Jere Wiederholt and his family use firewood to heat their Flagstaff, AZ home, but they would rather not have to buy the wood. Their home is surrounded by the Coconino National Forest (CNF) which offers a firewood cutting permit for wood like aspen. For a while, Jere was cutting enough aspen to fill his truck bed (about ¼ cord). However, this was not ideal because he still had to travel 23 miles from his home to get it, and it was dead wood which is not the best quality. He thought about the idea of driving even further to the Kaibab National Forest (KNF) for better-quality juniper, but the distance (59 miles from his home) would make the venture unreasonable for just one pickup bed full of wood. Then he had the idea of a trailer-wagon convertible to haul the wood…
Connecting with Felling Trailers
When Jere decided he wanted to buy a trailer, he recalled one he had rented, “I remembered the nice trailer I had rented from United Rentals a while back to buy a tractor out of state.” Jere started doing his research and looked closely at the photos on the United Rentals website to find the exact trailer he rented. He was able to determine that it was the FT-6T trailer, manufactured by Felling Trailers in Minnesota. Ironically, Jere is a prior Minnesota resident, so he sent a Minnesota-nice email starting with “Hi Folks at Felling,” describing what he was looking for a Felling FT-6T with a modification, “I wanted the FT-6T trailer but with four stake pockets added to the frame so I could attach fencing around the trailer when I wanted to go cut firewood…to make the trailer into a wagon”.
“I wanted the FT-6T trailer but with four stake pockets added to the frame so I could attach fencing around the trailer when I wanted to go cut firewood…to make the trailer into a wagon.”
Customizing the Trailer
Jere was impressed with the details and questions he got from Felling Trailers that helped his idea come to fruition, “Jim at Felling restated each of my questions, followed by a detailed answer. He even included an engineering drawing showing the stake pockets, and he added a recommended first step in building the fencing, which I implemented. So, the Felling Trailers team couldn’t have done a better job in getting me the trailer that I envisioned.” Felling also hooked Jere up with a local dealer, Flagstaff Equipment Company, so Jere would have local sales and service.
“The Felling Trailers team couldn’t have done a better job in getting me the trailer that I envisioned.”
Calculating Trailer Payoff
Jere received the trailer in October and by early November he had made the removable fencing sides, which can be installed or removed in a minute. His first trip was a success, “I picked up my first load of juniper, 1 1/3 cords this time, from the KNF, a 59-mile drive from home.” He already has the trailer’s return on investment figured out, “At local costs of about $250 per cord of juniper, I’ll need to make 15 total trips to the KNF to ‘pay for’ my trailer with firewood. I expect to get about 15 trips in over the next 4 or 5 years. I also enjoy the quality time with my three youngest sons, out cutting wood.” Jere will also use the trailer wagon convertible for other uses besides firewood, “I’ll have a trailer to haul my tractor if needs be.”
Recommending the ‘Felling Folks in Minnesota’
Jere couldn’t be happier with his new trailer/wagon convertible from Felling Trailers. He has already recommended the company to several friends, and shared his story of finding Felling, “My brother-in-law asked about the trailer’s tilt ability and the eight-lug wheels and GVWR. He’s an engineer (like me) and was closely scrutinizing the trailer. I know he’ll look around, and I won’t be surprised if I hear that he is buying a ‘Felling from the folks in Minnesota’ someday…”
Contact Felling Trailers
Interested in learning more about Felling’s FT-6T or customizing trailers for your specific needs? Call 1.800.245.2809 or fill out this simple form.
