Is there a car that can haul sheet goods?

[eezlock]

sheet good hauler?

You might want to buy an older model Chevy suburban and install a roof rack
it will do the job. I sold my older suburban to one of the stepsons a couple of years ago....he uses it daily in his business and as huntin' truck also.
He installed a regular ladder rack (van type) on it, throws on the metal siding brake, ladders, walkboards or what ever he needs and hauls buggy to the jobsite, says it is the best vehicle he has ever had to work out of since he has been doing siding work. eezlock

[Russianwolf]

1) Jeep Cherokees are unibody, yet they are used for towing all the time.

2) several minivans can do it flat now. Dodge (not the stow and go) and Honda coem to mind.

3) perfect excuse to buy an old $500-1000 truck like I did. Everybody loves my '70 Jeep Gladiator and I only paid $600 for it (been driving it nearly everyday for a year and a half now.

[FL Buckeye]

Hoakie was right on. The '01 Odyssey we had was able to hold 4x8 sheets inside laying flat. The middle bucket seats had to be removed, but the back seat folded into the floor opening. I hauled OSB board, drywall and plywood in it. Sure miss it now. I haven't kept up on the newer vans but last year we rented a Chrysler T&C van with the stow-n-go seats, which fold into the floor and give you a totaly flat floor behind the front seats. I wasn't loading sheet goods so can't say if its wide enough. I liked hauling in the van because it was all enclosed so weather was never a problem. Most people that buy trucks now want the extended cabs, which usually gives them a shorter than 8ft bed and sheet goods have to extend out the back.

[big tim]

I drove a Dodge Grand Caravan for many years and for the last 5 years I have driven the Honda Odyssey. Both minivans could take 4 x 8 sheets.

With the Odyssey I put two 2 x 4's on the floor first. It helps sliding the sheets in and out, raise them slightly and gets the sheets away from the rounded lower corners of the back opening.

Tim

[Cheeky]

i bike, ski and surf, and have a thule roof rack for all those fun things. turns out, it works fantastic for sheet goods too.

i have it on a Honda Civic. when i transport sheet goods, i use the thule load stops (503), and cam straps. takes me longer to load then than to secure them.

[kirkroy]

My 97 chevy suburban can hold 4x8 sheet goods laid flat.

My 2001 toyota camry 4cyl could pull a trailer just fine. A friend hauls motorcycles on a small trailer using a honda civic.

[dwk]

I have a GMC Safari that also can take 4x8 sheets flat. The Astro/Safari vans are unbelievable haulers IMHO.

I agree though that for loads on the order of a few sheets of plywood etc almost any vehicle should be able to tow a small utility trailer without any problem. The 49x97 size of full-sheet MDF might need a bit of creativity, but otherwise the cheap folding trailers from Harbor Freight or the upgraded ones from redtrailer.com can probably handle about a dozen sheets of plywood per run, which is way more than I can store/consume at a time in my shop. This would result in a total trailer weight of ~1500lbs or so, which for short flat runs should be ok on any SUV, and probably most cars as well.

[Alex Franke]

Thanks for the great info!

I've used the truck rentals before, but it really annoys me having to pay $20 to borrow a truck for less than an hour -- especially when I realize I'm one sheet short.

It sounds like the minivan makers were pretty smart in their designs -- maybe with all the home improvement shows springing up all over the place a lot more soccer moms started demanding space for a sheet of plywood. Kinda funny to think that a minivan is better at hauling wood than an Explorer.

So now I have to look into thule roof racks and cheap folding trailers from Harbor Freight, as well as a new family car. I'm not sure my wife would let me get a truck at this point, but I can probably get away with, "Here's a great new family car, honey -- and would ya look at this: It can haul plywood sheets, too!"

[Alex Franke]

Alas, Thule says they don't have a rack that will fit my Lincoln LS! Neither does Yakima.

HF has a ~1k lb 48x96 trailer for $239. Not bad...

Don't you have to get a special plates for a trailer, though? Anyone know what that costs?

[footprintsinconc]

ive got a safari aswell. the 4 x 8 sheets fit in just fine.

[LCHIEN]

most of the minivans will take a 4x8 sheet laid across the middle seat and rear seat rows if the seats are laid down... sort of a design requirement for that class of car.

Actually cheaper than buying a new car or car you wouldn't normally buy, just to carry sheet goods, is these alternatives:
1 - buy a small utility trailer from like HF for 200-300 bucks, some of them fold up to minimize storage space.
2 - rent a small delivery truck for $20 per hour from Lowes or HD.

[Bigbit]

You can haul lumber in almost any car or sedan if you know what you're doing. Attached is a picture of my neighbor leaving the BORG with a load of lumber on the roof of his subcompact...

[cwsmith]

I've had two minivans, a 91 Plymoth Grand Voyager and a 06 Dodge Grand Caravan. Both accomodated 4 x 8 sheets just fine. As previously suggested, you might want to outfit the back with a couple of 2-bys to act as skids and to slightly raise the stock, so as not to scrape the side bulkheads where they "round" near the floor. They'd also serve well in keeping the carpet or seat backs from being snagged.

The regular Caravan is too short, you'll need the "Grand". I have stow-n-go" for the 3rd seat and it folds flat into the floor, but I have to remove the second bench seat. It's easy enough to do. With stowable buckets in the second row, they should fold flat and you wouldn't have to remove them.

CWS

[thrytis]

Don't you have to get a special plates for a trailer, though? Anyone know what that costs?

I recently went through this, so i can help here. Yes, you need to get a plate for the trailer in NC. For registration, plates, title, notary etc, i paid $71.20. I think there is also a personal property tax for trailers too, but i haven't received a bill yet. There is no sales tax.

[JSUPreston]

One other thought I had, what about something like an old El Camino? Get one from the '80s with the Monte Carlo SS, drop in a small block V8 with a 4 speed and good rear end, and it'll haul more than the lumber.

Okay, in all seriousness, how about the El Camino stock? Granted, you would have to drop the tailgate, but you have to do that on a lot of trucks these days. In my case, I have a 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, and with the bed extender flipped out, I have about 6' of bed space. Works fairly well for me hauling several sheets of ply at a time. My biggest problem (for hauling) with my setup is the wheel wells are at the front of the bed, which raises the ply pretty high in the air at the front of the bed. Flip side is that I can get a lot of stuff under it between the wheel wells.

I still think you might be better off with the trailer. Have you checked the owner's manual yet?