Sap hauler comparisons

[cjmiller272]

I have 30 acres of woods about 15 miles from my evaporator, I collect solely with buckets because terrain doesnt work for tubing. Im debating on which kind of hauler to pay for, a pickup tank vs. trailer tank. Anybody have personal experience with either to weigh in on the matter

[Big_Eddy]

At 15 miles - I assume that you are using a vehicle to bring it to the evaporator. What do you have to pull / carry with? Are you willing to make multiple trips on "good" days?

150 taps can yield up to 300 gallons on a good day, or ~3000lbs of liquid (CDN Gals). That's beyond the safe load for a half-ton or 3/4 ton pickup bed.

An advantage of a trailer is that you can leave it at either end. Say you get to the site and there's only 30 gals of sap to collect. Drop the trailer in a shady spot, dump the 30 gals in and leave it for another day. Haul a full trailer back, park it beside the shack and 30 seconds later you can be on the road again if needed.

Cons of the trailer are additional costs, additional maintenance, trailer brake setup, registration etc. And you still need something with a >5000lb towing rating and a brake controller. You can buy a lot of extra gas for the difference in price between a pickup tank, and a trailer plus tank setup.

Whatever you do - don't just stick a 300 gallon tank in the back of a half ton and drive overloaded.

If you go with a tank, get one that's sized to match your truck's rating. There's a lot less sloshing with a full tank than a half full tank, and that way you're not tempted to do it "just this once". Better still - get 2 small tanks each holding half your trucks rating. Secure them well and drive safe.

[bowtie]

i am in the same situation you are in, taps about 15 miles from house and terrain not good for tubing, i use a polaris ranger with a 210 gallon tank to collect in and then tranfser it to my truck with a forkilft. i have 150 taps on this hillside and will have 200 by the weekend so with a big run i possibly would have to make 2 trips but that would be a good thing. most 1/2 ton trucks have a bed capacity of around 1 ton but who has not had more than that in them, 210 gallons at 8.5 lbs is 1785 lbs well within the safe limits of most trucks and who says you have to go fast anyway. i also looked into using my trailer to haul the tank but it is kind of a pain to trailer it everyday, but a 6x12 with a weight limit of 3500lbs will haul a full 210 gallon tank ++ safely and you do not need brakes on it and you can pick up one for around $1000.

[Waynehere]

I use my little mini-truck.... :)5524