Dumping landscaping stones in bed

Will dumping a scoop of landscaping stones from a bobcat hurt the truck bed? Has anyone done this?

 

Not sure what size landscaping stones you are talking about, but I've had bobcat scoops of crushed limestone dumped into the bed of mine and it didn't hurt it.

 

Depends on weight and size of stone. Smooth or sharp? Maybe just some cardboard couple pieces thick then a tarp to kepp the stuff from scratching plastic in bed.

 

If it were my truck, I wouldn't do it. I'd get the bucket close and use a shovel. Thats just my $0.02 anyway.

 

I hope you have the Harsh Ride TSB done - depending on how much stone you throw in the back, you will bottom out.

 

They trashed my brothers paint on his chevy step side when dropping rocks in and didn't pay for repairs.it's at your own risk.not sure if I trust the plastic bed

 

i wouldn't be afraid to haul maybe half a truck bed worth of them, but letting a bobcat dumb them in there? no sir. i personally don't really care about the appearance of the actual truck bed, but dumping a whole load of rocks is likely to do more than make a few small scratches.

 

Depends on the Bobcat operator. If he just lifts the arms and dumps the full load in one shot from 3 - 4 feet above the bed, kiss your truck goodbye. If he's good enough to barely sneak over the bed rails with the bucket and slow dump the stone, then you'll be fine. Be careful if the bucket is wider than the bed is long. If it is, the excess will be dumping down your tailgate and can scratch the sh*t out of it.

 

If the company you are buying from is reputable, they will not overload your truck & will have good loaders. I have had a few loads of topsoil, compost, heavy mulch, wood & surepak loaded in my SB w/ tsb with no issues.

As others said, gauge it by what you see .....
I have a bed mat & use two heavy duty tarps to make it easier for cleaning and getting it out.

On bigger yard loads I just get it delivered. Its easier all around.

That is my experience. I have a small landscaping business in the summertime.

 

Way too heavy!!!!

I put a scoop of mulch in my truck and that's probably pushing close to the limit.

 

Like he said, with the right operator you will be fine, the wrong operator he could do damage.I would talk to the operator,tell what you want him to do. Explain about the plastic bed liner.

 

you'll be able to put 4 or 5, but that will be pushing it.

 

Here's what I did...1 of 5 loads. It was a piece of cake for my truck and I've loaded the bed with several loads of mulch, easy hauling...

 

if the bob cat operator knows what hes doing, he'll bring the bucket as low as possible and then dump

 

Nope, Canadian trucks come from the factory with TSB'd leafs.

 

AAL + Timbrens = No bottoming...in fact, with the AAL it hardly uses the Timbrens like it did before the AAL. I've hauled half yards of crushed rock many times without any problems. Like everyone said above, if they know what they're doing, they'll come in just over the bed and slowly dump it in diagonally to keep it from going over the side of the bed and scratching anything. It doesn't even scratch the composite bed (you'll do more scratching of it getting the rock out than they will dumping it in). But it's also handy to throw a tarp down before they dump it, as it makes getting the last of the rock out of the bed easier.

Now if your landscaping rock is large, then I'd be more concerned. I almost got a broken rear window in my older Toyota pickup ('92) because they were large river rock and they tend to roll out of the bucket. One nailed the rubber seal just below the glass leaving a gouge. I was very lucky that time.

 

I hauled a few loads of 2" river rock with my previous truck, an '07 SR5, with no scratches, cracks or dings. A lot better than the old metal beds, back in the day.

Like others have said, an experienced operator will do a good job of just letting a little slide out of the bucket at time.

I held a large piece of cardboard behind the cab while the rock was being dumped to protect the back glass and cab roof.

 

I forgot to mention that I loaded these rocks myself, so they were not dumped/dropped in and I also have a rubber Toyota bedmat that took most of the abuse. My truck didnt bottom out, but there was a little dip in the back.

 

In all circumstances I would watch operator in advance and judge from there...if you have a short box get the operator to empty their bucket diagonally into your box and not parrallel from the one side. Also you can grab your rubber floor mats and drape across the tailgate/sides for extra protection from flying rocks...

 

I'd haul rocks but I won't anyone dump them in my truck. I've seen them destroy bedsides doing that.