My firewood setup

[DavidMF]

Long time guest and decided to finally register. Hello everyone! David here from CA. Gained a lot of info from this forum when I first started my firewood business. So a lot of thanks to everyone.

Here's my current setup
Chevy 3500 dually flatbed currently can hold two cords
Good ole splitter
A dump trailer with 2 cord capacity

I'm in my second year.first year I did 44 cords in three months. I'm hoping to do a min of atleast a 100 cords this year. And make this my full time job. Love splitting wood and delivering/meeting new people. Here's some pictures for you guys/gals.

[barbender]

Welcome, David! Nice setup, CA must be Canada, not California? I'm just guessing by the background in your pics.

[DavidMF]

Hey barbender, it actually is California. I'm pretty much 45 min from Nevada and Oregon border. So upper northern corner.

[barbender]

Oh, ok! Cool, well it looks kind of like Ontario ;D What species of wood do you deal in?

[DavidMF]

Juniper! Ive tried oak but dam it's just too heavy.  Barbender do you sell Firewood,milling or logging?

[woodshax]

Welcome David,

I sell firewood out of Texas....don't have nearly the setup you do.  Good luck!

[47sawdust]

David,
What is the brand on that splitter?It looks like a Powersplit.

[barbender]

David, I work for a large logging outfit, split and sell a bit of firewood, and I have a sawmill too. As I say, too many irons in the fire😊

[DavidMF]

David,
What is the brand on that splitter?It looks like a Powersplit.

It's a home built unit. It's really nice splitter. That platform goes up and down. Also  it's towable. Wheels and hitch are removable to make it stationary.

[DavidMF]

David, I work for a large logging outfit, split and sell a bit of firewood, and I have a sawmill too. As I say, too many irons in the fire😊

Well your just having all kinds of fun aren't you? I've been tempted to buy a portable saw mill. Wife won't budge yet.

[DavidMF]

Welcome David,

I sell firewood out of Texas....don't have nearly the setup you do.  Good luck!

Thanks woodshax! Curious in what type of wood do you sell

[gasman1075]

David,

When I retire ( the good LORD willing ) in about 5 years I look to stay busy with a small firewood business and am accumulating equipment now while I have a steady paycheck. Tractor and splitter I have but am looking to purchase a 1 ton diesel pick up and a dump trailer. Would you please share the specifics of the trailer that can hold and dump 2 cord ? I would also like to be able to use the trailer to move the splitter and / or the tractor. Tractor is a JD790 with FEL and the splitter is a TW-5 I am also watching for a conveyor as well. I load by hand currently but I can not keep up with the splitter.

Thanks much in advance

Jack

[DavidMF]

David,

When I retire ( the good LORD willing ) in about 5 years I look to stay busy with a small firewood business and am accumulating equipment now while I have a steady paycheck. Tractor and splitter I have but am looking to purchase a 1 ton diesel pick up and a dump trailer. Would you please share the specifics of the trailer that can hold and dump 2 cord ? I would also like to be able to use the trailer to move the splitter and / or the tractor. Tractor is a JD790 with FEL and the splitter is a TW-5 I am also watching for a conveyor as well. I load by hand currently but I can not keep up with the splitter.

Thanks much in advance

Jack

Hey jack, my trailer is a 6x10x5. I can hold alittle over 2 cords stacked. Ideal setup with a conveyor, would be a 6x12x5trailer. You could throw 2 cords loose in there. My trailer is a 10k dump and lifts the load without any issues. Also, buy a modern diesel! 04-2007.  Great business to retire on. "Best job I ever had"

[DDW_OR]

I like the idea of a stand-a-lone firewood processor.
http://woodlandmills.ca/us/product/woodland-firewood-processor/
under $6,000

add a dump kit to your truck flatbed
i sold this ford f250 since it was a 2wd with automatic trans.
my property is hilly and was always on the brakes.

my new truck is a dodge 3500 dually, saving up to add the flatbed and dump.

 


 

[gasman1075]

Thanks all! Should a modern diesel only be 2004-2007 ? I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

[DDW_OR]

Thanks all! Should a modern diesel only be 2004-2007 ? I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

Ford switched from the 7.3 to the 6.0 in 2003
in 2007 Dodge changed from the 5.9 Cummings.

my dodge is the 2007 with a 5.9. i do not have to use DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid)

i like the 7.3 and the 5.9.
the 5.9 is used in a LOT of different equipment.

[thechknhwk]

Thanks all! Should a modern diesel only be 2004-2007 ? I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

I think he's talking duramaxes... the 04.5 & 05 are the LLY motor and the 06 & 07 classic are the LBZ motor, they are pre-emissions and only have an EGR.  GM diesel trucks manufactured before that have serviceability issues with the injectors (costs a lot to fix) and were known for injector failure at about 80-100k.  Hope that helps

[North River Energy]

When I retire ( the good LORD willing ) in about 5 years I look to stay busy with a small firewood business and am accumulating equipment now while I have a steady paycheck. Tractor and splitter I have but am looking to purchase a 1 ton diesel pick up and a dump trailer. Would you please share the specifics of the trailer that can hold and dump 2 cord ? I would also like to be able to use the trailer to move the splitter and / or the tractor. Tractor is a JD790 with FEL and the splitter is a TW-5 I am also watching for a conveyor as well. I load by hand currently but I can not keep up with the splitter.

I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

Does your predicted delivery scenario actually require a 1-ton diesel and dump trailer?
 
It sounds like you're on a realistic budget, and reaching physical 'maturity' ;), so do a lot of thinking on how the material is handled from point of origin to destination.

E.g., starting out, a conveyor is more important than a dump truck (or a burly splitter).
A heavier truck might be cheaper to purchase, own, and operate than a 1 ton. You may not need 4wd, or, for that matter, a diesel engine.

Or even a truck built during the last fifteen years.

Similarly, do you expect to earn money, or just entertain yourself once retired?

[gasman1075]

NRE,

If I don't have something to do outside I sit on the couch, drink beer get fat fall asleep etc. etc. so I am in the long term research phase and acquire things like monster splitter ( TW5 ) at less than market prices when I see them come up. I have located a conveyor just havent dragged it home yet. I am hoping to make a little money and stay busy but not undercut the local guys that are trying to make a living. I welcome suggestions on trucks to pull the dump trailer since I haven't owned a full size pickup truck in over 20 years and have never owned a dump trailer. I will need the pickup truck before I retire for my present job in sales so I am looking for something decent that can haul my ( future ) dump trailer around and haul my tractor around as well. I appreciate your time and input.

Thanks

Jack

[woodshax]

Hey David,

Sorry for the delay....I was out of town taking advantage of our slow season..... Mid July to 1 Sept.   We sell mostly Oak with some Pecan.  Our Business model is a bit different from most....We sell exclusively at Texas State Parks and sell by the stick with 10% of the monthly gross going to the Parks for the right of exclusivity on the park....It lets us sell by the stick for about $1200 a cord.

[North River Energy]

Jack,
Bear in mind that I'm no 'expert', so what works for my firewood business may not work for you.

It starts with your market. How distant is each delivery, what is the product (green, seasoned, what block size, what length)  how is access to each customer's yard, what is the prevailing selling price and your profit/hr etc. If you don't have a solid grasp of these things, or how your enterprise will fit into the existing market, make do with what you have until you find at least the corners and sides of the puzzle.

For instance, I have two good multi-cord clients 6 miles from my yard, where a dump trailer either won't fit into the yard, or where the truck would be blocking a well-traveled road while backing/unloading. One is green wood, smaller blocks at 14", one is seasoned, 16", combination of regular stock and oversized blocks for overnight burning. My means of production, handling, and delivery are flexible enough to accommodate both without complication.
When you consider that every stick of wood you sell is, in effect, your business card writ large, it really pays to deliver exactly what people want, and to park it where it presents the least inconvenience to their daily existence.

Dump trailers are, by nature, heavy. What you gain in convenience, you lose in payload. They are also close to the ground, so if you have limited space to drop a load, it will be more spread out than if it came off a platform dump.

Do you need a one ton for your present work, or will the dump trailer require one?
If you need to move your tractor and splitter, where does that leave you in terms of trailer carrying capacity, combined DOT compliance, and is the truck up to the task?
In other words, is it perception, the market, or the trailer requirements driving the truck purchase?

Some of what I sell is green, some seasoned. An honest cord of green oak on a 1 ton is, in my opinion, a lot of weight.
If you have to travel any distance, that weight represents both wear on the truck, cost of fuel, and exposure to liability.  For any serious payload, a one-ton dumper fits into a no-man's land of passenger/work vehicles. Capable of both, suitable for neither.

Most of my deliveries are within a ten mile radius, so i'm not living in the truck on a daily basis, and it might see a combined use of 5k miles/year. So creature comforts of a modern truck are irrelevant.

At least in my area, there are plenty of older medium duty rack and 'mason' dump trucks available for very little money. Other than a few larger wrenches and a big jack, they are both easier to work on than modern one-ton diesels, and inherently simpler in design.

I need to replace my truck at some point, and I'm considering building up an f600 (which I already own) rated at 14-16k. It appears that insurance will be quite a bit less than the f350, the chassis will handle the weight better, and I should get better use out of both fuel and tires. The rack body should draw less attention than the typical dump body. The wheelbase is only slightly longer than the 350, so access to 'tight' yards shouldn't be a problem, and the larger tires should do less damage to lawns and driveways. There will be no payments, and I won't be smashing up an oversized daily driver with every shift at the 'hammer factory'

The bottom line, I think, is to do a lot of research into exactly what you need to move, and where you need to put it (on both the macro and micro level), before fixating on a particular type of transport.

[DavidMF]

Thanks all! Should a modern diesel only be 2004-2007 ? I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

It's really just buy a diesel without all that emissions crap.

[DavidMF]

Thanks all! Should a modern diesel only be 2004-2007 ? I have never owned a diesel truck just my tractor.

Ford switched from the 7.3 to the 6.0 in 2003
in 2007 Dodge changed from the 5.9 Cummings.

my dodge is the 2007 with a 5.9. i do not have to use DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid)

i like the 7.3 and the 5.9.
the 5.9 is used in a LOT of different equipment.

Any pics of your dodge 3500? I've been looking for a flatbed dually cummins. Such a great motor. How do you like it compared to your previous Ford?

[DDW_OR]

Any pics of your dodge 3500? I've been looking for a flatbed dually cummins. Such a great motor. How do you like it compared to your previous Ford?

I like the 2007 dodge, I have no pics of it.
would have kept the Ford if it was a maual trans.
the ford was a no frills extended cab truck, manual windows, manual locks, bench front seat
the dodge is a 4 door power everything.
both had an eight foot bed and the two trucks where the same overall length.
ford = 7.3, Dodge = 5.9, so the engine difference on paper is 1.4 liters
 

for now i have a slide-in dump bed from Craigslist for when i need a dump truck.
slides in, attaches with two bolts and a +12v line to the battery.
has a three stage hydraulic ram to lift the dump. gravity brings it down.
Little Dump by THS Products Inc