This Is How Much Firewood Can Fit In A Pickup Truck
The question of “how much firewood can fit in a truck” isn’t an uncommon one, as homeowners who either buy or make it themselves want to know just how much they should expect from a single load.
A pickup truck with an 8 foot bed can hold right around 1/2 cords of neatly stacked, bed rail high firewood, while a 6 footer only 1/3 cords.
More hauling capacity if the wood is split and stacked
It’s definitely a lot less of a headache to haul rounds of wood instead, but doing the same in the split form means you can carry more in a single trip.
The same can be said if you stack the split firewood in the bed instead of just throwing it there; twice less wood can fit if it’s only loosely thrown, or less (Image 1).
Image by Loren Elkin via Pixaba
Making sure you maximize your pickup’s hauling capacity means you will be able to save money on fuel and keep the wood more secure, but considering that you now have to stack the wood, the process will take more time.
Another thing to consider is will the wood be heaped, or stacked bed rail high. You can fit a bit more wood inside the pickup’s box than what i’ve mentioned in the beginning if you add another layer or two, creating a bit of a heap.
Examples
Let’s begin with an all American classic – the Ford F-150.
The thirteenth-generation models can be bought in either 5.5, 6.5 or 8 feet bed types. That means if you stack the firewood nice and neat in the 5.5 short bed, you’ll be able to fit in right around 0.4 cords.
0.5 cords can get into the 6 footer, and staggering 0.6 cord into the 8 foot long box.
In case of the loved and treasured Toyota Tacoma, considering it is a ¼ ton pickup, it only comes either with a 5 foot or 6 foot bed.
The 5’ can be loaded with about 0.3 cord (or 1 full face cord) of split and stacked wood, while the 6 feet long bed some less than 0.4.
Best truck for this sort of thing
The more cubic feet inside of the bed, the better the truck is for hauling firewood. That means if you want to move as much wood at once, you should get a pickup that at least has an 8 foot-long bed.
Sideboards increase cargo space, but…
Installing sideboards, that is a rack, on your truck could potentially let you haul up to twice as much wood, but the thing you have to be careful here is the load capacity.
Half a cord of firewood can weigh around 2,000 pounds, and if your vehicle can’t hold any more than that, chances are you shouldn’t exceed this value regardless of what modifications you make, as operating an overloaded truck can ruin it, not to mention put you in unnecessary danger.
Are you referring to a face cord or bush cord?
I’m talking about bush cord, that is, full cord here.
I’m currently having a problem with the wood guy who was supposed to deliver a cord of wood, but definitely wasnt. How much wood fits in a 8ft long pick up truck if the wood is just thrown in and not stacked?
Hi Kat,
At most, it will be 1/3 of a cord, if not less.
It is difficult for me to gauge the amount more precisely, as it really depends on how exactly the wood lands in the bed.
In other words, you should be expecting twice less firewood, when compared to neatly stacked.
Hi Kat,
I have a 8’x6′ truck bed. I can easily get more than 1/3 cord into the bed of the truck thrown in. I measure 1/3 cord in a box that I made and it tossed into my truck is just shy of bed-level. If I reach bed-level, it is more than 1/4 cord.
My sister’s shortbed truck 1/3 cord actually just peeks over the bed thrown in. So it definitely depends on the length of the truck.
My long-bed truck, if I stack it, I can get a full cord if I go just a foot over the bed.
My dad’s short-bed truck, if I stack it, I can get a 1/2 cord if I go 2′ high, which is about 8″ or so above bed-level.
I’ve used a measuring tape to get my numbers. A full cord is 4’x4’x8′. There are lots of wood sellers who short customers on wood, but I measure to make sure.
You said you load 1/3 of a cord from a box you made into your truck and if you add more you got 1/4 of a cord. Do know that 1/3 of a cord is more than 1/4 of a cord?
That is the reason BK couldn’t sell their 1/3 lb burger because too many (under educated) people thought the MD 1/4 pounder was bigger. 🤣🤣🤷♂️
3/4 Cord worth
Would you have to make another trip to get more wood?
Definitely, especially if the “wood guy” sold you an actual half a cord.
If he starts throwing fits about it, please refer him to this page so he could first educate himself 😤.
Too many scammers in the wood business nowadays…
Hey there bud Dane from ct here. Up here I get 300 a cord for seasoned hardwoods and can haul 1 full cord in my 85 3/4ton chevy with 8ft bed and side boards it’s a 4speed too. I can show pictures of ud like to see. Just don’t k ow how to share on here
If his truck is not a flatbed with a stack of wood 4′ wide 4′ tall and 8′ long on it it’s never going to be a full cord of wood. No pickup bed is going to fit a full legal cord of wood. He knows it. Check your State. Many have consumer laws that specify a full legal cord of woods’ size.
Could be a matter of semantics. A face chord is only a 1/3 of a full chord. 4x8x16” as opposed to 4x8x4
Not true easily have got a full cord in a truck bed
I have a 03 gmc 2500 with racks cab high it will diffently hold well over a cord of wood. 128 cubic feet in a cord it’s pretty easy to figure out if you w went to math class.
Just had to turn away a guy that had a 5.5 ft bed with the wood loosely piled no extended rails and it didn’t go over the top of his cab. He claimed it was a cord, then I told him that I split and delivered wood for a year and that is not a cord. He said then you don’t want it? I said no. He said have a nice day, and left. No arguing my claim because he knew I was right.
How much should I charge for. Four wide four high eight long
Depends on what kind of wood it is.
If it’s mixed hardwood, you could start charging 200$ a cord.
It’s best to check out your local classified ads, and see what other folks are charging, as it can vary quite a bit; factors like is the firewood properly seasoned, do you deliver to site can increase the price.
how much should I charge for a loosely thrown load of wood in a 6.5 pick up truck cab high its pine well seasoned here in Colorado
Hey man, I too love firewood and am at a spot in my life where I am doing it for a living again. I never advertise my fir or larch loads as a cord and usually charge $150 at most so as to stay competitive. I still am not clear on just how much you think I could fit in a pick up such as mine. It’s a 77 GMC 3/4 ton with full racks that go just above the cab and an 8 foot bed. I usually half my rounds and neatly stack five rows, to the cab, if I don’t quarter it. So accounting for lost space from the wheel wells, just how much wood can I fit on my pick up?
Hey mark i deliver wood In an 85 chevy 4×4 with an 8ft bed and side boards and I can fit 1 full cord in the truck she is heavy but can do it ! It’s a 3/4ton 8 lug 4speed manual
How hi are your racks?
Hi, I just found this webpage and, while I appreciate the info, you are incorrect about split firewood taking up less space than round. There was an amusingly long and tedious debate about this on one of the arborist forums a few years ago, where someone was able to definitively prove (using carrots as miniature logs) that rounds stack tighter than that same amount of wood split and tightly stacked.
Hello, I’m new to the firewood hauling world. I have f350 with an 8ft bed. I’m going to be putting side racks on it so I can haul more than a half cord. How tall do my racks need to be to fit a whole cord?
It’s simple do the math a cord is 128 so 4*4*8 equals 128 or any other combination truck bed 8by 5.5 and 3ft high you get 132 so a little lower the 3ft or call it good because the wheel well
How much firewood will I get in 1 stall?
I can get a full cord stacked in my f250 with racks wood is stacked high as the cab
here is a full cord on a 1998 toyota tacoma 2wd 6 1/2ft bed! did it squat well yea but for $35 a load i made the most of it!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5onvt9Ko1BGEgfxZ9
Nice, the thing is loaded to the brim.
Tacoma doing work, you love to see it 😀
You can’t get a full cord in a 6 1/2 bed truck. Plus you have no racks. next to your bed rails r not 4 feet high.
I’d just like to chime in here with numbers
1 cubic foot is 12x12x12=1728 cubic inches
Chevy Silveraydo short bed
78x62x40 to the roof
That’s 193400 cubic inches÷1728=111.9 cubic feet
Long bed
96x62x40 to the roof
238080 cubic inches
137.8 cubic feet
I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that the wheel arches cost you…10 cubic feet total. Idk. Just guessing on the high side.
For all intents and purposes, the short bed can haul 102 cubic feet stacked to the roof and the long bed can haul 128 cubic feet stacked to the roof.
Cord wood
4x4x8
128 cubic feet
With that in mind, drop the tailgate and you have an extra 20 inches of bed length. Stack it correctly, and I’ll bet you can make up for the wheel arches and then some.
Stack it higher than the cab, and the short bed will hold a full cord
NOTE:
I said it will fit. I never said it would be legal or safe. That’s on you
Hi there, I am just getting started with selling wood and my first customer is concerned and feels sure that i didn’t bring a full cord.
I used my pick up truck and made two trips. The bed is 4×6 and i stacked it just over 2ft high. Not all the wood was cut to 16 in but ranged between 10-16’. Does it matter if the logs are short even through the truck bed was stacked very neat? Im positive I gave them a full cord and they are positive i gave them only a face cord.
Like i said i am newer to this and willing to learn but theres no way my two loads were only a total of a face cord.
A full cord is 128 cu ft:
3 rows of 4’x8′ but only 10″ long would be 80 cu ft
3 rows of 4’x8′ but only 13″ long would be 104 cu ft
3 rows of 4’x8′ but only 16″ long would be 128 cu ft
Why not take a stacked full cord and actually see how much fits in the trck and how much is left over. You start with a cord of wood and see how it fits in the truck tossed or stacked.
Great idea
Richard’s comment from December 10 2022 is the simplest and most correct approach. “take a stacked full cord and actually see how much fits in the truck” .. Nothing to debate really…