and oak that’s too far for the entrepreneurial college kids to haul in. I could go east 50 miles and get into some oak, but travel times probably not worth it unless you took a live bottom and helper to load.

I’d probably be overloaded a little , but they build in 50% slush room. My trailer probably has 150k miles on it. I don’t haul up the cap anymore so most my runs are 60 miles round trip or less. But I need a good load since diesel and time isn’t free.

 

[SamT1]

I would look for a skidsteer with a minimum lift capacity of 1300 lbs. That should put you in the ballpark as far as lift capacity, otherwise yes, if overloaded it will tip forward in a nosedive.

That’s helpful. I may load a tote with some green mesquite and take it up to the scale at work and weigh it so I know exactly what I need. I don’t mind the skid steer being tippy to load it green , especially if I can add some weights. I’d just be SOL if I bought one and it maxed out the hydraulics.

 

[4seasons]

I can’t afford a 10k plus machine, but 5k or less would be great if it has the lift capacity. Kinda looks like the rated capacity is only 50% of what they really do, assume it will tip if you go too much. I think I could fit this one on the back of my trailer and 3 cords of dry wood in totes on the front. Hauling green I wouldn’t be going too far so I’d probably just run it overloaded 10 miles.

I own one of the smallest skid steers you can find (New Holland L425) and it weighs about 3000 lbs. It's working load is 1000 lbs, but it will pick up 2000 lbs if you know how to keep it from tipping over. So assuming that you go small loader and 1/2 cord totes, you could conceivably handle loading and unloading. But if you add up 4000 lbs per cord of wood times 3, you would be loading 12000 lbs on the trailer not to mention the weight of the totes. Now add another 3000 lbs for the skid steer for 15000 lbs on the trailer, which puts you into a tri-axle equipment trailer, or a dual tire tandem axle fifth wheel trailer that would weight close to 5000 lbs.
So for you plan to be feasible you would need both a truck and trailer that could handle 20,000 lbs. I am not saying that is impossible but just questioning if you have done the math.
Also, have you operated a skid steer before? They are really rough on turf and your customers might get mad after you turn their wood storage into a mud pit.
Finally, I caution you on getting what you think is a deal on a skid steer. I bought a older model that was in working order, that only needed small repairs. After the few repairs (new tires, filters, new seat and mount, and welding up the rusted out bucket) I got exactly 5 hours of use before the "freshly rebuilt engine" locked up.
Do some more research on you weight requirements and make sure that any bargain skid steer you find doesn't have major hidden problems.

 

[SamT1]

I own one of the smallest skid steers you can find (New Holland L425) and it weighs about 3000 lbs. It's working load is 1000 lbs, but it will pick up 2000 lbs if you know how to keep it from tipping over. So assuming that you go small loader and 1/2 cord totes, you could conceivably handle loading and unloading. But if you add up 4000 lbs per cord of wood times 3, you would be loading 12000 lbs on the trailer not to mention the weight of the totes. Now add another 3000 lbs for the skid steer for 15000 lbs on the trailer, which puts you into a tri-axle equipment trailer, or a dual tire tandem axle fifth wheel trailer that would weight close to 5000 lbs.
So for you plan to be feasible you would need both a truck and trailer that could handle 20,000 lbs. I am not saying that is impossible but just questioning if you have done the math.
Also, have you operated a skid steer before? They are really rough on turf and your customers might get mad after you turn their wood storage into a mud pit.
Finally, I caution you on getting what you think is a deal on a skid steer. I bought a older model that was in working order, that only needed small repairs. After the few repairs (new tires, filters, new seat and mount, and welding up the rusted out bucket) I got exactly 5 hours of use before the "freshly rebuilt engine" locked up.
Do some more research on you weight requirements and make sure that any bargain skid steer you find doesn't have major hidden problems.

Yea I need to do some good Math with actual weights not a guess. I’m thinking the green wood will be really heavy, but I only have to haul it 7 miles. And could just haul 2 cords if needed. I’ve had this trailer loaded really heavy lots of times so I think it will be ok with dry wood and a 4K or less skid steer.
Pickup can handle any size trailer, but the big tandem dual trailers won’t go where I cut and pull heavy even empty.

I probably won’t be able to leave it in totes at most my customers homes, so I’d mainly be using them as a way to get the wood off the trailer at home and back on to deliver later. Also it would be easy to drive the skid steer right up to the wood in a pasture instead of cutting a pickup and trailer size hole.

I do have a few opportunities to sell it in totes at local feed stores and stuff. Hunters pass through and grab it while they get corn or grab one to take back to the city where it’s expensive. So that’s the main place that would probably put a tote on a persons trailer and send it off forever.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I've never messed with mesquite, but from a quick check, it looks like it's 58# per cubic foot. If a cord is 128 cubic feet, of which 80% is wood (20% air) that puts a cord at a hair under 6000#. I don't know what your gooseneck weighs either, but it'd be pretty unlikely that it's under 5000#. If you can do 16K Gross on the trailer, putting 2k on the truck as tongue weight, you could haul a 4000# skid and 7000# of wood, or a cord and a fraction. At least by my math. but obviously, a scale is gonna give you a better picture, as you said. Also, I don't know if that weight figure was for wet or dry wood, though that is only gonna change things by a thousand or so pounds in either direction at most.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I own one of the smallest skid steers you can find (New Holland L425) and it weighs about 3000 lbs. It's working load is 1000 lbs, but it will pick up 2000 lbs if you know how to keep it from tipping over. So assuming that you go small loader and 1/2 cord totes, you could conceivably handle loading and unloading. But if you add up 4000 lbs per cord of wood times 3, you would be loading 12000 lbs on the trailer not to mention the weight of the totes. Now add another 3000 lbs for the skid steer for 15000 lbs on the trailer, which puts you into a tri-axle equipment trailer, or a dual tire tandem axle fifth wheel trailer that would weight close to 5000 lbs.
So for you plan to be feasible you would need both a truck and trailer that could handle 20,000 lbs. I am not saying that is impossible but just questioning if you have done the math.
Also, have you operated a skid steer before? They are really rough on turf and your customers might get mad after you turn their wood storage into a mud pit.
Finally, I caution you on getting what you think is a deal on a skid steer. I bought a older model that was in working order, that only needed small repairs. After the few repairs (new tires, filters, new seat and mount, and welding up the rusted out bucket) I got exactly 5 hours of use before the "freshly rebuilt engine" locked up.
Do some more research on you weight requirements and make sure that any bargain skid steer you find doesn't have major hidden problems.

Not trying to nit pick at all here, but I think those dual tandem goosenecks are closer to 8k empty. I think a standard deckover gooseneck with 4 tires is in the 6k range.

 

[SamT1]

My trailer only weighs 3800 empty so the title says, but yea the big tandem dual trailers are up to 8,000. I have a cord of dry on it now. I’ll run across the scales before and after I unload it and see. I used to haul 4 green cords to Lubbock once a week on it so I know it will handle 3 dry and a skid loader regardless of the weight.

 

[sirbuildalot]

You guys are recommending a 3000# machine with a 1000# or a 1300# lift capacity to lift 2000# totes of green wood. Seriously?

To pick up a 1/3 cord (depending on tote), I don't see a 3000# skidsteer with a 1300 lb lift doing the trick. If loaded with green wood, as he said originally, we're talking potentially as much as 2000# per tote. Then also consider he has to load them on the trailer once seasoned. Lighter by then I’m sure, but still a 1500# potential load. I think he is going to want a much larger machine, or less full/lighter totes. My kioti tractor weighs about 7000 lbs with the loader and fluid filled tires. It has a 2800 lb lift capacity to full height, and I have a 1/3rd cord box. I don’t think a half the size skid steer is going to lift the totes. Keep in mind the lift capacity is calculated for a bucket, not 3.5’ out on a pallet. I don’t want to see the OP get hurt, ruin his machine, damage a customers property, or have buyers remorse. I’d save up and get a bigger skid steer with good enough hydraulics to run a grapple when not loading totes.