Loading Firewood to Haul

[lumberjack]

Can split firewood be efficently loaded with a front end loader, or must it be tossed by hand?

And I don't mean split down to .5"x.5"x.25"

 

[JonnyHart]

Moving it from one spot to another, or moving it to sell to a customer? Unless it's stacked, and you can measure it, you won't know how much wood you loaded.

 

[lumberjack]

Load from a pile into a dump trailer.

 

[SkwerI]

I guess it all depends on how good you are operating the loader.

 

[sotc]

depends on the size of the bucket, a small dirt bucket on a mini? you can hand load faster, your tractor? thats fast

 

[lumberjack]

I was thinking tractor, mini would suck. I didn't know how well the wood would "scoop" into the bucket.

And I think I was thinking about dumping it onto the bed of the trailer, then stacking it where it sits kinda deal.

Just thinking about firewood as a wholesaler, perhaps.

 

[sotc]

the bigger the pile the better the scoop. even if you scoop part way and finish by hand its faster. the thing to do is stack a cord, then dump it into your trailer. make a mark in your trailer as to whats a cord unstacked. thats the only efficient way as from there on out you dont have to stack a cord

 

[arborworks1]

I found that stacking it on pallets and shrink wrapping was the best way to move it in volume. Then you could just fork it and slide it into the dump. Two pallets stacked 4x4 should be a cord. A little more work to get the stacks correct and sturdy, but the black shrink wrap holds it tight and seasons the wood some also. You have to have a small hole in the top for a vent.

 

[Al Smith]

Sure you can load it with a tractor .That one you have has a large enough bucket by the looks of it if I remember correctly .

By the way,a standard 3/4 ton fullsize pick-em-up will hold right at a half cord of tossed in wood if it's heaped in the center .It won't miss it one way or 'tother by much . On the other hand a "ranger" sized long bed will handle about a face cord but you have to stack it to get that much on .Believe me that's all you want on a baby truck .

Back when I was cutting and selling we had a trailer that between it and the 3/4 ton Chevy 4WD with a hopped up 350 would hold 3.5 cords .It took over a mile to get that thing to 55 MPH ,kinda overloaded . I had a Ford 3/4 at the time with a 390 .Still took a mile but the Ford didn't drink as much gas as the Chevy .

 

[Mr. Sir]

...It took over a mile to get that thing to 55 MPH ,kinda overloaded ...

And probably about a mile to stop it too, right?

 

[Al Smith]

And probably about a mile to stop it too, right?

Oh it wasn't that bad .It whoaed pretty good considering the load .Tri axle with electric brakes on the front two . Let me put it like this ,it would whoa a lot easier than it would go .

 

[lumberjack]

I was thinking a 7'x16'x5' dump trailer, maybe heaped.

That'd be 4 cords, give or take.

 

[Jonseredbred]

I figure 10% volume is lost when loose filling a space.

I would sell your trailer with a level load as a 10.5 f/c load.

 

[lumberjack]

F/C being face cord?

 

[Newfie]

I was thinking a 7'x16'x5' dump trailer, maybe heaped.

That'd be 4 cords, give or take.

Give or take a cord and a half. I would count on more like 2 1/2 to 3 cords, but no more.

You can load with a bucket, but make sure it is a big pile, otherwise you will likely end up pushing more than you scoop.

 

[lumberjack]

Interesting, but not suprising due to all the air space.

 

[Altissimus]

I guess that'd make firewood easy....

 

[Jonseredbred]

yes f/c is face cord. For some reason this part of the country deals in a face cord more than cords.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Around here all we call it is a RICK.

 

[lumberjack]

I guess that'd make firewood easy....

What's that?

 

[squisher]

Doing everything with machinery instead of loading by hand is what he was referring to I think?

 

[lumberjack]

That's the only reason I'm even remotely considering it, that and I wouldn't want to deal with driving 20 miles to deliever a "load" (pickup bed is how it's sold here) and go through all the effort, twice.

I liked Arborwerks pallet idea, but that gets back to being manual. It does have the advantage of being far neater and easier to load though it requires either hand unloading it or taking machinery to unload it. I suppose it's possible to dump it out down some ramps to keep the pallet intact. Another disadvantage is I can't fit 2 wide on the trailer, but 2 high might be possible.

 

[Al Smith]

Oh they tried to pass legislation in a lot of states saying wood must be sold by cord measurenents or fractions there of .I believe though that most places still go by standard sized pick up loads in spite of whatever edict was passed down by some eager beaver type legislator seeking recognition with an eye on a bigger prize politically speaking .

I don't think too many people had the screws put to them by truck load type of measurements .With me at least they all recieved more than ample for what they paid for .

 

[darkstar]

A guy up the street from me will split and stack one rick of your wood for 12 bucks.

 

[Al Smith]

Another thing .Where Butch lives is not an area where people would normally use a lot of fire wood like they would around here .

It would therefore make more sense to buy same by face chord or rick as it's been called .