Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup?

The answer we would give to this question will go beyond a YES or a NO. Some persons frequently have needs to use lumbers and the major issue isn’t in using the lumber, but in transporting the lumber to the desired location. If you own a pickup and you need to transport a 16ft lumber, it’s normal that at some point, you’d ask: “Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup?”

Keep reading to get the response you need.

Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup?

For you to successfully haul a 16-ft lumber inside your pickup or truck, you have to follow this sequence:

  • Examine your load
  • Get rid of debris from your bed
  • Lower your tailgate
  • Fasten and secure your lumber
  • Drive slow and careful

In this article, we’ll give more details about the aforementioned.

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Firstly, let’s look at “Why Is Safe Hauling So Important?”

Why Is Safe Hauling So Important?

Transporting a couple of 16ft lumbers to your desired destination isn’t as difficult as many think it is. Even though it’s not difficult to haul such material, 16ft lumber, it’s sometimes challenging to carry out the process safely without hurting anybody and damaging the goods. This is the reason we have taken out time to disclose to you how anyone can put 16 ft lumber in a pickup, effectively.

A simple fastening and netting help you achieve the desired result — when transporting a good number of small goods. When it comes to the 16 ft lumber, it’s completely a different case. Yes, we know how intimidating it seems, but it’s something you can do if you follow the right guidance.

Now, the question: Why Is Safe Hauling So Bad? Before we go ahead to delve into breaking down how it’s done, it’s necessary that we first and foremost understand the goal. To put it in a more simple form, the goal isn’t about hauling the 16 ft lumber and transporting it from one place to another — rather it’s about being able to do it most efficiently and safely. For a pickup to accommodate 16 ft lumbers, that means it has some extra length added to it. This can also be said: a pickup driver driving a pickup truck loaded with 16 ft lumber is significantly longer.

Furthermore, some drivers out there do this without having any prior experience and they end up messing up — this means that drivers without prior experience are likely to mess up. Their driving skills have to be proficient enough to suit that situation before they can do such. Such proficiency comes with experience. In the process of hauling long items, one common risk involved is an improper settlement. Who would love to reach their destination and discover that the “hauled” loads have fallen off midway: NOBODY. This happens when you didn’t properly secure it.

Make sure that you don’t at any point underestimate the significance of carrying out a steady fix — which could end up causing an unexpected disposition of items, sometimes even accident.

Things To Know Before Hauling Lumber

Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In PickupYou need the right set of knowledge to haul items with longer length — because it requires a little bit of technique. So, below are a few important things you must take note of, before beginning your journey:

  • It’s quite necessary that you be in the know of how much lumber you have hanging out of your vehicle. According to the DOT regulations, lumbers you can hang out of the front, size, and back of your truck respectively — shouldn’t be more than three feet, four inches, and four feet.
  • If you must exceed the legal limit, then marking the lumber using a red flag is a necessity. This red flag must be clamped to the lumber’s end.
  • It is better to visit a police station and ensure you familiarize yourself with other rules around transporting lengthy lumbers. If you do this, you’d prevent getting charged with a fine in the future.

How To Haul 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup

This section contains a step-by-step guide to hauling and securing 16 ft lumber on a pickup truck. Just so anybody can easily understand, we gave more details in each step. In order to handle the job by yourself smoothly, keep reading to the very end to get a clear concept.

Required Essential

To begin the process smoothly, there are things you must have, namely:

  • Red Flag (clamped)
  • 20-ft heavy-duty ratchet straps that are at least 2 inches or wider
  • A short-bed pickup truck or larger
  • And also the 16 ft lumber(s).

Examine Your Loads

Doing this, examining your loads, is the first action you must take — in your quest to successfully hauling your 16 ft lumber. It’s normal for a truck owner to leave the tailgate up if the weight of the load goes below 250 lbs. Since your plan is to haul 16 ft lumber, the likelihood of it weighing above 250 lbs is on the high side. When the weight exceeds 250 lbs, it’s imperative and compulsory that you lower the tailgate, in order to accommodate the length.

The next thing to do is, make sure you check whether you meet the DOT regulations or not. This is very crucial because there’s no truck driver that’d love to get fined by highway troopers midway after going through the stress of hauling.

Get Rid Of Debris From Your Bed

You have to make sure that there is no single debris left on the bed of your truck. This debris can cause potential damage to your lumber. You have to always remember that the lumber which you’re transporting is more than 16 ft in length — this means that the truck bed will experience a lot of “dissipated” pressure. A dent-free haul becomes possible when you get rid of the debris.

In addition, you can consider getting old cardboards to carpet the bed of your truck, so it can be a hospitable spot for your lumbers. When that is done, sharp and rough edges won’t cause any harm to your lumber nor your truck.

Lower Your Tailgate

Performing this step — which is “lowering your tailgate” — gives your truck the length it needs to swiftly accommodate several 16 ft lumbers. The fact that lowering your tailgate is important in a bid to avoid damage and ensure uniform weight distribution can’t be overemphasized. As an additional accessory, you can get a lumber rack to attach for easy stacking.

A lowered and extended tailgate is, by many persons, considered the ideal truck bed for 16 ft hauls. It’s quite unfortunate that there are a great number of people in the community who take pride in transporting 16 ft lumbers without making sure that the tailgate is down. We, to a large extent, discourage the act of hauling 16 ft lumbers without lowering your tailgate — because it can negatively affect your safety.

Fasten And Secure Your Lumber

This step covers where you must ensure the lumbers don’t wobble or shift on the truck bed every time your truck hits a bump, so you can keep “possible accident” at arm’s length.

Here are the instructions you need to follow for a safe settlement:

  • Lay out about three strong ratchet straps across the bed from one side to another. It’s preferable to add one strap on the cab end, middle and tail end each.
  • Carefully, place your 16 ft lumber on the bed.
  • Ensure that you position them together — in a way that the largest and heaviest pieces are on the bottom and the lightest ones are right on top.
  • Anchor the whole lot to your bed.
  • Crisscross the ratchets, then wrap them around the load. After that, secure the seal by, very well, tightening it.
  • After you’re done with the process of securing your load, use a flag clamp to place a red flag on the tailgate end of the lumber.

Drive Slow & Careful

AAA carried out a study, and according to this study, over 200,000 crashes were caused by debris on the road. Are you wondering why? Well, the reason is, many truck owners count it unnecessary to properly secure your loads. This alone brought about more than 38,000 injuries and 500 deaths.

So, if you are one of those who want to make a difference, then ensure you — with those 16 ft lumbers — always drive carefully. When you get to bumps, slow down and at the times you must turn, make sure you calculate your turns carefully since the length of your truck is now more than its initial length.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How Far Can Lumber Hang Out Of Truck?

According to the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Size Regulation law, lumber is allowed to extend 3 feet in front of the vehicle, 4 inches on the side, and 4 feet in the rear.

How Do You Secure Lumber With Tailgate Down?

Place it down on the tailgate about a foot behind the rear bed tie-down anchors. Place a second ratchet strap on the bed floor roughly a foot behind the front anchor points. Stack your lumber in the middle of the bed, on top of your cargo straps.

Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup? – Conclusion

As a recap of what’s been stated in this article, the response we gave to the question — Can You Put 16 Ft Lumber In Pickup? — is:

For you to successfully haul a 16-ft lumber inside your pickup or truck, you have to follow this sequence:

  • Examine your load
  • Get rid of debris from your bed
  • Lower your tailgate
  • Fasten and secure your lumber
  • Drive slow and careful

Thanks for reading.

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