How to haul or transport wood when you have a car

[GoingMyWay]

Every lumber store regardless of size I have been to provides cuts for customers (from free to $0.50 or $1 per cut after the second or third cut). I use such service all the time when I get a 4x8 ply or mdf.

That's true - assuming their panel saw is working and you can find someone who can help you.  I personally hate searching for an employee who can help me and as a result I'm stuck buying the 2' x 4' "project" panels that are much more expensive than buying a single 4' x 8' sheet.

 

[ChuckM]

That's true - assuming their panel saw is working and you can find someone who can help you.  I personally hate searching for an employee who can help me and as a result I'm stuck buying the 2' x 4' "project" panels that are much more expensive than buying a single 4' x 8' sheet.

I hear you.

At Lowe's, there're "Help Buttons" at various depts (Paints, Lumber, Key-cutting, etc.). Press the button, and there's a broadcast alerting staff members where help is needed. That usually works. HD...it varies by location as some are mediocre and understaffed(?) to some with visible helpers around. Lumber yards are seldom a problem because when I pay or when the store member does the board feet calculations, I make the cutting request, if needed.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I do find Lowe's to be much better than Home Depot when it comes to getting help.  I also really like that the local Lowe's has lumber carts staged in the middle of the lumber aisles.  At Home Depot, I always have to find a lumber cart somewhere in the parking lot and wheel it in. 

I have asked for help a couple of times at Home Depot.  They paged someone and as soon as that employee shows up he's accosted by other customers who have a question or are looking for something or need assistance.

 

[ChuckM]

I have asked for help a couple of times at Home Depot.  They paged someone and as soon as that employee shows up he's accosted by other customers who have a question or are looking for something or need assistance.

I've experienced that as well as cases in which a staff explaining to an intervening customer that he was to help another customer (me) first. Clearly, it's a training issue. Too bad that even though front-line customer service employees can make or break a retailer's reputation, their pay is capped by reality.

 

[Peter_C]

A Prius and a trailer can get the job done. Pretty much any car and a 4x8' trailer will haul most anything needed. Harbor Freight trailers fold in half for storage.

 

[pixelated]

Dan Pattison has a short video talking about rails he added to a roof rack to carry sheet goods more securely. I used the method on our old station wagon and it worked well, and is much better than carrying it straight on the rack. It also makes loading much easier. OTH, hefting 3/4 / 18mil sheets of plywood onto a roof rack gets old quick, I'm strongly tempted to add a hitch to the current car and carry materials on a small trailer.


I usually get the box stores or lumber yard to break down the full sheets I buy. But, I've encountered two problems in that, first, the big box stores don't like to do rip cuts on their panel saws. Second, a 5x5 Baltic Birch sheet doesn't fit on a standard panel saw. The lumber yard I buy mine at will break it down on their cabinet saw, but they need advanced notice.

Here's a good example of how not to load lumber on a small car [wink];

 

[ChuckM]

The trailer is a good solution if: a) you use it often (at once every two or three months) AND b) you have a spot to park it. City Bylaws here don't allow any detached trailers on the street or back alley. My former neighbor had a big front yard and parked it on the lawn. Eventually, he sold it out of lack of use (for $400 or less, I think).

 

[Peter_C]

Many car roof racks today do not mount securely enough to carry even a couple of kayaks. Gone are the days of strong steel cars and today's are paper thin metal with less strength than cardboard. I put roof racks onto my wife's Toyota, which required taking the vehicle interior apart from the door sill up, and adding construction adhesive to the cross beams and the sheet metal to strengthen it for holding 3-4 white water kayaks. That was using thru bolted rails mounted down the roof. No way would I haul lots of wood on the roof racks of most vehicles. Many factory roof racks are held on with rubber expansion nuts.

 

[ChuckM]

That HF looks very compact and very affordable. At twice the price ($900 Cdn +), Costco Canada offers this:https://www.costco.ca/freedom-4-ft....ed-utility-trailer-kit.product.100529532.html

 

[RustE]

...
Bylaws here don't allow any detached trailers on the street or back alley.
...

Where I live, you don’t de-couple a trailer on a city street because the Police will either ticket it or tow it.

Also, if you live in an area with an HOA, then you have another consideration for storage.

 

[Cheese]

I've frequently used a TSC 55 and a short rail with a TSO square to break down sheet goods in the parking lot. It's a family thing.  [big grin]  My wife supports the ply while the 2 dogs watch with interest hoping that any stray person will hand them a treat.

The first step: is to park in a remote location. This brings with it 2 good things...no door dings and you're less likely to be heard when breaking down the sheet goods.

The second step: is to prepare ahead of time and determine what size you will be cutting the sheet goods to. Figure it out ahead of the event and you can arrive. purchase, measure, cut, load before anyone is aware. If you are going to make a big deal of it, people will notice and people may complain. Some people are by nature complainers so I just give them less of a chance to do so.

Also noted is that lately people have become more complainers than anything else. Maybe it's Covid 19, maybe they're just unhappy, whatever, let them live in misery if that's what they want, I have little time for them, I have a more positive spin on life.

The third step: attach that dust bag to the TSC because it will capture 90% of the saw dust. The small amount of sawdust that gets left behind is certainly less obnoxious than the left over cigarette butts that frequent the parking lot.

I've done this at all 3 of the big box stores...Home Depot, Menards & Lowes.

Thinking about this just a bit more, I've also done this at the local metal shop.

Recently I needed to purchase 120' of aluminum angle. These are sold in 20' sticks. The local shop Discount Steel, charges $15 per cut, so to cut these into 10' lengths would cost me $90...that's just slightly less than the material cost itself. So I brought along a cordless Milwaukee Sawzall and cut them into 10' lengths on site. Loaded them into the SUV and away we went. Done...

 

[ThisVeteranVlog]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], I've really been considering the TSC55. My dealer is totally cool with me breaking down lumber on the 'porch' of the store. Contractors are their main customer, so it's not a big deal for a lowly woodworker like myself to break down a few sheets. I kind of prefer breaking it down and running it in my car. There's nothing better than showing up home with project dimensioned lumber.

I also have the TSO GRS and it has certainly expedited my dimensioning process AND squaring up my MFT/3! And yes, preparation is key to breaking down goods in the parking lot - in and out lickity split! Using insulation board (split into 4 equal sizes) is great for supporting the ply and preventing tear out, especially on those cross cuts.

Glad to see there's another parking lot dimension-er out there  ;D

 

[ThisVeteranVlog]

Nice video Ben.  I have the cordless track saw which makes breaking down sheet goods even easier if I need to at the lumber yard.  I've found fewer and fewer HD or Lowes stores with a cut station or even rental trucks here where I live.  So I've resorted to renting a pickup from Avis.  Not as cheap, but definitely safer and it does force me to plan my materials better.

Nice!! Yeah, just confirms that I definitely need to pick up the TSC 55 - I take my 75 with me, but am relegated to finding a working outlet every time and take a leaf blower to clear out the saw dust. Having the TSC55 with catch bag would negate a lot of my current headaches with the process.

 

[ThisVeteranVlog]

I remember driving behind another car on a two lane highway, and could tell he had something tied under the car.  This was in the 1980's so cars were much longer and had more framework.  Under the car sticking out both the front and back were a number of lengths of pipe. Some how he had strapped these pipes to the underside.  This is one of those things that will work till it doesn't.  I quickly scooted around him because I did not want to imagine what would happen if he hit a pothole and a length of that pipe caught on the highway going 60 miles a hour. 

I have broken some rules before.  I had a ranger and with support boards and counterweights (my good old 120 lb anvil) I hauled 20' cedar siding.  Even with a sixteen ft 2x10 for support, it still flexed enough to sometime hit the street.  Remember, with this much leverage, it will pull the rear of the truck down.  I could not back up because the siding was that close to the ground. 

At night I was carrying a metal light pole post (from a gas station).  I had it all strapped in with a light on the back (always have a red flag tied to anything sticking out!).  When I tried to back up, it felt like the transmission was being yanked out of the truck, and the pole jerked.  I tried this a few times then got out to see what was going on.  The surplus length on one strap had come un-bundled and was flapping behind the truck.  When I backed up I ran over this loose end, and it tighted and yanked on the pole, and the pole would jam into the back of the cab.

ALWAYS USE A RED FLAG!  I had re-bar properly marked and was sitting in a drive-thru line.  The car behind me kept getting closer.  I moved forward as much as possible, but the person behind me ran into my rebar, jamming a piece between headlight and grille.  I had the flag and she admitted it was her mistake, but I still felt bad.

[member=72457]Ron B[/member], holy crap that's nuts about the pipe!! I have also broken the rules a few times in my 'greener' woodworking days. My then wife owned a Nissan Pathfinder with a factory roof rack. I did my best to tie down sheets of plywood and just drove slowly  ;D I did own a truck for a year but then sold it to crush my debt. My Prius helped me get out of debt and certainly gets the job done currently.

 

[ThisVeteranVlog]

I recently thought about buying a TSC55 so I could breakdown plywood in the parking lot.  I could also just use my cordless Makita circular saw for rough cuts just so everything will fit inside the car, but that would produce much more sawdust since there's no dust extraction.

As anyone gotten in trouble or complaints about cutting wood in the parking lot of a home center or lumber yard?  I don't recall ever seeing or hearing anyone cutting anything in the parking lot before.  It definitely seems like a liability that a store wouldn't want to have to deal with on their property.  Then again, I know the auto parts stores usually have signs up saying no working on your car in the parking lot, but I've seen tons of cars being worked on there.

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member], I always check with my dealer before cutting down in the parking lot - even though we know each other well by this point. More of a common courtesy than anything. So no, I have not been run off by anyone for breaking goods in the parking lot - although I try to do it away from most people as to not cause issues.

 

[rst]

The TSC is now my goto, even in the shop,it's just so convenient.  I cut 8 sheets of 1/8" acrylic with the sheets doubled, twelve cuts only had single bar on batteries, last two cuts they were blinking but cut perfectly. 

 

[ThisVeteranVlog]

[member=25351]rst[/member], man ya'll just don't care about my wallet do you?!  [laughing] seems like I'll be picking it up soon!

 

[kevinculle]

As to the relative helpfulness of HD vs Lowe's employees that isn't much of a factor as their lumber and plywood is so dodgy that I won't buy there excepting a very small lot need.  For hardwoods I use two suppliers of quality roughsawn material, one that is fairly close with great quality but higher prices for modest size buys and one an hour away but worth the drive for quantities 100bf and up.  For plywood I use a supplier that mostly sells to cabinet shops and I have never had a bad sheet of material from them, most of my purchases are prefinished 1/2" and 3/4" maple.  For every project the planning includes a layout of plywood parts by the sheet to both optimize material use and to allow for picking one cut at the store to make transportation easier.

 

[Cheese]

Using insulation board (split into 4 equal sizes) is great for supporting the ply and preventing tear out, especially on those cross cuts.

Glad to see there's another parking lot dimension-er out there  ;D

I even dispensed with the foam insulation.  [big grin]  The carcass for the cabinet was 23" wide so I cut the ply into 2 foot widths and did the trimming cuts back at home.

 

[peter halle]

re: cutting materials in a dealer parking lot - The Wurth location closest to me forbids purchasers from cutting purchased items in their parking lot due to possible liability concerns.  Even if you are using a handsaw.

Better to ask first.

Peter