Lumber bunks for reefer trailer storage

alan gage · June 20, 2020, 09:47:09 PM

I got an old reefer trailer a few weeks ago to store air dried lumber in. I didn't like the thought of just piling it in because then the boards I'd want would always be at the bottom so I decided to build lumber bunks for it. I haven't loaded them up yet but so far it looks promising.

I tacked down some scraps to my deckover trailer to act as a jig so putting them together with an air gun was quick and easy. I used 2x4 studs for the uprights and 2x6 for the cross bars. There was no need to cut the studs any shorter, the height was perfect for the trailer. The 2x6's I cut down to 7' wide. I cut 20" sections of 2x4 for spacers between the crossbars to speed up assembly and also to carry the load.

When you open the back doors of the trailer there's a 4' landing so there should be plenty of room to move around. The bunks inside the rear door are 18' deep. I don't have very much long lumber but this lets me stack lumber end to end, 12'/6' or 10'/8' or 8'/8'.

There's also a side walk through door on the trailer which gives access to the other side of these 18' long bunks (which is the reason I can store boards end to end). Then at the front of the trailer is another set of bunks 10' deep. There's about 15' of empty space between the two sets of bunks so plenty of room to move boards in and out.

I'm very much looking forward to having good access to my lumber. As it is now most of it is stored in the drying shed and invariably I spend an hour or more moving stacks around to get at what I want and then putting it back again. And now my drying shed will be cleared out so I can saw more lumber! 8)

Alan

Southside · June 20, 2020, 09:54:51 PM

Nice - very innovative. There is never enough storage!!

btulloh · June 20, 2020, 10:02:54 PM

Nice. Very efficient to fab. Love the assembly fixture. No joints to cut. Very well designed.

I'm going to have to steal your process when I make some new lumber storage. Going in a building instead of a reefer though. I'll need to add the other elements to replace the function of the trailer walls, but thats no biggie.

Well done sir. Now you can fill up your drying shed. The cycle continues. :D

trimguy · June 20, 2020, 10:04:38 PM

Good idea. Let us know how it does loading through the walk through door.

Ljohnsaw · June 20, 2020, 10:11:36 PM

Very nice. One thing I don't see is a couple of diagonal braces, front to back. I'd be afraid that when pushing boards in when there is a lot of weight, it might want to fall down like dominoes!

I went to a specialty lumber yard that carries all sorts of 'vintage' materials so you can match up existing siding, etc. They had a very large number of containers in the yard (30+?). Seemed like a really efficient way to sort the vast inventory they carry and protect it from the weather.

moodnacreek · June 20, 2020, 10:12:53 PM

I am doing the same thing with a 24' camper I gutted out. Put a roof on it and opened the rear. My racks will be 1 1/2 x 2 oak. Need all the space I can get.

97redjeep · June 20, 2020, 11:04:38 PM

Great idea, did you pull the axles so it sits on the ground?

kwaldron199 · June 20, 2020, 11:11:09 PM

Think you may want to think about moisture and mold with this kind of storage. I have a number of these for other purposes and they do tend to sweat etc.....

Maybe a fan with external exhaust that will open and close with humidity or temperature similar to a kiln.

kw

Ianab · June 20, 2020, 11:46:54 PM

As long as fresh moisture can't get IN it will be OK. If there is any stray moisture that could cause condensation, dry wood will soon absorb it. ALL the moisture that the air in the box can hold wouldn't raise the MC of the wood by even 1%. It's then basically a closed system, the wood MC and air humidity will balance each other out.

Now if water can leak in, then all bets are off. So keep an eye on that.

Kiln is different because there is a ton of water in the green wood that wants to get out. If you aren't venting it somehow then humidity goes way up, and you get condensation / mold etc. But dry wood in a sealed box , not much happens.

WV Sawmiller · June 21, 2020, 08:08:43 AM

I'm looking forward to seeing the loaded pix. I like this idea and may try to adapt it in a more open area for storing LE slabs that are drying. As you mentioned at the start the piece the customer wants is always on the bottom.

moodnacreek · June 21, 2020, 11:39:49 AM

My 'box' is up on blocks. I will soon load it with 1x, 16 to 20' that has been on sticks for years. Seems nobody wants the long stuff anymore but I hate to cut it in half to sell it. How times change.

alan gage · June 21, 2020, 11:52:12 AM

Good catch on the diagonal bracing. It's there but I hadn't yet installed it between the front bunks (the part visible in the picture) until after I'd taken the pics. That was finished up this morning.

The trailer is still on the axles. Thought about dropping it on the ground but wanted to be sure I was happy with the location first. I've got a skidloader with forks so I'm hoping it will work to just raise it to the correct height and pull the lumber off the forks and onto the racks. That's the big reason I made a 4' deep landing right inside the rear doors.

I'm thinking it should work fine for the side walk-through door as well. The longest piece that will be coming through that door is 10' and I measured an easy 12' of room coming through the door at an angle.

I've been a little concerned about moisture inside the box. The roof leaks a little where the evaporator units are through-bolted so that needs to be sealed up and when I was pulling some fixtures off the inside there were obviously some spots where the wall insulation was soaked with water. I've been leaving the doors open during nice weather and the plan is to keep doing it that way if moisture/humidity levels rise after the lumber is moved in.

Alan

WV Sawmiller · June 21, 2020, 12:09:19 PM

There are lots smarter people than me here who can respond, I hope, but I'd sure suggest some ventilation in there. Maybe you can install a couple of roof turbines or a box fan or two pushing/pulling the air around. Good luck.

alan gage · June 21, 2020, 04:06:05 PM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on June 21, 2020, 12:09:19 PM
There are lots smarter people than me here who can respond, I hope, but I'd sure suggest some ventilation in there. Maybe you can install a couple of roof turbines or a box fan or two pushing/pulling the air around. Good luck.

I'm hoping to get by without adding ventilation but realize it could be necessary. I tend to do as little work as possible to make something work so I'll start with no vents and only add them if necessary. At which point I'll curse myself for not doing it when the trailer was empty.
Alan

alan gage · July 12, 2020, 09:27:05 PM

This was move-in week and it was a lot of work but it went very well and I'm happy to report that the bunks seemed to work out just like I wanted, which isn't something I can say very often. The 4' landing at the back of the trailer provided comfortable amount of room for working and sliding boards off the skidloader forks worked fine. I also had no problem bringing 11' boards through the side walk door (again, off the forks). I was a little nervous but the trailer ate it all with just a little room to spare.

Drying shed when starting to empty it out:

After filling from the rear:

This is the rack in the very front, accessed from the side door, 10' deep:

And the rack for short lumber (mostly 6' or shorter) that's also accessed from the walk through door. This is the rear half of the 18' long rack that's also accessed from the rear of the trailer, where the longest lumber goes: