Wood Moving Vehicle Opinions

[Al]

I've finally reached the end of my rope trying to shoe-horn lumber/plywood into my Saturn sedan. I'm ready to step up to what I guess is the logical alternative - I.e., a pickup with an 8 foot bed to accommodate plywood sheets. I don't need 4 wheel drive and I'm not into the $40k bad-boy pickup look - just something reliable to move the wood... maybe along the lines of a low end Ford Ranger(?) At any rate, any suggestions would be appreciated. I realize this is kind of a wide open question, but I'm just not passionate enough about vehicles to put myself through the research time/effort that I'd be willing to invest in, say, a bench plane :-)

Thanks, Al

[Rico]

For occasional wood moving you can buy an adequate trailer cheap.

If you are using this as an excuse to buy a truck, more power to you and we won't tell SWMBO.

Any full sized pickup with an 8 foot bed will do the job, and you can also use a compact pickup with a 6 foot bed if you build a simple platform to carry 4x8 sheet goods at the height of the wheel wells. It just depends what you want.

I have a GMC S-15 (Chevy S-10 with different plastic trim) and it handles about 500 pounds of 4x8 sheet goods OK on the platform I built for the bed. I also use the platform on saw horses as a sacrificial cutting table in the garage.

I'll try and post some pictures in the binaries group in the next day or so.

Rico

[Phisherman]

I've used a Honda Civic hatchback for moving wood for over 25 years. I plan my purchases and cut wood to fit inside my car. The other times I beg and borrow truck owners (and fill up their tank!) or rent a truck ($50). Saves me a LOT of money and keeps insurance costs down. You could add a hitch to your Saturn and pull a lightweight trailer for sheet goods. Someday I'll buy a truck when I become gainfully employed again. Rangers are very nice looking, but I'm leaning toward a 2x4 Toyota truck. The 4x4's are just too high off the ground for easy loading/unloading, plus I don't do any off-road stuff.

[dave]

I think we went through this about 1/2 a year ago, a Google search should find it for you. I don't know where you are located, but the local dealers here are selling base models F-150s for about $13,000. It isn't a fancy truck, radio, A/C, bench seat, but it'll last and it'll haul whatever you put into the bed. My daughter's Ranger will haul stuff too, but the F-150 does it much easier.

Dave in Fairfax

[BRuce]

I have used both an S-10 and Ranger with a rack similar to the gentleman below. you get lots of comments about these racks, seems nobody has though of them before. I have carried many sheets of plywood, sheetrock and bunches of decking material. the bed, with the tailgate down, is

8ft. I will also try to post a pic. I am now looking to get out of the truck and into a better vehicle and use a trailer but my research has come to the conclusion that a 2x4 pickup is the least cost option. I will probably look at some of the foreign models as well this time around. Towing capacity for non trucks is very limited which I did not realize.

If you get an extended cab (not a 3 door) take a small box or trash can with you. 18"x12"x24" or so and try to get it in and out of the "behind the seat" area. the ranger i have is damn near impossible to get anything back there, the S-10 was better in that reguard.

BRuce

Rico wrote:

[Charlie Spitzer]

i have an old 90 4runner. it doesn't look it, but a 4x8 sheet will fit flat in it if you leave the back door down. i've carried 20 sheets of ply without any problems.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[Rico]

Something I forgot to mention is that if he gets a compact truck, to be sure and get the heavy duty suspension option.

The center of gravity of 4 x 8 sheet goods is 4 feet from the front of the bed (a bit behind the rear axle). My small truck is rated for something like a 1200 lb load, but with the CG so far back, much more than 500 lbs of sheet goods makes it sag too much. That's still 5 sheets of 3/4 MDF or

7 sheets of 3/4 plywood which is all I care to wrestle in one trip :), so it hasn't been a problem.

Rico

BRuce wrote:

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

As an alternative, think about a trailer.

I have an open, 4x8 flatbed that I got at Lowes for about $400. Add $200 for the 1 1/4" receiver I bolted on to my Subaru Outback, and I was done. The Subaru already had the proper bolt holes (4) and connection point for the wiring harness, I'd bet your Saturn does as well. The hitch installation required about 3 tools and 20 minutes.

CT charges about $25 for a two year reg, and my town hits me for $15 in property taxes on it.

I figure this thing ought to outlast my next 3-4 vehicles if I grease the bearings and keep up the tire pressures.

Last but not least, I find the trailer MUCH easier to load than any pickup I've owned, due to the low bed. Long hardwood is easily carried along the tongue. The combo will carry anything that a 3/4 ton truck long bed truck will, and gives me a nice handing, fuel efficient, 5 seat car when I'm not.

Barry

[BRuce]

yep, overloaded my S-10 with deck materials one time and it was hard to keep the front wheels on the ground for the ride home.

Another gotcha is a bed liner. I really like them but most leave few options for tie downs. i opted for a bed rail and that has been a life saver.

BRuce

Rico wrote:

[Gfretwell]

I am thinking along those same lines. I only worry that a trailer might be too much for a little car. It will certainly be OK if you are just hauling light, bulky things but it wouldn't take much concrete to tip the balance. I did bring

800 lbs of sackrete in a Lebaron once tho. Can you say "Low Rider"? I figure that was the same as hauling 3 of my inlaws.

[Michael Daly]

A roof rack will allow you to carry around 125lb on top (almost no limit on length!). A trailer will carry a few hundred more, depending on how much you want to haul. Don't worry about hauling a modest load with a Saturn - just don't expect to accelerate like a fool or be a speed demon. Hauling some wood once in a while isn't the same as towing a big RV trailer around the country all the time.

The question you should ask is "What are my needs?" If 95% of your wood purchases are under 125 lb, get a roof rack. If 95% are around, say,

200-300lb, get a trailer. If you're _always_ and _frequently_ hauling a big load, get a truck.

Don't get a truck if you need it for 5% or less of your needs. For those occasions, you can rent a truck! The cost of going from a modest car to a big truck in terms of financing, fuel& repair etc can easily cover a lot of rentals. (this doesn't apply if your Saturn is ready for the junkyard and needs to be replaced anyway) In fact, a few occasions of doing two trips with the car will be cheaper than buying a truck you don't really need.

Mike

[Rico]

Find out what the car is rated to tow, the manufacturers ratings are usually conservative.

[Pat Barber]

Once you have bought a full sized truck, you will never want a car again. Aside from hauling plywood, trucks can haul damn near anything and they ride pretty good these days.

Ford,Chevy,Dodge .... they all have the vanilla model for well under $20,000.

They have been selling more trucks than cars for a number of years now....

Al wrote:

[Rico]

Here's what Saturn sez about their new models.

"All Saturn vehicles can tow up to 1,000 lbs. (454 kg) with either the automatic or manual transmission. Saturn ION vehicles equipped with a manual transmission can also be flat towed (behind such vehicles as RV campers) on the ground at normal vehicle speeds of less than 65 mph (105 km/h). "

[Gfretwell]

My problem is plywood. I refuse to buy anything that won't take a 10' piece of

2" PVC and an 8' 2x4 (what I carried when car shopping, with nothing on the roof, windows up, doors closed). I am in a 97 Honda Prelude these days and that just met my test. My 87 LeBaron coupe far exceeded that requirement. I could carry 10' lumber in that car but it finally gave up the ghost.

[Terry King]

I agree with Greg (not unusual). You'll pay more per year for insurance on another vehicle than you will per year for a good trailer.

Question: Has anyone seen a good design for a "log loading ramp" to go on the back of a trailer, when winching good sized logs out in the woods?? I just built a "wood gathering trailer", and the winch mount I built fits on the rear Class 4 hitch on my GMC Yukon, and has a trailer hitch on IT so I can winch onto the trailer. It's already MUCH easier than loading wood up at the pickup bed level, which I've done for years. BUT there's that "Get one end of the log up onto the trailer" part. I once saw a photo of a drop-on ramp that would 'help' the log up and was moveable right-to-left for different logs in a load. But I don't remember it well...

Anyone seen or built one, before I try to invent one?? It needs to have somewhat of a Vee shape, to guide a log end up and on... I think. Large round tubing is what I got, other steel I can get. Cut, weld, and like that.

I'll post a pointer to the whole deal when I get it all working. Which better be soon.

[Gary Davis]

Hi Al,

I am going to throw one more option at you. I have a Dodge Grand Caravan that will carry full size sheets of plywood with the rear door closed down. I looked at trucks when I bought this 2.5 years ago, I was in the same quandry as you. The van gives me the best of both worlds. I have seating for

8, two very comfortable captians chairs in the front and all the bells and whistles that anyone could ever want. I do not have to remove the seats to carry plywood sheets, I just lower the backs of the second and third row of seats, they lay flat and make a great platform for plywood or other sheet goods, and leave a lot of floor area for carrying other items.

Gary

[Mike G]

The bed doesn't have to be an eight footer, the critical dimension is the four foot width over the wheel wells. If a couple of feet of stock hangs out over the end of the bed it's no big deal but if it hangs over the sides it's a bitch to tie down.

Though I am not driving one now, my hauling requirements went way up, for my money you can't beat your little old basic Toyota four cylinder The last one I had was still going strong when I sold it at 200,000 miles. Mine wasn't the only one I've seen with that kind of mileage either.

You may want to add an extended cab to that though. Keeps the groceries, kids and pets out of the rain. .

[Michael Daly]

A roof rack will carry 4x8 plywood easily. The only problem will be if it is one sheet of thin stuff - it might sag a lot. This can be solved with a couple of 2x4s underneath. With a 125lb load limit, you can carry about 1 1/4" total thickness of ply. More than that would overload the roof rack. (Thule rates theirs to 165lb less the weight of the rack.)

A trailer should be a no-brainer for ply.

BTW - with the tailgate down, I can carry 4x8 plywood mostly inside my Honda Civic hatchback.

Mike

[Vince]

This might be a four letter word to some folks but a minivan might also work. The full size minivans (ie Chevy venture, Ford Windstar, etc) generally will hold 4x8 plywood sheets with the seats removed or folded. Our Venture will hold plywood flat, and 10' lumber between the front seats. All with the hatch closed and weather tight.

Good luck

Vince