How many "yards of composted manure in bed?

OK, this trucking thing is new to me and I need to establish small garden beds...!

Someone near me has composted horse manure for cheap.

How many yards (or fractions of) can I safely put in my truck (a 2.7 L, AC)?

 

It depends on a lot of things, specifically how wet the compost is. If it's dry, you could pack damn near a whole yard into the bed which would weigh around 800 lbs give or take. A wet yard of compost could weigh as much as 1,600 lbs. Just keep an eye on the springs when you load it and go with however amount the truck handles.

 

Thanks.

Yep, I can see how wet is the stuff being a big factor, so I would have to go by my untrained eyes, mostly!

 

The ammonia from the manure will destroy your vehicle especially if it is wet at all. You can get 2 to 3 yards in a full size pick-up by volume, but the weight will kill you. Dry or slightly damp compost usually weighs between 1000 – 1600 lbs per yard. MUCH heavier if wet.
An example that may help is this.
A 40 lb bag is probably about 1 cubic feet of tightly packed top soil. So it would take 27 bags to make 1 Cubic Yard of tightly packed top soil. 27x40=1080 pounds.
If you value your vehicle get a trailer. I destroyed a trailer from hauling mushroom compost so it will do the same to your truck because of the ammonia. The compost will compress while hauling and squeeze moisture out of the compost. That will run down the drain holes in the bed as well as out the back tailgate and rot your frame. The stuff I hauled was wet and weighed between 2500 and 4500 pounds per yard depending on how wet it was. I usually got 4 yards which weighed between 10,000 and 18,000 pounds. By the way, by wet I do not mean sloppy, just wet. Don't even consider sloppy. Reach deep into the pile, at least half way up to your elbow, and get a hand full. If you can squeeze any moisture out of it then it is wet and it will be heavy.

 

Wow, this guy knows his sh1t! Id load it watching the springs while the loader dumps it in, and hose it out as soon as you are done offloading it.

 

I would also think a serious undercarriage wash following the offload should take care of the corrosive stuff.

And maybe use a large painter's drip sheet in the bed for further insurance, so it is more a bathtub than a colander?

 

anytime i go for mulch i just bring a large tarp and lay it in the bed (and over the sides) and then they backhoe the mulch on top of it. i shovel it out when i need it and when as there is only a little left you just pull the tarp and the last of the mulch out and near 100% clean.

 

Bump for horse manure transport day!

Still unsure how much I can safely put in the bed...

- guesstimate how wet the stuff is?
- visually see (or measure?) how much squatting occurs?

 

Truck can handle a lot of shyat (someone had to say it)

 

I put a yard and a half of semi dry mulch in mine without any issues.

but as others have stated, if the manure is damp, it's going to be heavier...

I'd go with a yard and see how it goes.
If you have to go back for more, still better than breaking something.

and def. wash out after...

PC

 

What a BS question.

Sorry, had to say it.

 

Just go for 1/2 yard at a time if the guy isn't too far away. Better safe than sorry.

 

This may help in estimating truck bed volume capacity and weights of various materials:

http://enchantedrockandlandscape.com/help.php

Tarp liner in the bed is a good idea if the manure is moist.

Be careful with horse manure regarding persistent herbicides in the hay the horses ate. Best to let unknown manure compost for a year before application to garden.

http://compostingcouncil.org/persistent-herbicide-faq/

Good luck with the garden!

 

Want weeds in your garden go with animal manure of any sort.

 

Half yard was all I needed, and also as much as I felt comfortable taking on the truck. It was well-composted horse manure.

It was fairly dry, so no liquid in bed or through drains. I had it tarped well, followed by a very good rinse x2.

BTW, a lot of crud seems to accumulate in the inner part od bumper, worth a good spray once in a while... even in "normal" operation.

 

I just absolutely soaked my undercarriage in Fluid Film. The comes-in-a-gallon, looks-like-gravy stuff, not the spray cans. Would that protect it from the ammonia in compost? I'm not hauling any in the near future but just want to know what my capabilities are and can't buy or borrow a trailer at the moment.

 

If you're worried about anything dripping, just put a tarp in the bed first. Wrap it up the sides and load the compost. You can get a nice, large tarp for like $15 - $20 at a hardware store.

 

I purposely picked up my stuff after a few dry days here.

Stuff left on my tarp were just small dry-ish bits, the kind you can dust off with the back of your hand.

The front drain hole is just about (+/- 2") by the spring mount point, so, spray there.

For better or worse, my Taco is no longer a mall crawler, now...!