# Possible to transport 16 foot long lumber with a SUV?



## miamicuse

I have a SUV like a Nissan xterra.

I need to get some lumber that comes in 16 feet. true 1" thick by 3 for a variety of purposes.

I only need 10 pieces. Any thoughts as to best way to transport it with my SUV? Tie down on the roof with parts of it overhanging, or stick 10' into the truck and leave 6' out the back?

Ideas?

Delivery costs more than the pieces unfortunately.


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## Willie T

If the eyes of the law are benevolent, drive, long-ways, over the stack, and then tie the stack up tight to both the front and rear bumpers.... if you can find a "tie" point on these new plastic bumpers... thus "slinging" the load underneath your vehicle. Wouldn't hurt to have a friend following close behind you.


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## user1007

You will need to find or metal shop to weld you a rooftop frame for carrying lumber. Then prime and paint it. 

The board feet you need may be heavier than you think so check the spring and shock absorber ratings on the Nissan vehicle you have. You may have to enhance them and perhaps your vehicle frame too. 

And then there is the issue of carrying long lumber, even red flagged on a little mini SUV. It has to stick way over the legal limit?

Sometimes you just have to cry and pay the piper to deliver things. Or even here in a big city I could rent a truck to match near any needs for a couple hours or a day. Why even think of beating up your cute little SUV for this?


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## TarheelTerp

miamicuse said:


> I need to get some lumber that comes in 16 feet.
> true 1" thick by 3 for a variety of purposes.
> I only need 10 pieces.
> 
> Ideas?


What else do you need (or could use) that they sell?
Make the delivery charge worthwhile.


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## ddawg16

This little Harbor Freight trailer I bought for $350 has more than paid for it's self.

When I don't need it, I leave it at work....but if I wanted, I could fold it in half and park it standing up on it's a$$.


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## 47_47

Do you need to use it in 16' lengths?


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## ddawg16

47_47 said:


> Do you need to use it in 16' lengths?


The longer the pieces you have, typically the less waste....and typically looks better...depending on what your doing with it.


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## sublime2

If your buying it from one of the big box stores they have trucks for rent. 
Maybe 30 bucks for an hour.
If you use your suv, through the suv and out the passenger side Window. Wind up with about 2 1/2 feet in either direction front and back.


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## user1007

TarheelTerp said:


> What else do you need (or could use) that they sell?
> Make the delivery charge worthwhile.


Absolutely. And great advice. 

Maybe the suspension on a little Nissan could pull a trailer. Will only cost $60-100 to find out, get the hitch, run the wiring, for the taillights? 

And OP, so we know, the delivery fee for this you do not want to have to pay is how much? As mentioned, trucks I rented at times beyond the capabilities of my trucks or vans cost me $20-30 for a day since I was a frequent renter. Got what my crews needed when delivery charges were out of wack, stuck fuel in them and left them for someone else to pay for and park.


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## 47_47

ddawg16 said:


> The longer the pieces you have, typically the less waste....and typically looks better...depending on what your doing with it.


I realize that and have put 24' on my truck for similar reasons. He only said it comes in 16' lengths, not that he needed it in 16'


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## user1007

sublime2 said:


> If your buying it from one of the big box stores they have trucks for rent.
> Maybe 30 bucks for an hour.
> If you use your suv, through the suv and out the passenger side Window. Wind up with about 2 1/2 feet in either direction front and back.


We are talking 10 pieces of 16 foot wood. I cannot drive legally with that sticking out and even red flagged through windows of a tiny Nissan like the OP has here.


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## joecaption

It's good free entertanment to sit in the parking lot at one of the box store and see what people try and put in there vehicles.
I saw someone with a short bed Ford Ranger with a tool box in the back trying to load 2 X 12 X 16' pressure treated and about 50, 5/4 decking boards.
The wood was dragging on the ground and the front wheels were off the pavement and he was still loading when I drove off.
Every weekend you can count on someone trying to take a whole patio set home in one trip with a small car.


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## sublime2

sdsester said:


> We are talking 10 pieces of 16 foot wood. I cannot drive legally with that sticking out and even red flagged through windows of a tiny Nissan like the OP has here.


Were talking 10 pieces of 16' 1 X 3.
It can be done. 2 stacks of 5 would be easy to do even in an xterra.


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## sublime2

sdsester said:


> You will need to find or metal shop to weld you a rooftop frame for carrying lumber. Then prime and paint it.
> 
> The board feet you need may be heavier than you think so check the spring and shock absorber ratings on the Nissan vehicle you have. You may have to enhance them and perhaps your vehicle frame too.


Seriously?


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## miamicuse

Sorry I was not more clear in the original post.

It is ten pieces of 16' thin lumber. For all practical purposes you can think of it as baseboards.

I do not need all of them in 16' lengths. I just did some calculations and I need some 14', a few 12' and 10's. However, I am not sure cutting them slightly shorter in varying lengths change the problem. I could not use them in 8' lengths, if I could I would ask them to cut in half and 20 pieces of 8' would fit entirely inside the car no problem.

There is nothing else I need there. It is a specialty lumber yard and I called around they are the only place that carries this particular product within 50 miles. So I am making this trip to get it. It is a 1 hour drive one way on the highway. They have a minimum charge to deliver millwork and since it's across county they charge $129.95, the lumber is only $80 or so. I guess they charge more because it's one of those long flat bed truck they will have to use?

I doubt load is a problem. It is 1x3, so two of those will weight less than one piece of standard 2x4 right footer. We are talking about less than 5 pieces of 2x4x8 here. I am not putting a 300 pound fridge on the roof of my truck. It's the length that's the problem.

I just measured the distance from the front windshield to the back door, it's about 10.5'. I can keep the back door closed, but open the top portion which is glass that flips up. If I slide the wood in all the way through to the front and have it rest on the dash, I will have 5.5' sticking out the back through the glass flip window.

That should work better than trying to tie them to the roof?


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## miamicuse

Sorry I was not more clear in the original post.

It is ten pieces of 16' thin lumber. For all practical purposes you can think of it as baseboards.

I do not need all of them in 16' lengths. I just did some calculations and I need some 14', a few 12' and 10's. However, I am not sure cutting them slightly shorter in varying lengths change the problem. I could not use them in 8' lengths, if I could I would ask them to cut in half and 20 pieces of 8' would fit entirely inside the car no problem.

There is nothing else I need there. It is a specialty lumber yard and I called around they are the only place that carries this particular product within 50 miles. So I am making this trip to get it. It is a 1 hour drive one way on the highway. They have a minimum charge to deliver millwork and since it's across county they charge $129.95, the lumber is only $80 or so. I guess they charge more because it's one of those long flat bed truck they will have to use?

I doubt load is a problem. It is 1x3, so two of those will weight less than one piece of standard 2x4 right footer. We are talking about less than 5 pieces of 2x4x8 here. I am not putting a 300 pound fridge on the roof of my truck. It's the length that's the problem.

I just measured the distance from the front windshield to the back door, it's about 10.5'. I can keep the back door closed, but open the top portion which is glass that flips up. If I slide the wood in all the way through to the front and have it rest on the dash, I will have 5.5' sticking out the back through the glass flip window.

That should work better than trying to tie them to the roof?


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## mikegp

I've borrowed my father in law's Ford Escape which is a tiny little thing to haul 16ft 2x4's. The window on the rear opens so I just slide the wood in and it goes up at an angle. I don't know what the legalities are, but it's definitely easy to do. If you remove the passenger seat then you might be able to slide them all the way to the passenger foot well. You could also get a roof rack, but that's extra cost and effort. Post a pic when you do it. Good luck.


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## 47_47

I'd strap the thin lumber to some 2x material so the wind doesn't break the 1x. It will also take some of the bounce out.

Added: This is only because you have 50 miles to travel.


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## mikegp

Good suggestion. I've done that with crown molding and baseboards before.


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## ddawg16

If you bundle them all together...it will be fine.

But I would use a strap to hold the window down against the wood with some padding in between.

Make sure you leave your front windows open...otherwise you might suck exhaust gases back into the cabin.

Make sure you put a red flag on the end. You don't need to worry about it sticking out too far unless your state has a weird law about it. Here in CA you can have an overhang that is 2/3 the length of your wheelbase.


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## user1007

miamicuse said:


> Sorry I was not more clear in the original post.
> 
> It is ten pieces of 16' thin lumber. For all practical purposes you can think of it as baseboards.
> 
> I do not need all of them in 16' lengths. I just did some calculations and I need some 14', a few 12' and 10's. However, I am not sure cutting them slightly shorter in varying lengths change the problem. I could not use them in 8' lengths, if I could I would ask them to cut in half and 20 pieces of 8' would fit entirely inside the car no problem.
> 
> There is nothing else I need there. It is a specialty lumber yard and I called around they are the only place that carries this particular product within 50 miles. So I am making this trip to get it. It is a 1 hour drive one way on the highway. They have a minimum charge to deliver millwork and since it's across county they charge $129.95, the lumber is only $80 or so. I guess they charge more because it's one of those long flat bed truck they will have to use?
> 
> I doubt load is a problem. It is 1x3, so two of those will weight less than one piece of standard 2x4 right footer. We are talking about less than 5 pieces of 2x4x8 here. I am not putting a 300 pound fridge on the roof of my truck. It's the length that's the problem.
> 
> I just measured the distance from the front windshield to the back door, it's about 10.5'. I can keep the back door closed, but open the top portion which is glass that flips up. If I slide the wood in all the way through to the front and have it rest on the dash, I will have 5.5' sticking out the back through the glass flip window.
> 
> That should work better than trying to tie them to the roof?


Where exactly are you. You might want to update your profile. 

Almost twice the cost of the lumber would irk me a bit.

But there is not a Hertz, Avis, Budget truck place close that will slip you keys to something that will work for this near? I can see you trying to fit 16' of thin lumber you need in an eleven foot car but why bro?

The stuff has to extend out somewhere because the interior or your model car tapers. You have to drive an hour with red flagged over the limit lumber hanging out and if you get ticketed your license and insurance suffers. 

Rent the vehicle that matches this task/quest.


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## wkearney99

Just why is it you think you need pieces that long? Do you not realize that baseboards and other trim are regularly pieced together? A simple diagonal cut will make the section undetectable. And if it's some really fancy looking setup that involves keeping the wood unpainted then buck-up and pay for the proper delivery service.

Otherwise you're going likely to end up with a number of ruined pieces and potentially some vehicle-related problems (like accidents, lost material and tickets). All of which will NO DOUBT cost more than the delivery charge. 

It's the length of the drive that makes me lean toward NOT doing it yourself. If this was just a few miles from a local place then I'd probably lean toward using a 2x10 as a platform for them and lash the whole bundle to the roof. Or angle it up and out the back window (again, with the 2x10 for support). But for a longer drive you're just compounding the risks.

The delivery charge is probably a minimum for a bunch of stuff. So figure out what else you'd need and get it all delivered at once.


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## RWolff

You'd be amazed what Ive transported in my Oldsmobile cutlass wagon, I've hauled a dozen sheets of 5/8" CDX inside it, a roll of 12' wide carpet, bags of concrete, sand.
On my previous car I hauled home a 9' tall solid oak book case I built, on the roof roped down. The bookcase was over 300# since I used 5/4 red oak throughout.

You can transport almost anything if you set your mind to it and get creative


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## PoleCat

I use two foam rubber pads I have for roofing to protect the top of my truck & cap. They provide excellent traction for the lumber too. I tightly bind both ends so that individual boards can't slide free. Then bind the "package" front & back to the truck. Flag both ends and I'm off.


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## ToolSeeker

I have done it just as you suggested in the beginning. Strap it to the under carriage, a little out the front, a little out the back.


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## MJ Force

Any things possible.


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## quincy

miamicuse said:


> If I slide the wood in all the way through to the front and have it rest on the dash, QUOTE]
> 
> Watch out for the windshield.


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## redman88

Buy a couple of 4 inch PVC pipes and slide the trim into it and strap the PVC to the bottom of the car


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## Nailbags

miamicuse said:


> I have a SUV like a Nissan xterra.
> 
> I need to get some lumber that comes in 16 feet. true 1" thick by 3 for a variety of purposes.
> 
> I only need 10 pieces. Any thoughts as to best way to transport it with my SUV? Tie down on the roof with parts of it overhanging, or stick 10' into the truck and leave 6' out the back?
> 
> Ideas?
> 
> Delivery costs more than the pieces unfortunately.


My local lumber yard will deliver for free. the big box stores won't. buy at the real lumber yards.


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## Msradell

ToolSeeker said:


> I have done it just as you suggested in the beginning. Strap it to the under carriage, a little out the front, a little out the back.


Wood that thin will have a lot of "bounce" to it and would most likely bottom out in the middle if you hit a decent bump. You are much better off putting it on top or inside!


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## wkearney99

Msradell said:


> You are much better off putting it on top or inside!


Not to mention the fire risk of the material coming into contact with the extremely hot surfaces of the exhaust system. Or bound up against the drivetrain. Of the many half-assed ways to transport something it never occurred to me to try something like that. It just seems like a profoundly BAD IDEA.


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## Fix'n it

i have had 14'ers hanging out the back of my s-10. yeah, they were hanging way out there. but i didn't have a problem. and luckily i didn't see any cops.


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## PoleCat

I could never pull it off on a F-150. Twin I beams up front, rear axel all below the plane of the frame. The lumber would have to be lashed to these very active members. The ends of the lumber would never survive the abrupt grade changes here in town either. Also not being able to see the ends down there could result in some pierced body work on other vehicles. I'll keep it up on the roof.:whistling2:


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## ddawg16

I have stuck 16' boards out of the cab of my jeep.....yea....I had about 8' of board hanging out the back...put a flag on it....be careful as you go around corners......don't want to smack someone with the boards....

In fact, the the back seat is out, I can transport 4x8 sheets of plywood...the the tailgate down, I have just enough support I can lean them against the roll cage and everything stays in place.


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