Carrying ONE sheet of drywall/gyproc - Need tips!

So for many years my Taco's have moved my kids to and from post-secondary school, carried deep freeze and other appliances, loveseats, yard waste, and shooting match equipment.

Now I have the biggest challenge to haul ONE sheet (1/2" or thinner/ultralight, I'm told) with my 5' bed.

Route is flat and paved, it's only 2 miles from Home Depot, I have tie down straps, but I cannot afford to have this sheet fzck up since it's a hockey buddy I'm doing this for and I will never hear the end of the 'friendly' chirping in the changeroom.

Oh yeah, I'm a goaltender, so there's no shortage of chirping!

Understand that drywall and me don't get along. My mates have never stopped bugging me for installing a sheet of drywall on backwards.

So as you can see, this is a sensitive issue for me.. ha ha ha

Thanks for all your expertise and help!

Cheers,
Barney

 

Put a 2x4 across the front of the bed , you'll see there are notches formed into the bed sides

Lay a sheet of 1/2" plywood in , on top of the 2x4 and out over the closed tailgate

Lay your drywall on top

Fully supported , no worries

 

x2

 

I have put it in on an angle and just used the tie down straps to lay flat along the edge sticking out of the bed and slightly pulled it tight.

A towel bunched up where the tie downs touch the drywall will prevent the strap from marring up the board.

If they give you hassle, tell them to buy a truck and pick up their own damn drywall! Putty and paint fix any gouge you can create.

 

i've stacked skids in my old s-10 and it worked pretty good.

 

This, you can use 3 or 4 2x4s to support it lengthwise instead of the plywood, but same idea.

 

I've hauled 4x8 sheets of foam that way. And since the tail gate was down I hung a ratchet strap between the tailgate latches for another support point, so the end didn't sag so much. I wasn't using plywood on the bottom, just the 2x cross boards.

 

Cut it in half and then install and tape/mud it back together, if it's going on the wall/ceiling anyway

 

Fuck that

 

Assuming it's an 8' piece, not 12', I've never had an issue with laying drywall directly on the CLOSED tailgate, face-side up and strapped down. Extra D-rings throughout the bed do help though.
Whatever you do, don't put it on the roof


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZhIo3cGduY

 

I've done this many times with drywall or other thin/delicate sheet goods.
First, what Oz said. But that alone will not always prevent it from flexing and cracking.

I like to sandwich the single sheet of drywall with a piece of plywood and strap them together. You can then lay them at an angle between the wheel wells too. I keep an old sheet of plywood around just for this purpose.

If you don't have a sheet of ply (like CDX), you could just buy one (1/2" at least, 5/8" better), then return it (in good shape) when you're done.