BadDecisions
Silver Member
Yes, I have a problem with over thinking/over engineering things to the point of making life harder afterwards...I've learned to ask questions before doing things now 
Yes, I also realize it will be easier to buy rock and have it delivered. I'm pretty sure I'm in the bottom 1% of people here when it comes to wallet size, so while it may be easier for YOU, it's not always the case for me. My neighbor just had $2,000 of rock dropped off, and talked like it was no big deal..like going out to eat a couple times....For me, that number is more $200.
Now..on to my thoughts. I find I can use a few good loads of gravel/rock, and maybe some fill dirt for my 1 acre rural lot. I frequently see ads on Craigslist and Facebook for free landscaping rock, but getting it home is the issue. I don't own a dump truck or dump trailer, and won't be buying one for the few times I'd see myself using it. What I do have is an old International 2 ton stake bed truck with 12 foot flatbed, and a tractor with a loader that goes high enough to easily clear the sides. Non dump bed.
Yes, it's gonna be slow. Yes, it's gonna eat massive amounts of fuel. But the cost of my fuel in the truck is likely going to be much cheaper than buying rock & having it delivered. It also likely is going to be cheaper than renting a truck or trailer to do this, especially since I live FAR from any place that rents dump trucks/trailers, and generally could only do this on weekends anyways. Based on what I'm seeing for prices of rock locally, I'm looking at $1300 to $1800 to buy rock and have it delivered. That would go a LONG way towards gas, even at 5mpg.
Obviously, the stake bed sides aren't going to be very adept at containing gravel, and unloading it will be fun. I've been reading a bunch of threads how how to handle this issue, many of which talk about building some kind of sled, or intricate methods of using a tarp for unloading. I also happen to have a bunch of 16gauge sheetmetal that I stripped off a 20ft deck flatbed trailer that I purchased years ago, and converted to a wood deck.
What I was thinking was to weld those sheetmetal panels together to fit the 12 foot bed as a floor, and maybe a foot or two high on the front/sides, depending on how much steel I have. Maybe add a foot or two with plywood. Drop that on the International, fill with gravel, then pull the whole thing out with the tractor when home.
But now I'm wondering if making it all out of steel like this might actually make it harder to pull out due to weight/friction?
Yes, I also realize it will be easier to buy rock and have it delivered. I'm pretty sure I'm in the bottom 1% of people here when it comes to wallet size, so while it may be easier for YOU, it's not always the case for me. My neighbor just had $2,000 of rock dropped off, and talked like it was no big deal..like going out to eat a couple times....For me, that number is more $200.
Now..on to my thoughts. I find I can use a few good loads of gravel/rock, and maybe some fill dirt for my 1 acre rural lot. I frequently see ads on Craigslist and Facebook for free landscaping rock, but getting it home is the issue. I don't own a dump truck or dump trailer, and won't be buying one for the few times I'd see myself using it. What I do have is an old International 2 ton stake bed truck with 12 foot flatbed, and a tractor with a loader that goes high enough to easily clear the sides. Non dump bed.
Yes, it's gonna be slow. Yes, it's gonna eat massive amounts of fuel. But the cost of my fuel in the truck is likely going to be much cheaper than buying rock & having it delivered. It also likely is going to be cheaper than renting a truck or trailer to do this, especially since I live FAR from any place that rents dump trucks/trailers, and generally could only do this on weekends anyways. Based on what I'm seeing for prices of rock locally, I'm looking at $1300 to $1800 to buy rock and have it delivered. That would go a LONG way towards gas, even at 5mpg.
Obviously, the stake bed sides aren't going to be very adept at containing gravel, and unloading it will be fun. I've been reading a bunch of threads how how to handle this issue, many of which talk about building some kind of sled, or intricate methods of using a tarp for unloading. I also happen to have a bunch of 16gauge sheetmetal that I stripped off a 20ft deck flatbed trailer that I purchased years ago, and converted to a wood deck.
What I was thinking was to weld those sheetmetal panels together to fit the 12 foot bed as a floor, and maybe a foot or two high on the front/sides, depending on how much steel I have. Maybe add a foot or two with plywood. Drop that on the International, fill with gravel, then pull the whole thing out with the tractor when home.
But now I'm wondering if making it all out of steel like this might actually make it harder to pull out due to weight/friction?
