I'm a new member of the club and have been learning so much from all of these forums so thanks, everyone! I'm located in the PNW and do side work clearing land/arborist jobs. Lately, I've been getting my hands on lots of free wood and I'm working on getting into the firewood business by building up some serious inventory. I have all the gear I need except an efficient way of bringing wood home. I've got a Tacoma that'll carry .5 cord and have access to my Dad's f250 but it has a canopy so it only fits 2/3's a cord. I'm considering buying a 7-10k flatbed trailer so I can haul home 2 cords worth of logs to speed up the process. My thoughts are that a trailer will be more cost-efficient in the long run since there's minimal maintenance and no insurance costs and I'm trying to spend as little cash as possible. Do you guys have any opinions or advice on getting logs home? Thanks!
Welcome, A trailer will give you the option of bringing wood home and not having to unload it immediately. If you come home at dark, you can unhook the trailer and go to work the next day and deal with it later. A truck on the other hand you most likely will want to off-load before work the next day.
I'd look at getting a dump trailer. I started with flat bed utility trailer. I've had the dump trailer for 18 months now and wonder why I waited so long
My 18’ trailer holds an exact cord and has vastly increased my delivery to time and expense ratio. With my truck bed, four face cords goes to Nashville and brings home approximately 12 Benjamin’s.
The great thing about selling firewood is you can do it your own way with whatever amount of effort and equipment you desire. I am more into the physical means of production over the expensive equipment way of producing firewood.
A few things that will help you get serious about your firewood business. As stated, a dump trailer is super handy for getting logs home and wood delivered, especially since your dad has a F250. A conveyor really speeds up the loading process, especially if you can go from splitter to conveyor to trailer. Here we just used conveyor to load from a big shed A tractor to move logs and totes is very helpful... IBC totes are great to store 1/3 cord loads and deliver them... And 1/2 the bladder makes a great roof
Looks like you’ve got an awesome setup! Thanks for the pics! I’d love a dump trailer but I figured a flatbed will serve me better right now for getting whole logs since getting inventory is the priority
We used flat bed for many years, it gets the job done, but unloading was the problem when tractor was at job site
Cant help with the hauling end. I do it the hard way...cut and load then unload from my F150. My advice would be on the product itself. Be sure your wood is dry and give buyers the correct amount. Two of the most common issues i see around here and hear from new customers.
Yep, it is time and labor intensive to make $1,200 a day selling four face cords with the loading, driving, wheelbarrowing and stacking. Not to mention the cutting, stacking and drying time. Producing and selling firewood is a great hobby, not a career.
$550 every 18 days delivering two face cords of hickory. Most of the time I haul an additional load in my truck for another customer. Trailer is pulled alongside storage been for a quick and easy unload.
Out of curiosity, have you calculated your hourly? I've been running the numbers and it seems that I'm able to average about $30/hour after covering fuel expenses and saw maintenance.
Hourly income is hard to calculate since most of my deliveries are in the 60-70 mile one way range. One rick deliveries around $25 a hour overall after expenses and about $60 a hour if hauling four ricks. With tips, averaged about $310 a Rick this winter. Diesel, driving time, depreciation and maintenances expenses add up on the delivery side. I sell firewood for more than most in the country, but don’t consider it a great way to make a living.
