Best way to unload heavy lumber?

[CajunRider]

Soon I'll be unloading 40 heavy timbers (12"x12"x20ft). Each of them weighs 1,100 lbs. I'll have to unload them off a 18 wheeler flat bed using the FEL. The FEL is rated for 2500 lbs so I think I am OK as far as capacity goes. I need to unload them safely and without damaging the sides of the timbers. Please advise.

 

[DocHeb]

The best would be front forks, but if you don't have them I would use straps. You'll have to do one at a time, and make sure you have enough counterweight off the back of the tractor. Have a lot of 2x4 pieces on hand to use as stickers. It would go much faster with a helper placing stickers and removing straps. I hope your truck driver doesn't get impatient.

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The FEL is rated for 2500 lbs so I think I am OK as far as capacity goes.)</font>

CjR,

Be careful... What's the rating of the loader at the height required to unload off a flatbed?

Is there a way you can make a ramp and slide them off (more of a towing than lifting to get them near ground level)?

Brian

 

[Freds]

If you cannot use forks or slings and unload them from the side of the truck due to their weight, then I would put a nylon choker on one end and drag them most of the way off. Set down that end and go back with your choker, hook up to the end still upended on the back of the truck, lift it up and swing it off by backing up. That is if you won't sustain too much damage by dragging them.
At least then it would be at ground level.

 

[CTyler]

Well your going to need some help. Hopefully they stacked your timbers with stickers so you can get forks or a strap around them. If their all stacked directly on top of each other your going to have to lift them to get your strap or fork under them.

My L3130 would not have a problem unloading them one at a time however its goin to be a slow process. Youd need to get smack dab in the center to balance it and move slow so they dont swing, slide or tip.

If its possible I'd ask for a truck with a fork lift on the back or a boom to unload them.

One more thing....I may be possible to just have them on a skid. Then the truck could tilt the bed and let it slide off. The skid would get the damage not your timbers.

 

[beenthere]

Can you (would you) describe the timbers, as to species and as to what kind of damage they cannot sustain? I take it you cannot slide, roll, or dump them, meaning they will be exposed inside a building, such as a timber frame.

I would opt for the sling arrangement, and hook them as close to the front of the tractor as possible (not wanting to damage the hood or grill) to get maximum lift from your FEL.

I took on a pallet of shingles last fall that I could reach and lift with my 430 FEL forks on the Deere 4300. As I backed up, and the pallet came past the edge of the truck, the rear wheels began to come up as the front wheels turned a bit. Fortunately, I could quickly lower the FEL to not destroy the shingles, but they were a bit disarrayed on the pallet when finally resting on the ground (the agreement was that they would be loaded 1000 # to the pallet, but instead came almost 2000#). I thought I was okay as long as I managed to lift them clear of the truck, but didn't take into consideration the wheels turning and changing the balance point (fulcrum) of the 'system'.

Good luck with the timbers.

 

[CajunRider]

These timbers are for exposed piers underneath my house. These timbers are oversized for show purposes (structural requirement is 10"x10". The tractor I am planning to use is a Mahindra 4530. The tractor it self weigh 5720 lb. The loader is ML245 with a lift capacity to full height at pivot pin of 2480 lb. The max lift height is 117.38". I am thinking about getting a pallet fork attachment to do the lifting. Do you think I'll need to put some thing on the back of the tractor to counter balance the weight of the timber? Would a box blade do?

 

[JJT]

To be safe, put the heaviest attachment you have on the rear of the tractor.

When I built our timber frame house we had 14,000 board feet of timbers delivered, 2/3 on an equipment trailer and the remainder in the dump box of a 10 wheeler. The trailer was unloaded with a full size loader in 30 minutes, it was well worth the 1 hour charge of $75.

With your tractor these timbers are going to be unloaded 1 at a time, and will take you and a helper several hours. If you are paying the truck driver by the hour, you could certainly hire this job out for less money.

If wait time is unpaid, take your time and unload them 1 at a time, be careful to get the timber centered on the forks and strapped down. Without a tie down, 1 bump and you'll spill the timber. Carry them as low as possible.

 

[grandad]

Agree with other suggestions. You can do it, but it will take a while, since you'll need to go slow and cautious.

You'll definitely need something heavy on the rear. The more, the better. A box blade with several hundred extra pounds strapped on top (sacks of concrete, etc.) wouldn't be too much. Also helps if you have rear tires ballasted.

Unloading area needs to be solid, level and flat. Long, heavy objects like that can exert a lot of leverage if they are not properly balanced or the ground is uneven.

Taking them from a relatively high point on the truck bed means you start out with the maximum risk of tipping on each lift. The sooner you can get each load off the truck and lowered close to the ground the safer it will be.

One other thought... the same leverage that makes a long object tippy can work in your favor. If you have a spotter with a guide pole (an 8 ft. 2x4, maybe?) and a looped rope at one end of the timber, they can probably keep it steady while it's coming off the truck.

 

[gabby]

Use two log tongs, one hanging from each end of your loader bucket, so that you're picking up each timber from two lifting points. Use a heavy digging bar to pry them apart in the stack so you can get the tongs on them. Set the tongs in the wood with a heavy hammer. If you need extra height, you can curl the bucket up all the way but realize that you're moving the lifting point further out from the tractor as you curl the bucket. I handle logs and timbers like that.
gabby