Wrong. You can't put wood into a smaller space than nature already did. The smaller you split, the more room it takes. Figure an incrase of about 10% when splitting it. If buying wood, you get more actual wood per cord in unsplit rounds.
Harry K
Est. how much wood in a 6-1/2 ft F150
- Thread starter Coldfront
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
Wrong. You can't put wood into a smaller space than nature already did. The smaller you split, the more room it takes. Figure an incrase of about 10% when splitting it. If buying wood, you get more actual wood per cord in unsplit rounds.
Harry K
Up to last year I busted them down to "loadable" size with wedge/sledge/maul. Wussed out and started noodling them to size. I'm not "getting old" any more, I have to admit I _am_ old (79). Can't go the way I used to anymore.
Harry K
There used to be a 'sticky' up top that both explained it and had demonstrations to prove it is true. Seems in the changeover the stickies have disappeared.
Harry K
Split and tossed level with bed rails a little less than a 1/3 cord, stacked tight level with bed rails 1/3 cord + a bit Mounded it up to cab roof height just shy of a 1/2 cord( with out side boards). Never ran side boards so can't estimate that. Stacking rounds to cab height I can get almost a cord in it when split and stacked at home. That was a 99 f150 extra cab set up for a slide in camper so springs were higher load factor, I was also using E rated tires. Can't go that far with c or d rated paws. I have an 06 heavy f250 extra cab at present a pallet of salt (2450 lbs) in that only settles that back end about 4" from empty again E rated tires. Its a stiff ride when empty though.
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
Years ago my son came up with an idea for rolling rounds to the truck and pulling them up a ramp. Using the steel handles from old lawn mowers he constructed a yoke that could be loosely screwed to the center of either side of the round with a lag screw, turning the round into a wheel with a handle bar tongue. He and his sister could move a lot of wood that way, and with a ratchet in his pocket spent very little time installing and removing the lag screw axels.
Locust Cutter
Sawing for Sanity
That is pure Genius! I like it and have a few dead mowers that I'm going to rob now... Thanks for sharing that!
zogger
Tree Freak
If you have access to the wood it is better to put the money into equipment
BUT...if you want to start buying truck loads, just get into processing at home and selling off some, get ahead that way. You should be able to 2 for 1 keep compounding what you get once the first load is sold off. Stop going out and cutting your own and hauling it back, just buck and split right where you are. Only do deliveries then. You should be able to make some coin, enough to cover costs, plus get years ahead for your own use.
Big_Al
ArboristSite Guru
Haven't done it as long as some on here but this is my experience. If I cut & stack afull load of big rounds 28-36" in my truck, then take it home , split it & reload truck. It always comes up not as full, I figured it was cause you have such big gaps between rounds & rounds and truck bed. When it's split I can fill in all the gaps.
Ironworker
Addicted to ArboristSite
Not only is it costing you money in gas and wear and tear on your vehicle, but you also have to take into consideration, what's your time worth. I have access to 70 acres of wood plus what neighbors and friends offer, but it is a lot easier to just have it delivered and cut at my leisure.
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
It is nice having it delivered right along side my garage under my street light, I can work on it at night. I don't mind going and getting the free stuff once in a while, but to get a year ahead that is a lot of work.
dougs
ArboristSite Lurker
I haul firewood in my ranger. 6 ft long bed x 4-5 ft wide x 3 ft deep. Unsplit. Unloaded and split out is usually around 1/2 a cord. Your 1/2 ton should be 1/2 a cord or more, assuming you don't have toolboxes, gas cans, water tanks, etc. In there.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
My truck is a full size '84 K10 8ft box but it has a tool box in the back that takes up about 20" of my bed so I'm really using about 6 ft of my bed. Cut, split, packed and stacked to the roof I can fit 2 face cord on it safely, that's about 85 cube ft of wood.
The most I've ever fit was about just shy of 100 cube ft (2 rows 8' long, 4' tall, 18-20" long chunks). That was pushing the truck/tires (C rated) a little too much but I was paying by the truck load so, challenge accepted. So In general I always figure on carrying 2/3's of a cord. Anyone that says they can fit more than 100 cube ft is either using side racks or is BSing.
The most I've ever fit was about just shy of 100 cube ft (2 rows 8' long, 4' tall, 18-20" long chunks). That was pushing the truck/tires (C rated) a little too much but I was paying by the truck load so, challenge accepted. So In general I always figure on carrying 2/3's of a cord. Anyone that says they can fit more than 100 cube ft is either using side racks or is BSing.
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
Going by the weight when I pack the bed full of huge oak rounds stacked 2 high my tires were squatting bad and the box was sitting very low in the back. When I fill it with split wood I never saw it sit that low. I have to think I had more wood in there with the whole rounds?
Are you comparing green rounds to seasoned wood? It will lose a lot of weight once seasoned and still take up the same volume...
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
It's very simple to show, but most people won't check it out. They just keep spouting their uneducated opinions. Rounds stacked the way I put them in the truck have very little space between them, except for the bottom there are no large empty spaces.
Stack up a 4 X 8 between posts leaving the maximum spaces between the rounds, that means each round directly above the one below, then split into normal firewood sized pieces and restack as tightly as possible. Every time I have convinced someone to do this the split restacked wood would not fit into the same confined space.
No need to get but hurt about it and start talking down to me. Iif it was so much better everyone would be doing it wouldnt they? And it would be documented some where to prove how foolish we are by stacking splits.
Challenge accepted. Next tree I cut up I will prove you wrong. Why dont you try to prove yourself right?
opcorn:
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
No, If I am cutting it and split
No, If I am cutting it and splitting it, it is the same wood, not seasoned. When hauling the big rounds I was stuffing the spaces between rounds with some split wood, I had to split some of it just to lift it into the truck bed. This debate will never end. I guess it is all about the unused air space, because if you take a round that will just fit inside a 5 gallon bucket, and split it into 4 pieces, you will never get it to fit inside that 5 gallon bucket again.
No, If I am cutting it and splitting it, it is the same wood, not seasoned. When hauling the big rounds I was stuffing the spaces between rounds with some split wood, I had to split some of it just to lift it into the truck bed. This debate will never end. I guess it is all about the unused air space, because if you take a round that will just fit inside a 5 gallon bucket, and split it into 4 pieces, you will never get it to fit inside that 5 gallon bucket again.
I dont disagree with what your said, it makes even more sense to add splits to the air gaps. However, I dont agree with what woodchuck stated. We can debated it all day and its just opinions until someone proves it.
Coldfront
Addicted to ArboristSite
The reason most haul spit wood instead of rounds is 1. because it is easier to lift and load. 2. you are handling the wood one less time.
What would you rather do cut the wood laying on the ground, split it, load it into your truck, then unload and stack it where you want it. Or cut the wood, load it into your truck in rounds, then unload the truck split it, load it back into the truck and haul and stack where you want it.?
What would you rather do cut the wood laying on the ground, split it, load it into your truck, then unload and stack it where you want it. Or cut the wood, load it into your truck in rounds, then unload the truck split it, load it back into the truck and haul and stack where you want it.?
