Load of Oak

[Buckethead]

Last week we got a call from one of the tree service guys we deal with to pick up 2 Oak trees he had cut down. They were already cut into 18" rounds and all we needed to do was load them up...3-4 truckloads.

Well, the first trip was 2 pickup loads of the "small stuff" 4" to 12" in diameter. The second trip was 1 pickup load of the rest of the small stuff. The third trip was 17 pieces.....28"-36" diameter loaded on to my 16' trailer and 2 more pieces loaded on my buddy's ATV trailer. The final trip was the last 5 big pieces. It took the 3 of us busting our butts to roll each round up the ramp into the trailer. The elderly homeowner just kept shaking her head and laughing as she watched us work.

All told I figure 3-4 cord of Oak. I was very pleasantly surprised that my trailer survived the trip...dry-rotted tires and all. I don't even want to guess how much the trailer was overloaded.

So, our tree service guy was happy, the homeowner was happy (but she's pretty sure the 3 of us are a little crazy), and we've got more Oak for next year. Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together.

 

[Coldfront]

Nice score, specially since it was already cut. You didn't have to ruin your saw chain hitting nails, clothes line hooks, etc.

 

[secureland]

Congrats, Very nice!

 

[Buckethead]

Yes, we were lucky with this load. So far we've found 4 pieces of cable, some barbed wire fence, a few I-bolts, and (my personal favorite) a small aluminum sign telling us the tree was a Norway Maple.

The weirdest thing I've seen was a rock that was shaped like a goose egg that was put in the crotch of a tree and then the tree grew around it. I'll bet there was at least 12" of tree around it. Boy, did that do a number on the chain...

 

[pecor]

The elderly homeowner just kept shaking her head and laughing as she watched us work. Ha she probably put that rock there 30 years ago

 

[avalancher]

That is the only thing that makes me hesitate about yard trees, the trash.
Last year I got a tree from some guys yard and when cutting it up ran into something that I couldnt figure out what it was. After some careful prying I finally dug it out and realized it was a broadhead from a hunting arrow. That thing was really buried in the tree!

 

[cat320]

I'd be happy to get a call to pick up all cut up oak .definatly a win win for everyone tree co made money owner got ride of tree for free except for the cutting and you got wood . always nice when things work out.

 

[pacman]

Small stuff 4-12", that is some perfect rounds of some wood you dont have to split. If it were me I would split the 12" rounds once to make a perfect size log. Some like their logs split smaller but the bigger the logs the less you have to feed the fire.

 

[MJR]

Three years ago an over loaded trailer with spilt wood in it had its tire come off in front of me. I was on the bike dodging wood and trailer parts. When I went to drag the SOB through his window it turned out to be an old man white as a ghost. We never spoke and I went and started to clean the road up. I am never impressed by people that run their equipment past its limitations.

 

[Buckethead]

Three years ago an over loaded trailer with spilt wood in it had its tire come off in front of me. I was on the bike dodging wood and trailer parts. When I went to drag the SOB through his window it turned out to be an old man white as a ghost. We never spoke and I went and started to clean the road up. I am never impressed by people that run their equipment past its limitations.

I have to admit that this wasn't our brightest move. I didn't fully appreciate how heavy the load was until I stopped at work to fill up one of the tires. As I was adding air I noticed the tire was considerably warmer than the rest and I had only traveled 4 miles. In retrospect we should've unloaded about 6 of the rounds and picked them up the next day. According to the AS log weight calculator the 36" rounds of White Oak weight almost 700 lbs.

Thankfully god looks out for drunks and idiots so I survived, learned a lesson, and won't ever make THAT mistake again. Perhaps I should start drinking again..then I'll be covered twice!