Hauling a yard of compost?

[TonyC]

This isn't an answer thread. It's an: I-don't-have-a-solution-yet question. I want compost, and not bagged stuff, more like a yard of it. 27 cubic feet. you know, enough to get the spring planting some yummy worm casings.

How am I going to do this w/ the mz5? Just put down the back seat and covering it w/ tarp? Someone hold me I'm scared. (boom07)

 

[microvan]

Keep the windows open?

Well, at least the fronts. Don't want it spilling out the back!

 

[V8toilet]

Get a hitch and a small folding trailer from harbor freight tools and you'll never have that problem again or just have it delivered.

 

[TonyC]

^ delivery is 2x of the actual cost of this sh*t. Literally. Getting a hit and trailer would be 1000% the cost of compost...

quality compost actually smells good to me, but I still don't want it all over the car...

 

[hibern8r]

Seriously, you can't rent a truck or something? Short term gain for a longtime problem.

 

[sac02]

I know we like to think our 5's can do anything, but this is delusional, lol. Don't haul compost in a vehicle with a full interior. Don't you have at least one friend with a truck?

 

[phunky.buddha]

Rent the Home Depot truck for 75 minutes @ $20? Seems worth it to me to not have your car smell like poo for a month.

 

[Davicho]

I know we like to think our 5's can do anything, but this is delusional, lol. Don't haul compost in a vehicle with a full interior. Don't you have at least one friend with a truck?

I vote this the absolute best answer and funniest too!

 

[90210]

I do this once a year. I rent a truck from Budget truck rental

 

[Silentnoise713]

...quality compost actually smells good to me...

Theres your problem. Your significant other need to smack you upside the head. Just b/c YOU like it doesnt mean THEY will like it . This is one of those just b/c you can, doesnt mean you should.

That said, I can understand your POV and just might pull a stunt like this if I were in your situation -but only if it is a one time (or once a year) event

 

[sac02]

Also remember that a cubic yard of compost weighs like 1500lbs. Not impossible, but that's probably technically overloading the rear suspension (since I doubt you will be putting any in the front part of the vehicle).

And that a cubic yard is 3ft x 3ft x 3ft. That's going to be up above the windows unless you make multiple trips.

Actually, multiple trips may make it do-able. But then, do you really want to spend hours running back and forth to the landscape place 3 or 4 times?

And most places I've been to like to use a bobcat or other loader to dump a yard of stuff in the bed of your pickup. They aren't going to be able to do that in your minivan, so they're probably going to expect you to shovel it in yourself.

All in all, I still say find a friend with a truck and buy him a six or twelve pack of beer in exchange for a half hour of his time/truck. Good frugal, out-the-box thinking though!

 

[TonyC]

can't believe you guys are decrying this challenge! it's way easier than say, installing MS3 seats into the mz5.

sac02 is right regarding the loader dumpling the compost straight into truck bed. I was going to get some day laborers to shovel, believe this facility assists as well.

thanks for everyone's input. looks like I'll just have to go for the 1/2 yard, and supplement with some bagged stuff. 13.5 sq ft should be pretty easy, and i'm just going to get a large tarp, shovel the compost onto tarp, and fold tarp over the top to prevent spillage. but first, i need to go and confirm they'll help me shovel.

as far as friends with trucks, per the few Los Angeles area folks' replies, no one drives trucks around here. it's either prius or... prius.

 

[Vasy]

can't believe you guys are decrying this challenge! it's way easier than say, installing MS3 seats into the mz5.

I think most people here think that one challenge of getting the sh*t is easy BUT...
it automatically creates a second challenge of getting the sh*t out and that 2nd one is a challenge that not everyone is up too
And the failure of the 2nd creates consequences, a resident smell, that not most people are no willing to live with.

 

[sac02]

I want pictures of loose fill compost in the back of your 5!

Logical next step: Mazda5 swimming pool. (like back in high school when we would convert a buddy's truck to a mobile pool by stuffing towels around the tailgate and filling the bed with water)

 

[V8toilet]

Hitch $150 installed by you. HF 8' trailer on sale $400. For less than $600 you have a setup that can haul almost anything a truck can for the long haul. No oil to change, expensive gas bills, expensive tires to buy, or rediculious taxes to pay. Anytime you need something large from now on you'll be covered and you won't run the risk of a smelly interior, pissed off wife, or broken rear suspension parts.

For less than $100 you could rent a truck also and save yourself a lot of shoveling. Around here it would cost me about $50 or less for delivery. Just dump it onto a tarp in the driveway and see you later.

 

[Wishmaster]

I've hauled many things with my 5... a yard of soil, a yard of mulch, 1/4 yard of small river rock, multiple dump runs, tree prunings, etc...

How did I do it? First, it does not go inside the 5... well, some of it can depending on what you're hauling of course, dirt, rock, mulch and especially compost do not go inside... also, don't think a yard of anything would fit inside the 5 unless you did 5 runs. I have a small (5 x 4) utility trailer I picked up a couple years ago for $300. It only fits a half yard (soil, mulch) at a time... and did those trips in two runs. Couple of things to think about... a yard is a lot of weight and much more "product" than you might realize, like you would have to line the entire back of your 5 because it would fill it up. Last year, I used a friends truck to haul a yard of gravel and even his truck was on the edge of being overloaded (probably was).

So either of these options will work... 1. Might be a good time to find a small used utility trailer that you can keep using over the years and will follow from vehicle to vehicle (check Craigs list) for things like this + dump runs, camping, hauling various items, etc. But if you do this, be aware that even hauling half a yard is quite heavy and you'll want to ensure you choose the correct ball mount for the trailer to ensure the trailer is level, this is especially important with the 5 and heavy loads... the 5 is not a truck, be careful. 2. Rent a trailer... but, this might be tough as most trailer rentals need a two inch ball, if you have a hitch on your 5, you most likely have a 7/8ths ball. I have both, use the 7/8ths for my little trailer and the 2 inch for pulling 1500 lb tent trailer in the summer. 3. Rent a truck from u-haul for the day for $25.

Also, one other note... before I had the trailer, I brought home about a 1/4 yard of some rock by using a couple cheap plastic garbage cans from HD. Filled them about a 1/4 way while outside the 5, then put them inside and continued filling them via shovel, then did this a couple more times. The yard is only about 15 minutes from my house so that helps. But again, even doing it this way, the weight build up very quickly and it's better to move some of it out onto a third axel if you can. Also if you do this make sure you secure those cans so they don't do bad things during an emergency stop.

 

[thaxman]

Keep it up guys, this is entertaining. I half want to see the OP bust up his rear suspension just because.

Point is, life is about compromises. The reason driving a truck on fun roads sucks is because trucks are built to carry heavy loads. Porsche may build 2 SUVs, but neither of them are actually of any use off road or carrying more than a couple hundred pounds of human cargo. There is a reason for that.

Its just like that F-35 the Pentagon is cancelling all their other programs to fund. It doesn't do what is should because they thought they could build it to do everything. You CAN'T make it fly fast and slow, carry a lot and maneuver nimbly and take off and land vertically, give it a bigger range than contemporaries and still be good for catapult launches off an aircraft carrier.
There are laws of physics that can't be broken or even bent, unless you want to throw unreasonable amounts of money at them. Putting 1/2 ton of earth in the back of a Mazda5 is one of those times.

 

[microvan]

Don't discourage him, I'd love to see a Mazda5amino!

 

[jibwagon]

My inner redneck thinks that van-camino in awesome!

 

[el5tick]

I think I might have figured out what do to my 5 next...