You may not be able to tell from where you are sitting, but that is a 24′ board safely tied in the back of my 6 1/2′ bed. I have seen long lumber carried many different ways:
Through the back window. (My personal favorite to see)
Strapped along the side of the vehicle over the side mirror.
Stuck under the toolbox up over the tailgate waving in the air.
From the tailgate over the roof of the truck waving in the air the other way.
There are other acceptable ways to carry long lumber, most involve a truck rack which carries boards overhead. Not wanting that constant encumberance, I purchased a truck bed extender Basically the truck extender is a two piece arm that mounts in your hitch receiver with an adjustable height 4′ wide rear bar. The pieces nest for easy storage in my truck. For really long boards or flimsy trim, it is helpful to place a 16′ board underneath to give the long board some added stiffness. As a whole, leaving the trailer at home is priceless. And instead of pitching long lumber or cutting it into shorter pieces, I tend to haul it to my next jobsite. I keep red flags, a stapler, and a small roll of plastic wrap on the truck for added safety. The tie down loops on either end of the truck extender allow easy placement of a strap to fully tie things to the truck.
As always, the ultimate in time and cost savings is having the lumber yard deliver and then at the end of framing remove the unused lumber. Inevitably there will always be a few pieces to deal with, and this is how I have found works extremely well.
Question: Have any funny lumber lugging stories?
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