Full Cord on an F-250

[Sal C]

Almost all the 6.2 diesels are still on the road? I looked for one for a couple months and couldn't find one, even one not for sale. Started watching the local govt auction sites for an old 1028. No luck yet. Seems like most of the older chev went to the cash for clunker program. Now they are getting hard to find and the 70's fords in good shape are getting spendy.

Lies!! Everyone knows that the last 6.2 Detroit was trapped and shot in 2006. lol.



70s era Fords are still cheap and rust free on the west coast. I hear that there may even be a few mavorick 6.2s out that way.

But be warned, those 6.2s will split there blocks and throw bits of hot flaming death at you unless you tame them through heavy surgary.

 

[FanOFatherNash]

With side boards, I don't think he'd have a problem getting a full cord in it. As far as 3/4, or any other truck goes..... it probably can haul more than 3/4s of a ton legally and safely. As an example, on the door jamb sticker on my 97 SRW F-350 , it will haul approximately 10,900 lbs (assuming you can load the axles properly). Since it weighs about 7,000 empty, it will haul nearly two tons. Not bad for a 'one ton'. Of course, your mileage may vary.




Edit: Sounds cheap enough anyway..... why not order a cord at that price and see for yourself?

I ve read that tonnage ratting of vehicles is an old fashion term(30's 40's), dating back to when trucks actually were rated for 3/4 , 1 ton ... but todays trucks can haul alot more then 1/2 ton ect....

 

[GrizzyDan]

This really is a heated subject, and gets much worse when people start bashing any of the big 3. (most) of those who are into firewood will do anything they can to stretch their gas, especially in todays economy. I own an 85 HD f250 6.9 4 speed with 1 ton running gear and E rated tires and have no issues filling the bed with mixed species poles, the tailgate down, and cab height. I have no issues slowing down either--yet I don't speed when hauling, and gear down in a pinch. Even so my brakes are more than up to the task as I usually have a trailer in tow (usually a pickup bed with sides and no brakes)

I often dream of finding a dana 70 front axle, double stacking all leaf springs, flat-bedding, and adding dual wheels out back and adding air bags for overkill, yet for now it does the job.

I know others that boast putting 1-1/2 cords in the back of their 1/2 tons, and I've seen an 89 toyota 2wd pickup repeatedly loaded with 3k lbs of gravel, and I have recycled scrap that has squatted my truck more than a cord of dry fir (still not bottoming the suspension at 3700 lbs)

Yet a cord of dry oak weighs inbetween 3000+ for dry black oak and 5000 lbs for dry live oak, and wet live oak can weigh in at 8k lbs. I personally wouldn't load my truck up with a cord of dry live oak, yet others might be willing to make the trip to gain some $$$. There are also other factors to consider, I live in the mountains, on a 2 mile dirt road with 17 or so 2' water-bars, the roads here are windy with steep ascents and descents. I likely wouldn't think twice if I lived in town and only had to drive half a mile to deliver a cord of oak. I likely would do it here if I had overloads on my truck.

Here is a cord weight calculator for different species. Firewood

Keep a tape measure and a calculator handy when he does show up. Remember that a cord is 128 cubic feet of wood stacked, and 180 cf loose. No pickup truck bed except a stepside is going to be a perfect 4' wide, so don't expect the stack to be 4' tall unless the bed is less than 8' long. Use your judgement, and don't be afraid to refuse the load. While he might not be happy about it, he may think twice about shorting people the next time. (A wasted trip in gas really does hurt the wallet)

On a side note, I personally will deliver 1-1/5 to 1-1/4 cords for the 1 cord price. Most people appreciate this and call me back the next year, or when they have enough cash for another load. There are many swindlers out there, and there are a lot of people who are just looking for a way to survive these hard times. Looking for the cheapest deal will usually put you face to face with the former. Find someone that does you right, then stay with them.

Just my .02

 

[mikereynolds]

That's a heavy load

I can haul a full cord of green Oak in my 3/4 ton and do often but I had to make custom leaf springs, seriously strong steel sides, reinforced bed, 1-ton dually conversion with EBC brakes and an exhaust brake and it's still a LOT of weight to haul in the bed. A good quality dump trailer is much easier.

 

[imagineero]

it's really hard to imagine you guys getting full cords into F250's and similar. My truck is a toyota dyna, it's a 7tonne truck (15,400lbsGVM) and weights 3700 kgs (8,140lbs) empty for a 3,300kg payload (7,260lbs). It's running a 327 chev and geared low for around town driving. I haven't used 1st gear in the last 6 months, and it only does about 45-50 on the freeway top speed. The breaks are heavy duty and fully up to the task as you'd expect. The bin on the back is 10m3 or 353cubic feet. You can't overstack it because it's all metal sides, roof and doors at the back. That's less than 3 cords. I've had it stacked absolutely to the gills with tight stacked green oak (cut that day) and I'm not ashamed to say my jaw dropped when I saw my weight on the loadscale. 10,600kg or 23,320lbs. Nearly 8,000lbs over my GVM. I went back and unloaded. I can't see any F250 taking a genuine cord. Especially if it's hardwood and not fully seasoned.

Shaun

 

[cantoo]

I hauled full dry cords in my old chev diesel 1 ton. Homemade steel flatbed, I made plywood sides for it. Sides were 4' high x 6'2" wide and 8' long. The guy I bought my split wood from always stacked every cord and we threw it onto the truck. The wood was about 3' high with a slight mound in the middle when we were done. Wood was cut at 16" and he stacked 3 piles this way. I did this for 4 years until one day I was hauling wood from a neighbours bush and heard this nasty noise as I drove thru a deep pothole. The frame had broke just behind the cab. Just because you can haul it doesn't mean you should. Keep in mind the truck was pretty old and had already earned it's keep. I now haul with a 3/4 ton dodge with the same size flatbed on it, airbags on the back and I stay away from deep potholes.

 

[CRThomas]

Hauling wood

Where I live lot of firewood haulers and a lot of bragging on how much they can haul. The frames are been down in the middle and they tell me it fuel prices that they have to do that. Up the cafe they set and brag about how much they can haul. A half ton pickup was not built to haul 5000 to 6000 lbs. but why miss treat a perfectly good piece of equipment to prove you can haul more than the other guy. I love my equipment and do not over load it. Maybe I am missing something here is I am point me in the right direction. I have a GMC 4500 gross 20000 my GMC 6500 gross 28000. That's all I haul if I need to haul more I hook my trail up it is 15000 gross. My little nissan I put about 1000 lb is all. I do bundled firewood year round when I caught up on firewood I scrap my equipment looks as good to day as the day I bought it and it going to stay that way. Later sorry if I hurt somebody's feelings but that's the way I am. I can afford to take care of my equipment but I can not afford to pay $70.000.00 to $80.000.00 for new equipment. Later

 

[GrizzyDan]

You guys aren't the first, and won't be the last to misunderstand the subject. This is a thread about the dime-a-dozen f250. If we all had 7 ton trucks, or gmc 6500's it would be a totally different story. I could go on about how my m35 is rated for 10k payload IN the bed! but I won't .. We don't have 80 GRAND to throw at a vehicle in the first place. I paid 2k for my f250 and it's paid for itself several dozen times over in the last year alone. It's not the rich guys who are concerned about gas and therefore overload their trucks, it's the small guy who is saving up for that trailer that will make profits better by hauling 2 cords instead of the one they can squeek on their truck, or the guy that is just making enough to keep his family afloat. (not thinking about the fact that he's in real trouble if the truck breaks) The thread isn't based on the concept "Should" because we all know we shouldn't.. The question at hand is "Could" and by all means yes you can--yet it may just be the trip that is the final straw. The sad part is the guy is driving a ticking time bomb for half wages.

 

[CRThomas]

GrizzyDan

You guys aren't the first, and won't be the last to misunderstand the subject. This is a thread about the dime-a-dozen f250. If we all had 7 ton trucks, or gmc 6500's it would be a totally different story. I could go on about how my m35 is rated for 10k payload IN the bed! but I won't .. We don't have 80 GRAND to throw at a vehicle in the first place. I paid 2k for my f250 and it's paid for itself several dozen times over in the last year alone. It's not the rich guys who are concerned about gas and therefore overload their trucks, it's the small guy who is saving up for that trailer that will make profits better by hauling 2 cords instead of the one they can squeek on their truck, or the guy that is just making enough to keep his family afloat. (not thinking about the fact that he's in real trouble if the truck breaks) The thread isn't based on the concept "Should" because we all know we shouldn't.. The question at hand is "Could" and by all means yes you can--yet it may just be the trip that is the final straw. The sad part is the guy is driving a ticking time bomb for half wages.

I have firewood business and are very successful at it. I did the old pickup load nd it didn't work for me because no future in a business that makes $8000.00 a year. I look around at different firewood sellers. I told myself this was not the way to run a business. I got rid of the junk pickups jumped in head over heals now we own every thing. Quit selling bulk and went a different way. Now I buy wood from the other firewood venders for $30.00 a rank and sell it for $500.00 to $600.00 rank with less work no broke equipment. I burn firewood in two fireplaces. I use to buy firewood from a young man I went to pick up the load. A copperhead just missed getting him. My wife was with me and she said they need help get him started in the right way to do firewood. I did and now he drives a new truck and his wife a new car and they just bought a new double wide. I told him what I learned the hard way. Sorry but I am proud of the young man. He was killing him self for $50.00 a load. Later

 

[no tree to big]

I have firewood business and are very successful at it. I did the old pickup load nd it didn't work for me because no future in a business that makes $8000.00 a year. I look around at different firewood sellers. I told myself this was not the way to run a business. I got rid of the junk pickups jumped in head over heals now we own every thing. Quit selling bulk and went a different way. Now I buy wood from the other firewood venders for $30.00 a rank and sell it for $500.00 to $600.00 rank with less work no broke equipment. I burn firewood in two fireplaces. I use to buy firewood from a young man I went to pick up the load. A copperhead just missed getting him. My wife was with me and she said they need help get him started in the right way to do firewood. I did and now he drives a new truck and his wife a new car and they just bought a new double wide. I told him what I learned the hard way. Sorry but I am proud of the young man. He was killing him self for $50.00 a load. Later

first of all I've been meaning to ask, what the hell is a rank of firewood???

something to consider here as well there are two different kinds of firewood sellers the small time and the big time. the small time are the guys who only move say 20 cords tops but are more then happy with moving say 10 because its just a supplement to there normal income or something to keep out of trouble with. if I were to move 10-20 cord a year I can tell you I'm not going out and buying a 2 ton truck or bigger... now if I am selling a lot of wood yes I am going to start stepping up in size and obviously is a must if your selling a lot of wood but if your broke have a source for wood and have a f150/250/350 sitting in the driveway YES YOU CAN FIT 1 CORD OF WOOD IN THE BACK AND DELIVER IT!!!

its just like the how big of a saw do I need to cut down this 40" tree, yes a 40" bar will make life easier but I could do it with a 12" homelite if it can down to it but once again yes it can be done...

 

[GrizzyDan]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing the little guy.. Heck, right now I am the little guy. I'm a displaced Carpenter who went to school for Welding and can't find work in either, so now I'm recycling cars and buying, finding, bartering for straight steel to build the tools I need to make firewood processing faster. I haul a cord at a time with my f250 and a pickup trailer, half cord in each. I cannot yet afford to get my m35 on the road, nor buy a dump trailer. I have people holding onto items for me once I can afford them, one being a large PUD pole truck which I plan to use for log loading. My neighbor works for a logging company and has me working toward getting set up to follow logging crews around and have access to an unlimited amount of wood unfit for milling. I own 40 acres of timber and I am using this to get my business rolling. My bare minimum plans this year is to process 100 cords. My processor is not yet built, but as I see it, I can fall, skid, buck, and split 2 cords a day 5-6 days a week with my tractor and splitter. It may be a long shot, but it's all I have right now when every job turns me down and scrap cars are getting harder and harder to find.

Prices of firewood over here is roughly 170 per cord of pine/fir, fir being the better seller, and oak/madrone sells anywhere from 200-350 depending on the time of year. There is money to be made if one can cinch his belt tight and gather like a squirrel on steroids. Someday I'll be able to afford to finish my processor and multiply my capabilities, yet this is the only place I can see starting from.

I don't have the money to invest in playing the middle man as of now, and nowhere around here can I buy a rank for 30 bux.. and selling it for that much requires driving 700 miles to LA, and to make it worth the gas I would have to have a semi truck/trailer.

My profits will be much more than $50 a load, my worry is that I'll go broke waiting for wood to season. I already have plans for a kiln in the works.. yet any time I put in the garage is cordage not being put on the ground.

 

[Rockland Farm]

first of all I've been meaning to ask, what the hell is a rank of firewood???

something to consider here as well there are two different kinds of firewood sellers the small time and the big time. the small time are the guys who only move say 20 cords tops but are more then happy with moving say 10 because its just a supplement to there normal income or something to keep out of trouble with. if I were to move 10-20 cord a year I can tell you I'm not going out and buying a 2 ton truck or bigger... now if I am selling a lot of wood yes I am going to start stepping up in size and obviously is a must if your selling a lot of wood but if your broke have a source for wood and have a f150/250/350 sitting in the driveway YES YOU CAN FIT 1 CORD OF WOOD IN THE BACK AND DELIVER IT!!!

its just like the how big of a saw do I need to cut down this 40" tree, yes a 40" bar will make life easier but I could do it with a 12" homelite if it can down to it but once again yes it can be done...

Exactly. Well said . But I am still not going to put a cord on my F150. I'll make two trips because I don't have to go far .

 

[CRThomas]

What is a rank

A rank is what we use in my area it is 8 ft x 4 ft x 16 inchs most people in the city don't have space for a cord. So bulk firewood sellers sell a pickup truck full is about a third of a cord. The other half buy a half rank which is 4 ft x 4 ft x 16 inchs. I only sell bundled firewood $ 7.00 a bundle delivered mini. 10 bundles. Later

 

[CRThomas]

Answer back

My reasoning is my wife ask me why do these firewood people not want do do any better I said they proble don't have the Money or some reason. Then she reminded me when we eat pop corn for supper because that's all we had. The car didn't have a air that worked and not money to fix it. I got people in my area that's been doing it for 30 years the same way never try to improve. If I tried there way I would be back eating pop corn agin. I proble give more wood away than I sell. I just push several truck loads of wood chunks in a hole for fill. I have had nobody even come by to look at it. Sorry one fellow come by and wanted to know if I would haul him couple truck loads to his house he lived 34 miles a way I was to do this for free. Yes if you are going to do a lot of firewood a 20 foot ship container with a stove welded on the back you can dry green wood in a short time nd use your splitter waste for fuel it works because I do it and it works. I can two cords of Ash every 48 hours. I get a lot of Maple I can't sell it so it goes over the hill as fill. Lot of Poplar. Fill also . Oak I split and stack in a pile if some wants to buy it and load it there sell $20.00 a load. I have already made my money removing the tree. Some times on my way back from the scrap yard I buy a load of coal it will make the back of that kiln turn red. I am not a hard rock person I have trouble under standing a lot of people. I don't know of the times firewood people ask on here how big is a cord of wood. There is a fellow sell a cord of wood at a gas station. I stop by and measured it 3 ft x 4 ft x 20 inchs. Got to go later

 

[GrizzyDan]

I totally spaced the packaged market. It's true that you can double or triple your profit per cord, and I can see how there would be a market here for that with all the tourism for camping in my area with the dozens of resorts, marinas, camping areas, and small stores, one could have at least 10 bags out to each and every one of them. There used to be a local kindling wholesaler, yet i havn't seen packaged wood at the local stores for years. This might be my queue, and give me something to do on days that I want to relax.

I've researched a lot on packaged wood, I've watched every video on youtube that has to do with processing, and almost everything to do with firewood. I know I'm not even on the subject of this thread, yet I'll search more through these forums and plan a viable approach.

I have a couple of big tanks, 500 gallon+ thick wall no idea what they were used for but I'm sure it wasn't for fuel, one is 4' dia and 5-6' long I plan to use for my kiln, build a shed out of roofing material and iron and install this tank most of the way in there, fed from the outside, with a 2nd tank to route the exhaust fumes to maximize heat.. big fans to move the hot air, and drainage for the moisture.. this unit should hold half a cord at a time and burn for several days. If I can just get the temp up to 220 degrees consistantly according to information online it should take 2-3 days to have seasoned wood.

And yes, all the wood that is unfit for sale will be used to cure what is..

Next thing I need is one of those superpilke limb and top wood processors to efficiently make use of the slash I am piling up and burning.. wasted btu's

 

[CRThomas]

To Grizzlydan

I totally spaced the packaged market. It's true that you can double or triple your profit per cord, and I can see how there would be a market here for that with all the tourism for camping in my area with the dozens of resorts, marinas, camping areas, and small stores, one could have at least 10 bags out to each and every one of them. There used to be a local kindling wholesaler, yet i havn't seen packaged wood at the local stores for years. This might be my queue, and give me something to do on days that I want to relax.

I've researched a lot on packaged wood, I've watched every video on youtube that has to do with processing, and almost everything to do with firewood. I know I'm not even on the subject of this thread, yet I'll search more through these forums and plan a viable approach.

I have a couple of big tanks, 500 gallon+ thick wall no idea what they were used for but I'm sure it wasn't for fuel, one is 4' dia and 5-6' long I plan to use for my kiln, build a shed out of roofing material and iron and install this tank most of the way in there, fed from the outside,with a 2nd tank to route the exhaust fumes to maximize heat.. big fans to move the hot air, and drainage for the moisture.. this unit should hold half a cord at a time and burn for several days. If I can just get the temp up to 220 degrees consistantly according to information online it should take 2-3 days to have seasoned wood.

And yes, all the wood that is unfit for sale will be used to cure what is..

Next thing I need is one of those superpilke limb and top wood processors to efficiently make use of the slash I am piling up and burning.. wasted btu's[/ This how I do it and it's successful for for fireplace wood I wrap only Ash let's go to the Ash I can buy a rank of green Ash get it by noon I buy in 16 inch chunks I split it put it in my kiln next day in the wood is 12 to 14 percent out side 8 percent I get 90 bundles out of a rank because I buy in chunks a truck load I get a rank and a half. To camp ground I just split it how ever long it is with no Ash that's for my money people. I sell about as much in the summer as the winter. It can be a 100 degrees people want a camp fire. For camp fire bundles it doesn't have to be pretty. Xmas I wrap in Xmas paper. Halloween spooky paper. I got customers that want there name on there wood that sounds like bull but at $9.00 dollars a bundle mini of 10 delivered. Some time I have to take the garbage out as I go but for that kind of money I am the nicest person you ever met. Later.

 

[Rockland Farm]

A rank is what we use in my area it is 8 ft x 4 ft x 16 inchs most people in the city don't have space for a cord. So bulk firewood sellers sell a pickup truck full is about a third of a cord. The other half buy a half rank which is 4 ft x 4 ft x 16 inchs. I only sell bundled firewood $ 7.00 a bundle delivered mini. 10 bundles. Later

So I guess a rank is a third of a cord !

 

[GrizzyDan]

Yeah, a rank would be a facecord. We don't have ash over here, most bundles look like fir or pine with maybe a stick of oak. Many people like to have a crackling fire, adds to the ambiance. Most people that live up here either have someone to get firewood for them, or they aren't willing to pay anything for it, or they run propane so they don't have to deal with it. I deal mostly with those in the city and those who are new to the area. I'm never going to give up bulk, it keeps me fit, and seeing as how it's 20+ miles to one town, and 35+ to the city, I won't go anywhere for less than $100. I'll give bundles a shot this year, but I can't see it doing me any good unless I can get my foot in the door with the resorts, and perhaps send retired father down to the highway to catch the tourists as they drive over the mountain. I've read a few of the discussions on here about this topic. One guy boasts 45 bundle sales off the back of his pickup as his best day. That sounds better than driving around to every store for wholesale prices and 5 bundles each..

 

[fields_mj]

it's really hard to imagine you guys getting full cords into F250's and similar. My truck is a toyota dyna, it's a 7tonne truck (15,400lbsGVM) and weights 3700 kgs (8,140lbs) empty for a 3,300kg payload (7,260lbs). It's running a 327 chev and geared low for around town driving. I haven't used 1st gear in the last 6 months, and it only does about 45-50 on the freeway top speed. The breaks are heavy duty and fully up to the task as you'd expect. The bin on the back is 10m3 or 353cubic feet. You can't overstack it because it's all metal sides, roof and doors at the back. That's less than 3 cords. I've had it stacked absolutely to the gills with tight stacked green oak (cut that day) and I'm not ashamed to say my jaw dropped when I saw my weight on the loadscale. 10,600kg or 23,320lbs. Nearly 8,000lbs over my GVM. I went back and unloaded. I can't see any F250 taking a genuine cord. Especially if it's hardwood and not fully seasoned.

Shaun

My truck weighs approx 7K empty. The pics that I posted early on in this thread are of a load of white oak that was freshly cut from tops that were dropped in late July and early Augest of last year, so they were plenty green. I don't sell firewood. If I did, I would own different equipment. I only heat my own house with it, so my truck is sufficient. A load of green hardwood is a pretty heavy load for it, and I wouldn't want to go any heavier than that. For me it's not about the cost of the equipment, it's about being able to get the equipment back to the wood, and being able to make the most of the days that I get to go out and cut (instead of working on the house, yard, vehicles, or just taking care of the kids).
I can only afford one vehicle for me, so it has to haul my firewood, haul the deer that I harvest, get me too and from work, and get the kids home from the baby sitters. As a perk, it's nice that it can haul a travel trailer if we can ever afford a good used one. I gave $4K for the truck in '09 after returning from a 6 week layoff because my old half ton wasn't going to make it through the winter. I've since put about $2K into repairs including all new bearings, seals, and gears in both the front and rear end. I've put over 30K on the clock, and plan on getting another 150~200K out of it. In my book that's money well spent.

 

[CRThomas]

Answer to

Yeah, a rank would be a facecord. We don't have ash over here, most bundles look like fir or pine with maybe a stick of oak. Many people like to have a crackling fire, adds to the ambiance. Most people that live up here either have someone to get firewood for them, or they aren't willing to pay anything for it, or they run propane so they don't have to deal with it. I deal mostly with those in the city and those who are new to the area. I'm never going to give up bulk, it keeps me fit, and seeing as how it's 20+ miles to one town, and 35+ to the city, I won't go anywhere for less than $100. I'll give bundles a shot this year, but I can't see it doing me any good unless I can get my foot in the door with the resorts, and perhaps send retired father down to the highway to catch the tourists as they drive over the mountain. I've read a few of the discussions on here about this topic. One guy boasts 45 bundle sales off the back of his pickup as his best day. That sounds better than driving around to every store for wholesale prices and 5 bundles each..

i went to one camp ground with 400 bundles sold 340 in one day at $5.00 a piece. I have those days every once in a while. Last August camp ground call you got any bundled firewood yes I do he said he needed a100 bundles at $5.00 a piece. Some days I don't sell any later