My truck is driven empty over 99 percent of the time, but a couple of times per year, I'd like to know how much of a cord of wood I could go and fetch with it.

My own scenario is based around hauling a cord of wood, with parameters described in this article:

Firewood

One of the obvious points the article makes is that you never get a solid 128 cubic foot block of wood when you purchase a cord. Depending on how strait the wood is after splitting and how tightly it is stacked, you'll usually get 70 to 90 cubic feet, perhaps a tad more if you're lucky.

Live oak is a common and desirable hardwood and 90 cubic foot ranges from 4840 pounds cured to 7870 pounds wet.

So my question is this: If my 1996 F150 std cab long box 4x2 had a ZF tranny, a Sterling rear axle, air bags and heavy load tires, how much of this wood could I hope to move on a 25 mile round trip over pretty good roads and no steep grades?

 

just for reference .. back in the day (early '80s) my boss had a GMC 2500 with a stake side flat bed (dump) that we loaded with fire wood (mostly dried white oak) to the top of the stakes .. was a bit top heavy going round the corners, but otherwise had no problems .. bed was (and I'm going from memory) maybe 7'Wx10'Lx4'H stake side ..

if you have a regular pick up bed I'm sure you could fill it right up 'till it's spilling over the sides .. just watch the 'bottom out' bushings ..

 

A Ford long box has a volume capacity 67 cubic feet (minus stake pockets, wheel wells, and filler hose bumps). The standard weight capacity is about 1500 pounds (just a guess each truck is slightly different) for your "half ton" F150.

A cord of oak (128 cubic feet) has a density of 53 pounds per cubic foot dry and 87 pounds per cubic foot wet including air space.

Filling the bed to the "gunwales" with the wet wood (air space included) will be one half cord of wood (67/128 cubic feet) and 5837 pounds, about 3.9 times the weight capacity of a standard F150. Dry wood volume is also half a cord (same as wet) but only 3556 pounds, 2.4 times the weight capacity of the truck.

Obviously weight is the limiting factor, not volume. A standard F150 would require 8 trips for wet wood and 5 trips for dry wood to transport one cord.

Obviously, you have greater weight carrying capacity and you can overload a standard truck without it bottoming out.

I would make the five or eight trips and pay the neighbor's kid to load and unload the truck. I am more interested in preserving my truck than making fewer runs.

 

Just cause you have springs, air bags, and 'load' tires doesnt mean your AXLES can handle it. Overloading your truck you could do some serious damage to you axles. That what GAWR means. I am with LMD, I would rather do more loads and preserve the truck so it can do work and not be down and out. If you were close and didnt mind parting with some cash. I would love to help you with my 250HD.

 

the Sterling axle he mentions is good for about 5000 lbs .. and the load isn't all on the rear axle ..

I was talking 'real world' experience .. the math may not add up .. but if you keep side loads to a minimum (take it slow around the corners) I think it'll be ok ..

engineering numbers usually include a safety factor of 4 or more (the item in question won't fail until you go 4x over the 'rating') .. if you take 'er easy 2x over is no problem .. and a 25 mile round trip is only 12.5 miles loaded ..

 

Well I can say my 250 had about a cord in it this summer when was spliting wood getting ready for winter, and it didn't squat, and its just a stock truck.

 

Here is what I have put into my F350, and a chebby I picked up to take the plow off to put on my bronco, my splitter just was high enough to split into the bed, so i did lol.





Just too see if the rotted out chevy was gonna break with some weight in the bed lol

 

This might sound ridiculous, but I love seeing a truck working.

 

Thats what trucks are for.

 

I've said it here before ..

they are just tools .. use them .. keep them oiled ..

if they bust .. you need a better tool ..

 

So what is the 10.50" version good for?

The tires I was looking at were 32" tires good for 3800+ at 80psi.

I think eventually it does all come back to the frame and the bed ...

I'm revising my numbers about the type of wood because live oak is not that common in the northeastern US. Black oak is, and that's more like 3600 to 5700 pounds, dry to green.

 

Its actually a 10.25 lol. I donno how much can you put in. Just stack the wood till you cant fit anymore, thats what I do. I never put 80psi in a tire before, neved needed to. I run between 50-65 depending on what im doing.

 

I was going by this Ford Axle Code Chart .: Articles for rough numbers ..

my F-250's Sterling axle is a B9 .. good for 5300lbs per my door sticker (if it's stock, not 100% sure, but it is a sterling) .. check you door code (of the donor if it's not stock)

the bed is the same as the F-350 in the pics ..

are you going to run a biz hauling wood? or is it for personal use?

I'm sure you could handle a few full loads a year without issue ..

if your running 20 loads a week for months on end things may start to wear out or break .. ie: you need a better tool ..

 

I misspoke earlier. I was considering not a 32" tire, but rather a 33" , 285/75R16 BFG All-Terrain T/A KO for the rear only, rated for 3750 at 80psi. And about the axle ...

Ford Sterling 10.5" Axle Rebuild - Four Wheeler Magazine

"About The Ford 10 1/2-inch"

"The 10 1/2-inch (commonly referred to as the "Sterling 10 1/2") is a full-float axle with disc brakes found in 1999-2010 Ford F-250 and F-350 trucks. It weighs in at approximately 333 pounds in single rear-wheel versions. The ring gear diameter and pinion shaft length are both 10 1/2 inches. It has a pinion shaft spline count of 31 and an axleshaft spline count of 35. Compared to its predecessors, the first- and second-generation 10 1/4-inch axles, the 10 1/2-inch axle obviously has a larger ring gear, which improved its overall strength and addressed the premature failure issues of the of the 10 1/4-inch axles when used with 4.10:1 or numerically higher gear ratios. There are a number of limited-slip and locker options available, and there are even aftermarket axleshafts available."

 

I would only be looking to haul what I'd burn in the fireplace, and the most we've used in a season so far is about two cords.