Truck or Trailer?

[Bridgeman]

Just for the record, I own 3 trailers and think they are a PITA. This is the order of maintaince problems, wheel bearings, anything to do with trailer lighting, wheels and tires, safety chains, license plate holders and finally carpeted boat bunks. I also have 40+ trailers at work i'm resposible for from 25 ton to 3/4 ton and they are even more of a PITA. For that stuff, trailer brakes are the number one problem. Air or electric they are all junk a$$ POS that require endless maintenance.

 

[DneprDave]

I had a GMC S-15 for many years It was a real good truck, but rental places always told me it was too small to pull equipment home, so I had to pay delivery fees. A few years ago, I bought a used F350 powerstroke diesel 4x4. I really like it, besides hauling a ton of pellets at a time, I haul gravel, sand and dirt for yard work and my dog loves it.

(broken image removed)

Dave

 

[GT_Sharp]

I just normally rent a truck from home depot. It's affordable and cheap.

Curious what that cost you and how many ton do you haul at a time?

 

[Tonyray]

Curious what that cost you and how many ton do you haul at a time?

I know HD here charges 65.00 delivery.. 1 Ton or 5.. same price..

 

[Treacherous]

No problems with a ton of energy logs in this trailer of mine behind my old beater '96 Explorer 5.0L AWD.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/upgraded-my-wood-hauling-capability.92474/#post-1213633

 

[OhioBurner©]

Delivery certainly is a good option if your not already equipped and can get it for $65 for a season worth like Tonyray just mentioned. HD, Lowes, Menards, TSC all over 30 miles from me, but one local hardware stove is practically down the street. For me I already have the truck a trailer and debating on borrowing my neighbors 12,000 lb deck over trailer and getting him to help me move whole pallets with forks on his tractor (mine can't pick up a whole skid) and I could do the whole season at once. But I don't mind hauling 2-3 tons per trip myself and doing by hand - hardware store is only 6-7 miles away on country roads. I can drive across the grass with my pickup and back up to the front porch and put over a half ton in the house and the rest in the garage. Bet it barely takes me 15 minutes by hand to unload a pallet and less than my normal workout, so not like its hard work if your in shape.


There is my last load, just 2 tons since I couldn't fit the trailer in the parking garage at work. TSC was running a special on their horse-bedding pellets, but only through the weekend and I was working night shifts. No local TSC either, but one that wasn't too far out of my way if I was going in to the city for work. So I left early, picked up 2 tons, and then continued on to work. I could actually shut the tailgate with that load, the last couple ones I was an inch or so shy.

 

[bags]

I had a GMC S-15 for many years It was a real good truck, but rental places always told me it was too small to pull equipment home, so I had to pay delivery fees. A few years ago, I bought a used F350 powerstroke diesel 4x4. I really like it, besides hauling a ton of pellets at a time, I haul gravel, sand and dirt for yard work and my dog loves it.

(broken image removed)

Dave

Dave, That is a very good truck you have so hold onto it. Nice shape as well. I've had two of them and wish I still had the 7.3's. Had an '84 6.9 F-350 before those and it ran forever. Now I have a newer Duramax and a 2001 Dodge Cummins with a dump bed. Bought both new and they are great trucks but I'd take a 7.3 over both. The old 7.3 Fords were wonderful and simple. Best trucks I ever owned overall. Period. Ford put the bolts to themselves when they got away from the tried and very true 7.3's. Last one I sold had 400K and was worked hard and beat to hell. It is still running and a farmer 45 minutes south of me uses it almost daily. Not much truck left but what is starts, runs, and gets it done dependably. Probably has 500K on it by now.

Tony, I could haul 7 to 10 tons at a time and just paid $65 bucks to have a 7 ton one time shot delivered. Hauling and handling pellets is not an issue here. Plenty of capable trucks, trailers, and equipment to fork pallets off. Just made sense for me to pay the $65 bucks and it was handled in about 15-20 minutes with Lowe's piggy back fork truck once they arrived and I was free to do other stuff.

Your '92 Toyota with those low miles is a keeper too IMHO. I would not invest silly money for something just to haul pellets. Just start by pricing dependable used (worth owning) trucks and that will be a reality check. I was just offered $18K for my '01 Cummins and refuse to sell it. I'll drive that thing into the dirt along with the Chevy. I think I took my last spanking on purchasing the Duramax. These trucks will last me until I no longer need them.

$60K on a new truck vs. chump change and get pellets delivered is a no brainer. Like I stated, I have the trucks and equipment trailers and still chose to happily pay for delivery. Time is money. Wear and tear, diesel or fuel costs, etc; E-range tires are $200-$250 bucks a pop all said and done. On the flip side it is nice having a big tough truck to do whatever but you said you rarely use the Toyota.

As for a trailer behind it the 4 cyl. will do it but not well at all. I had a 1987 4-Runner 4 cyl. 5 spd and that thing was great but could barely pull itself up and incline on the expressway even getting a good run at it. Fuel economy sucked too for a 4 cyl. My big diesel trucks get about the same.

 

[Tonyray]

Dave, That is a very good truck you have so hold onto it. Nice shape as well. I've had two of them and wish I still had the 7.3's. Had an '84 6.9 F-350 before those and it ran forever. Now I have a newer Duramax and a 2001 Dodge Cummins with a dump bed. Bought both new and they are great trucks but I'd take a 7.3 over both. The old 7.3 Fords were wonderful and simple. Best trucks I ever owned overall. Period. Ford put the bolts to themselves when they got away from the tried and very true 7.3's. Last one I sold had 400K and was worked hard and beat to hell. It is still running and a farmer 45 minutes south of me uses it almost daily. Not much truck left but what is starts, runs, and gets it done dependably. Probably has 500K on it by now.

Tony, I could haul 7 to 10 tons at a time and just paid $65 bucks to have a 7 ton one time shot delivered. Hauling and handling pellets is not an issue here. Plenty of capable trucks, trailers, and equipment to fork pallets off. Just made sense for me to pay the $65 bucks and it was handled in about 15-20 minutes with Lowe's piggy back fork truck once they arrived and I was free to do other stuff.

Your '92 Toyota with those low miles is a keeper too IMHO. I would not invest silly money for something just to haul pellets. Just start by pricing dependable used (worth owning) trucks and that will be a reality check. I was just offered $18K for my '01 Cummins and refuse to sell it. I'll drive that thing into the dirt along with the Chevy. I think I took my last spanking on purchasing the Duramax. These trucks will last me until I no longer need them.

$60K on a new truck vs. chump change and get pellets delivered is a no brainer. Like I stated, I have the trucks and equipment trailers and still chose to happily pay for delivery. Time is money. Wear and tear, diesel or fuel costs, etc; E-range tires are $200-$250 bucks a pop all said and done. On the flip side it is nice having a big tough truck to do whatever but you said you rarely use the Toyota.

As for a trailer behind it the 4 cyl. will do it but not well at all. I had a 1987 4-Runner 4 cyl. 5 spd and that thing was great but could barely pull itself up and incline on the expressway even getting a good run at it. Fuel economy sucked too for a 4 cyl. My big diesel trucks get about the same.

Bags,
thanks for the info...
your prob right that I should keep what I have....
I know I would get a good buck for my Toyota... I have had lot of people follow me into convenience stores and say they will give me 5K for my truck.[has the Lear cab and rear seats..
thought I would find something half decent for same price but maybe not......
If Blazers or American Wood Fibers White Pine came into HD Like they did 1 x last winter, then yes.. I would pay 65.00 for delivery...
problem is the Blazers came in mid december and already having 5 ton in my basement, I could only buy/store about 30 bags.
I'm a bit too chicken to WAIT till end of the year for a possible maybe or not at HD or Lowes for the good stuff.
Good stuff meaning No more Stove chows and all the other big ash pellets from BBS's..
Once u go Low to zilch ash Pellets, it's hard to go back sometimes......
I burned these Energex Gollden Pellets and they we're Awsome!!

btw:below is my friends Chevy truck and u can see it sits pretty level for 2 tons in it..don't think he had any xtra suspension added to it... Pellets get put right thru those basement windows that come out.
my small Toyota in the background..
won't take his truck for other than short local pickups but sometimes some good deals are 20 miles away..

 

[DMKNLD]

The old 7.3 Fords were wonderful and simple. Best trucks I ever owned overall. Period. Ford put the bolts to themselves when they got away from the tried and very true 7.3's.

100% concur, bags. We've had the Ford chassis in our Rescue service's ambulance fleet over the years, and even with the cold start to WAO (wide azz open) driving demands as well as hours of idling during standby's and extended on-scene times, the 7.3L was bullet proof. They haven't made a decent chassis for ambu use since then, IMO.

Both the 6.0 and 6.4's we've had since they stopped making the 7.3's have been plagued with multiple major mechanical issues, many showing up within 10 - 30 K miles - blown turbos, blown head gaskets, catastrophic oil leaks, fuel injector problems. The list is endless.

My family and I toured the US and Canada for 4 years in a 32' motor home that had a Ford 360 gas engine in it, and the only thing I had to replace on it the entire trip was the idle air control valve, so I know Ford can make a durable product. But after breaking down too many times on ambulance calls in the late model POS diesels, I can see how they get tagged with the "FORD- Found On the Road Dead" moniker.

 

[jp0469]

His truck will, but it is slightly over payload.

Exactly, and although I'm sure it would work fine for short trips, doing so could create problems with insurance settlements and/or lawsuits if I were to be involved in an accident.

 

[Pellet-King]

I have a 2002 F150, i've hauled a ton in the bed many times, it's probably overloaded, last yr bought a used 18' car trailer and have towed 2 tons with it easily and could do 3.
Hey It's my F'n Buddy Tonray!, Why da F are you driving a POS old 'Yoda?, you ashame me Tony, just like your Philly Eagles....haha

 

[Tonyray]

I have a 2002 F150, i've hauled a ton in the bed many times, it's probably overloaded, last yr bought a used 18' car trailer and have towed 2 tons with it easily and could do 3.
Hey It's my F'n Buddy Tonray!, Why da F are you driving a POS old 'Yoda?, you ashame me Tony, just like your Philly Eagles....haha

well, ya got me there concerning the Eagles..
Chip Kelly dun turned it all upside down and sideways...
80 some thousand miles on a 23 yr old Toyota rust free 4 cyl pickup
is why Iva kepta thesa somany yearsa..

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've got a 2005 Ranger FX4 that I use to haul pellets with a 3000-lb. capacity trailer. I generally haul 1 1/2 tons per trip, with a pallet full on the trailer and splitting the remaining half between the trailer and pickup bed. I turn the OD off for hauling. The Ranger does pretty well with that load -- I've never felt like I was short on braking or power..

 

[Pellet-King]

So Tonyray, whatcha thinking your going to get?

 

[grathan]

I used to have a 1 ton. I now use a Hyundai with a 700# payload in two trips (I've yet to meet a retailer that didn't allow a ton price for two trips). Much easier to remove bags from the lower height. I wouldn't get a special ton-hauling vehicle/trailer unless you had a forklift waiting to unload.

 

[mik_kane]

You can look into renting the $29 U-Haul it holds 3 tons. If Lowes is going to keep their 2 ton limit on purchase's of pellets, I am not spending $130 for 2 deliveries.

15ft Moving Truck Rental

http://www.uhaul.com/Trucks/15ft-Moving-Truck-Rental/DC/

Max load: 6,190 lbs.

 

[Mpodesta]

Can do 9 tons at a time (sold the truck in the picture but have another just as big)


picked up the neighbors 86 DRW f350 for a steal and sold that 99 f350

(broken image removed)

 

[Pellet-King]

Over the 18 years burning pellets I only got my truck 7 years ago, before that would use various neighbors and trucks from work, scariest was a neighbor's '78 F100 thought we weren't gunna make it as the ass end was all over the road!, used to haul 2 tons on a '96 F250HD, heard some real strange creaks carrying that load a few times.

 

[Tonyray]

So Tonyray, whatcha thinking your going to get?

not sure yet.. checkin around my area to see what's 4 sale..

 

[boo boo]

not sure yet.. checkin around my area to see what's 4 sale..

I got rid of my truck in 2011 when gas hit 3.85 here and the pump was shutting off auto at 85.00 with only 3/4 of a tank or less and I was commuting 45 miles one way 2007 f150 full size
My commute is now half that and gas is cheaper and I now burn pellets. I miss my truck and want it back. How ever I still cant justify it as I hardly ever used the bed of it and my Camry gets about 29 mpg vs the 15 of the F150
Good luck in your search

 

[Tonyray]

I got rid of my truck in 2011 when gas hit 3.85 here and the pump was shutting off auto at 85.00 with only 3/4 of a tank or less and I was commuting 45 miles one way 2007 f150 full size
My commute is now half that and gas is cheaper and I now burn pellets. I miss my truck and want it back. How ever I still cant justify it as I hardly ever used the bed of it and my Camry gets about 29 mpg vs the 15 of the F150
Good luck in your search

won't be any commuting..
Retired young boomer..

 

[alternativeheat]

won't be any commuting..
Retired young boomer..

Tony,unless you just Want another truck you're probably all around financially and logistically better off with the trailer. One of the TSC trailers brand new for a $1000-$1200. With the right hitch your truck will tow it fine and with a trailer you have the option as to how to place the load to properly weight your truck vs plunking a ton on the back of a pickup. I used to tow my Mustang race car on an all steel trailer to the track 120 miles each way with an old 6 banger three speed stick F100 Ford ( I loved that little 1962 Ford) till I got the International Travel All. It did just fine with the old drum brakes all the way around. I use a trailer with my X-Terra for pellets and don't even really know it's back there with a ton of pellets. My boat pushes way harder when stopping. I'd take more if the trailer would/could.

You can buy a trailer, a hitch and all at TSC I believe.

Still here, HD quoted $55 to deliver to my house. If AWF WP show up I'll buy 4 tons and use that delivery service. They are about 13 miles from my house, that's 26 miles round trip times 4 trips . Towing I get about 15 MPG. 16 bucks in gas off the 55. Now delivery is $39 for 4 tons of pellets from HD. The trailer registration is $45 a year FWIW, here in Ma. My trailer is registered anyway but if it weren't then the HD delivery would be actually less than the cost of using my trailer. Never mind, maintenance.

 

[tiger]

The one that gets the most use is a worthington aluminum 5x10.

AFAIK Worthington went out of business; I had bookmarked their website a couple of years before I got serious about a replacement trailer -- now all traces gone. I'm happy with my Aluma but I would liked to have compared two different brands of aluminum trailers before buying.

Like the OP, I had a 92 'Yota, my daily driver for 8 years, loved it. It's probably still running around somewhere right now... but you cannot put one ton in the bed. IMHO it comes down to whether one has enough additional uses for the extra capacity to justify the bigger vehicle. I couldn't.

 

[Tonyray]

Tony,unless you just Want another truck you're probably all around financially and logistically better off with the trailer. One of the TSC trailers brand new for a $1000-$1200. With the right hitch your truck will tow it fine and with a trailer you have the option as to how to place the load to properly weight your truck vs plunking a ton on the back of a pickup. I used to tow my Mustang race car on an all steel trailer to the track 120 miles each way with an old 6 banger three speed stick F100 Ford ( I loved that little 1962 Ford) till I got the International Travel All. It did just fine with the old drum brakes all the way around. I use a trailer with my X-Terra for pellets and don't even really know it's back there with a ton of pellets. My boat pushes way harder when stopping. I'd take more if the trailer would/could.

You can buy a trailer, a hitch and all at TSC I believe.

Still here, HD quoted $55 to deliver to my house. If AWF WP show up I'll buy 4 tons and use that delivery service. They are about 13 miles from my house, that's 26 miles round trip times 4 trips . Towing I get about 15 MPG. 16 bucks in gas off the 55. Now delivery is $39 for 4 tons of pellets from HD. The trailer registration is $45 a year FWIW, here in Ma. My trailer is registered anyway but if it weren't then the HD delivery would be actually less than the cost of using my trailer. Never mind, maintenance.

good info...
to be honest, I rarely use my toyota to haul anything..
being a 4/cyl, we use it same as the Subaru sedan...regular driving vehicle..
thinking more now along the lines of a small trailer.would be more practical....

Ya know, if I knew what and when HD would be getting in each week,[Never happen] I would deff pay 65.00 to have them drop off 4 tons of Blazers or AWFWP.
The only 2 I would buy from them..and who knows if they will even get them this next seasons..
like I said I;m too chicken to WAIT till winter started without having a good size stash in my basement before then..
Blazers showed up in mid December and one 22 ton load was it..
AWFWP showed up in January.. Far too late in the season for me to wait it out and hope.
goes against all the un-written rules here about getting your pellets early as possible.

 

[alternativeheat]

good info...
to be honest, I rarely use my toyota to haul anything..
being a 4/cyl, we use it same as the Subaru sedan...regular driving vehicle..
thinking more now along the lines of a small trailer.would be more practical....

Ya know, if I knew what and when HD would be getting in each week,[Never happen] I would deff pay 65.00 to have them drop off 4 tons of Blazers or AWFWP.
The only 2 I would buy from them..and who knows if they will even get them this next seasons..
like I said I;m too chicken to WAIT till winter started without having a good size stash in my basement before then..
Blazers showed up in mid December and one 22 ton load was it..
AWFWP showed up in January.. Far too late in the season for me to wait it out and hope.
goes against all the un-written rules here about getting your pellets early as possible.

I can't speak for you but for me it's a no brainer since I own the trailer anyway. I have the trailer for my Garden tractor, my wifes gardening adventures and some lawns I was tending and may continue in the future.