# How much wood could a wood truck haul if a wood truck could haul wood?



## Jutt77 (Dec 29, 2010)

I'm looking at getting an older (late 80's to mid 90's) F250 or F350 for wood hauling and I have a couple of questions.  

How much unsplit wood are y'all able to haul in a full size bed?

Has anyone built side walls for the bed rails to increase capacity?

Would a topper be preferred so that you can stack all the way to the highest point of the topper?

I live in Colorado so I'll mostly be hauling dry unsplit pine.

Thanks


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## smokinj (Dec 29, 2010)

with sides rails 1/2 to 1 cord of pine.


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## Thistle (Dec 29, 2010)

Most full sized pickups with an 8ft bed you can get 1/2 cord when stacked tightly.The 89 Chev 3/4 ton 4x4 I used to have routinely carried that amount of dense native hardwoods on a regular basis.Just had the siderails that were installed with bedliner,no high stake sides.It was 4 yrs old when I bought it & 2nd owner.The guy who bought it new beefed up the springs a bit,to 10000 GVW capacity,so it was essentially a 1 ton.Rode like a steel-wheeled wagon,quite rough when empty.I remember hauling  3 ton of crushed limestone & same amount of 1 1/2" river rock several times when landscaping,it barely leveled the springs.


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## ROBERT F (Dec 29, 2010)

Skip the topper, unless you enjoy loading rounds while crawling around in cramped spaces.  have a cage built for the bed, that extends over the cab a ways, and you will have a serious wood wagon!  for 500 bucks and some welding skill you could build one yourself, including places for all your needed tools


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## OhioBurner© (Dec 30, 2010)

I built a wood rack for the F350... if memory serves the internal volume of it is calc'd out to around 1.1 cord. The last row usually has a gap to the end though, but I also heap it up a bit too. I have not yet split and stacked one load seperate to see how much split wood it equals. I might do that this comming year.

It rides fine fully loaded, but the trailer bounces around a little - and with the trailer on and a full cord its a bit overweight.


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## RNLA (Dec 30, 2010)

1/2 cord in an 8' bed, no rails, level or just above the rail, stacked tight. 1 cord if you build steak sides or rails. The thing to remember is the green weight of a cord. Just because it will fit by cubic foot does not mean you can haul by weight. Many wood species green can exceed 3500-4500 pounds. It all comes down to the axle bearings....


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## OhioBurner© (Dec 30, 2010)

RNLA said:
			
		

> Many wood species green can exceed 3500-4500 pounds. It all comes down to the axle bearings....



Yeah which is one reason I always warn folks about trying to haul so much in a 1/2 ton. But its not just axle rating with 1/2 tons they are going to have D rated tires at the most, typically. Thats where the 1 ton shines. If I had opted for the dualls my max payload would be 5310# in my truck, even a few hundred more if it were a regular cab.


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## RNLA (Dec 31, 2010)

YES tires are a big thing too, thanks for that input. My good friend saw the axle on his 1/2 ton come walking out going down the highway 50-60 mph. Loaded with wood, axle bearing came apart, very warm!


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## Jutt77 (Jan 3, 2011)

â–ºâ–ºOhioBurnerâ—„â—„â„¢ said:
			
		

> I built a wood rack for the F350... if memory serves the internal volume of it is calc'd out to around 1.1 cord. The last row usually has a gap to the end though, but I also heap it up a bit too. I have not yet split and stacked one load seperate to see how much split wood it equals. I might do that this comming year.
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> It rides fine fully loaded, but the trailer bounces around a little - and with the trailer on and a full cord its a bit overweight.



Nice rack Ohio Burner  Thanks for the pics, thats a really nice setup...I think I may copy your rack design there.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 3, 2011)

â–ºâ–ºOhioBurnerâ—„â—„â„¢ said:
			
		

> I built a wood rack for the F350... if memory serves the internal volume of it is calc'd out to around 1.1 cord. The last row usually has a gap to the end though, but I also heap it up a bit too. I have not yet split and stacked one load seperate to see how much split wood it equals. I might do that this comming year.
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> It rides fine fully loaded, but the trailer bounces around a little - and with the trailer on and a full cord its a bit overweight.



OB,

What material/dimensions did you use for the vertical rails?

Thanks,
J


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## hemlock (Jan 3, 2011)

Don't get caught overloaded (over GVRW).  If you get into an accident with an overloaded vehicle, and insurance finds out, they may just walk away from you.  Don't under-register your truck either.  Should you get weighed and be over - it could be one expensive load of "free" wood.


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## Danno77 (Jan 3, 2011)

I still really do want a bigger truck some day, but when I'm out in the timber and it's 90 degrees I'm done working when the truck is full. I'd feel pretty danged guilty if I had to quit before the truck got loaded because I couldn't do any more work...If I had a one ton truck with an 8ft bed that might be a problem. I've decided that when my son is old enough to run a saw, then I'll get a bigger truck and trailer so he can earn his keep.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 3, 2011)

hemlock said:
			
		

> Don't get caught overloaded (over GVRW).  If you get into an accident with an overloaded vehicle, and insurance finds out, they may just walk away from you.  Don't under-register your truck either.  Should you get weighed and be over - it could be one expensive load of "free" wood.



Good point, thats why I'm leaning more and more towards a F350 dually or even a F450 with a flat bed that I could build rails on.  Should have any problem handling a large load of wood, which would most likely be pine anyways.


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## OhioBurner© (Jan 5, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> OB,
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> What material/dimensions did you use for the vertical rails?
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Well the vertical rails involved a bit of fiddling and more work than any other part. This is because the stake pockets dont match regular lumber... I used 2x4's. If memory serves the pocket was approximately 2x3 but with very rounded corners, so even a 2x3 would not work without fitting. So for each post I cut a little of each side to the exact width of the pocket, and then got out a router with a roundover bit and cut all 4 edges down. Basically I wanted as best a fit as I could, that way I would not reduce the strength of the post any more than absolutely necessary. For example I could have easily cut the whole thing a bit smaller without messing with rounding over the edges and it would fit but the strength would be less.

It should also be noted that even with a very strong rail system you should avoid putting much outward-pushing force on the rails if you can, long term stress of this type will bend the sidewalls of your trucks bed outward. I try to stack everything so the walls are holding as little weight as possible.


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## mywaynow (Jan 5, 2011)

I loaded my trailer today with red oak.  It is a 4x8 trailer with side rails.  I stack 24 inch logs on end around the perimeter and fill the center with smaller rounds.  This morning I delivered some smaller seasoned splits to the guy that gave me the red oak, then proceeded to load the trailer with the oak.  Got out of the woods and saw my trailer tire rolling around on the rim.  Flat.  Ugh!@!  Managed to deliver at highway speeds, but couldn't take the rough terrain of the fire trail through the woods.  No spare with me, of course.  I used to have 3/4 ply on the trailer bed, but found out that a friend was working in a plant that manufactured cat walks and stairs.  They use aluminum treads and walkways that are made of small I beams of aluminum that are connected with perpendicular aluminum rods, welded in place.  The stuf is strong, light and open, so it exhausts debris nicely.  It is a good set up for me.  Tires are rated at 780 each, so I likely push thier limits with a full load.


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## wvwoodchuck (Jan 5, 2011)

Make sure your rack has back glass protection for the truck.  Trust me. .  Unless you have some unused plexiglass laying around for repairs.


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## OhioBurner© (Jan 5, 2011)

mywaynow said:
			
		

> Got out of the woods and saw my trailer tire rolling around on the rim.  Flat.  Ugh!@!  Managed to deliver at highway speeds, but couldn't take the rough terrain of the fire trail through the woods.  No spare with me, of course....  Tires are rated at 780 each, so I likely push thier limits with a full load.



Yeah if you look up at my pics above that 6x10 trailer has tires if memory serves ~1600ea and they were much warmer that my rear tires, and they were warm! I'm going to take the IR gun next trip I take and monitor sidewall temps. I really have no idea what the temps should be but I'll at least get a feel for what they go through, and well if they fail, then I'll know. That 6x10 is a heavy sucker though, even empty its about 1400#. I'd like to put a heavier axle and tires on it, should be able to handle more than 3500# axle thats on it now.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 5, 2011)

â–ºâ–ºOhioBurnerâ—„â—„â„¢ said:
			
		

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Thanks much OB, I really appreciate it...now all I need is a truck


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## Jutt77 (Jan 5, 2011)

wvwoodchuck said:
			
		

> Make sure your rack has back glass protection for the truck.  Trust me. .  Unless you have some unused plexiglass laying around for repairs.



I've seen some trucks advertised with a "headache rack".  Is that rear glass protection?


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## Archer39 (Jan 5, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Yes.


Here is 3/4 of a cord in 6ft worth of bed. I had a few pieces unloaded already when i took the picture.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 5, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Yes . . . as long as it isn't too flimsy . . . biggest issue I've seen in the past however is with folks loading their truck and tossing on the wood rather than placing the wood into the truck . . . one bounce or one slide and it's all over.


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## FLINT (Jan 5, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> I'm looking at getting an older (late 80's to mid 90's) F250 or F350 for wood hauling and I have a couple of questions.
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> How much unsplit wood are y'all able to haul in a full size bed?
> 
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I have an '86 chevy one ton pickup that is my wood truck.   I built some side rails out of some left over 1"x8" oak boards that were laying around in about an hour.  I figured that it will hold about a cord.  I haven't loaded it up since I put the side rails on, but a heaping load of green oak without the side rails barely registered on the springs.  

Get a one ton if you can - mostly for the better breaks that it will have - and that you will need - especially if the part of colorado you are in is mountainous, as you will want good breaks going down hill with a load of wood.  if you are hauling dry pine - you should easily be able to haul one cord at a time with side rails, as pine is very light (compared with green oak!).  

the only problem with the one ton trucks is that its hard to find them with single rear wheels - though if you don't mind a dually, then thats fine.  I wanted single rear wheels.  

yes, and be sure that you have E rated tires!  

if you are looking at fords - try to find one with the 6.9 diesel - i've heard those are just amazingly awesome engines - that will go forever and ever.


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## tfdchief (Jan 6, 2011)

My son and I own a 1988 Ford F250.  It has E rated tires and will haul everything you can put in it and it barely levels out.  Measuring the bed, it will haul about .85 cords of big rounds, stacked, which I figure would take up more room after split.  Therefore, I am guessing it will haul about a cord.  I have loaded it with oak and hickory as described above and it is fine with that, not at all overloaded.  I am not sure what Ford called it in 88 but it used to be called a "Camper Special".....it is closer to a 1 ton than a 3/4 ton.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jan 7, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> I'm looking at getting an older (late 80's to mid 90's) F250 or F350 for wood hauling and I have a couple of questions.
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> How much unsplit wood are y'all able to haul in a full size bed?
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I have a 1999 Dodge 3500 with 12" side racks and filled to the gunwales I figure it's just about a cord 2.5 x 6 x 8 = 120cf (this is stacked flat - I always mound it).  I could use taller racks and haul more but I just don't want to work that hard.  a cord+  will be no problem for an F250 or F350.  In fact, I'd say you won't be able to overload an F350 with firewood.

Skip the canopy for hauling.  It's a back breaker.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jan 7, 2011)

â–ºâ–ºOhioBurnerâ—„â—„â„¢ said:
			
		

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I use a ratcheting tie-down fore and aft to keep the side load pressure off the bed.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jan 7, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Probably, but not necessarily.

For years I just stood a pallet on end to protect the rear window.  Works like a charm, never broke a window.  Now I'm just using a cut down sheet of plywood.


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## trailmaker (Jan 7, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Some headache racks have mesh that protects the rear window and others are more for looks and have just one or two crossbars. I put one one my tacoma that is great for hauling firewood.  I can toss splits from ten or fifteen feet away without worrying about breaking the window.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 7, 2011)

What do guys think of something like this? http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/2147443700.html (93' F350 dually; 5.8liter; 10 foot railed bed w/ lift gate...$2500).

Keep in mind, the primary mission of this truck will be for wood hauling.  Second would be for moving stuff every once and a while.  This will be a third vehicle so gas milelage and practicality dont really matter.

Would insurance costs be higher than a normal truck?  Any other disadvantages of something like this y'all can think of?

Thanks for all the replies so far BTW.

~Jutt


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## Jutt77 (Jan 7, 2011)

trailmaker said:
			
		

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Nice setup TM...I had a 94' 4x4 Yota 10 years ago and that thing was unstoppable.  I'm just looking for a full sized beater this time around so that I can carry as much wood as possible on one trip.


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## FLINT (Jan 7, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> What do guys think of something like this? http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/2147443700.html (93' F350 dually; 5.8liter; 10 foot railed bed w/ lift gate...$2500).
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> Keep in mind, the primary mission of this truck will be for wood hauling.  Second would be for moving stuff every once and a while.  This will be a third vehicle so gas milelage and practicality dont really matter.
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looks good, and flatbeds are nice - the only thing that would be a dealbreaker for me is that it looks like its not 4wd.  where I get wood i definitely need it, but if you don't then it looks like a nice truck.    also it doesn't list the mileage so you might want to check on that.   that looks like a decent price, although the 2wd trucks always go for less.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 7, 2011)

FLINT said:
			
		

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Fortunately, most of the wood I get is here in town where its totally flat but I would still prefer a 4x4.  I grew up in SW Virginia.  Do you know where Hanging Rock is?  Grew up at the base of Ft Lewis Mtn.  My folks still live there.  Lots of hills and mountains around there so I would definately get a 4x4.  Funny thing about the Denver metro area is that its almost completely flat until you hit the foothills.


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## FLINT (Jan 7, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Yeah, I know that area a little, I have friends from roanoke and at grad school at va tech.  I live further north - west of Harrisonburg at the base of shenandoah mountain near West Va.  I get a lot of wood from up on the mountain off of forest roads and need 4wd, but I grew up near farmville va in the piedmont, and dad always just had a 2wd truck and it always did just fine.


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## Jutt77 (Jan 7, 2011)

FLINT said:
			
		

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Nice, I used to ski at Massofnothing  Nice area around there though.  I really miss the green forest and unlimited white oak.


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## dave360up (Jan 8, 2011)

I've launched my hang glider off Massanutten and cruised up and down that range.  Nice flying there, but so is the Colorado front range.


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## trailmaker (Jan 8, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Thanks.  All of my wood gathering is within a couple of miles,  and the woods are pretty tight so a small truck works well.  If you're looking for a used full sized,  you might want to consider one with some type of dump body.  Unloading a full size piece by piece must be pretty time consuming.


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## tfdchief (Jan 10, 2011)

Here is my wood hauler, 1988 Ford F-250, 6 cylinder.  Figure it will haul almost a cord, E tires and just barely levels out with a full load


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## Jutt77 (Jan 10, 2011)

tfdchief said:
			
		

> Here is my wood hauler, 1988 Ford F-250, 6 cylinder.  Figure it will haul almost a cord, E tires and just barely levels out with a full load



That's exactly what I'm looking for, an older F250/8 ft bed.  How long have you had the truck?  How has that 6 cylinder done?  Any common problems to look out for on those?  Thanks much for the pic.


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## tfdchief (Jan 10, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

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Jutt77, Had it 3 years now.  It had 150,000 miles on it when I bought it for $1600. I spent about $400 getting it in good mechanical condition.  Haven't had a bit of trouble with it since.  The 6 cylinder in that year, my mechanic tells me, is an old workhorse that you can't wear out.  It is one of the first electronic fuel injection and although the throttle body was messed up when we got it and it burned to rich and choked up when it got up to temperature, as soon as we got that fixed, it runs like a champ, starts in cold weather.  The six cylinder of course is no race horse but I don't want to go fast or get to fast quick anyway, so that isn't a problem for me.  It has a 4 speed manual transmission with OD.   Couple of little things that go wrong with these, that we have fixed, is the ignition sw on the column was shot and so we got a new one ($12.95! in stock at the parts store) and put that in.  And the clutch linkage has a plastic sleeve bushing that wore out and you couldn't hardly get the clutch depressed far enough to get the clutch/start sw to engaged so you could start it.  We made one and replaced it and now no problem. The only thing it didn't have that I wanted was 4 wheel drive but it was just to good of shape to pass up.  It will easily haul all the fire wood you can get in it!


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## Jutt77 (Jan 11, 2011)

tfdchief said:
			
		

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## Jutt77 (Mar 1, 2011)

And the winner is.... drum roll.....


1992 F250 4x4, ext cab, 351w, 5spd ZF tranny, new tires, beater but mech solid so I can chuck wood into the bed from 20ft away and not worry about a scratch or dent...best part only $1500 (Craigslist)!

I already put it to work and picked up a load of very seasoned free Elm via CL on Sunday, the rounds had been laying around in the sun for 2 years  I didn't realize how much I missed having a truck...


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## andrewdee (Mar 2, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> I'm looking at getting an older (late 80's to mid 90's) F250 or F350 for wood hauling and I have a couple of questions.
> 
> How much unsplit wood are y'all able to haul in a full size bed?
> 
> ...



You can fill this one up!! (We do).  1997 F250 Turbo diesel 214k miles. Lighter works radio doesn't. What does (Dry) unsplit pine (wood) mean?


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## Beetle-Kill (Mar 2, 2011)

andrewdee, jutt's talking about dead-standing Lodgepole pine. Plenty of it around here.   Jutt- that truck looks great, but the bed looks empty, 'was up wid dat?  I'm seeing flatbed in your future!


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## andrewdee (Mar 2, 2011)

Yea I'm looking for one now


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## burntime (Mar 2, 2011)

OK, not a F250 but heres a little hauler...


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## FLINT (Mar 2, 2011)

Jutt77 said:
			
		

> And the winner is.... drum roll.....
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> 1992 F250 4x4, ext cab, 351w, 5spd ZF tranny, new tires, beater but mech solid so I can chuck wood into the bed from 20ft away and not worry about a scratch or dent...best part only $1500 (Craigslist)!
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Dude, that's awesome!  perfect wood truck.  and an amazing deal.  good job putting her to work already !


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## lukem (Mar 2, 2011)

burntime said:
			
		

> OK, not a F250 but heres a little hauler...



Nothing wrong with a Ranger.  I beat the$#!% out of my '95 for 198K miles.  Never had an issue with it.  Brakes, oil, plugs, wires, tires, filters was the only money I ever spent.

I hauled many a heavy load in it.  I'd guess it was putting 70HP to the ground...not exactly a powerhouse but it got the job done.  Get a set of helper springs for it...they work great.


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## Jutt77 (Mar 3, 2011)

Beetle-Kill said:
			
		

> andrewdee, jutt's talking about dead-standing Lodgepole pine. Plenty of it around here.   Jutt- that truck looks great, but the bed looks empty, 'was up wid dat?  I'm seeing flatbed in your future!




I hear ya BK, I may make some free wood runs this weekend and fill that puppy up.


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## Jutt77 (Mar 3, 2011)

andrewdee said:
			
		

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Now that's a load dude!  I like the bed walls you built.  what I was trying to say was big pine rounds


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## Jutt77 (Jul 6, 2011)

Well, I figured I give a little update.  My F250 (The Beast) has been pulling its weight and has hauled around 5-6 cord so far since March.  I've had to do a few minor things (new starter, new shocks, serp belt tensioner) but all in all, its been an awesome truck and parts are dirt cheap.  I'd like to build some bed walls eventually since it can hold more wood than the stock bed walls can handle.

Here's a recent, pretty decent sized score of some Ash/Silver Maple using a friend's trailer.  We ended up getting around 2 loads worth:


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