Any other Optomists out there?

[Bill Space]

My daughter's father in law called and said a large cherry tree had fallen down and I could have it if I wanted it. I declined after seeing it as I do not have a trailer. Then thought about it and having a 1 ton van decided I could use my engine hoist to get it in. He said it was 14 feet long. Only a couple miles to my place...

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Hummmmmm.... Seems kind of long.... This is not feeling good...

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Better cut 6' off and put two pieces in side by side. Oh oh, too tight!

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Finally got got the second one in after trimming the edge of the one on the left. Taking them out was a LOT easier using my tractor. Turns out the log was 17 feet long. The 14' was a guesstimate I suppose.

Should make some nice boards this summer.

[Andrew Kertesz]

Tight fit... I'm surprised your front wheels stayed on the ground.

[glenn bradley]

Wow! I would've walked away but, you sir, got 'er done.

[Brian Tax]

Wow, that is impressive!

[Bill McNiel]

Did you consider two trips?

[Doug Ladendorf]

Beautiful! Why not have someone come out and slab it in place?

[Peter Quinn]

Should have brought a skate board for the rear! Nice work, great tree. Enjoy it.

[Mark Bolton]

Dude, You need to move here to WV you'd fit right in..

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[Dan Hintz]

I'm amazed the shocks didn't shoot right through the floorboards.

[Jim Andrew]

I've hauled several logs at a time on my cheap car trailer. And I pull it behind my Toyota pickup, not a Tundra.

[Brian Libby]

You can't walk away from free wood!!! Nice haul. I say what ever it takes to "get-R-done":D

[Art Mann]

Where I live, you could have rented a trailer that would do the job for $25/day.

[Raymond Fries]

Impressive indeed. Enjoy the wood...

[Keith Hankins]

You sir are my hero!

[Michael Wildt]

Darn, that is right out of a Red & Green show, almost.

Surprised the van survived with that weight.

[george newbury]

Why didn't you put it on top :) :)

No roof rack? :)

[Dan Blackshear]

All I can say is it's a good thing you did it first before asking how to do it here.

Otherwise, it would still be on the side of the road and 50 plus people would be telling you to rent a crane and to be sure to call the local authorities so they could divert traffic around the 18-wheeler you had to rent to safely move it.

(I kid, I kid!!! :p :p) ((kinda))

[Mark Bolton]

All I can say is it's a good thing you did it first before asking how to do it here.

Otherwise, it would still be on the side of the road and 50 plus people would be telling you to rent a crane and to be sure to call the local authorities so they could divert traffic around the 18-wheeler you had to rent to safely move it.

(I kid, I kid!!! :p :p) ((kinda))


Nasa engineers would be consulted for sure.

[nicholas mitchell]

Ha! I'm not sure "optimistic" is the word I'd use. First thing I thought of was that guy who strapped a lift of plywood on the top of his car.
I simply can't believe that you haven't done permanent damage to your van.
But hey, where there's a will, there's a way.

Nice job

[Jason Roehl]

Tight fit... I'm surprised your front wheels stayed on the ground.

Maybe it's not obvious from the photos, but it looks to me that the center of gravity of the logs is in front of the rear wheels. Regardless, the engine (likely a large, heavy one in a one-ton van) is over the front wheels, so there's a LOT of effective leverage there with the distance the engine is from the rear axle (the fulcrum of that lever).


I'm amazed the shocks didn't shoot right through the floorboards.


Darn, that is right out of a Red & Green show, almost.

Surprised the van survived with that weight.

Really, guys? He said it was a "one ton van", which does NOT mean that it can only haul one ton--that's just legacy terminology. Depending on how it's configured, it may be able to haul up to two tons or so and still be under the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. I spend time on a truck forum, have had a 1/2-ton and a 3/4-ton truck, and now have a 3/4-ton van. Believe me, you can--and many people do--WAY overload these things and get 'er home just fine with a little extra attention to braking distances. (My 1/2-ton truck, a 1990 F150, had a GVWR of 5900 lbs, and the measured empty weight of it was about 4350 lbs with me in it, for a payload of 1500 lbs. On a couple occasions, I hauled about 3000 lbs, as measured by scales.)

[Bill Space]

Hi again,

i forgot to give credit to the hardest worker! With my orange buddy's help unloading was a piece of cake.

Longer piece was the second to come out:

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Now waiting for summer when I will have a guy come with a band saw mill to cut these and some other logs for me:

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The van is a E350 Super duty and hardly noticed the logs were inside. Once I had the second piece halfway in there, there was no way I was about to pull it back out if I could avoid doing so. I did not consider renting a trailer as they are not cheap here and I just wanted to get the job done.

Had I taken a tape measure with me and discovered the length was actually 17' rather than 14' I might have approached things differently but....

Having the the tractor sure made a difference unloading!

Glad you guys got some enjoyment out of the photos!

Bill

[Jim Andrew]

I bought a Ford Ranger, and sold my old Toyota, moved up 12 years, and bought 18 rolls of barb wire the other day. When they loaded the wire in the Ranger, it looked like it was doing a wheelie. I use a tiny pickup for the gas mileage, my 3/4 ton averages about 10, and the 4 cyl pickups do near 25. And I use trailers to haul lots of stuff. Including lumber. Have had my 2 axle car trailer so full I couldn't drive over 35, because the truck would start fishtailing if I went faster. I have a son in LA, he is 40 years old, pays 30,000 per year in rent, has 3 part time jobs since his band went broke. My plan was to save up enough lumber to build him a house, now if he would just move home, i have the lumber.

[Drew Pavlak]

Several years ago my dad, brother and myself got these from a farmer who didn't want them. the largest log measured 24" - 26" at the base and was 22' long. at the top it only got down to around 17" to 19" before it split into the smaller logs you see on the trailer. Got the whole thing in 1 load. Several of the logs had crotch sections that were filch (?) sawed to expose the figured wood. It has been air drying since. Can't wait to use some of it. The tree was up rooted in a wind storm and was still growing when we got to it. Only had to haul it about 2 miles. Got it all loaded with out a front end loader. Once we cut the smaller logs off the top and got them out of the way, we backed the trailer right under the 22' log and cut it off the stump. Worked like a charm! :D I was bound and determined to get that log home.

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[Jim Matthews]

Did you park them in front of the stove pile, as a warning?

[Mark Bolton]

Several years ago my dad, brother and myself got these from a farmer who didn't want them. the largest log measured 24" - 26" at the base and was 22' long. at the top it only got down to around 17" to 19" before it split into the smaller logs you see on the trailer. Got the whole thing in 1 load. Several of the logs had crotch sections that were filch (?) sawed to expose the figured wood. It has been air drying since. Can't wait to use some of it. The tree was up rooted in a wind storm and was still growing when we got to it. Only had to haul it about 2 miles. Got it all loaded with out a front end loader. Once we cut the smaller logs off the top and got them out of the way, we backed the trailer right under the 22' log and cut it off the stump. Worked like a charm! :D I was bound and determined to get that log home.

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Thats a super juicy haul Drew, really nice.

[Chris Padilla]

Slop some paint on the ends of those logs. Nice nice haul!

[Rick Moyer]

Some of you aren't going to like this and I'll probably regret posting this, but: I hope any of you overloading your vehicle get stopped and fined! It frosts my cereal that I drive a commercial vehicle and get spot checked often (inconvenient at least) and yet see people driving pickups with there rear bumpers dragging who never seem to get stopped. It's not only illegal to do that, it's also dangerous. The vehicle is designed for a certain handling and braking function and to overdo it is irresponsible. Pleas don't jeopardize others for your own self-interest.

[Ed Edwards]

Some of you aren't going to like this and I'll probably regret posting this, but: I hope any of you overloading your vehicle get stopped and fined! It frosts my cereal that I drive a commercial vehicle and get spot checked often (inconvenient at least) and yet see people driving pickups with there rear bumpers dragging who never seem to get stopped. It's not only illegal to do that, it's also dangerous. The vehicle is designed for a certain handling and braking function and to overdo it is irresponsible. Pleas don't jeopardize others for your own self-interest.

WOW Rick,
I was really enjoying this thread when all of a sudden you hit me with a bucket of ICE WATER
I'll bet those rear springs weren't even flat!
And, Oh by the way I'm Sure those 80,000 lb rigs never get overloaded.

Just my 2 cents worth

Ed

[Jim Matthews]

Both of these posts mention short hauls.

It would appear that both were in the limits of what the rigs might carry.
It's not like they were hauling gasoline, during rush hour...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/01/30/driver-cited-fiery-fall-river-fuel-tanker-crash/2ddY5BKGESoWV1Dd7KjIUM/story.html

3.5 hours to clear the three mile back up on a road that has no emergency turn provisions.
Some had to back their vehicles up with school kids howling - the whole way.

When was the last time you heard of an overloaded amateur causing this kind of havoc?

Let the boys have their fun, m'kay?

[Steve Gojevic]

At first I thought it was overloaded.

So I did some research and calculations.

The poster said the log was 17' long. I estimated the diameter to be 2' because they both fit side-by-side and most van openings are about 4' wide.

The weight of green cherry wood is 45lb per cubic foot (from an internet search).

The number of cubic feet is pi*radius squared*length = 3.14*1'squared*17'long = 53.38 cu ft.

The weight is 53.38cu ft * 45 lb/cu ft = 2402lbs

From being an engineer and having done loading calculations for trucks and vans before, the first load limit that you hit when most of the cargo is over/near the rear axle is the GRAWR (Gross Rear Axle Weight Rating). In this case the GRAWR is about 6000lbs. The van probably weighs about 6000lbs empty(erring on the high side here) and probably 40% of that is on the rear axle. That means there is abot 2400lbs on the rear axle just from the van. Total cargo weight on rear axle = 6000(GRAWR)- 2400lbs(van weight on rear axle) = 3600lbs.

So the 2401lbs of wood is much lower than the 3600lbs that would overload the rear axle.

BTW, the typical cargo weight allowed for these vans is about 4000lbs so that weight is not exceeded either. You just have to be careful because max cargo weight assumes an ideal weight distribution so you don't overload either axle.


So first glances (the van is overloaded) don't always indicate the real situation.

Steve

[Drew Pavlak]

Rick,

I am not sure what that trailer could carry. It was built by my father. I can say this though, no one makes them like this. At least if you go and buy one. Most of the trailer is 1/4" 4" x 4" angle iron. When we pulled it home with those logs on it, it was pulled behind a tractor (Ford 8N(?) Jubilee) on a dirt country road. Top speed a whopin' 5 MPH. I don't think anyone was in danger.

To call someone irresponsible, without knowing all the facts, is insulting. And yes IMO you should regret posting that comment.

Sorry for the rant,

[Bill Space]

Hi,

Rick,

With respect to my van, as I mentioned the van hardly noticed the logs were in there. Also look at the rear tires. They also show little if any flattening due to weight. They are 10 ply running at around 70 PSI, which is less PSI than their maximum load rating.

Steve's calculations above also indicate the van was being operated within safe load limits.

I think you missed the mark implying safety issues. The logs were also secured to the floor of the van and a red flag was attached to the tail end of the logs.

My my reference to optimism was related to how the log kept getting larger, and larger, the closer it got to the van, and how I did not change course until after I had the front end of the log inside the van. Had nothing to do with exceeding the load carrying limits of the van ...which I do not think I did.

[David Hostetler]

Okay dumb question. Why didn't you just call U-haul and rent a trailer to move that thing? That 1 ton van should be equipped for towing I would think... Be a lot safer that way...

[Bill Space]

Not sure renting a trailer would be any safer. Still have to deal with lifting and loading the log onto it.

Perhaps the trailer would actually be less stable than the van when doing this.

In my mind, renting a trailer would have cost more time, more money, and added little or no benefit.

This is just me though, for all I know you could be perfectly correct! Aside from the time and cost considerations...

I do have a tow hitch and have pulled a trailer with my tractor on it in the past, which weighs more than that "little" log...

Bill

[Rick Moyer]

Upon further review:

I would like to apologize to anyone who I offended with my earlier post. I didn't mean to single anyone out, it was a general observation of people overloading their vehicles, and I was having a bad day. Driving 350 miles everyday you see a lot of stuff that just shouldn't be happening and it gets to you. Guess I had a bug you-know-where.

Specificy to:
Bill, I enjoyed seeing your post and the logs. Wasn't meaning to imply I thought you were in violation
Drew, your pics showed a registered trailer and no mention of a tractor. I shouldn't have jumped to a conclusion.
Ed, I drive a triaxle dump truck and the quarries WILL NOT let you leave one pound overloaded. Don't know about others' circumstances.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'm sorry......but:

With all due respect, everyone is missing the point.

Something like 18" diameter, from my guess. Maybe bigger.

14' long.

Not straight but not far off.

Penna Cherry. Pennsylvania. Where you go to get top-notch cherry.

And youse guys are arguing the transport method?

Whadd're ya, NUTS?

:eek: :eek: :D :D