wood hauling stock trailer

[blue924.9]

hey all am posting this here to get some advice and input. basically to save alot of reading what i am wanting to do is buy a used (even beat down) stock trailer in around the 16 foot long range tandem axle for sure, either gooseneck or bumper hitch. After that is purchased i would go over the whole thing and fix or replace what is broken or wore down. while at the same time adding frame reinforcement and maybe a third axle for additional safety net. after this is done we will haul wood to fill the wood shed until the shed is full, after that we will load the trailer to the gills for the last trip, and park it right next to the house where the wood bin is. this would eliminate the need to cart the wood 200 yards with a wheelbarrow in the snow (even though i never shy away from labor this purely sucks lol) i would add jacks to each corner of the trailer to take the weight off it while it is just sitting there full to the gills of wood so to relieve the suspension bearings and axles/tires. just wondering what you all think of that as i googled it and didnt come up with much. keep in mind i would not dangerously over load the trailer with the third axle rather it would just spread the load of sorts.

thanks

 

[KiwiBro]

Seems like not being road-legal is fine in your scenario, so it certainly sounds like a plan. I'm currently looking at converting one or two farm round-bale feed-out wagons into the swiss army knife of wood-hack trailers;

• tractor or truck towable
• tilt/dump
• flat deck/log bunks/bulk load configurations and reasonably easy to swap between them so can go from carting logs off road without wrecking a farmers fields with skid trails, to carting and dumping split firewood or rounds, to conveying split firewood into bulk truck and trailer units.
  
• high capacity firewood conveyor (deck folds out or conveyor gets pinned on and gets tilted to suit height needed). It needs to handle 2/3rds of a cord being dumped on it and clear that from the hopper every minute).

 

[Big_Al]

Sounds like a lot of work & money, might be better just buying the trailer you want to start with.

 

[woodchuck357]

Stock trailers I have experience with aren't built strong enough for making into heavy wood haulers.

 

[blue924.9]

i should have clarified, being road legal is necessary for part of the hualing the trailer would see, and for that part i would only fill the trailer roughly 1/2 way in order to maintain legality and stay within the limits of the trailer from the factory even with beefing it up. however the part where being legal is not required is where this would come into play as it would sit stacked to the gills next to the wood bin where we restock it daily and driving around the yard to refill when the trailer is emptied, where an additional axle would help spread the load.

also stock trailers around here and that i have experience with are often overbuilt compared to car trailer of similar length, though i am not sure they would hold up to hauling a full full load of wet stuff down the road, i am sure they would be fine stacked to the top with dry seasoned wood driving around the yard though i could be mistaken on that.

 

[Gologit]

If you can do all the work yourself it might be a good deal. If you have to pay to have the welding, extra floor bracing, and new wood for the flooring done you'd be better off buying something that is already beefed up. If a stock trailer has any age on it look for corrosion around the ends of the stringers and watch for rotten floor wood. Years of urine soaking can wreck metal and wood.
The third axle would have to be lined up perfectly with the other two or you're going to have major tire wear and bearing wear problems. I think I'd rather strengthen the suspension and go with bigger wheels and tires rather than the hassle of a third axle.

 

[KiwiBro]

Flat deck truck trailer with the front axle turntable perhaps?

 

[tla100]

Flat deck truck trailer with the front axle turntable perhaps?

Now that might the cat's meow. But....brakes would most likely be air, so you would need compressor. Also length wise would come into play. Worse comes to worse, throw a slow moving vehicle sign on it and your good to go, I would add lights to keep from getting a-holed. Height also would not be too handy for what he wants.

Although I think a dump trailer is still your best bet, but pricey. Do you want to keep covered I assume?

I would not worry about the third axle, not going to much wear and tear sitting. Turning tight would be harder on the 3rd axle than anything in my opinion.

 

[blue924.9]

yeah i forgot about a 7k axle so that takes care of an additional axle for some reason i had my mind stuck on 5200 pound axles. yes staying covered from rain and snow is a big issue, as is not having to move a tarp every time i or my grandma (who this is really for) puts wood in, i like the idea instead of opening the trailer door.

i will keep an eye out for rust and corrosion, as for the work yes i can do all that myself from layin down planks to welding braces.

on a side note i will be happy when this dang winter storm is over and summer is here so i can try out my new splitting maul to fill the trailer(s)

 

[Raganr]

What is your tow vehicle? How far do you need to drive on roads?

For wood storage and transport of short distances, it is hard to beat an M105 military trailer. They can be had for ~300 FRN and a bit more with bows and tarps.

waiting for pics to load....

 

[woodchuck357]

What is your tow vehicle? How far do you need to drive on roads?

For wood storage and transport of short distances, it is hard to beat an M105 military trailer. They can be had for ~300 FRN and a bit more with bows and tarps.

waiting for pics to load....

I like that, put a hitch on the back of one and string another behind it.
M1102 looks even better but more money.

 

[Raganr]

Hard to weld a hitch in the back of an 1102. 105s are the brick **** houses of the trailer world.

MT 101s are pushing for doubles

 

[Sawdust inspector]

My cousin uses their old cattle trailer. Works really good it's ruffly 7'x12' with a 7' height. Swinging back door.

 

[tla100]

Flat deck truck trailer with the front axle turntable perhaps?

Like this?

 

[KiwiBro]

Like this?

Yes, but the OP might have to strengthen that one., which might make it too expensive.

 

[tla100]

For what you are getting, these flatbeds can be picked up fairly reasonably.

 

[blue924.9]

What is your tow vehicle? How far do you need to drive on roads?

For wood storage and transport of short distances, it is hard to beat an M105 military trailer. They can be had for ~300 FRN and a bit more with bows and tarps.

waiting for pics to load....

we cut from a few different places, the farthest being 30 miles from home, but haul dry split stuff only 15 miles from home on her farm place. so pretty much its 15 miles to farm to get dried and split and another 15 to get to the wood shed.

as for tow vehicles i have anything from a 92 2wd f150 with i6 all the way to a dodge dually with cummins or a chevy dually with 454, and a 3/4 ton i can use from a family in between


i havent looked into a flat deck trailer like that, but i feel that it is too big for me to reasonably store at my house, a stock trailer would be justifiable but with that i would have to buy an 18 wheeler, not that it isnt out of question one day....

and kiwibro- you never know i may just have to beef it up lol my mindset is never to strong a trailer, especially haulin wood

 

[Red97]

Once the trailer is parked for the year just put Jack stands on all four corners to take the load off the axles.