Salvaging fencing

I’m on one heck of an adventure here. I’m 5 hours away from my nascent homestead trying to salvage 5 acres of free fencing. Most of the steel T posts are good and roughly 1/2 of the fence is good 48” woven wire. The other parts are barbed wire and I really wasn’t going to use any of that.

My pressing question is I can’t envision how much 48” woven fencing there is after disassembly for transporting it. I’m guessing about 1000 feet but I haven’t measured it. I figured out the portion of my property that I’ll be fencing is 1800 linear feet, so the advertised 5 acres is maybe 5000 feet.

I’m here in an old van that I actually live in. I’m not sure if I can cram it all in there or am I going to need a trailer?? If I need a trailer, how big? Should I consider hiring a guy with a trailer to bring all the pieces to my property?

Yes, you are on a GRAND ADVENTURE! During my adventure I lived in my old van too for quite awhile. Way to go!

If you've seen the fencing and it all looks usable I'd vote to hire some guy with a trailer to help you. You will never fit it all in your van, even empty. And it's free! That's a huge gift. It will go a lot faster and easier with 2 people so it will definitely be worth the money. And congratulations! Please keep us posted.

O.K. When I was out watering I thought of a couple of other points to bring up.

#1- How big should the trailer be? Well, if you are going to hire a guy with a trailer to help you, you will need to show him the job and ask for his price to help you. He can determine if his trailer is big enough. It will depend on how tight you can roll the fence and how high he can pile it in his trailer.  

#2- But the bigger question is... What are you trying to keep off your property with this fence? A 4 foot welded wire fence might keep out a few rabbits but it won't keep out much else! Unless you're trying to keep something in, like chickens. But it won't keep most predators out like deer or coyotes or skunks or javelina or bobcat or much else that I can think of.

I only have a couple of uses in my garden for a 4 foot wire fence.... but my middle name is FREE! and I can always put something free to a good use! Just saying.
Happy adventure.

I am sitting here nodding my head as I read Debbies posts. Then I made a terrible mistake and thought for a few moments,  you mentioned being 5 hours away. The could be a pricey hire.  Buy all means check.  Then check the price of buying a used trailer.  As I am sure you know, you will run into many uses for it.

#1 - Makes sense. I was looking through Yelp movers out of Nashville earlier so I don’t get shafted.

#2 - The fence is for my mother 😆

My mother/property coowner has a bear phobia. At a recent music festival we ran into a local bear education couple who said electric fencing works very well. So really that’s the goal right now, but in the near future I plan to get chickens, rabbits, sheep, honeybees, and a LGD. So an electric fence should keep my livestock in and deter predators that don’t jump. The LGD will deter the rest.

My fence budget came in the form of my late brother’s small IRA. I quit my job to make this move, get some work done on the property, and look for another job. But then I had to have some work done on my van. Tune ups run $1000 now, then brakes, and exhaust = 1/2 the IRA money.

So I started going through Craigslist and found 5 acres of free fencing for my 4-1/2 acres. The steel posts were going to be the most expensive part. I was going to use high tensile wire, but the 5 acres of free steel posts come with free 48” woven wire. So as far as I know I’m getting a free upgrade. It works the same as high tensile, does it not?

The stakes are pure gold, but the wire fencing seems like something of a liability.
I don't think welded wire mesh will can be electrified, which is the only way it could deter bears.

We all know that labor and transportation are not free, they are opportunity  costs.
I have not driven a van in a long while, and when I did, gas was much cheaper.
50 foot of new welded wire fencing is about 75 bucks.
New fence will be easier to store and use.

So how to minimize the labor and transport costs for the mesh fencing?

A preferred solution would be to remove the fencing and stash it somewhere local.
Maybe trade some of the fencing for some storage space.
This would give you time to go get a new job, get the wolf from the door, and come back on your own terms.

Scrapping the fencing is another way to get the most out of your labor, without needing to drag the mesh 5 hours away.
Keep in mind, you could use that money to buy the fencing you really want.

If you decide to transport the mesh,you could get a lot of fence onto a utility trailer,  and the trailers can be had used from about 300 dollars up.
The top of your van could also be used, with the help of some ratchet straps.
A Uhall truck could even be worth your while.

Good luck fellow scavenger, and may free stuff never be a burden to you!

Not sure where I said the fence was welded. The people giving it away listed it as woven. But you bring up a good point and I will verify it myself.

I don’t know why you think hundreds if not thousands of dollars in good fencing isn’t valuable. Are you trying to score it? hahaha

Woven fence definitely takes electric.

https://www.zarebasystems.com/learning-center/compare-electric-fence-supplies/fence-wire

https://www.louispage.com/blog/wire-fencing-101-welded-versus-woven-wire-fences

William,
I thought your suggestions were excellent. Unlike me, you stood back and saw the forest for the trees and thought of some very good solutions.

I often get free stuff from Craigslist. Just last month I got a load of almost brand new beige carpeting. The owners had installed it to get a better price on the house they were selling. And the new owners promptly tore it out right after the sale. I got 2- 12'x12' pieces, a 10'x8' piece and a 6'x8' piece. And then I 'promptly' went out and spent $75. on new carpet padding for it. I think  I should has waited and looked at the bigger picture. I could probably have come up with a cheaper solution. I'm going to try to remember this. Thanks. And I hope your cabbages and cauliflower are thriving.

Does the van have a roof rack? In the past I've made a couple things designed to clamp down to a roof rack to haul plywood and lumber, as well as mattresses, futons and various things. It really depends on the vehicle and how easy it may or may not be to add things like trailer hitches and roof racks. I was fortunate enough to find pieces at the junkyard to upgrade my brother's SUV, whereas some other vehicles had relatively flimsy supports that I didn't trust with any significant weight.

You would also want to factor in height and ability to keep things in place through repeated braking or acceleration. I could see an empty full size van with a roof rack and a small trailer or carrier holding quite a lot of fencing if it is rolled up really tight. You might want to practice some knots. I know of a handful that have served me well, but I'll still look up a few and practice before any big moving days involving rope.

Woops, my mistake!
I conflated the two, and I guess you can electrify either, but it's not commonly done, because you have so many points on them that must be insulated from ground.
In conjunction with a separate hot wire, a metal fence makes a great path to ground.

Woven wire might be easier to deal with than welded, I'm not sure.
The value of it is mitigated by your situation.
I was  surprised the owners have agree to give you the salvage rights.
I  have been paid to clean out entire properties, and I've also scored free or the taking fencing.
Most people want to be certain that you able and willing to finish the entire job in a timely manner.

From your description of your situation, you seemed short on time, short in money,lacking a nearby place of your own to stash the materials, and  without a large enough vehicle to transport the materials all in one go.

Even actual gold bars would be a hazard in the wrong situation, and your situation seems like one that could be worsened by giant bundles of materials, however valuable.

Maybe I misunderstood your situation.

Daniel - Great idea but the fiberglass topper needs refinishing. It seems fragile to me and I have had to patch a leak coming from the chintzy roof rack that looks more ornamental to me than anything else.


William - Who isn’t short on time & money?

I think the free fence offer without payment might have something to do with they were renting the property not owning, but they had some livestock there.