PICK UP
PARK, ORDER, PAY AND GET LOADED!
If you have a pickup truck or trailer, you can come to our facility, order and pay for your product and we'll load your order right away. It only takes a few minutes. Please do not park in the loading area. Ample parking is available for pickup trucks in front of the sales office and trailers can park in a designated area along the side of our driveway.
Some customers like to pick up materials because it allows them to use their truck like a wheelbarrow, driving around their yards and spreading off their trucks. If the terrain of your yard allows this, it may be the way to go. Otherwise, you may be able to schedule a delivery from us and use a wheel barrow to move your mulch around from a pile at a time.
Very capable and highly trained employees perform our loading operation. All assigned personnel undergo a two-week training program and must demonstrate knowledge and skills in all facets of skid steer operation and safety before they can load you. Most of our staff has several years of experience and tens of thousands of loading operations behind them. We can assure you your vehicle will be loaded with the utmost care and safety.
However, accidents can happen and if you are really worried about your vehicle, we suggest you speak with a staff member or perhaps bring some protective padding (like a tarp or old blanket) for the side of your truck. We do load at your risk, but since we know you are concerned, the current probability for a minor accident (like a pebble falling out of our bucket and dinging your paint) is 1 in 350,000. That’s 99.9997% in your favor.
Minimum Purchase = 1/2 Cubic Yard
Sorry, we do not permit customers to shovel products into bags, car trunks, vans or any other vehicle at our facility. We sell by the half cubic yard and full cubic yard only – we do not sell by any other fractions of the cubic yard. Because we are a bulk supplier, we serve customers needing large volumes of product so we maintain a minimum sales policy of half cubic yard. If you need small amounts, similar products to ours might be available in bags from a variety of home improvement stores in the area.
About Pickup Trucks
You may have heard of quarter-ton, half-ton, one-ton pickup truck classifications. These are old terms that need some clarification because there is a lot of misunderstanding about what they mean. Over the years trucks have become bigger and stronger, and with today’s series of pickups like Ford 150, 250, 350 and GM’s 1500, 2500, 3500, the manufacturer’s build different degrees of strength into the frame, springs, suspension, engine, brakes, tires and wheels.
For example, today’s half-ton pick-up truck (the Ford F150, Chevy Silverado 1500 and Dodge Ram 1500) have payload capacities in the range of 1,500 to 2,000. That means these trucks could actually be called three-quarter to one-ton pickups!
The F250, Chevy 2500 and Dodge 2500s have payload capacities of between 2,500 and 4,000 pounds (one and a quarter to two tons respectively) and the 350s/3500s are rated at 3,500 to over 5,000 pounds (two to three tons).
Determining Your Pickup’s Actual Payload
The only true way to determine the actual payload is to weigh your truck empty (with a full tank of gas) and subtract this weight and the weight of you and any passengers from the stated GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR is usually stated on a model tag on the driver side door or panel. The weight left over is what you can safely carry in the truck. Keep in mind that any excess weight over the GVWR is an overload, which can damage the truck or make operating the truck dangerous.
How much can you carry?
You are probably wondering how many cubic yards you can carry in your pickup. To help you understand this we have developed the following chart. We realize it does not cover every kind of vehicle, so if you can’t find your type of truck, come on in and we’ll let you know what you can carry. Remember this is only a guide and if for some reason we do not think you can safely carry it, we reserve the right to not load you.
Other Things to Consider during Pick Up
Suitable vehicles -- There are many types of vehicles you may use to pick up and transport material. However, there is a limitation to what we can and will load. The vehicle must be loadable by our loader (has a 5′ 8″ wide bucket). The vehicle must be loadable from the top. We don’t load closed top vans through back doors or pick up trucks with lids that open less than 90 degrees from the bed. If your vehicle is not in a condition suitable for carrying the material (rusted out beds, trailers with wire beds where material will fall through it, trucks without tail gates) we may not load you. Your safety and the safety of others on the roadway are extremely important.
Check tires -- Check the pressure and load rating of your tires. If you need air, we will provide it for you at our maintenance garage and please, let us know before you are loaded to avoid damage to your tires.
Check for gaps -- Make sure any gaps are closed so material doesn’t fall out of your truck or trailer (check for gaps between bed and tailgate or gaps in floor and sides of trailers).
If you don't think you can safely haul your order, our delivery service is available within approximately a 20-mile radius of our store in central Columbia County.