Trailer for timber

[Phil Pascoe]

I followed a car with a sheet of 6mm ply on a rack, tied once across the middle. There was a howling gale (most of you call gales what we call breezes ) blowing. I could see the front lifting and thought hell, I'd best keep back. Sure enough a minute later two halves of a sheet were thirty feet in the air heading my way. Good job he wasn't on a busy road.

 

[paulm]

I've used my 6x4 trailer to take home sheets of osb and similar.

As Marku says, they won't fit that easily inside the trailer width wise due to projections and possible edge damage. What I did was lay them on top of the trailer ends, with a crossways batten half way down the trailer length to support the middles and stop them sagging, and strapped them down, no problems at all.

Doesn't stop your trailer getting nicked though !

Cheers, Paul

 

[Wizard9999]

What about a nice double cab pickup? Takes the family comfortably and I know you can't lay them flat, but surely that would take 8'x4' sheets in some way?

Otherwise I would agree with the roof rack option. I have a v. old Grand Cherokee and all I did in the past was to tie two pieces of suitable sturdy 2.4m long soft wood on the cross bars and then load up and secure the sheet goods. Think I have had 3 x 18mm ply, 1 x 9mm mdf and 1 x 3mm hardboard on it at the same time and it was no problem, I would be happy to load 6 x 18mm ply on it (if I had the space to store it when I got home).

This is even though I did not do the cross bars any good when I used the Jeep to pick up 300m of damp feather edge, that was a step too far



Terry

:lol: :lol: :lol: Hey Terry, I'm glad I wasn't following you!
it's worth pointing out that if you exceed manufaturers roof load spec or load badly and there's an accident the insurance company won't pay out. Additionally the police have a habit of pulling cars over and an 8 x 4 sheet on the roof of a car can be seen as an unsafe load which results in a fine and possible licence points.

One of my colleagues a few years ago put 2 pallets on his rack was pulled over on the motorway and it cost him £60 and 3 points. Had a drink with a neighbour tonight who's a traffic cop and he's confirmed that except the fines are higher now.

Bob

Bob

Given the results there is absolutely no doubt that when I bent the bars with the feather edge I was way over loaded, if I had had the sense to either work out the weight I was carrying or seen what was happening to the bars at the time I would have made more than one trip .

But in terms of the sheets of 8 x 4 I believe what I was doing was safe. I put timber on the roof bars first to support the sheets' full length, I sandwiched the less robust MDF and hardboard between the 18mm ply, and the hole lot was secured with four proper ratchet straps meaning there was no chance of it slipping or of the front lifting as I drove. Now it may well be that PC Pedantic would pull me over, but I'd be interested as to on what basis. For example I also have a blinking great roof box that can go on my roof and I also see Defenders locally with massive metal frame attached to the for carrying different wheels for off reading, etc, why are these legal if the 8 x 4 isn't?

I don't want trouble if I transport sheets on my roof again (as I expect I will want to do), so would be interested if anyone knows what the law actually says. Is it as simple as a matter of subjective judgement as to what is or is not safe?

Terry.

 

[Adam9453]

Look into crew vans, they effectively are vans that have an extra set of back seats which are removable or collapsable.
However you will need to look carefully at the vans as well because you'll be surprised that most of the vans won't fit an 8x4 sheet in laid down. The best compromise regarding size of van and ability to carry 8x4 sheets flat is the ford transit because they made it wide enough and long enough.
Most of the 'transit equivalents' from other manufacturers are too narrow and/or too short to carry an 8x4 sheet laid down flat.

Having said that most vans (except the car derived ones) will carry an 8x4 sheet on edge if put in the back diagonally from one corner to the other. It does limit how many sheets you can fit and also will most likely damage at least one edge of the sheets.

Buy a ford transit, but not a white one!! :wink:

 

[pike]

Thanks Adam. I've heard the same thing a few places, that transits have more space. I like the look of the transit custom kombi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSOMUbuBV64

 

[Lons]

Yes you're right Terry in that it's very subjective but if PC plod can ticket a driver for eating a banana while in stationary traffic then the variables in commonsense and opinion is obvious. You just have to lucky enough not to encounter one of them who is a bit bored. :wink:
The risk fro 8 x 4 sheets on a roof rack or bars isn't necessarily the weight though. What it does it produce a significant amount if lift when the airflow passes over and under the sheet and that can affect handling of the car and put an upward loading on the rack which they aren't designed for. A roofbox is streamlined to minimize that while wheels or suitcases etc. mainly just drag.

I was fortunate as my long wheelbase T5 carried sheets with ease but having retired I now just have an estate car and very seriously considered selling my big trailer and buying a smaller one. i soon realised that would be a very big mistake but then I have space to store and secure it which is a major consideration. As said a decent trailer is a considerable investment these days, I bought mine s/h and would get as much for it today as I paid 15 years ago. :shock:

Bob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It would be a smart move if carrying sheets on a roof rack to ensure you have means of tying the front down. Many people strap them across the middle and neglect the front - it's the front that the wind picks up.

 

[Lons]

Look into crew vans, they effectively are vans that have an extra set of back seats which are removable or collapsable.
However you will need to look carefully at the vans as well because you'll be surprised that most of the vans won't fit an 8x4 sheet in laid down. The best compromise regarding size of van and ability to carry 8x4 sheets flat is the ford transit because they made it wide enough and long enough.
Most of the 'transit equivalents' from other manufacturers are too narrow and/or too short to carry an 8x4 sheet laid down flat.

Having said that most vans (except the car derived ones) will carry an 8x4 sheet on edge if put in the back diagonally from one corner to the other. It does limit how many sheets you can fit and also will most likely damage at least one edge of the sheets.

Buy a ford transit, but not a white one!! :wink:

There's a simple solution to that however!

I've had 2 VW transporters and a Renault trafic and in all of them I just fixed a simple framework made from 38 x 25 slaters laths ('cos that's what I had), from floor to side at roof height the full length of the van. Difficult to explain but I might have a pic somewhere, the position on the floor is dictated by the wheel arch but the frame angle upwards slightly, the framework provides a flat support and the sheets are very easily tied securely. I fixed 1 the length of the floor, one top of side and a couple equidistant then uprights at around 600 centres. I also shelved the two centre ones lengthwise because i found them useful for lengths of timber, trims and long spirit levels etc. Fixings are just long self tappers into the double skinned frame of the van so do no harm.

The main benefit is that you can transport different sizes / thickness and types of sheet yet slide out what you want without unloading the lot as is usually the case when flat. I've carried hundreds of sheets of ply, mdf, osb plastics and plasterboard and can honestly say without damage. To make that easy when working on my own I just had a short length of lath with a flat ply support on one end and a hook bit on the other. Id rest the flat on a solid van side opposite the sheets, pull the first sheet sideways and hook over so it was supported then pull over as many others as need to get to the one I wanted which could then be slid out, easy peasy. :lol:
It also saved me a huge amount of time which when working for yourself is a great cost saving.

Bob

 

[chippy1970]

Just to clarify things my VW T5 will take an 8x4 sheet laying flat ,when the back is empty.

VW s are expensive but you get what you pay for. I paid £16,000 for mine which at the time was a great deal for a new one.

Good things are resale value, quality, galvanised body so won't rust like all other vans

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[pike]

chippy what body type is it? Kombi?

Cheers,
Carl.

 

[tomlt]

Heres a picture of my timber hauler, chosen specifically for it's size and the max weight I can legally tow since I don't have "granddad" rights (3.5ton max gross).

Here it's loaded with 30cuft of Elm, 8cuft of ash and 4.5 cuft oak, courtesy of MAC timbers this weekend just gone ( a really sad day to see Mike closing down).

It's a Blueline 8 x 4 which will fit an 8x4 flat sheet in the back, max payload 1 ton, 300kg unladen weight. I added the cage page and ramp tail gate for extra convenience and it's great for long timber (upto 12ft). The bad news is you won't get any change out of 1700 notes for a new one, but they are incredibly well made, backed up and made in Britain by a good old British engineering company just outside Boston Lincs.

 

[pike]

Looks great tomlt! I would make good use of one of those but I now realise I have nowhere to keep one. I could maybe build/buy some sort of timber storage at the side of the house but it would still be very half inchable. If the safe storage issue is ever solved one of these is on my list.

 

[tomlt]

Pike, you're not wrong, storage is a problem, I'm lucky in that I have a 1/2 acre garden for mine to live in, but I do worry about theft. Mines secured with a hitch-lock, a bradley coupler lock, a wheel clamp and a big chain & padlock to a wall anchor, which I hope would be enough to persuade someone to go elsewhere, even so I do still worry about its security even behind my locked gates.

I've only had it 6 months, but it's been incredibly useful in that time, so if you do get the chance to get one I'd say its definitely worthwhile.

Regards, Tom.

 

[Alex_E]

I've got a renault trafic lwb and that will fit 8x4 in the back lay flat but it has no back seats! I quote oftern use the roof rack and have had many 8x4 on there. I carry tonnes of plasterboard and timber a year on the roof and never had an issue. I've also got a vauxhall combo and that will take 8x4 on the roof as well just no way near as many! It's a great little van though and does great mpg! 42/45 every tank and it's rather full as well!

Alex

 

[fred55]

Be careful - I bought a van (toyota HiaceD4D) for the odd jobs and work takes 8x4 plaster and timber sheets and had a family car - trouble is I now prefer to drive the van high drive position, cost very little to run, no electronics to go wrong, service it myself, taking it to Chester races this weekend and sleeping in the back over night ! - yes I have a car and caravan but the Hiace is so darn easy and flexible, good job there no tow bar then I would need to think why I need the car. One thing to consider local council dumps dont take trailers bigger than 6 x 4 in my area.

 

[dephill]

Hi pal,
I have had two VW Caravelles - they are smart 6/7 seat car based on the vw transporter.
All the back seats slide on rails and can be removed without tools, they are heavy but singles are a (back breaking) one man lift.
My first one was a six seater which is ideal for a few sheets as they fit upright down the middle without removing seats. And the kids still fit!
You can git more full 8x4s flat with the seats removed - about a 12” high stack iirc.
My current one is a lot nicer 7 seater but that means it has a bench seat at the back, no upright sheets!
You can fit them flat on top of the seats but all the protection for the trim is such a hassle.
I got a roof rack but it’ll only take 80kg which isn’t even three 18mm sheets also it’s so high on a van it’s a pita to lift it all up there.
Also vw caravelles are mucho moolah ££££.

 

[Jameshow]

Congratulations on the thread ressurection!

I have a carravelle but the bench seat us too heavy to remove! It cost more than the xc90 I px for it!

Ours has a few battle scares but is still a great vehicle!

 

[dephill]

Lol! I had no idea!

 

[stuart little]

I've used my 6x4 trailer to take home sheets of osb and similar.

As Marku says, they won't fit that easily inside the trailer width wise due to projections and possible edge damage. What I did was lay them on top of the trailer ends, with a crossways batten half way down the trailer length to support the middles and stop them sagging, and strapped them down, no problems at all.

Doesn't stop your trailer getting nicked though !

Cheers, Paul

Was the wood still in/on it?

I've used my 6x4 trailer to take home sheets of osb and similar.

As Marku says, they won't fit that easily inside the trailer width wise due to projections and possible edge damage. What I did was lay them on top of the trailer ends, with a crossways batten half way down the trailer length to support the middles and stop them sagging, and strapped them down, no problems at all.

Doesn't stop your trailer getting nicked though !

Cheers, Paul

Was the wood still in/on it?

 

[dephill]

Was the wood still in/on it?

Was the wood still in/on it?

A bit cryptic mate. I’ve just been informed that this thread is 8yrs old so answers may not be forthcoming.

I didn’t realise because I’m overcome with grief after my mate went away on holiday leaving all my wood locked up in his workshop with no key in the box.