At Home In The Woods

[CurlyDave]

Obed,

I would guess you could find a location to build an earthen loading dock to assist loading into your truck. A few railroad ties or landscape timbers, a few yards of dirt, a few buckets of gravel. Plant grass and instant earthen loading dock. If you spend a bit of time placing the landscape timbers, I think it would look nice and blend into the scenery....

I really like that idea. I like it so much I have to find a spot to do it at my place.

 

[Obed]

Obed,

I would guess you could find a location to build an earthen loading dock to assist loading into your truck.

Dean

Dean,
That's a very interesting idea. Had I thought about that when we were grading the yard this summer, I might have done it then.
Obed

 

[Obed]

You guys are going to have to stop coming up with such practical ideas. My wife was reading the posts about the trailer topic. She liked the idea of making the 2x8 ramps so much that she backtracked on letting me buy a utility trailer. I then had to re-convince her that we "need" a utility trailer. Fortunately she's once again given me the ok. I need to find one quickly before she changes her mind.

 

[Obed]

I thought my shelf building project was over for a while. Then this morning I made the mistake of showing my wife a spot where it would be nice to have another set of shelves.

So now my plans for today have been changed. My wife didn't even ask me; she just immediately started making a supplies list. She is on her way to Lowe's right now. The new shelves will go where the backpack and lawn chair are shown in the picture.

 

[dstig1]

You guys are going to have to stop coming up with such practical ideas. My wife was reading the posts about the trailer topic. She liked the idea of making the 2x8 ramps so much that she backtracked on letting me buy a utility trailer. I then had to re-convince her that we "need" a utility trailer. Fortunately she's once again given me the ok. I need to find one quickly before she changes her mind.

:laughing:

 

[CurlyDave]

When you make the 2x8 ramps, be certain they are short enough to fit easily into the bed of your truck.

I only have a 6.5' bed and the ramps I made were too long to fit in the truck bed. I cut them shorter and now they fit diagonally. Your bed is longer, but if you use the ramps to load anything, you want them at the other end to unload.

 

[KentT]

If you are routinely going to be loading a lawnmower, I suggest you buy arched (i.e. curved, not straight) ramps. Otherwise, there is a tendency for the mower deck to "hang up" on the end of the ramps when the back tires are on the ramp and the front tires are in the truck bed.

Though I have a good set of 3500lb rated arched ramps, I still much, much prefer to haul on a trailer because the trailer sits so much lower to the ground and is so much easier/safer to load the mower on it...

I haul in the truck bed only as a last resort...

My 2 cents, YMMV...

 

[tony Cecil]

You might get another chance at the loading ramp : Seriously you should get started on where the garden is going to go, and some how fit the plan for a storage shed in that area, then cut the trees down and grade out where building would, in the future go, plus the loading dock, and the garden.....I think the soil for the garden could be turned and limed now, and an overall garden plan begin to be thought out... not that you don`t have enough other projects on your mind Tony

 

[Obed]

When I mentioned to my wife this morning the spot where it would be great to have another set of shelves, I intended to convey the idea that that could be another project sometime in the future, perhaps months or even years in the future. I did not mean I wanted to begin the project today. However, she jumped on the idea as soon as I mentioned it. So instead of playing with my chainsaw and log splittter as I had planned, I again did today what I've been doing the whole holiday - build shelves.

We bought more Tapcon screws and attached the 3 upright 2x4s to the concrete wall like we did with the last set of shelves. I used my cheap Ace Hardware hammer drill masonry bit again but made certain to dodge the "shattering" pieces of the drill bit whenever I used it in the concrete. Fortunately, my superb reflexes and athletic prowess enabled me to drill 9 holes in the concrete without being damaged by all the "flying concrete fragments" caused by my cheap masonry bit.

My wife removed nails from some scrap lumber to use in some of the shelving framing. She also cut all the boards for the framing and the shelves. We then quit and had supper.

When I gave my little girl a bath after eating, my wife went back down to the basement to start pre-drilling the 2x2 framing pieces in preparation for screwing the framing together. She is still down there right now as I am posting this message. Meanwhile I'm enjoying a fire in the fireplace, drinking eggnog, and eating chocolate fudge. It's awesome having a wife who can cook and also use power tools.

 

[Obed]

If you are routinely going to be loading a lawnmower, I suggest you buy arched (i.e. curved, not straight) ramps. Otherwise, there is a tendency for the mower deck to "hang up" on the end of the ramps when the back tires are on the ramp and the front tires are in the truck bed.

Though I have a good set of 3500lb rated arched ramps, I still much, much prefer to haul on a trailer because the trailer sits so much lower to the ground and is so much easier/safer to load the mower on it...

I haul in the truck bed only as a last resort...

My 2 cents, YMMV...

Kent,
Fortunately I should only occasionally have to transport my lawnmower. I'm with you that loading it onto a small trailer is much preferred over using the truck bed.
Obed