# How many hives per truckload?



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Any answers?


----------



## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Well - you don't want to overload the truck... but typically 400 or so. No standard.


----------



## Thermwood (May 29, 2010)

Pretty much depends on length of deck, 48 foot 432 hives at 6/pallet. Some of the rural roads in the almond areas of California only allow 45 ft


----------



## Steven Ogborn (Jun 3, 2011)

It also depends on the trailer. Like a drop deck/spread axle will carry more, and will be easier to get the axle weight right.
BUT, I don't have any experiance loading bees on a trailer. I have loaded a heck of alot of aluminum extrusions on them.
You'll have to guesstimate the weight. That will determine how high and/or how long to load them. 
I've regularly loaded 40K on a spread axle, 53' trailer and sometimes 45K. Will 500 hives of bees weigh that much?


----------



## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

Steven Ogborn said:


> Will 500 hives of bees weigh that much?


I would think that 500 doubles would exceed 50k.... particularly if full of honey,


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Three pallets tall and 17 rows long. Fourway pallets. 408 in total. If heavy, leave of a row, which is 6 pallets fewer than a full load.

500 would not only be over weight, in all liekelihood, but it would be over heigth. Illegal both ways.


----------



## Steven Ogborn (Jun 3, 2011)

Daanng!


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Thanks, guys, for all the replies. I just have 150 hives that I will move down there at the right time and I was wondering if I could still find transport for only 150 hives (vs. 408). Do you think it looks hopeful? I am rather new to commercial beekeeping so I've got ALOT to learn.


----------



## leonphelps (Apr 16, 2012)

there is a saying about eggs and a basket....


----------



## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

What is it?


----------



## leonphelps (Apr 16, 2012)

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/put+all+your+eggs+in+one+basket.html


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Great quote!


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

westernbeekeeper said:


> Thanks, guys, for all the replies. I just have 150 hives that I will move down there at the right time and I was wondering if I could still find transport for only 150 hives (vs. 408). Do you think it looks hopeful? I am rather new to commercial beekeeping so I've got ALOT to learn.


Find a trucker who will haul beehives and he'lll haul what you have. There is no minimum number as far as I know.


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Thanks! That what I wanted to know.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

leonphelps said:


> there is a saying about eggs and a basket....


Might as well stay home then. Then all of your eggs can stay in the one basket called Wyoming Winter.

"Can't win if you don't bet."


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

What do you mean by that?!?!


----------



## Steven Ogborn (Jun 3, 2011)

You'll have to have enough hives on the load to make a profit after paying the thousands of dollars to get
the load to and from CA.
Sometimes they don't come back in good shape, sometimes they come back dead, or diseased.
It's a gamble.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

westernbeekeeper said:


> What do you mean by that?!?!



What does who mean by what?

You can get more than 408 hives on a semi, if you want to. Story and a half hives can be stacked 5 pallets high. Do the math. Singles are stacked 6 high. Do the math. Then there are nucs.


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

sqkcrk said:


> Might as well stay home then. Then all of your eggs can stay in the one basket called Wyoming Winter.
> 
> "Can't win if you don't bet."


This is what I was asking "what do you mean by that" about.


----------



## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

westernbeekeeper said:


> This is what I was asking "what do you mean by that" about.


Some people in colder environments choose to winter their bees in the South. I suppose... given the time of year... you were planning for that. Hence the "All the Eggs in one basket" comment. Least that's the way i read it.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

westernbeekeeper said:


> This is what I was asking "what do you mean by that" about.


This whole Thread seems to imply you have a desire to move your bees south for the winter. Then increase their numbers by splitting earlier than you could at home. Then bring them back north or use them in almond pollination. Or am I wrong?

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." There's another old saying.

Go for it. Do what you want to do. Learn by doing. Start off w/ a smaller truck, smaller than a semi. Or piggy back someone elses load. Make friends w/ a bigger beekeeper who might help you by filling out his own load to Almonds.

I don't know why the other guy was bringing up eggs in a basket. Life itself is a risk. Survival of the most fit.


----------



## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

Perhaps he could split the risk by gearing his operation towards selling pallets of deeps to pollinator operations that will overwinter them themselves before they're needed for pollination.

I'd think that it would be a more reasonable business plan.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I'm all for letting him decide his own business plan.


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Sorry folks  Yes I know I sound ignorant. I don't know what the normal procedure i.e. business plan is. That is the main reason I am asking questions. I just wish I could get a simple layout of how migratory beekeeping works; maybe this sounds ignorant too.  
So my problem is that I don't know when to move hives where when, and how it all is done. Thanks for the input so far.


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Thanks sqkrck for your patient attitude.


----------



## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

Let's put it this way:

He can gross about $100-$400 per hive (don't forget to account for increases) if he takes his hives out to do seasonal pollination work ($15,000-$60,000). His net will be some fraction of the above. If his hives perish, it's easily over $10,000 in replacement costs.

He could be on the road for months. 

If he outright sells the hives, it's about $100-$150 each ($15,000-$22,500 gross).

However, he can stay home and prep for the next even larger batch of pallets. He could easily cover the spread of the gross and increase his net without the big gamble.

If he's foolish enough not go with his hives, he's gonna get a call to pick up his dead hives in some California orchard (obviously, the other guy's hives all survived, and he has moved on).

If he's foolish enough to go along, he's gonna work for the pollinator who likely has a wholel lot more than 150 hives.

It's like the new guy at the regular poker game. We all know who the mark is.

Yet, there is another way to look at it. If he needs seasonal work, those 150 hives might be a good way to get his foot in the door in a pollinator outfit.

There's no shame in working your way up in the world.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

westernbeekeeper said:


> Thanks sqkrck for your patient attitude.


Heh,heh. I've been told I'm full of patience. Leastwise I think that's what I heard.  lol

Keep asking questions. It's where learning starts. Knowing that you don't know something.

The older I get the less I know.


----------



## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> Keep asking questions. It's where learning starts. Knowing that you don't know something.


And believe me... there is nothing folks rather do here on Beesource than give you advice! Some of it can be excellent advice.... but you gotta separate the wheat from the chaffe.... some days... alot of chaffe.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Sticking with the general intent of this thread: This year for almond pollination we sent out loads of half 10 frame double deeps and half singles. It allows us to get up to the maximum carrying capacity of the truck (around 48000) it gets us 544 per load and considerably lowers our per unit trucking cost at the risk of not being able to get them all back weight wise which we haven't found to be a problem. It takes a quality hand picked single to satisfy growers but many of them are accepting them now as they are easy to grade and the weight problem is the beekeepers and not theirs. The handler loves them as they are getting paid the same for half the handling. Remember, though, finding someone who will handle your bees dosent equate with someone who will care for them. The risk is all yours. I wouldn't suggest someone get involved in this until they are big enough to do it right and are prepared to accept the consequences when things don't go well. Sometimes payments don't come through on as promised, sometimes they don't grade out by someone's definition, sometimes they get hungry, sometimes they don't get priority at release time, and sometimes they can just disappear. It can all be a bit intimidating for the unprepared.


----------



## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

So you've sent in 544 deeps. Wth increases, do you need to make several trips back to your home yard because of weight issues?

What I'm really asking is this: how many deep nucs can you get off of those original 544 deeps once you are back from pollinating?

It's 544 + ???...


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Not real sure how this ends up in beekeeping 101 but here goes. What we were sending out was 272 doubles and 272 singles per load for a total of 816 boxes. That load will average around 46,000 net weight which is a cushion of around 2,000 lbs under what about all the newer, lighter trucks and trailers can carry. Our experience has been that they seem to come back, on average, a little heavier but not a lot its just that more of the weight is bees and pollen and less is honey. The doubles usually split down into 3+ combers with the brood available about right. The singles are quite often overflowing with bees and we use them to fill up some of our over wintered dead hives plus some increase. I would say then that a load of 544 this year made up right at 1,000 singles that averaged probably close to 4 frames each because the year was exceptional and we were able to make everything up a little larger.


----------

