E-Waste Hauling

I run a computer repair shop, and do E-Waste as a second job. We serve three schools, and did two collection events this spring. We have two other collection points, but they're small volume. We haven't started advertising yet, but we will be soon. Here's what I currently use:

1. A 1997 Ford E350 15' Box Van. It's great, except for some bad rust. If someone knows about rust, I can get pictures. Recommendations on whether it's safe or not would be appreciated. I really like the truck, but I won't use dangerous equipment.

2. A 1995 F-150 Flareside. I've used this instead of the van. It's too small to be of use. But, with a trailer...



I'm just curious to see how you guys do it. I've damaged a fair amount of cargo. In the box van, my stuff moves too much. My cases get scratched, and some get chipped. In the truck, I always seem to hit a freak rain storm, or my cases move too much again.

So, what do you guys use to haul computers, and how do you secure your loads? I refurbish as many PCs as I can, but I ruin way too many in transit.

Any tips or advice would be great!

I'm not sure how the other guys do it, but I would suggest putting all the computers that you know you're going to be refurbishing in the F-150 and the rest, if possible in the box truck. It's much easier to secure and load the bed of a truck, tow straps and good packing are essential, along with a tarp if you're expecting any weather issues. If you're going to go the box truck route I would suggest loading the good equipment in the back near the door, and everything else separate from that. I'm sure that you've either done or thought of these ideas but figured I would throw them out there just in case.

I use the load locks myself. They have been great and have saved some poorly stacked items from crashing to the floor. I either use a one ton truck flatbed with 2' wooden sides, or if the load might be bigger, and it almost always is, I rent a 24' truck from our local Budget truck rental dealer. The load locks always go with us when we have the rental truck. That lets us stack it higher and deeper!

The load bars seem pretty cool! I could see them definitely helping. My loads seem awfully non-square- especially after driving.

Is there anything you guys do to the sides of a box truck (Like E-Track or something). I've tossed that idea around.

The load bars will definitely help, though.

P.S. Has anybody found a good way to haul iMac G4s (Like this:

They're obsolete mostly, so scratches don't bother me. I can never really pile them up, though. Any tips?

Thanks for the load bars idea- I'm getting one before our next event!

I rock a mini van, an don't usually have trouble moving loads.

Having a background in shipping an receiving stuffing a van is just like playing with a jig-saw puzzle. Only issue I had was I tried putting 20 tube tvs in the van when I first started. Lets say it's not fun having a couple tv's slam into your driver seat at stop sign or the whole **** thing shift on a turn.

Heh. Only did that once when I got first started, an never again. Like the others above..load locks would work great in a normal van.

Sirscrapalot - All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy. - Spike Milligan

Do the bases come off? Might be time consuming but then you could stack the screens.

I know probably a crazy idea but might work for ya.

Sorry for double post I think you posted that right as I hit reply on my first! lol

Sirscrapalot - I didn't have a back up quote.

Ford makes a superior product that will blow your mind . Have you ever seen a truck rug before ?
Sportliner by BedRug - SD 8.0 SS With Tailgate Step | The Official Site for Ford Custom Accessories

I personally don't own one , I saw one today and had the pleasure of touching it. Very soft and weather resistant . My ford bed is beat . Paints missing and a lot of blemishes I would like.to hide . So I may get one . Me personally I just use tow straps and shove anything I don't want to destroyed in the cab or under or inside my gang box. Here is a load I got today.

Is that an 8 track on the stereo on the bottom pic? lol.

I got one of those downstairs I picked up at a yard sale.

Sirscrapalot - Going old school with the 8 track.

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

Is that an 8 track on the stereo on the bottom pic? lol.

I got one of those downstairs I picked up at a yard sale.

Sirscrapalot - Going old school with the 8 track.

Yes it is , this guy had all kinds of stuff for me , he said "here take this stuff with the towers and put your cash in your gas tank , I just need it out of here . " I tried to offer him $10 for the towers since they are complete besides missing hd's . This was only a ten mile drive up the road. Not sure what I'm going to do with it . Might just sit it on top of the laserdisc player I have been saving since everyone on here says sell it on ebay don't scrap it. But they are heavy and to large for priority mail .

Idk maybe I'm just in denial and I'm secretly starting a timeline of extinct electronic devices .
Lol . Sorted the wire today,banged out the monitor and the tv. I will tear thru the rest tomorrow unless my phone rings . Ok I'm off to search shoe buffer and ss coffee maker now .

If I have to haul nice items in the back of my truck, I stack them with dividers to protect them. There is always an old blanket, carpet or cardboard lying around. With blankets, you can put towers side by side, lay the blanket over all of them then push some of it down between each one. It doesn't have to go all the way down, just enough to keep them from rattling against each other. If I'm stacking vertically, cardboard works great between layers.

Originally Posted by matador

1. A 1997 Ford E350 15' Box Van. It's great, except for some bad rust. If someone knows about rust, I can get pictures. Recommendations on whether it's safe or not would be appreciated. I really like the truck, but I won't use dangerous equipment.

2. A 1995 F-150 Flareside. I've used this instead of the van. It's too small to be of use. But, with a trailer...
.

Any tips or advice would be great!

I can't really add anything useful as far as hauling cargo but i've been running older Fords for quite awhile. Once they get to be twenty years old Ford is reluctant to supply dealership repair items. I guess they look at the machine as being past it's service life and don't want to be a part of keeping it on the road any longer. It's kind of a racket to MAKE people buy new trucks but there's a certain wisdom there too. They really are built "Ford Tough " but they have their weak points.

I usually lift the bed off the truck every spring and give the frame a good cleaning. These are the things i check for:

1: The trucks rust from the back to the front. It's that last six inches where the bumper and the tow hitch bolt to the frame that's the weakest. Rust grows between the different pieces that are bolted together. If you unbolt them you may find that the frame is paper thin back there.

If you're towing anything .... well .... you know. Hit a bump or jam on the brakes suddenly ?

2: The next thing to check is the rearmost cross member.

3: Check the brackets that attach the spring to the frame. They're notorious for rusting out. Check the spring hangers cause they rust out too.

4: Check the other cross members and where they attach to the frame. They tend to rust out and break.

5: Check where the fuel tank straps attach to the frame. Those areas rust out and can drop your tank if you hit a hard bump.

6: Check the steel brake lines. If they're rusty replace em' . ( Copper/Nickel alloy brake tubing as replacement is expensive but it doesn't rust.)

7: Look the frame over carefully for fine stress cracks in the steel. The underside of the frame beneath the cab where it changes from a curve to straight takes a lot of twisting stress. Those little cracks are the first step in the process of frame breakage. If you catch them early enough they can be repaired and the area re-inforced.

The rest is just common sense. The truck is old. Some of the frame has been converted from steel to rust over the years so it's not as strong as it was when it was first built. If the truck was originally rated for a ton of cargo cut that in half to 1000 lbs as the max. Same thing with an F-150. Maybe limit that to five or six hundred pounds of cargo so you have a good margin of safety ?

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

Do the bases come off? Might be time consuming but then you could stack the screens.

I know probably a crazy idea but might work for ya.

Sorry for double post I think you posted that right as I hit reply on my first! lol

Sirscrapalot - I didn't have a back up quote.

With a Spike Quote You don't need a backup quote Sheer Class.

Every days a bonus ......When you wake-up dead one morning you will see what i mean - My Grandfather RIP

As soon as I have a camera, I can post pics on the rust.

The F-150 is in much better shape. It's been a Wyoming truck since new, so the only rust is a little on the front fender. The frame is perfect. I think I'll be using it more- I'll post pics, but I'm real leery about driving the van with its rust. Of course, I live out west, so I may be overreacting.

I'm looking at a trailer for the F-150- knowing my budget, probably the back of another F-150 I'll start a thread in equipment if need-be. I just found out that there is an Equipment section!

The iMac G4's do not separate on site. I've been hauling them in bits, but I have about 150-200 left.

We will start advertising pickups a lot more in the next few weeks. I'm assuming that an F-150 pulling another bed should do fine- I'll try to make an enclosed trailer as best as I can.
I love the bed rug, but I doubt they have one for my truck. For those who don't know what a Flareside is, they look like this (Mine is more beat up):


For those who have a Flareside, I do have a tip: Use pallets to make sides. Two standard 48x40 pallets on each side (long ways) and one in the front and rear each makes an awesome box for hauling junk. You can stack stuff cab-high now!

@SirScrapalot- I'd love to hear the idea. I'm game for anything with G4's. They're not saleable, so what's the worst I could do?

Please keep the advice and rig setups coming!

matador- Am I supposed to put a witty quote here?

Yeah ... mine's a 94 F-150 with a full 8' bed. It looks nice but there's an awful lot of rust underneath. They all age about the same in the states that get snow. It's the road salt and calcium chloride that they use to melt out the roads in the winter that causes all that rust. You might want to have a mechanic check the frame to make sure it's solid before you start towing a trailer.

Can you imagine : You're going down the road and there's a new mom pushing a stroller down the sidewalk. You hit a pothole, the frame breaks, the trailer and trailer hitch break free of the truck and go up over the curb.

Sorry ... don't mean to be a downer but when a trailer cuts free it always seems to go in the worst possible direction.

===============

If you're looking for a trailer look for something that is light and easy to handle with a low center of gravity. The ones that Home Depot sells are sensibly designed. You might be able to pick up a used one for low $$$. Maybe even barter & trade some computer equipment for one ?

If you can swing it, the dual axle trailers go over the road a lot better than a single axle. Some even have electric brakes and that helps take the load off the hydraulic brake system in your truck.

Scrappah - Wishes he hadn't built his trailer like a Sherman tank. It's like towing a truck and the fuel mileage drops to 6 mpg with that that thing on the back.

Hey- isn't it supposed to be a school bus full of nuns?

The F-150 was inspected by two mechanics when I bought it. It passed with flying colors. I'm more concerned about the 300 I6 and the 5 Speed manual than the frame on it.

I'd never tow with the box van. The rear of the frame is an extension, and it's terribly thin. Plus, imagine hauling 2000# in the box and towing another 3000#. The 5.4 would never get up a hill without overheating!

Has anyone used a pickup bed trailer? I have one that I'm getting for free (I removed a virus for the man).

Originally Posted by miked

If you don't want to use the BUNN coffer maker check out ebay, there is a market for them. Mike

What? I don't have any coffer makers. I could scrap them, I guess...