How far do you drive for wood?

[Iowawoodguy]

Just curious how far you guys go to get your firewood. Is it in your back yard? Is it at your neighbors? is it hours away? I guess it also depends on how much you can take and how much there is to take. For me, I usually try to stay within 25 minutes of home, but that's because I can only get a pickup load at a time.

 

[chucker]

2 miles and 3.5 miles by truck or 10 minutes and 15 minutes by tractor with out chains... these long commutes will kill the day fast!

 

[Ronaldo]

I am spoiled, I suppose, and have all the wood I need right here on the family farm.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Each trip will be about 4 hours each way. The trail to the project is 2 1/2 hours to and another 2 1/2 hours back and then a little over an hour to my commercial property. The good thing is I usually can bring back 10 cords and do not have to worry about storing it. A really positive issue is there are several thousands of Pine and Oak. The bad thing is every two cords requires about 5 or 6 hours hauling. I load a small trailer about 3/4 cord trailer in the back of my dump truck and my pick up on the larger trailer. I go to the base of the mountain and unload the pickup. I make four trips to get 8 or 9 cords and aim for home. When it snows after being at the project for a week or two I know I will have to rely on macaroni an cheese for a few days. Once at the sight I loose track of time because there is so much wood to cut and wild life to watch. Thanks

 

[funky sawman]

On average I drive approximately 150 miles round trip to cut one cord of premium softwood firewood. In these pics is a Douglas fir that I cut today. Had to hike up 60 percent slope about 150feet, fell it, then drag my choker up to it, lots of work, but fun!

 

[svk]

Most of my wood comes from blowdown around my cabin which is about 35 miles from home but I rarely make a dedicated trip for wood. Usually I just bring a load home each time I am up there incidentally.

 

[alleyyooper]

Years ago when we forst started I didn't have any equipmen there at hoime except my chain saw.
My folks had a saw mill operation across the hill from them. Could get a 10 full cord load for $40.00 from them. they would drop off a couple 3 loads at the folks place.

I would drive up on a week end. We would fire up the tractor and buzz saw and block it up throwing rhe smaller stuff in the trailer and flipping rhe big stuff to the side.
When the piles were buzzed up I would split enough to finish the load on my tri axel equipment trailer.

Bring it the 3 hour drive home and unload Monday and Tuesday before I went to work. Did that for 3 years and had so much mixed fire wood piled in the pole barn lasted me for close to 6 years.

Today I am getting it from my own woods and what was the neighbours but bought going on 2 years ago.

Don't use the buzz saw much any more in fact some the 3 point PTO driven one. I still have a small one mounts on the front of my masseys and runs off a long flat belt.

Al

 

[SS396driver]

Both of the wood lots I'm doing are within 45 minutes of the house. I can get 2 loads a day . Full loads truck and trailer sometimes I over do it . Try not to fully load the trailer when the truck bed is full. Fully loaded truck and trailer the truck has a hard time pulling up my road at one point for about 1/2 mile it's a +/- 18° grade . And it's basically a dead stop at the bottom. And that's with a tuner on CTD

 

[Ted Jenkins]

On average I drive approximately 150 miles round trip to cut one cord of premium softwood firewood. In these pics is a Douglas fir that I cut today. Had to hike up 60 percent slope about 150feet, fell it, then drag my choker up to it, lots of work, but fun!View attachment 831134View attachment 831135View attachment 831138

You are doing Ok, but where is your trailer? You could have at least another cord with a trailer. My situation is similar in that my home is about 60 or 70 miles away, but the road is rough. It takes too much work to get set up for a few logs so just stay there until maybe fifteen cords are ready and then get the wood when I am ready. Am very familiar with Northern Idaho. Do you have your favorite Huckleberry patches. However I have quite a bit of wood to choose from. Thanks

 

[djones]

Sometimes as little as 30 yards or as much as 250 yards. It's all in the woodlot around the house.

 

[Iowawoodguy]

Both of the wood lots I'm doing are within 45 minutes of the house. I can get 2 loads a day . Full loads truck and trailer sometimes I over do it . Try not to fully load the trailer when the truck bed is full. Fully loaded truck and trailer the truck has a hard time pulling up my road at one point for about 1/2 mile it's a +/- 18° grade . And it's basically a dead stop at the bottom. And that's with a tuner on CTD
View attachment 831207View attachment 831209

How do you get those big ole logs on the trailer?

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Average drive is 30 minutes to get wood. Try to work it in with other trips etc. Not fun. Only have boxelder and pine on my place.
Recently I scored a huge pile of roadside clearing logs 5 minutes from the house. I don't know what to do with myself. They did a good job of tossing pea gravel in with it though. Rough on chains.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

About the furthest I'll go is 25 miles, for the sake of disease containment and economics. If I'm gonna travel that far, it's generally because someone is gonna load my trailer. For free, or very cheap.

Here's a load from this spring. Had to drive 25 miles each way, but I think it was worth it.

 

[SS396driver]

How do you get those big ole logs on the trailer?

Those were very easy . Kubota and a winch on the trailer . Now I use the arch if I dont have the kubota

 

[funky sawman]

You are doing Ok, but where is your trailer? You could have at least another cord with a trailer. My situation is similar in that my home is about 60 or 70 miles away, but the road is rough. It takes too much work to get set up for a few logs so just stay there until maybe fifteen cords are ready and then get the wood when I am ready. Am very familiar with Northern Idaho. Do you have your favorite Huckleberry patches. However I have quite a bit of wood to choose from. Thanks

I would like to consider myself maxed out physically after felling, cutting, splitting, loading and stacking a cord of wood. Most of the roads I cut on don't have much of a turn around, and I consider a cord of split dead but wet Doug fir or larch to be the limit for my 2500 dodge ram. Usually run over the scales on my way home, been averaging 5000 to 6000lbs per cord, and my 10 ply tires are maxed out. Would need a dually to haul anymore. Tires are rated at 3350lbs per tire. I've seen over 7000 lb on my rear axle weight alone with some loads

 

[rancher2]

Most of the 15 or so cord I put up every year is taken off one of our farms that is 15 miles away from my home place all pavement but the last three miles to the farm so it a pretty quick trip. I am lucky and have a building on that place so the big equipment stays there and I just bring a smaller pickbox trailer with a shell on it with the saws, smaller equipment and gas to that farm. When we cut wood we try to make a 8 or 10 hour day out of it. When we get to splitting we just split right into dump trailers that hold around three cord. Trailers are made out of old farm trucks and old dump trucks. I pull them home as needed with a 200 HP farm tractor.

 

[Jere39]

Also lucky, I ride my ATV to the dead oaks in the woods surrounding my house. Typical tree is within 500 yards.

 

[Iowawoodguy]

Also lucky, I ride my ATV to the dead oaks in the woods surrounding my house. Typical tree is within 500 yards.View attachment 831349

Wow. I'm jealous.

 

[jrider]

I get most of my logs delivered by a tree company. People will often ask me to come get free wood. I usually won't go more than 15 minutes one way for that.

 

[babybart]

Those were very easy . Kubota and a winch on the trailer . Now I use the arch if I dont have the kubotaView attachment 831231

Did you decide not to move the winch?