It's wood time!!

[TJ-Bill]

Well it just keeps getting better!! Went out last Friday night to grab a 1/2 ton load, I couldn't even get the truck near the wood. The wood is at the top of a hill with basically a skidder trail leading to it, with all the rain we've had my ole 2WD chev couldn't even make it up the 1st small hill let alone all the way up. Lucky I was not alone and my bud had his 4wd Ranger. So we loaded he's truck up twice and filled mine. SO.. so much for the idea of bringing the trailer up there. I thought about hauling the trailer up and down with the jeep but the last thing I need is to get stuck up there with the Jeep and a 16' trailer loaded up with wood. So next week I'll be bring my trauck and trailer and a friends 4wd 1/2 ton, I'll leave my truck and trailer at the rood and use the 4wd to make the journey up the hill..

On the plus side I was happy with the load we put in the back of the Chev, (not so happy that the tailgate popped off) I got about 2/3 of a cord. I'll post pictures as soon as the phone guy comes and fixes my phone and internet..

 

[Zodiac45]

Good looking wood shed TJB,

Poles and pallets! I like it! As far as gettin the wood home, I prefer too make lighter and maybe more loads versus putting too much weight on the old Ranger.

 

[TJ-Bill]

Thanks.. Not pallets though, I tried that and they took up to much room due to the uneven ground. Thats some rough cut Cedar that was kicking around the house.. figured it was for a good cause!! I know what you mean about lighter loads, but my wood is 40 Km away, with the price of gas I'd like to get it home in as few trips as possible.

Here's a pic of the wrinkle Truck loaded up..

 

[Outdoorsman]

If I were you I'd take a day to paint the wood shed black, will not make a huge difference but you need ever bit of dry'n you can get at this point in time.

Also, the shorter the lengths you cut the wood to the faster it will dry down.

With your situation I'd cut real short 12" or 15" at most.

If you can get it done by mid Aug. it won't be too bad when you need it in Jan.

 

[TJ-Bill]

Well the wife and I ventured out today ot see if we could get some wood.. We've had about 2 weeks or so of rain rain rain, so rain or shine today I was getting wood..

Here's the trailer loaded up with a 1/2 load in the back.

My new rails held up. I think I'll add some tie-ins from rail to rail for heavier loads.

Here's our load for the day. All together we got 4 -8' 1/2 ton boxes piled nice and round, So I'm guessing alittle over 2 cord.

Had a scare on the way back. Trailer went into a crazy wobble, thought I was going to lose the load. The tires on one side were low, would that cause a wobble like that? My compressor crapped out on me and I was going to air up on the way but the gas station had no compressor. 1 side both tires we at 50psi, the other 1 was at 40psi the other 25psi

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Had a scare on the way back. Trailer went into a crazy wobble, thought I was going to lose the load. The tires on one side were low, would that cause a wobble like that? My compressor crapped out on me and I was going to air up on the way but the gas station had no compressor. 1 side both tires we at 50psi, the other 1 was at 40psi the other 25psi

When the trailer started to take control of the truck, I dont envy you a bit trying to get that shut down, .

While I was in HS we used a hay trailer built very similarly to what you have. It works flawlessly for 135 small squares behind a 3/4 ton or 1 ton PU . But a 1/2 ton PU would develope the wobble you mentioned. Where the "tail wags the dog". With 25 bales on the 1/2 ton and 100 or so on the trailer it was smooth as silk. All we ever figured out was that the stiffer suspension kept the bigger truck from rocking with a heavy load on the trailer. Compressing the 1/2 tons suspension with 1800 pounds in the back kept it from getting out of hand. It also put more weight on the front suspension giving the steeering axle more control when things get out of kelter. This helps keep a more even profile on the truck.

Some of those axles had electric brakes. Check it to see, if it does have a controller installed. That will help keep the beast tamed.

 

[TJ-Bill]

When the trailer started to take control of the truck, I dont envy you a bit trying to get that shut down, .

While I was in HS we used a hay trailer built very similarly to what you have. It works flawlessly for 135 small squares behind a 3/4 ton or 1 ton PU . But a 1/2 ton PU would develope the wobble you mentioned. Where the "tail wags the dog". With 25 bales on the 1/2 ton and 100 or so on the trailer it was smooth as silk. All we ever figured out was that the stiffer suspension kept the bigger truck from rocking with a heavy load on the trailer. Compressing the 1/2 tons suspension with 1800 pounds in the back kept it from getting out of hand. It also put more weight on the front suspension giving the steeering axle more control when things get out of kelter. This helps keep a more even profile on the truck.

Some of those axles had electric brakes. Check it to see, if it does have a controller installed. That will help keep the beast tamed.

Funny thing is that I'm actually supposed to go get hay nex weekend. My buddy owns a spring shop so I'm going to bring it up there and they can check to make sure everything is square. It doesn't have any brakes but it will sometime in the future , I can get electric brakes for $50 a wheel and I already have the contoller from our horse trailer. I don't think in was the supension, I've installed another 1/2" leaf in the rear, it's a 2wd that sits as high as a 4wd.

I know if I would have had a load of hay on there I'd still be picking it up.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Funny thing is that I'm actually supposed to go get hay nex weekend. My buddy owns a spring shop so I'm going to bring it up there and they can check to make sure everything is square. It doesn't have any brakes but it will sometime in the future , I can get electric brakes for $50 a wheel and I already have the contoller from our horse trailer. I don't think in was the supension, I've installed another 1/2" leaf in the rear, it's a 2wd that sits as high as a 4wd.

I know if I would have had a load of hay on there I'd still be picking it up.

I think our problem had to do with the deck height of the trailer. It had a high center of gravity. The 3/4 ton and 1 ton dually had a wider stance on the ground for better control. If I used mine for any top heavy load, hay, another truck/car or tractor, on that trailer it was roaded under 40 MPH. If it was dirt or gravel on there my half ton was up for it. Good highway speeds werent a problem. Stopping ? well, lets say brakes were used to keep from over revving the engine. I just didnt crowd it trying to get stopped.

Maybe a rear anti-sway bar or heavier one on the truck is warranted.

To get the trailers center of gravity down you can shorten the equalizer shackles and mount the swing shackles higher on the frame instead of shortening them. One thing to be sure of too is that the swinging shacle is just past vertical under a full load. Might take some figuring or heavy work to find out how far the spring straightens out when fully loaded to know where to mount the fixed shackle and how long the other one needs to be. The homebuilt trailers I have seen, seem to have them at vertical when empty.

You could turn the axles over and mount them on top of the leaf spring instead of under them. This drops it some and it does look like you have the clearance.

Are you using a reciever hitch thats sticks out further than the rear bumper? This gives the trailer more leverage against the steering axles as things go pearshaped on you. Getting the ball hitch on your tow vehicle closer to the rear axle helps.

OK , last idea here. Convert both to a goose neck hitch. Goose necks and fifthwheels pull crazy amounts of weight. When they go to stop the weight shifts forward. It goes directly on the truck, either right over the rear axle or slightly ahead of it. Instead of the weight gong on the bumper or rear of the frame, which lifts the front end, it shifts evenly to both axles of the tow vehicle.

I hate the thought of trying to get one more bail up to the top of a stack while sitting on the side of the road. Good luck and go easy with it !

 

[dolmen]

+ all the above, plus the axles being positioned in a very central position mean your trailer will be pivoting over the axles. Moving the axles more off centre towards the rear will help a lot, at least it looks like part of the problem from the pics.

Cheers

 

[logbutcher]

Not to worry about winter's cut drying for the next season's burn. Most here have done it that way for generations: drop the trees in winter--no bugs, cool working, hard ground, pile the butts/bucked up near the woodsheds, split and stack over the summer/early fall. Oak butts are quartered (make wood fries) for drying and weight, slit the birch bark to the wood ( it tends to pooch or rot fast otherwise ), ashes and maples get nothing, the softwoods for the shoulder times or for the workshop and hot tub get nothing. Some piles that don't fit into the open woodshed stay stacked out in the sun and rain drying fine for the first heating. There's no hissing or unseasoned logs.
If you got the time then you can get the firewood for years' ahead, but for most it is a 12 month cycle. Works fine.

 

[woodfarmer]

sway is usually caused by too much weight in the load, not enough tongue weight, you should at the very least have a weight distributing hitch and brakes on both axles then you may need to weigh the load as you may find your over the trucks gvw

 

[TJ-Bill]

I think our problem had to do with the deck height of the trailer. It had a high center of gravity. The 3/4 ton and 1 ton dually had a wider stance on the ground for better control. If I used mine for any top heavy load, hay, another truck/car or tractor, on that trailer it was roaded under 40 MPH. If it was dirt or gravel on there my half ton was up for it. Good highway speeds werent a problem. Stopping ? well, lets say brakes were used to keep from over revving the engine. I just didnt crowd it trying to get stopped.

Maybe a rear anti-sway bar or heavier one on the truck is warranted.

To get the trailers center of gravity down you can shorten the equalizer shackles and mount the swing shackles higher on the frame instead of shortening them. One thing to be sure of too is that the swinging shacle is just past vertical under a full load. Might take some figuring or heavy work to find out how far the spring straightens out when fully loaded to know where to mount the fixed shackle and how long the other one needs to be. The homebuilt trailers I have seen, seem to have them at vertical when empty.

You could turn the axles over and mount them on top of the leaf spring instead of under them. This drops it some and it does look like you have the clearance.

Are you using a reciever hitch thats sticks out further than the rear bumper? This gives the trailer more leverage against the steering axles as things go pearshaped on you. Getting the ball hitch on your tow vehicle closer to the rear axle helps.

OK , last idea here. Convert both to a goose neck hitch. Goose necks and fifthwheels pull crazy amounts of weight. When they go to stop the weight shifts forward. It goes directly on the truck, either right over the rear axle or slightly ahead of it. Instead of the weight gong on the bumper or rear of the frame, which lifts the front end, it shifts evenly to both axles of the tow vehicle.

I hate the thought of trying to get one more bail up to the top of a stack while sitting on the side of the road. Good luck and go easy with it !

Thanks for the info,

Girl friends dad has a sway bar system that he's not using anymore so I might go look at that..

I might look at lowering the CG of the trailier, I don't need it to be as high as it is, really I'd like it lower. I have a buddy that runs a spring shop, I'm going to bring it to him so he can make sure everything is square and maybe we'll look at doing a spring under. He checked it over when I 1st got the trailer, touched up some of the hanger welds, reemed everything out and put 9/16" hardware in and added another leaf to each pack. Only thing he suggested was he electric brakes. As for the equalizer, they are pretty small as it is but I'll see what he says.
Also I don't have a swing shackle all the shackles/hangers are welded directly to the frame. I can take some pics if it would help.
My reciever is a standard towing reciever and the ball only sticks out abit from the bumper, I'd say it's pretty standard.

I like the idea about the goose neck but it's not in the budget and I think I'd rather buy a new truck before I went through all of that.

What about air-bags? they're not to bad in price,

All I know is I'm going to get hay tomorrow and it's about 45min away.. It's going to be a long slow drive!!

After looking at my trailer I think I was mistaken when I said I had no shackles I do have 2 on the equalizer bar, were those the ones you were talking about. Also I just noticed tonight that my trailer is balanced. I un-hooked it from the truck, pushed it back and let it go it just bobbed and balanced itself without the jack in the front touching the ground..??

 

[TJ-Bill]

On a happier I'm almost doen my wood.. I finished splitting the 4.5 cord I got tonight and I have 1 more cord coming but thankfully it's already split. Should fill the ole wood shed up and hopefully start my stock pile for next year.. here's a few pics.

I have since split another load. Post some pics once it's full

 

[TJ-Bill]

Almost done.. got 4.5 cord split and piled just have one more cord coming already split that will need to be piled. can' wait to get the shed filled. After that all Ihave to do is pile the small stuff and go get my cedar from the field for kidling.

 

[cantoo]

TJ-Bill, your sway problem is because of the position on your axles. They are too close to center for the wood you are loading. You need to move them back some. Check trailer building web sites for some idea of position you need. For the short term you can pile more wood to the front of the trailer than the rear. There should be tongue weight when it's full, not enough to bottom out your truck springs but enough to keep the trailer from swaying. I have built a few trailers in my spare time and I position my axles in relation to the type of load the trailer is used for.

 

[bushinspector]

Yep I would agree with cantoo. I have carried a skid steer in back of my dump trailer and if you move more weight to the tongue it will pull it better. Just be carefull that it is not too much. Brakes on the trailer will also help solve the problem

 

[turnkey4099]

TJ-Bill, your sway problem is because of the position on your axles. They are too close to center for the wood you are loading. You need to move them back some. Check trailer building web sites for some idea of position you need. For the short term you can pile more wood to the front of the trailer than the rear. There should be tongue weight when it's full, not enough to bottom out your truck springs but enough to keep the trailer from swaying. I have built a few trailers in my spare time and I position my axles in relation to the type of load the trailer is used for.

Yep. I almost lost a U-haul and car once going N on I5 and then E on I84 at Portland. Coming down the hill northbound, it started to fishtale. I rode it out by gradually speeding up but the seat covers were well bitten by the time that corner came up. Fault was loading the U-haul heavy in the rear.

Harry K

 

[TJ-Bill]

Something else that might be a cause, I talked to my buddy that worked on my trailer and he said his guys might have screwed up. I checked and they did they tightened every bolt with an impact freezing the suspension. I noticed the front tires were getting hot and that the rear seemed to barely touch when I backed the trailer up the other day. Turns out the bolts are way to tight which isn't allowing the suspension to move at all!!!

 

[cantoo]

Most axle bolts have a shoulder on them so that they can't be overtightened. Might want to make sure they are the correct bolts. There will be a spline on the bolt to stop it from turning when tightening them. Heavier better grade of bolt than a regular bolt. I have 18 trailers and use the right one for the load when needed. Gotta balance the load.

ps, time to look for a new trailer guy.

 

[TJ-Bill]

They removed the 1/2" shouldered bolts and replaced them with larger 9/16" grade 8 bolts. He's a friend that has a spring shop that does mainly heavy equipment, truck and trailers. As soon as I told him what was going on he realized what had happened. We're just going to back the nuts off and tack them to the bolt.