My 3PH Carry All

[Haywire]

Well, this is what I ended up with. It's made of 1.5", 3/16" wall square tube. 30" forks. I think it's plenty stout.

The firewood rack I made for it needs some tweaking though. It's not totally finished yet but I strapped it on temporarily and did a test run. First thing is that I didn't count on the side to side swaying. I either need to figure out a way to really make the side supports a LOT stouter or change the design to stack the wood the other direction. The stack would be a lot more stable that way, but would be more of a pain to fill as the supports would have to be on the back side and in the way.. Driving really slow was mandatory or I was going to be playing 52 pickup with it like it is. The side supports are just tacked in place but what I had in mind for the permanent solution wasn't going to be much more stable.

Suggestions?
Ian

 

[jake98]

I think what you got there is a 'firewood spreader'..

 

[Haywire]

LOL.. yep true dat. I hope to rectify that situation.

 

[dillo99]

Haywire,

I built a similar firewood carrier - I'll try to get a picture today. I pick mine up with the loader though - I bolted 2x4's on the bottom of a pallet with spacers that leaves a 2" gap on one side. The bucket lip slides in there and then I can pick the whole thing up with the bucket. I then built a similar frame to yours (about the same height) but I added wire fencing on three sides. So now I can stack firewood two deep (probably almost 2x what you have there). I load it up behind the barn and then set it in the garage until empty.

Works pretty well. So you may want to think about how you can put wire fencing on the sides of your carrier.

 

[mojoinco]

Great minds must think alike -- or at least close.

I am on year three of a similar experiment. Year one/two, I just took pallets (wife is a horse woman -- they collect pallets for hay storage) as they were, then added 2 or 3 rows of 2x4's inside the pallet stringers (2x4's), then cross strapped the tops (nailing the tops over the two vertical 2x4's). Then I nailed another 2x4 across the tops to tie them together. I spaced the rows for face cords. It is fairly rigid when full, but flacid as all get out when empty.

I do use forks, with a back fence. But one should back with that set up (if you loose any wood you don't risk driving over it). I set it in the garage and fill up my wood ricks. I like the idea of just moving them in and leaving the pallet until empty. Will have to consider if I can move enough junk around to make that work.

Several years ago I bought a pair of the Northern Tools wood rick stands (the kind you add 2x4's to; made out of 3 pieces of steel). I made a 3rd, put it in the middle of an 8' 2x4, then have two ricks. I use the 'dry' one, and fill the empty one. By the time you need the 'wet' wood, it has dried (we don't get a lot of rain when it is cold enough to want heat, so what snow has made it into the garage will melt and dry off in 3 or 4 days). It is pretty dry in Colorado, so I don't worry about covering up my fire wood.

Back to the pallets. I see them as consumable. I use old pallets (well, whatever is free) and whatever junk wood I can find, even buying the culls at Home Depot. 4' is all the higher I go with the vertical 2x4s. That helps a lot with being rigid.

This year I decided that 3 ricks on a pallet was too much work to unload, as you have to bend over and reach back through 2 ricks of space to reach the back rick. Even if you move the tractor out of the way the middle row is harder. So I sawzalled the third row off while fixing them up prior to wood stacking this year. Plus, my wife has a small skid steer, and the 3 rows were just on the ragged edge for it (balance issues). Her machine fits in the garage, mine will not. I also nailed 2x4s across the inside of the two rows to tie them together better (and give the corner joints more to nail to). Mo' rigid.

The biggest reason I started doing this is so I could move the wood pile from next to the house and cut all the wood by my shop (out of site, looks a lot nicer; might help with critters in the wood, including bugs, and them from the house).

 

[Haywire]

I think I have come up with something that will work, and when not in use will come apart with pins and hang flat on the barn wall. It will be not as high, but two stacks deep. It's raining today, and will be cold and snowy tomorrow. Probably won't get to it till next week. Will post pics when I get it finished and all the kinks worked out.

Ian

 

[beenthere]

I just use the pallets, and stack about 1/5 of a cord of split wood at the splitter.
Then stack the loaded pallets two high for two years storage and seasoning.

Then use the forks to run a pallet at a time of seasoned wood into the garage for the wood boiler.

The first pic is stacked higher than I normally stack but didn't lose any and the only investment is a free pallet. The second is more normal size and have been doing this method for 4 years. The third is how I use three pallets to stack limb wood (too small to split) for drying and transporting.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I just use the pallets, and stack about 1/5 of a cord of split wood at the splitter.
Then stack the loaded pallets two high for two years storage and seasoning.

Then use the forks to run a pallet at a time of seasoned wood into the garage for the wood boiler.

The first pic is stacked higher than I normally stack but didn't lose any and the only investment is a free pallet. The second is more normal size and have been doing this method for 4 years. The third is how I use three pallets to stack limb wood (too small to split) for drying and transporting.

That first picture is an impressive load.

Do you use ballast out back.??

 

[Haywire]

A set of pallet forks for the bucket would be ideal since I could lift it onto the porch for transfer to my rack there, but I understand the 2660's bucket lift capacity is fairly limited once you extend the load out there with clamp on bucket forks.

I figured out what I needed and went to Lowes tonight to get it. I had my lumber and hardware on a cart and instead of taking that big cart all over the store for the other stuff I wanted, I staged it close to the checkout on the lumber side and went to finish my shopping. When I got ready to check out, I found that some jackwagon had assumed it abandoned and put all my stuff away. I dropped the rest of what I gathered on the counter and walked out. Whoever it was can put that away too.

Ian

 

[sodamo]

A set of pallet forks for the bucket would be ideal since I could lift it onto the porch for transfer to my rack there, but I understand the 2660's bucket lift capacity is fairly limited once you extend the load out there with clamp on bucket forks.

I figured out what I needed and went to Lowes tonight to get it. I had my lumber and hardware on a cart and instead of taking that big cart all over the store for the other stuff I wanted, I staged it close to the checkout on the lumber side and went to finish my shopping. When I got ready to check out, I found that some jackwagon had assumed it abandoned and put all my stuff away. I dropped the rest of what I gathered on the counter and walked out. Whoever it was can put that away too.

Ian

I've had that happen - really TICKS me off