But how to get them home? It's not that I care about keeping them intact, but I don't want to stand out there in the dark trying to tear them apart before loading them. We're in the city so it's pretty much a hurry-up-load-and-go kind of deal, and you just hope someone doesn't run into you with your hazards blinking.

Anyone have any ideas? One of these days, I would like to buy a used pick-up truck for situations just like these..... My next-door neighbor has a pick-up truck, but I think he would die ever putting anything in the back. Meanwhile, I've got leaves and straw all over the interior of my vehicle from recent pickings, lol.....

The other one, if you have a tow bar on your vehicle, is to borrow a trailer that's wired for night travel (two-wheeled contraption with a tow-bar used for hauling loads of, say, bark mulch. Not huge. About the size of a Japanese car or smaller. Don't know what you call them.) You should be able to haul about half a ton, but do check the tire pressure first! You'll need a hydraulic jack to change a wheel if one is punctured while you have a load on. (Been there...)

A hatchback is great for this, but they don't mske them too much any more. My old Escort had a hatchback and she could haul much more than anyone ever guessed. My 2001 Focus has rear seats that fold down, but is not a true hatchback. More's the pity!!

Of course, that's not to say that I won't try it if I see some more pallets, lol......

I'm always prepared to make a fortuitous pickup and keep several kinds and lengths of clothes line from the dollar store in my car 24/7, along with strapping tape, duct tape and bunjee cords. I also often have a few empty boxes in the back seat. For some large things, I go home and get the old piece of carpet from under the porch to protect the roof of my car, but flattened out big cardboard boxes work almost as well if time or distance are factors.

TIP: Some items need to be tied through your windows as well as to the back and front of the vehicle.

Dumpster Diver Cum Laude
LOL!

Seriously, though, I think that at a construction site, those pallets were probably owned by the company that delivered some supplies and maybe even had a deposit on them. They were probably just set aside for pick up and not being trashed. I know that's usually the case around here.