Transporting large Maple Slabs

[Martin Stover]

I have the opportunity to pick up some Maple slabs about 12 feet long for future projects. The only problem is they are 750 miles away from me. Getting myself there is not a problem, but how to transport them? They are roughly 36 inches wide and 2ish inches thick. I think they should be about 250-300 pounds each. I have a full size HD pickup, but only has a 6 foot bed. Suggestions? I would be willing to invest in a lumber rack but wasn't sure about transporting them that far at highway speeds on a rack like that. I have a 10-foot open trailer too, but even then seems these are too long.

Thanks

Martin

[Wayne Lomman]

12 foot timber on a 10 foot trailer will work. Load them forward so that they hang over the draw bar rather than out the back. This means you don't get booked for excessive overhang nor make your trailer prone to fishtailing. Putting them on any kind of roof rack makes for a top heavy load which is also bad for stability. Cheers

[Charles P. Wright]

U-Haul has 12' utility trailers; not sure if they are really 12'; but that is I how I got my slabs, which are about 40"x10' long and they fit with a bit of extra room length wise. I would definitely rent a trailer rather than try a roof rack.

[Paul Girouard]

Hard to load and unload from on top of a lumber rack. Flat bed trailer sounds the best of the two options you offered . If you hit weather you'll have issues with them getting wet. A rental truck might be a better option.

[John C Bush]

I transported two 16' X ~~36" X 2 1/2" walnut slabs in my 5X10 utility trailer with no problems. Easily 300+#s each. Only drove ~50 mi on the freeway and traveled well at 60.

[Cary Falk]

12' on a 10' trailer should be fine. Staple a red flag on the board and you should be good to go. I stick 12-14'boards in my 6' bed with the tailgate up. I put a flag on it. I have never been pulled over.

[Jamie Buxton]

Maybe a trailer is overkill. If your truck has a six foot bed, it'll support the lumber for 7 1/2 feet or so with the tailgate down. So if the planks are indeed 12 feet long, they'll be hanging off the end only 4 1/2 feet. That's not bad.

[Neil Gaskin]

I would rent a trailer. 750 miles is a fair bitt. But on a budget a bed extender would work.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=truck+bed+extender&sprefix=Truck+bed+exte%2Caps%2C161&crid=1SEZNNVZTBL3N

[Charles P. Wright]

I've got a bed extender, which I actually use together with a back rack for carrying 16' stuff; but a trailer rental isn't going to be much more, and at least the one I have wobbles quite a bit (though usually not with a lot of weight).

[Frank Drew]

1500 miles round trip is considerable; I had lumber from out of state delivered by freight trucking companies a few times and the cost wasn't at all prohibitive; whoever has the lumber now would have to prepare it for pickup according to the carrier's requirements, but shipping lumber isn't like shipping fragile goods.

I wouldn't feel comfortable carrying 12 foot lumber in a 6 foot pickup over a long distance, no matter how you arrange it, but maybe that's just me.

[Scott T Smith]

Martin, if they are dry they will weigh around 250 lbs each. If they are green they will be closer to 400 lbs each.

Personally I would suggest a rental U-Haul trailer. I would also suggest that you wrap the slab stack that that the air will not affect their moisture content during the trip. this can be as simple as laying down some plastic sheeting (6 or 8 mil) on the trailer, stacking your slabs on it and then wrapping and taping the plastic before strapping down the straps.

Be sure to load them in a way that you have a few hundred pounds of positive tongue weight on the trailer.

[rudy de haas]

In your place I'd make it some one else's problem: hire a transport company to bring them to you. It may cost you more cash than getting them yourself, but count 1500 miles on your odometer and it will be much closer to breakeven and you don't end up trying to lift 300 pound slabs onto your trailer or pickup.

By the way: don't hang 5.5 feet of maple off the back of your pickup - that's probly almost 8 feet past the rear axle (depending on what truck you have).. I've done this with bigger stuff and having the front wheels unload on even minor bumps is more fun to talk about after wards than to experience on the highway.