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Thread: 4x8 Sheets Fit These Vehicles...

  1. #61
    My lumber store charges $45 for a delivery, no matter the size. I can get a LOT of deliveries for the cost of a trailer+hitch. I know most people want to be able to get things themselves but to pay for the Gas for a large vehicle every day just so you can pick up some large items every so often just doesn't make sense to me.
    I drive a Honda Fit and can get 8' long lumber home with the hatch shut. when I need to use sheet goods, I fork out the $45 and get a couple extra sheets to keep around for other projects.
    ~Everyone has the strength, few possess the will~

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    SF Bay Area, CA
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    15,332
    Quote Originally Posted by Mac McQuinn View Post
    I have a 09 Tacoma Base 2WD pick-up which handles a stack of ply with a pair of varnished 2x6's in the bed notches with the tailgate down. These trucks have a pair of tool compartments inside the box where I keep clamps to secure the ply to the 2x6's at the corners. I've found this to be a easy way to transport ply @ 25 mpg.
    Mac
    Yep...ditto for my '06 Tacoma. Couple of 2x6s (mine are very greyed pieces of redwood) and some rope and the very nice tie-downs and you're good to go.

    Incidentally, any E39 BMW 5-series (1997-2003) WITH FOLD DOWN REAR SEAT, can handle quite a few 2x4s and 2x6s at 8' and maybe even 10' long but they will be sitting on the dash a little bit so have a towel handy. However, it won't handle a 4x8 sheet of plywood at all except on the roof I suppose.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  3. #63
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Olson View Post
    My lumber store charges $45 for a delivery, no matter the size. I can get a LOT of deliveries for the cost of a trailer+hitch. I know most people want to be able to get things themselves but to pay for the Gas for a large vehicle every day just so you can pick up some large items every so often just doesn't make sense to me.
    I drive a Honda Fit and can get 8' long lumber home with the hatch shut. when I need to use sheet goods, I fork out the $45 and get a couple extra sheets to keep around for other projects.
    I've made this argument before, and thats why I don't have a truck (or van), however it hasn't really worked for me. While in practice its easy to get a delivery, or rent a truck, I always run into issues with delivery times, or rentals being avalible. Not to mention how convient it would be to just run out and grab a sheet rather than having to wait till I have a big project and buying a bunch at a time. I've also ended up using far more expensive sheet goods than what I really needed just because it was what I had.

  4. #64
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim German View Post
    I've made this argument before, and thats why I don't have a truck (or van), however it hasn't really worked for me. While in practice its easy to get a delivery, or rent a truck, I always run into issues with delivery times, or rentals being avalible. Not to mention how convient it would be to just run out and grab a sheet rather than having to wait till I have a big project and buying a bunch at a time. I've also ended up using far more expensive sheet goods than what I really needed just because it was what I had.
    Yes, that is all true. plus, I used to pick up any old real wood furniture i'd see on garbage day, and bring home pallets when I had a truck. I do really miss that, but it's all about how much is your convenience worth in $
    ~Everyone has the strength, few possess the will~

  5. I'm able to fit both 4' x 8' and melamine panels in my extended Ford Econoline van..... OK, I'll go away now.....

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lafayette, IN
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    4,563
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Kirby View Post
    ^^^THIS +1^^^ With the seats 'stowed' Full sheets of ply will lay flat on the floor with the back hatch closed normally. Only problem is that you lose all but one passenger seat. This is where a pickup might have the advantage. But a Minivan (at least a 2006 to present model, in my experience) hauls them quite nicely!
    Make that '05+...
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  7. #67
    I know the vehicle's been mentioned already, but I love my Ridgeline. 49" between wheel wells, and 1500lb bed capacity. Plus, a really handy trunk that holds tie downs, snow chains, and apparently even a cooler full of fish on ice. I've a hard tonneau cover that I use to hold down long dimensional lumber, I just let it (the lumber) rest on the tailgate and put the tonneau down on it - nothing slides anywhere. Only issue I have is that it's a bear to handle uncut BB ply because the bed walls slope downward to the back bumper. Even if you can find a way to hold it down, it will still be angled such that it poses a hindrance to safe driving (on the highway, at least). So...only BB I've bought has been cut down to fit before leaving the supplier.

    I also love my Ridgeline because of its safety features. My first one was totalled when a guy on his cell phone behind me didn't notice that traffic was at a dead stop and plowed into me doing 60. Although I had some respiratory issues from the airbag residue (when he pushed me into the car in front of me, the airbag deployed), I walked away from that accident. I didn't even consider another type of vehicle when I replaced it.


    daniel
    Not all chemicals are bad. Without hydrogen or oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.

  8. #68
    To get back to the 5X8 trailer idea: I have a nice one with 15" wheels and a 2990 lb GVWR. Aside from hauling lumber and furniture, it's great for stuff I don't want in my van like mulch, topsoil, brush, etc.

    However, with wooden sides installed on the steel frame, it reduced the 8' length on the inside enough that the ramp-type tailgate wouldn't close with 4X8 plywood in it. They should make these things a couple inches longer!

    Anyway, I solved the problem by welding a new tailgate out of 1-1/2" angle iron, positioned to give some additional bed length. All is good.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Silicon Valley, CA
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    1,048
    Sorry, I know this is an older thread but it has a lot of good information and I hope we can update it with any newer options.

    My wife & I are need a new 2nd car and being able to carry larger materials is on our wishlist. Other wishes are decent economy, ease of driving, and hopefully not too pricey. We will seldom, if ever, need more than two seats. So, what can haul 4x8' & 5x5' sheets and long boards and is cheaper, easier to drive, and more economical than a full-sized truck?

    Three vehicles have attracted my attention so far, but none of them seem perfect:

    Nissan NV200 -- cheap'ish, economical, and reasonably compact. But it doesn't look like it will actually hold 4x8' sheets.

    Mercedes Metris ("mid-sized") Van -- spec'd to carry 4x4x8' pallets, reasonably economical, and supposed to small enough to fit in normal spaces. But it is pricey and so scarce I've never seen one.

    Honda Ridgeline 2017 -- a review in our local paper loved the 2017 redesign. It has decent economy numbers, can hold 4x8' sheets, will accept a truck rack for longer lumber, and has passenger space with a folding seat allowing 3 extra passengers or a locked storage space. But it is very pricey.

    Any first hand experience with any of these? Any other options that might be closer to "perfect" for us? Thanks!

  10. #70
    I'll just renew what I said earlier and that's, my 2011 Honda Pilot will hold a 4x8 sheet with hatch tied down. I have an aftermarket rack on the Honda rails, to hold 2 or 3, 5x5 sheets of ply...keeping in mind that those sheets are well tied down and I drive slowly.

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Fort Wayne, IN
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    555
    Funny you should mention the 2017 Ridgeline. They just dropped one off in my driveway an hour ago.

    I had 2011 Ridgeline and really liked the truck. Only thing I wasn't enamored with was the gas mileage which is why I traded it in on the 2017. I drove an F150 a couple weeks ago and didn't like the ride (drove like a truck) and was just too big. I need something to haul lumber and occasionally sheet goods and the Ridgeline does that well. A joy to drive and still hauls what I need.

    I've previously had Ford Escapes (older style) and an Edge. Great cars and can haul a sheet of plywood. But the Ridgeline gives a freedom that's nice. I can haul anything I need without a second thought and enjoy driving it any time.

    Cliff
    The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
    Charles Bukowski

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Florida
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    1,950
    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    If it can't fit a 4x8 in the bed with the tailgate up, it ain't a truck.
    If I take out the 5th wheel hitch mine could carry a couple tons of 4x8 but I'd have to have the tailgate open as my F350 is a short bed. 😁

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    490
    Have to jump on the train!
    My 07 Ridgeline has been great for hauling stuff. No need to have cross boards or a rack to haul breakable stuff like drywall as has no wheel wells so has a flat floor that is 49" wide. I commonly haul 14-16 foot trim and boards by running them through the back window. I use the wife to hold the stuff from moving while I drive.

    I need to check out the new Pilot and Odyssey to see what they can haul with the hatch closed.

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
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    15,332
    Cliff, please comment on the touch-screen. I read where the volume control is annoying to adjust and that the steering controls are preferred for such things. Cargo and capacity looks impressive and it could be my next 'truck'.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  15. #75
    If you can get over the whole Mini-Van thing they are great for hauling 4x8 sheets and lumber.
    It's a comfortable ride and gets about 20mpg around town.

    I have a 2014 Chrysler minivan "former rental for just under $20k" and love it. I should have gone down this road years ago but it took me a while to get over the whole mini-van thing.

    I have had plenty of Pickup trucks through the years but never liked the open bed in the rain and snow, or the ride.
    ~Everyone has the strength, few possess the will~

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