Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Last Wednesday after I got my tires went to see the dealer I bought my dump trailer to see if I could get some pallets . Grabbed some with the truck he told me to bring the trailer next time and he would load both it and the truck with the fork lift . He’s inundated with them to expensive for the companies to haul back so they buy new.

Real nice ones too made from pressure treaded 2x4s and 5/4 PT decking 6A76A193-F9CD-49EF-89E2-865E889AD392.jpegE2690DF8-E6E1-434E-967D-69C79556DD95.jpeg4B80A25D-983F-400F-8780-83FA3AF8D5B4.jpeg
 
Last Wednesday after I got my tires went to see the dealer I bought my dump trailer to see if I could get some pallets . Grabbed some with the truck he told me to bring the trailer next time and he would load both it and the truck with the fork lift . He’s inundated with them to expensive for the companies to haul back so they buy new.

Real nice ones too made from pressure treaded 2x4s and 5/4 PT decking View attachment 952621View attachment 952622View attachment 952623
Back when I was on the night shift at UPS, we were shooting the breeze. My friend said his brother drove a tractor trailer for a living. Started at 6 in the morning til 2 in the afternoon. Ever loading dock he went to he asked if he could have the pallets? There was a factory that rebuilt them. They got me the info, and with my UPS connections, next thing you know, I was getting paid to haul them away on one end, and selling them on the other. I got $2 each if they were rebuildable, and $3.50 if the were perfect. When you took a load in the owner would give you a ticket with the amount she owed you. Next day you turn in the ticket and she paid in cash. My friend said his brother made more scrounging pallets than on his real job. I didn’t believe him til I started doing it. I paid my 95 Sonoma off in a few months. I got a contract with Radio Shack, Jamesway, and Southern States, to haul theirs away. Then they started asking for my Business License # and tax #. I was stressing out about IRS busting me. Figured I go legit. Next time I went in she asked if I would take a check for what she owed me, they were closing shop the next day. I called around to the other pallet places but they only gave $.50 a pallet and were 35 miles out of the way. That was one wave I’d like to ride again!
 
Back when I was on the night shift at UPS, we were shooting the breeze. My friend said his brother drove a tractor trailer for a living. Started at 6 in the morning til 2 in the afternoon. Ever loading dock he went to he asked if he could have the pallets? There was a factory that rebuilt them. They got me the info, and with my UPS connections, next thing you know, I was getting paid to haul them away on one end, and selling them on the other. I got $2 each if they were rebuildable, and $3.50 if the were perfect. When you took a load in the owner would give you a ticket with the amount she owed you. Next day you turn in the ticket and she paid in cash. My friend said his brother made more scrounging pallets than on his real job. I didn’t believe him til I started doing it. I paid my 95 Sonoma off in a few months. I got a contract with Radio Shack, Jamesway, and Southern States, to haul theirs away. Then they started asking for my Business License # and tax #. I was stressing out about IRS busting me. Figured I go legit. Next time I went in she asked if I would take a check for what she owed me, they were closing shop the next day. I called around to the other pallet places but they only gave $.50 a pallet and were 35 miles out of the way. That was one wave I’d like to ride again!
There's a pallet recycle place about 40 miles from here . But I'm not interested in doing it . Just take what I need
 
Apparently there’s a world wide shortage of pallets at the moment. I read an article a few years ago that the biggest reusable pallet company is Chep, they have 600 million pallets in circulation at any time. Amazingly they are an Australian company.

I think Chep's slogan is "Chep, we make the heaviest pallets in the world!":lol:
They sure are beasty :yes:.

Happy new yr everyone.
 
Happy new year my fellow wood scroungers! May 2022 bring cords of ash, hickory, locust, cherry, oak and of course .... Spruce! May your axes and chains stay sharp and saws run well!

New year's Eve was the hottest on record here, the mild spell continues for a week maybe. V no need to fire the stove at all although I did for a few hours in the evening, seemed wrong not to!
 
The tinfoil hat brigade has emerged to explain Thursday’s tragedy in Boulder County. Following an article in the Denver Post—headline: Marshall fire explained: How we got 115 mph winds in Boulder County on a December winter day
several comments appeared. But here’s the best one from the whoopdedoo crowd: “An engineered wildfire event. Ionosphere heaters to create the high winds in order to propel the fire. Land and structures covered in aluminum (fire accelerant) from stratospheric aerosol injection. And then a fire that "maybe" started because of downed power lines. The three ingredients required to make this horrific tragedy happen. And then in come the disaster capitalists. So, look for shopping centers and office parks where once stood family neighborhoods. Hold accountable the weather engineers those who do this. But, I know none of you will, because you think it's all a conspiracy theory.”

By the way, investigation shows no downed power lines (the initially assumed start to the fire), so we’ll likely never know how this thing kicked off. It started in grasslands, so no trees to knock down power lines. But put 100 mph wind behind grass fire and it’s unimaginably ferocious.
 
Looking chilly there, it looks nice.

How has autumn been for everyone? Other than about one week it's been mild here, a bit damp but very mild. I reckon I've burnt about 25% less than normal so far.
Autumn in Ontario was warm and wet. Our winter is very warm so far too.
+2C here right now. Not much snow yet either. Maybe 6" on the ground with another storm bringing another 6 tonight and into tomorrow.
20211223_164449.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top