Scrounging firewood

[chipper1]

I can still hear the refrigerator start up, water running in pipes in the walls, animals outside etc. I can also hear the dehumidifier in the basement and vehicles approaching even over other low noises.

If there is background noise like in a busy room I practically need to be shouted at. I am going to blame that more on shooting guns than saws because my dad had the same issue.

But yeah the tinnitus went away after exposure to saws was stopped. Much like the severe tennis elbow I had from 14-15 went away after I got my 550 and quit limbing with a 16 lb saw.

Just about everything I've done my whole life has been in noisy environments.
I shot a lot as a kid, first job was pulling skeet and trap from 14.5-16, and I shot thousands of rnds a yr on leagues. Then dirt bikes, high performance cars, crotch rockets, driving truck for 20yrs, lots of loud music as a kid(mom yelling at me ) , little bit of factory work, lots of deliveries in loud factories, now saws and semi-auto guns, wonder what caused my hearing loss . As with most anything it isn't typically a single event that causes the majority of our problems, but rather the accumulative effect of many small decisions.

countless hours of combine and tractor operation

Forgot about the tractor, burned a couple gallons yesterday hauling wood and grading at the neighbors.
Also the wood splitter hrs would be something to add I forgot, then the mowing lawns(backpack blower and trimmers), forgot that/those too .
Anyone want to do a little shooting lol.

 

[svk]

I had several sets of subwoofers in high school and despite being strong enough to tickle your nose and rattle every piece of the car loose, I do not think they cause any long term hearing damage.

A real good concert where you can't hear much for the next 24-48 hours due to high levels of treble are probably much worse.

 

[svk]

No sir, definitely getting a used truck. It will only be a secondary vehicle for me, just to haul stuff when needed so no use in a nice truck. Probably going to get a used Ram, leery about Dodges but I read their Ram trucks are very reliable. Never really understood the people that get those really fancy, expensive trucks to be honest. Always thought a truck was built for utility and these people are probably afraid to toss things into the bed or do anything in fear of scratches lol.

Not real sure on Dodge. I have been mostly a GM guy and have put a lot of miles on GM stuff made from 2000 and on with only a few issues. Seems a lot of dodge drivers I know have a lot of nagging problems. But maybe that is just a few flukes too.

My cousin owns a couple of car dealerships including one Dodge so I definitely have been tempted...they are very good looking vehicles IMO.

 

[djg james]

No sir, definitely getting a used truck. It will only be a secondary vehicle for me, just to haul stuff when needed so no use in a nice truck. Probably going to get a used Ram, leery about Dodges but I read their Ram trucks are very reliable. Never really understood the people that get those really fancy, expensive trucks to be honest. Always thought a truck was built for utility and these people are probably afraid to toss things into the bed or do anything in fear of scratches lol.

If it don't have a 8' bed, it ain't a truck ! Get one while they're still available.
I have a Dodge and for the most part, I like it. Plenty of room in the cab. My brother just bought a new Chevy. They made the console protrude into the cab (for small people?) it's kind of cramped. But he got 300k miles out of his last one so I don't know about my next one. My Ram has had three ball joints go out and the frame rust out at the rear shock bracket. All under 120k miles. Other than that, I can't complain.

 

[Ambull01]

If it don't have a 8' bed, it ain't a truck ! Get one while they're still available.
I have a Dodge and for the most part, I like it. Plenty of room in the cab. My brother just bought a new Chevy. They made the console protrude into the cab (for small people?) it's kind of cramped. But he got 300k miles out of his last one so I don't know about my next one. My Ram has had three ball joints go out and the frame rust out at the rear shock bracket. All under 120k miles. Other than that, I can't complain.

hell with an extended/crew cab and an 8' bed I'll be unable to park that thing lol. sounds like a land yacht actually. I've always wanted a diesel too but I don't tow anything and never worked on a diesel engine so probably not a wise choice. I heard the diesel engines can go a really long time though, well the older ones at least before all the new emissions stuff were added on.

 

[rarefish383]

I took the "cheap" approach when we were looking for our house. At the time I was clearing close to 100k a year. I knew it wouldnt last forever. Paid 106k for our house, and just like I guessed, I had to find another job, making 32k a year. That sucked, especially when this covid crap hit. Found a new job, much better pay and less aggravation. I show up, do my job, go home, collect my check and fix my old junk. Our old fleet is starting to show its age and high mileage. Been having a lot of issues. If I had to pay someone to fix them we'd be flat broke, and living in a box under an over pass. Never know how people swing big payments, or how banks just throw money at people so they can have the new stuff.

I bought my BIL's 99 Ram 4X4. When he passed, my sister couldn't let it go. Her son and SIL would take it on vacation, use it for dump runs, so it didn't just sit. After 7 years she finally said she was going to sell it. It had been garage kept and had never seen a drop of rain. I love that year, it was Maroon, love that color. It had a 360 in it and got almost 19 MPG on the highway. Life was great the first 4 years I had it. But, the year it turned 20, every thing that goes wrong on a 20 year old truck went wrong. It still looked new, but the last 6 months I had it, I put $1000 a month in it. The mileage dropped to 10 on the highway and 6-8 with my trailer. Put all new sensors on it, had the engine decarboned, finally had to trade it in. Got a new 2018 F150, Jan 1st 2020. The window sticker was $51,000, to get rid of it, they let me have it for $35,000. Figure it will be the last truck I ever buy.

 

[farmer steve]

I'll catch up on the truck talk later. 2 tanks of fuel and 3 1/2 hours later. Ash and cherry. Not bad for an old fart.

 

[sean donato]

Fixed lol.

Depending in what happens I may end up chipping in on it. See how much overtime we end up with this summer.

 

[sean donato]

I bought my BIL's 99 Ram 4X4. When he passed, my sister couldn't let it go. Her son and SIL would take it on vacation, use it for dump runs, so it didn't just sit. After 7 years she finally said she was going to sell it. It had been garage kept and had never seen a drop of rain. I love that year, it was Maroon, love that color. It had a 360 in it and got almost 19 MPG on the highway. Life was great the first 4 years I had it. But, the year it turned 20, every thing that goes wrong on a 20 year old truck went wrong. It still looked new, but the last 6 months I had it, I put $1000 a month in it. The mileage dropped to 10 on the highway and 6-8 with my trailer. Put all new sensors on it, had the engine decarboned, finally had to trade it in. Got a new 2018 F150, Jan 1st 2020. The window sticker was $51,000, to get rid of it, they let me have it for $35,000. Figure it will be the last truck I ever buy.

Yeah I was hoping to hold out till both kids were in school. Which is another 2 years till our youngest goes. Next tax season were going shopping for something newer.

 

[chipper1]

Depending in what happens I may end up chipping in on it. See how much overtime we end up with this summer.

Either way, nice to have it available.
I wouldn't mind a dump, I almost score a triple axle loadstar last yr for 6k, it was only a couple yrs old and was in excellent condition. If I could have got it most likely I would have sold it and got a smaller one, it was huge with the 3 axles and 16' long, that's a lot of weight empty. Maybe I could have bought a bigger truck .

 

[chipper1]

Got the last of the HDBL , and a stick of HVBW .
I had to put a little more wood on the ground to keep this dirty wood from getting dirtier .
Then I cleared a bunch of stuff from behind the woodshed so I can drop like 8 trees/spars back there. I loosened the first dead standing double spar black locust with the tractor(sorry Steve), and did the same with a double box elder, then dropped the larger portion of it and limbed it and cut it to bonfire length(can't keep it all).
Heading out shortly to do a little more cleanup, I may start a fire so I can get some of it burnt up.
I need more bar oil, so all my cutting today was with the ms201, she did a great job and still is. I may be cutting with 70cc saws later because they have oil in them lol.

 

[turnkey4099]

Interesting too, a lot of the older fellows I know who ran lower revving saws for years with no ear protection can hear pretty well. But folks that worked in factories with different noise albeit at a lower decibel level are stone deaf.

That's me!! Lost all my high frequency hearing before I wised up and started wearing ear muffs...way too late. I can uunderstand male conversation very well, not all all with female.

 

[turnkey4099]

ah okay, good to know. On another note, wife for some reason just gave me the go ahead to finally buy a truck! Well first I have to get rid of my CTS-V project car that I've actually yet to do anything with lol. It's been sitting in our garage for almost a year so she's probably tired of it taking up space.

If I get a Ram or Silverado/Sierra 1/4 ton pickup they can't really haul a lot of weight right? Maybe 1/4 cord of wood at most? That doesn't sound too great. Was hoping at least being able to carry 1/2 a cord at a time at least. I'm also looking at the extended/crew cab models so the bed is pretty short, right around 6' or less.

Sounds like you need a 1/2 ton, Ford F150, Chev C10 or the like. I have run the wheels off 3 of them, 2 60s models hat were pretty clapped out when I bought them and an F150 89 that was cherry when I bought it but now is junkyard because of the beat up body. Still mechanically sound though and still out there hauling wood. It will do a 1/2 ton easy but a full ton of cured willow was way overload.

 

[turnkey4099]

No sir, definitely getting a used truck. It will only be a secondary vehicle for me, just to haul stuff when needed so no use in a nice truck. Probably going to get a used Ram, leery about Dodges but I read their Ram trucks are very reliable. Never really understood the people that get those really fancy, expensive trucks to be honest. Always thought a truck was built for utility and these people are probably afraid to toss things into the bed or do anything in fear of scratches lol.

Yeah, the day of the 'work' truck as far as pickups go is gone. I haven't seen a 1/2ton single cab, 8' bed on the lots in years. One can find extended cab with 8' beds but even they are rare

 

[djg james]

Yeah, the day of the 'work' truck as far as pickups go is gone. I haven't seen a 1/2ton single cab, 8' bed on the lots in years. One can find extended cab with 8' beds but even they are rare

When my Brother was looking for a new Reg Cab with 8' bed in 2018?, there was only three in the whole St. Louis metro area. He babys it so it'll last.

 

[husqvarna257]

I hadn’t been but after having Lyme once I will be more careful. Also that lone star tick is bad news.

My wife had Lyme last year, she had a fever and the big welt from where it was. She got tested for covid but that came back negative, a few weeks on antibiotics and she is fine now. Our 3 yr old dog has it even though we treated him for it, we adopted him at 5 months so he might have had it already.

I can still hear the refrigerator start up, water running in pipes in the walls, animals outside etc. I can also hear the dehumidifier in the basement and vehicles approaching even over other low noises.

If there is background noise like in a busy room I practically need to be shouted at. I am going to blame that more on shooting guns than saws because my dad had the same issue.

But yeah the tinnitus went away after exposure to saws was stopped. Much like the severe tennis elbow I had from 14-15 went away after I got my 550 and quit limbing with a 16 lb saw.

I am really hard of hearing. When I go for hearing tests they tell me how bad it is, probably need hearing aids. Last week I did not hear the waffle maker beep and it was 4feeet away.

ah okay, good to know. On another note, wife for some reason just gave me the go ahead to finally buy a truck! Well first I have to get rid of my CTS-V project car that I've actually yet to do anything with lol. It's been sitting in our garage for almost a year so she's probably tired of it taking up space.

If I get a Ram or Silverado/Sierra 1/4 ton pickup they can't really haul a lot of weight right? Maybe 1/4 cord of wood at most? That doesn't sound too great. Was hoping at least being able to carry 1/2 a cord at a time at least. I'm also looking at the extended/crew cab models so the bed is pretty short, right around 6' or less.

I'm on the hunt as well. Has to be a 2500 to haul wood but I found out that Massachusetts now allows 3500's to have passenger plates. I now want a 3500 for hauling firewood.

OBTAINING PASSENGER PLATES 540 CMR Section 2.05 describes a passenger vehicle as: Private Passenger Motor Vehicle is any vehicle: (a) which has a vehicle weight rating or curb weight of six thousand pounds or less as per manufacturer's description of said vehicle or is a sport utility vehicle or passenger van; or which is a pickup truck or cargo van of the 1/2 TON, 3/4 TON or 1 TON class as per manufacturer's description of said vehicle; or which is a vehicle used solely for official business by any college or university police department whose officers are appointed as special police officers by the colonel of the state police under M.G.L. c. 22C, § 63; and, (b) which, if a pickup truck or cargo van, is registered or leased to an individual, and is used exclusively for personal, recreational, or commuting purposes; and, (c) which is not described in elsewhere in 540 CMR 2.05. The terms pleasure vehicle, passenger vehicle, passenger car, automobile

 

[Lionsfan]

ah okay, good to know. On another note, wife for some reason just gave me the go ahead to finally buy a truck! Well first I have to get rid of my CTS-V project car that I've actually yet to do anything with lol. It's been sitting in our garage for almost a year so she's probably tired of it taking up space.

If I get a Ram or Silverado/Sierra 1/4 ton pickup they can't really haul a lot of weight right? Maybe 1/4 cord of wood at most? That doesn't sound too great. Was hoping at least being able to carry 1/2 a cord at a time at least. I'm also looking at the extended/crew cab models so the bed is pretty short, right around 6' or less.

Are you talking about a face cord or a full cord? If you stack it carefully, you can get 1 and 1/2 face cord on a short box Chevy and that's about all your suspension and brakes want if you're going any distance.

When my Brother was looking for a new Reg Cab with 8' bed in 2018?, there was only three in the whole St. Louis metro area. He babys it so it'll last.

I've been on the hunt for a pickup too. Used trucks are fetching ridiculous prices and I've entertained the thought of a new one. Chevrolet has a database of all the new inventory in the USA. Last I checked, there were a grand total of 3 2021 standard cab, long box, 4wd, 1/2 ton, V-6 Chevy pick-ups in the entire state of Michigan. There was a red one in Lansing that I would have pulled the trigger on but it was gone before I could even get down there to look at it.

 

[Ambull01]

Sounds like you need a 1/2 ton, Ford F150, Chev C10 or the like. I have run the wheels off 3 of them, 2 60s models hat were pretty clapped out when I bought them and an F150 89 that was cherry when I bought it but now is junkyard because of the beat up body. Still mechanically sound though and still out there hauling wood. It will do a 1/2 ton easy but a full ton of cured willow was way overload.

Just test drove a 2004 or 2005 (can't remember already lol) F250 6.0 diesel. That thing was massive. Felt like I was driving a bus (have a bus license from the military but thankfully didn't have to drive one outside of the training course). Ride was super bumpy too but maybe that's normal. Looked underneath and there was rust everywhere. It was close to $17k with 134k miles. Kinda pricey for a really old truck I think. That diesel sound was pretty cool though, have to admit.

Yeah, the day of the 'work' truck as far as pickups go is gone. I haven't seen a 1/2ton single cab, 8' bed on the lots in years. One can find extended cab with 8' beds but even they are rare

Doesn't someone make a model called "work truck?" I think it may be Chevy. I actually just want crank windows, have to have AC though and heat. No carpeting at all. I want it all rubberized for easy cleanup and I won't have to worry about getting it dirty lol. Don't think I could live with a regular cab though, I need some kind of back seat. I have too many kids for a regular cab. Actually I probably should get a regular cab as is truck will only be used sporadically.

I'm on the hunt as well. Has to be a 2500 to haul wood but I found out that Massachusetts now allows 3500's to have passenger plates. I now want a 3500 for hauling firewood.

Are you talking about a face cord or a full cord? If you stack it carefully, you can get 1 and 1/2 face cord on a short box Chevy and that's about all your suspension and brakes want if you're going any distance.

I've been on the hunt for a pickup too. Used trucks are fetching ridiculous prices and I've entertained the thought of a new one. Chevrolet has a database of all the new inventory in the USA. Last I checked, there were a grand total of 3 2021 standard cab, long box, 4wd, 1/2 ton, V-6 Chevy pick-ups in the entire state of Michigan. There was a red one in Lansing that I would have pulled the trigger on but it was gone before I could even get down there to look at it.

So you couldn't have passenger plates on a 3500 until now? why is that? sounds ridiculous.

Umm, not sure about the face cord for full cord honestly lol. I know what they are but was trying to figure on the weight it could carry.

Just test drove this thing: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...l?listingId=578932473&clickType=myATCsavedcar
Went there after I test drove the F250. I kinda like it but it's almost $18k for a 2012 Sierra 1500 with 117,357 miles. Previous owner did a lot of mods to it. Very nice truck but it's kind of high off the ground, may be a pain to load ****. Also it feels like I'm driving a tank.

 

[mountainguyed67]

So you couldn't have passenger plates on a 3500 until now? why is that? sounds ridiculous.

Sounds odd to me that any pickup could have passenger plates, not here in this state. My whole life all pickups have to have commercial plates unless it has a permanently mounted camper on it.

 

[Ambull01]

Sounds odd to me that any pickup could have passenger plates, not here in this state. My whole life all pickups have to have commercial plates unless it has a permanently mounted camper on it.

What! So can a ordinary resident get a commercial plate if they don't own a business? That's mind boggling lol. Trucks are all over the place here.