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log trucks

Started by treeman, October 20, 2003, 09:11:40 PM

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treeman

How many boardfeet can be hauled on a full load?

Ron Wenrich

3500 - 5000.  Depends on species, scale, log size, truck type and how much overload the trucker will tolerate.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

treeman


tiny

hi
does anyone know how many tonnes is 5000 board feet,just wondering :P :P
deere skidders,timbco fellers,komatsu diggers,rosin processers,kenworth trucks,ford cars.can you see a patten emerging....

Tom

tiny,

In the Southeast, logs are sold by the ton because it is basically a pulpwood environment.  Because of that saw-logs get sold by the ton as well.  They are really being sold by the cord but mills have assigned a weight figure to a cord to fit their operation and size of logs that they normally get delivered.   Depending on which mill logs are sold, the weight of a Cord is 5200 to 5700 lbs.  A gross rule of thumb says that you can get approximately 500 board feet from a cord.  A "tree-length" log truck down here can carry about 10 cords.

The problem with buying tree-length is that you get the whole tree and it must be bucked to gain the mechanizable logs.  The tops don't produce much and are usually pulped.  The rest of the tree may not be straight, may have a lot of taper and perhaps a swollen butt.  By the time that you get the saw-logs out of truckload of tree length, you will have ended up with a lot less saw-able wood than a truck load of pre-bucked saw-logs.

Pre-bucked saw-logs are generally scaled rather than weighed, Though I could see a mill weighing trucks with loads of similar logs.  Some mills buy their logs on the stump and have their own Foresters, loggers, truckers and log yards.   They know what they want and their employees are trained to bring only that stuff to the mill.  In that case, weighing the trucks may be prudent.  

You can't always trust a load of logs to be what they appear from the outside.  Loader operators become very proficient in hiding cull logs or lesser desirable logs in the middle of a load where they are not readily detected.  

If you buy a load of logs then it would be prudent to study each and every one.

Commercial mills generally have maximum allowable size as well as a minimum size.  These logs are generally sold as veneer logs but may not make the grade.  In this case they are broken up into firewood or chips for the furnace.  Small mill operators can find a bonanza of lumber in these logs for a small fee or just for the hauling.  Some commercial mills will pay a small operator to cut the oversize logs for them.

How many tons is 5000 board feet?  Well the above describes some of the problems of determining that from a load of logs.  To Determine the weight of 5000 board feet of lumber would depend on the species and the state of its moisture content.

Southern Yellow Pine has a green weight approximating 6-10 pounds per board foot.  When dry that same board foot may weigh as little as 2 pounds.

Check out the Toolbox on the left margin of the Forum.  There are calculators there that Ron W. and DonP and Jeff have provided.  There may be some other contributors now as well.

woodchip

Type in "southern wood conversion factors"under search.This will get you to some conversion tables.

Tom

That "search" is a Google Search rather than a forum search and it discovers a page of conversions provided by Steve Nix of About.com.   It can be reached at this link:
 Steve Nix's Southern wood conversion page

woodchip

Must have had a brain strain,sorry about the lack of info.

Tom

Don't be "sorry'n" :D

That is a good link. :)   ......and a good forester. :)

tiny

thanks fellas
down here we sell all the timber by the ton,apart from sawlogs which are cut and measured on the landing.the log trucks over here carry approx 37-39 tonnes per load
tiny
deere skidders,timbco fellers,komatsu diggers,rosin processers,kenworth trucks,ford cars.can you see a patten emerging....

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