homemade truck box/leaf vac

[Braxton]

Does anyone have advice or information on how to build an inexpensive truck box and leaf vacuum combo?

I know that there are commercial products available, but I don't want to spend over a few hundred at most as I am only trying to do this for my own home, not business. I would use it once a year for my own property, but there are a LOT of leaves.

Thanks for any help.

Braxton

[Braxton]

Uloadding is simple: a tarp laid in the truck with two ropes tied to the end nearest the cab. Once the leaves are loaded on the tarp, tie the ropes to a tree or other similar object and drive off a bit. The leaves, then are effectively dumped. The same method will work for a small load of mulch, BTW.

Loading is what I need help with, though. Anyone else have specific suggestions for what to use to load? If a commercial leaf vac is in order, anyone have a suggestion as to which one? Again, I'm looking to go as inexpensive as possible and still get the job done well. I was thinking of a motor to mount of some sort...

Other suggestions?

Braxton

[GeeVee]

Sorry, Braxton, time is time is time.

Production leaf removal requires a walk behind blower, to make big piles or rows, a backpack to direct at the stubborn wet leaves, and a loader+storage or transportation device. (and a tarp)

Either spring for an all in one such a Trac Vac, or buy these cool tools as you can in a priorty schedule.

BUt for a few hundred bucks? Nah.

A walk behind blower can round them up without a rake.

A Tailgate or reciver mounted vac can also UNLOAD.

Or you could buy a Walker GHS..... When the leaf season is over you can just cut grass with the door open and it will disperse.

But to do the task with just one piece? Its a Walker. But it aint gonna be a few hunge.

[Braxton]

I have a blower to pile the leaves. It's just a stihl hand blower, but it works just fine. What I want is something to suck them up into a box, probably one constructed of plywood. Again, it's just for my own use at home.

[mmlawncare]

I have a system that I use for leaf season. I'll see if I can hunt up a picture. What I have is Giant Vac truck loader that I mount in the bed of my truck. I purchased heavy duty flexible tubing to go from the output of the loader to inside the trailer and enclosed by trailer with plywood painted black (important - this makes it look much better). My trailer is black wire mesh type so the plywood matches up well. I put 1/4'' square wire mesh over the top of the trailer framed in angle iron. This is probably hard to picture...as it is fairly hard to describe. But the truck loader saves SOOOO much time for leaf season. Like I said, I will see if I can track down a picture - I know I took one last year.

[Ihateweeds]

"BUt for a few hundred bucks?"


Hire some illegals. You could probably get 5 of them..

[Blake]

Just mulch the leaves. Your truck will look like a traveling zoo with a giraffe cage on it. I've never in 20+ years hauled a leaf on purpose.

[treetrimmer_1]

For the price of a match.

First, use your blower & rake to pile all your leaves along the curb, sneak out of the house around 3 a.m., push the leaves over the curb & into the street with your rake, then throw a lit match into the pile, run like hell back into the house (don't forget the rake) & jump back into bed as if nothing ever happened. By the time someone notices, calls it in & the fire dept. gets there, the leaves should be all or mostly all gone. : )