New Car/Truck Cargo Abilties for Sheet Goods?

[Andrew More]

Is there a good way to determine if a car or truck has the ability to accept an entire sheet of 4x8 sheet goods (plywood, drywall, MDF, etc) and still close the trunk?

I know this is a pretty specific question, but it seems like there must be enough people in the trades that this is a common enough question.

I'm thinking maybe there's a topic specific tool or website I can check out for this. Otherwise I feel I'm forced to check out any car I might like in person with a tape measure, which seems really counter productive.

I also must admit I'd like to get a car/truck that is a plug-in hybrid, and isn't a pickup truck. So this is more a question about minivans, hatchbacks, and SUVs. Since I'm a DIYer if I need to go full pickup, I can often rent a truck cheaper than owning a full sized work truck. So maybe I'm a bit off in that my requirement of the ability to carry sheet goods AND not being a pickup truck isn't common for people who do this every day.

Suggestions?

[Daniel O'Neill]

Small Trailer is what I use right now. It's a Harbor Freight fold up which works fine for a few sheets of drywall/plywood.

[mike stenson]

Small Trailer is what I use right now. It's a Harbor Freight fold up which works fine for a few sheets of drywall/plywood.

It's also a whole lot more flexible. Need to run a bunch of stuff to the dump? Way better than loading it into the occupant space.

[Andrew More]

Small Trailer is what I use right now. It's a Harbor Freight fold up which works fine for a few sheets of drywall/plywood.

Excellent idea, might even allow me to keep my current beater.

[Jim Becker]

I use a 5'x8' utility trailer for hauling stuff. Almost no "passenger type" vehicles these days have the space inside for carrying things like sheet goods. I can haul that (although I get sheet goods delivered most of the time from my primary supplier) and have had as long as 16' material on the centerline of the trailer, too. Even a really nice trailer will run you under a grand which allows you to choose your vehicle based on your other "comfort factors". Just be sure that it's setup for proper towing..."factory towing" is generally the best solution because it's pre-wired.

[Alex Zeller]

I have a full size truck but will use the trailer most of the time if I can. The truck is a pain because most parking lots don't have the lines spaced correctly. I get tired of people who feel that Doritos are a food staple thinking that 6" between their car and your truck is more than enough room. But having a trailer means finding a place to store it, dealing with tires dry rotting, and what seam like everytime I use it one of the taillights getting broken. The one I have has the expanded metal mesh for the deck which allows every drop of water to spray the bottom of anything I haul so I have plywood on top of it. If you do go with a trailer I would look into one with a wood deck. Ideally a full size van being towed by a Prius would be your best solution, lol.

[Adam Herman]

I think the only plug in that would accept sheet goods is the Chrysler Minivan, and there have been some reliability issues.

We have a Volt and a pickup.

a small trailer maybe the way to go. You can pull a small trailer with nearly any car.

I use my 16 ft. car trailer whenever I am getting more than a few sheets or sticks of lumber. so easy to load and unload.

[Richard Coers]

Is there a good way to determine if a car or truck has the ability to accept an entire sheet of 4x8 sheet goods (plywood, drywall, MDF, etc) and still close the trunk? Tape measure. I'm pretty confident that there has never been a car that would accept a full sheet. Maybe a 1970 Plymouth station wagon would come close. I also doubt if anyone in the trades would use a car to transport sheet goods. My favorite response to a question I read on line; "Is a Honda CRV good for moving furniture", answered, "Yes but the tires will leave marks on hardwood floors."
I drive a Ford Transit Connect cargo van. It's 48 1/2" wide on the floor, but will only take 7' with the doors closed. If I only pick up 3-4 sheets, I angle the first sheet up on the head rests of the front seats and slide the rest in. That lets me close the doors. There is so much headroom in that thing, that the angled sheets go over my head so I feel okay about not getting hurt if I would be rear ended. If I pick up 10 sheets, I pull the doors tight to the plywood and add a couple bungee cords. I love that van for hauling bicycles and even my lawn tractor fits in it.
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[Adam Herman]

Is there a good way to determine if a car or truck has the ability to accept an entire sheet of 4x8 sheet goods (plywood, drywall, MDF, etc) and still close the trunk? Tape measure. I'm pretty confident that there has never been a car that would accept a full sheet. Maybe a 1970 Plymouth station wagon would come close. I also doubt if anyone in the trades would use a car to transport sheet goods. My favorite response to a question I read on line; "Is a Honda CRV good for moving furniture", answered, "Yes but the tires will leave marks on hardwood floors."
I drive a Ford Transit Connect cargo van. It's 48 1/2" wide on the floor, but will only take 7' with the doors closed. If I only pick up 3-4 sheets, I angle the first sheet up on the head rests of the front seats and slide the rest in. That lets me close the doors. There is so much headroom in that thing, that the angled sheets go over my head so I feel okay about not getting hurt if I would be rear ended. If I pick up 10 sheets, I pull the doors tight to the plywood and add a couple bungee cords. I love that van for hauling bicycles and even my lawn tractor fits in it.
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Buick road masters were built until 1996. my dad had them for decades. he even bought a new one in 96 to keep in storage till the 1993 was wore out. he put at least 200k on each of them. haha.

[Lee DeRaud]

I'm pretty confident that there has never been a car that would accept a full sheet. Maybe a 1970 Plymouth station wagon would come close.

Mid-'70s Ford station wagon ("Country Squire"?): I borrowed my neighbor's a couple of times for that when I moved into this house in 1979. That thing was big. Those were the days before Home Depot rented trucks.

But I've had 4-5 (cut) sheets in the back of my Accord: it will handle 30"x80" through the trunk hole. I just don't do many projects that require bigger chunks than that now.

[Brian Elfert]

I have a Dodge Caravan. It will haul 4x8 sheets and still close the hatch, but barely. The fit for 4x8 sheets is really tight and you generally can't carry more than a few sheets due to the design. It feels like the engineers/designers were given a directive that a 4x8 sheet must fit, but don't include any extra space.

99% of the time I use my 6x10 utility trailer instead. It is way easier to get 4x8 sheets in and out of the trailer.

[Kev Williams]

I have a Dodge Caravan. It will haul 4x8 sheets and still close the hatch, but barely.

I have a 2002 Chevy Venture van, same thing basically- how well sheets fit depends on how close you can move the front seats forward and still drive

[roger wiegand]

Seem that about 90% of even pickup trucks are too small to carry a sheet of plywood without leaving the tailgate down (which presumably explains the number of pieces of plywood, OSB, and drywall littering the highways). One wonders what in the world those trucks with the micro-beds are used for.

I had Suburbans back in our serious canoe camping days, they would hold a 4x8 sheet with the tailgate closed. Don't know if that's still true of the modern gussied up ones.

[mike stenson]

Seem that about 90% of even pickup trucks are too small to carry a sheet of plywood without leaving the tailgate down (which presumably explains the number of pieces of plywood, OSB, and drywall littering the highways). One wonders what in the world those trucks with the micro-beds are used for.

I had Suburbans back in our serious canoe camping days, they would hold a 4x8 sheet with the tailgate closed. Don't know if that's still true of the modern gussied up ones.

My current F150's got a 6' bed. Then again, so did my 1972 GMC K25. Short beds have been around forever.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I'm another trailer person. We've had Subaru Outbacks for the past 13 years or so, so sheet goods don't fit. I had a Harbor Freight trailer for 4 years and it was fine, the best thing about it was that you could take the sides off and use it as a flatbed, so when I retired from parting out tractors I was able to load pallets of leftover tractor parts on the trailer and the auctioneer could take them off with a forklift when I arrived with each load. For the last 4 years I've had a 5x8 Carry-On trailer from Tractor Supply, it's not as well balanced as the HF but the folding ramp/tailgate is very handy and it's stronger overall. The hinges rusted up on it last year, so I bought a new set and welded them in. Now I can take the tailgate off if I should ever want to. I try to pick up sheet goods and lumber on dry days, but a lot can be done with a tarp if necessary.