How Far Would You Drive For Free Wood?

[Ductape]

Just curious. Been scouring Craigslist lately with less-than-great luck. Yesterday i picked up a trailer load of oak (roughly a cord), but had to drive forty miles or so (one way)to pick it up. I don't mind spending the time cutting and loading..... but nowadays the cost of gas/diesel fuel has to factored into everything. I estimate i used around thirty dollars worth of diesel fuel to pick up that cord of oak.

Just wondering how far, or more importantly, how much money in gas makes it not worth picking up??

 

[jerseydevil]

Do you not know where to fine standing trees to cut down? Closer to home I mean? I don't think I'd drive forty miles unless the wood was already split and loaded. You probably did ok, cause you will save more than $30 worth of heating oil. Should have done a few more stops on the way though, like food shopping and such.
I like your trailer. Is it a dump?

 

[Mr. Firewood]

I only travel for Locust or walnut even then it depends on how much... 3 cords I might go 100 miles if it is already cut1 cords worth maybe 20 miles away

 

[A100HVA]

1/2 hr away or about 30 miles is my limit

 

[rb_in_va]

I will only pick up wood if it is on my route home from work. Just kidding, but I see it cut into firewood lengths waiting for the city to pick up all the time, and most of the time do not even bother. Yet people still pay $140/cord of oak around here!

 

[PA Plumber]

I drive about 35 minutes one way and I still have to pay for it. Some of it is not even seasoned and I have to cut it down/up and split it. I guess you could call it "free wood" but we still pay insurance and taxes along with a hefty monthly payment. Sure doesn't feel "free" right now. Maybe in 30 years!

On the flip side, we have good deer and turkey hunting. A great place to take walks and the kids love to go up and play in the stream and run around on the trails. Yep, it's absolutely worth it for the kids' sake alone!

 

[JBinKC]

The woodlot where I am currently getting my wood is 30 miles round trip and that is about the maximum distance I want to travel out of the way for a full load. I also try to get this work done before the tick season starts and when the prices for gasoline are seasonally lower.

 

[njtuna]

i just made 2 trips to a friend's house who had a chestnut oak and red oak blown down last week. each round trip was 48 miles, took about 30 minutes each way. cost me about $15-20 in gas total. only have a pickup truck though. i figure i got about a cord...and i may go back this weekend. cut split and delivered cords of "mixed hardwood"- who knows what's really in them- go for $200 cheapest around here.

 

[wdchuck]

Before my son was born, our little 30mpg p/u , my 4x8 trailer , baby girl and I would go 60miles to grandmas house when the city was dropping some monster elms. Drop off my girl and go cut the biggest wood I could roll up onto the truck and trailer, about 1 cord after splitting and tight stacking. It was a time when burning wood all winter was still a learning experience, didn't know how much to get and so on.

The average since having both kids varies between 15-20 miles, but I can do about 1cord per trip in rounds, so that's not too bad, have to work VERY safe though, often having the kids along watching a video in the van.(no saws, just loading)

 

[Log Splitter]

I guess I make a much longer drive for my firewood than most.

I have some old family land in Louisiana with a camp on it. There are about 150 acres of woods and a 7 acre pond full of bass and bream. Besides spending some weekends with the family over there doing stuff with the kids, I also deer hunt there plus we have a couple of 'camp weekends' with just the guys every year. I always bring my saws, and except for the hottest part of the summer usually spend some time cutting and/or splitting firewood.

Bottom line, the round trip is 484 miles from my house. I split and stack the wood over there, and only haul seasoned wood home, so I save some weight and fuel cost. Also, I never really make a trip to haul firewood, I just bring a pickup load home with me from time to time.

 

[ericjeeper]

I guess I have it made

I have enough wood for a lifetime.. and rarely , never, leave the farm. I do have to get on the asphalt a few times but never any distance to speak of.. If I had to drive very far, I probably would not do it..
Actually we have 20 acres that we can not get to without a 10 mile drive, Yet it is only a half mile from my house as the crow flies..It at one time was attached to the same farm. But my aunt inherited it instead of my dad.. so she is between us and it. LOL

 

[goof008]

I can cut where I hunt, and that is about 1/2 hour away. Problem is that I can't haul more than 1-1 1/2 face cords in my short bed truck, adn I don't have a trailer yet, so I go cut up a tree or two, stack it and take some home every time I go out. Kinda like killing two birds (deer) with one stone (shot)!!

 

[cruzer]

I find stuff on craigslist mostly...farthest i have gone is probably about 40miles. Was Ok deal but free wood is free wood.

Oh and great site! Been poking around for a few days now!

Stew

 

[ropensaddle]

Depends on the wood! I wont even attempt to go for firewood
no money in it, or not enough to make it worth my time. I have drove
quite far to get straight osage logs for making bows or walnut logs
for the lumber but the only profit in firewood is if I'm getting paid
for a removal anyway and have to haul it.

 

[Frank Boyer]

I live in a heavly wooded area and the tan oaks are dying off. Most of my neighbors don't really cut much wood. Three out of 15 neighbors are willing to cut for firewood. There is probably 20-30 cords of dead/dying tan oak in my neighborhood that is waiting for somebody to cut it down. Much of the wood is down a steep hill and will probably be left to rot.

 

[STLfirewood]

I have driven 40 miles one way to get wood. A guy I didn't even know called me and asked if I wanted it. He left a brand new skid steer with tracks on it there for me to use. I would bring home 8 ranks a day. I did this for 5 days then it rained and I couldn't get to the wood. If I couldn't haul 7-8 ranks at a time I wouldn't do it. When I load up 8 ranks of green wood it's a heck of a load on a 1-ton truck with a dump trailer. The trailer weighs 4500lbs or better. I have 30k pound plates but I wouldn't want to load much more on it.

Scott

 

[Fubar411]

Scott,
Where in town are you finding good wood? I'm always ending up with crud wood off Craigslist. I'd be willing to help cut and load for a cut of the rounds.

-Rob

 

[STLfirewood]

Scott,
Where in town are you finding good wood? I'm always ending up with crud wood off Craigslist. I'd be willing to help cut and load for a cut of the rounds.

-Rob

I get some tree work off craigslist but I never find much good wood on there. I live just south of St. Louis in Hillsboro. I find a lot around here. I'm working on a place right now that the guy pushed over 80-90 full size trees and set them in a line for me. It actually attaches to my parents farm. I'm done with about 60 of them. As soon as I'm done with this place my cousin had 25 acres logged. I'm looking at about 150 ranks there. If you place a ad in either the Franklin County or Jefferson county newspapers looking for a place to cut you will get a lot of calls. I know of a tree trimmer that might let you work up his wood in his lot. At the very least he would load your truck or trailer with the wood. They have done this for me before. All hard wood. last load I got was 6 ranks. It was big stuff hard to handle. there were some 45-50inch pieces. Send me a PM if you want the hook up for the guy.

Scott