the verdict: three yards of mulch...

[snapper]

versus single axle 6.5x12 trailer. Well i made some sides (pictures to follow) and went and got three big scoops, which was suppose to be three plus yards. I didnt weigh the first time, but i could tell on the way home i was maxed out because the springs were bottomed and the 15" tires which were inflated to 50 psi looked like they were flat going home. But i made it. I went back later and got two more scoops. I weighed going in with me in the truck at 5220, and left at 8100.(pretty sure give or take 3 or 400) so two yards were 2800 which means one is 1440 which means the first load of three scoops was 4320.. These figures are rough so we will just say the first load was over 2 tons. I will say i do not like that much weight on a single axle but it handled quite well, and the only thing that had me worried were the tires.. The second load was the perfect max weight, it handled it perfect and the tires looked much better that trip. So i think until i get a tandem i will stick to a ton max... Ohyea, the mulch was kinda wet cause we has some rain couple days prior. Ok thats my story.. Any comments??

later chris

[FearThisDeere]

You are lucky you didn't bend the axle on that first load.

[sunray]

If you are going to haul something on a trailer, make sure it's rated for it.
The family you kill could be mine.
Just because you can do it does not mean you should haul more than your trailer is rated for.

[snapper]

regarding the saftey, if you read back i did some home work and it looked like it would safely haul the load, it wasnt until it was loaded i realized it was a bit much and much later till i found out just how much.. And i said that i was aware that i was overweight and wouldnt do it again. So please no more safty speeches... And yea iam glad the axle survived..

later chris

[grassmanak]

their scale is off then, no way 1 scoop is 1400 pounds.

[Dirty Water]

1400 lbs for dirt maybe, but mulch?

We have a much beefier single axle (Rated to 7k) that I tow a 4900 lb trencher on all the time.

There is more to capacity than the axle count.

[snapper]

well their scales might be off, but two scoops durn near filled up my 6.5x12x1 and the axle didnt have much travel left and the tires showed that they were heavily loaded, and not to mention the way if felt behind the truck. This stuff might not be an even yard, but i know them two scoops were heavy and had the trailer at its max and the first load was way too much. So i dont know for sure but that load of two scoops maxed my trailer. If it matters this is recycled double ground green waste..


Later chris..

[grassmanak]

where are you guys buying mulch, i load 2 scoops of mulch in the back of my half ton and it does drop at all. Ive loaded 6 scoops plus 2 scoops of rock on my 6.5x14 and it doesnt sag at all.

[Dirty Water]

where are you guys buying mulch, i load 2 scoops of mulch in the back of my half ton and it does drop at all. Ive loaded 6 scoops plus 2 scoops of rock on my 6.5x14 and it doesnt sag at all.

I'm wondering if Snappers yard uses a Cat 966 to load like my local gravel yard does.

http://static.flickr.com/51/159825845_b3d78773e4_m.jpg

Those are more like 5 yard buckets :laugh:

[snapper]

They use a big wheel loader with a smaller bucket, if you look straight on the front, it looks like it would fit between the front tires. He said it was a full yard, and then he heaps it up some..

later chris

[Mr. Vern]

What precisely are you guys referring to when you say "double ground" mulch? We own a tub grinder and screening plant and produce mulch on a wholesale basis, and I have never heard that term except for on this forum. The name seems pretty obvious as to what it is, but I am struggling to understand what specifically it is that you are getting differently by specifying "double ground". Does it perhaps have a higher fines content?
BTW - mulch should typically weigh between 600 and 800lbs/yard depending on the type of wood and amount of fines. 3000 lbs should have been around 4 yards - although you did mention that it was raining, but that usually only affects the top couple of inches in a mulch pile.
I am amazed that the materials yard let you leave being that overloaded. I would flip out if my guys overloaded someone that badly.
One more thing - when some of you say you got "2 scoops" from the materials yard; that means nothing to the rest of us. 2 scoops in our yard could be as little as 1 yard (using a Bobcat) or as much as 14 yards (using our largest loader).

[Rickco]

well their scales might be off, but two scoops durn near filled up my 6.5x12x1 and the axle didnt have much travel left and the tires showed that they were heavily loaded, and not to mention the way if felt behind the truck. This stuff might not be an even yard, but i know them two scoops were heavy and had the trailer at its max and the first load was way too much. So i dont know for sure but that load of two scoops maxed my trailer. If it matters this is recycled double ground green waste..


Later chris..
At the measurments of your trailer if it were full (not heaped) it would be 2.89 yards. 1 yard is 27 cubic feet. Your 6.5x12x1 trailer is 78 CuFt.

[snapper]

well maybe the first was closer to four yards? The second load which was suppose to have been two yards, had i raked it flat proably would of been just under the top rails? So maybe their yard scoop is a yard and quarter or half?? I am not sure on the double grind either it is just what they called it, along with the name topdress..


LAter chris

[YardPro]

What precisely are you guys referring to when you say "double ground" mulch? We own a tub grinder and screening plant and produce mulch on a wholesale basis, and I have never heard that term except for on this forum. The name seems pretty obvious as to what it is, but I am struggling to understand what specifically it is that you are getting differently by specifying "double ground". Does it perhaps have a higher fines content?
BTW - mulch should typically weigh between 600 and 800lbs/yard depending on the type of wood and amount of fines. 3000 lbs should have been around 4 yards - although you did mention that it was raining, but that usually only affects the top couple of inches in a mulch pile.
I am amazed that the materials yard let you leave being that overloaded. I would flip out if my guys overloaded someone that badly.
One more thing - when some of you say you got "2 scoops" from the materials yard; that means nothing to the rest of us. 2 scoops in our yard could be as little as 1 yard (using a Bobcat) or as much as 14 yards (using our largest loader).


here the term is double shredded..
the single shred had much larger pieces, the double are all much smaller

[Mr. Vern]

here the term is double shredded..
the single shred had much larger pieces, the double are all much smaller
That makes sense to me. Shredding is a different process than the "Hogging" that we do. It is done here with redwood, but not all woods produce the same effect when shredding. We call the shredded redwood "Gorilla Hair" due to its long stringy appearance. I prefer the longer chipped look that hogging produces better. I actually asked my Operations Manager for our grinding operation if he had heard of it this morning and he said he had. I asked what the intent was and he said size, but we just use the appropriate screens in the grinder and the screening plant to produce the product we are looking for at the time. With the volume that we produce it is much more cost effective to change screens than it is to regrind the product. Appears to be the same net effect.

[zim bob the landscaper]

1400 lbs for dirt maybe, but mulch?

We have a much beefier single axle (Rated to 7k) that I tow a 4900 lb trencher on all the time.

There is more to capacity than the axle count.
actually i think dirt/loam is heavier than mulch.

[grassmanak]

just curious what is a standard bobcat bucket in cubic ft?? Thats what scoops for us. We get 2 huge scoops.

[SinjonAssociates]

Have you ever picked up a five gallon bucket of water? Mulch soaks up ALOT of water- it could easily weigh that much.
George

[Dirty Water]

actually i think dirt/loam is heavier than mulch.

Your good at weight, but poor at reading.

[Mr. Vern]

Have you ever picked up a five gallon bucket of water? Mulch soaks up ALOT of water- it could easily weigh that much.
George
It's true that if it soaks up a lot of water that it can gain 40-50% of additional weight, but if it is dry to begin with most mulch piles will not soak up significant amounts of water past about 3-4" deep into the pile. Protracted periods of rain will cause deeper soaking, but your average rain storm will mostly run off.

Grassmanak: our Bobcat bucket is 1/2 yard. I believe that is the most common size.

[zim bob the landscaper]

Your good at weight, but poor at reading.
now i know qhat u meant srry about that. ya im not such a good reader since i have a level 1 reading class in high school.

[chuck bow]

On My 14 foot trailer i can easily get 4.5 yards to 5 yards , That first load on yours look like it was about 4 yards , what one place sells as a yard may or may not be the same as some other place idea of a yard

[freddyc]

At the measurments of your trailer if it were full (not heaped) it would be 2.89 yards. 1 yard is 27 cubic feet. Your 6.5x12x1 trailer is 78 CuFt.




Regardless of weight, this ^ is the right volume answer. So looking at you're trailer, it appears about 3/4 full or somewhere about 2 yards. A quick guess would be that you actually had about 1 ton on there.

Is your trailer a 3500 axle?? At 6.5 x 12', its gotta weigh about 1000lbs empty so you probably had just under the gvw for that setup.

Even soaking wet, mulch shouldn't be 1400lbs/yd. If it was, then using the volume you had, then you should be totaled at about 3800 lbs including the trailer weight.... which of course is OVERLOADED for that setup.

Stone is about 1 1/2 tons/yd....I believe soil is about the same.

[Mr. Vern]

Stone is about 1 1/2 tons/yd....I believe soil is about the same.
Obviously the type of stone and soil will cause some variance, but generally stone is about 1.4 ton/yard and soil is right at about 1 ton/yard.

[DRM Ventures]

My trench rescue class used 1 cubic yard of dirt at 3000lbs....

[Mr. Vern]

My trench rescue class used 1 cubic yard of dirt at 3000lbs....
That is because it makes their point that much more dramatic. THe truth is if you have a heavy clay soil with lots of fines and it is soaking wet, and you compact it in, you might get up to that weight, but it is not likely you will ever get close to that weight coming out of a materials yard. A good sandy loam mix should never be close to that.
We scale loads all of the time and about 1 ton/yard is pretty consistent.

As for the class you took - the soil that is the most dangerous should never even approach that kind of weight.