Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[svk]

Hey guys. I’m not even sure how many pages I missed in the last couple days here. Hopefully nothing major went down.

Had a pretty good weekend. Not sure if I mentioned, but the boys and I started a shovel and snow plowing business and after our first real snowfall of 6 inches, this was our first weekend of work.

The first day of owning a snow plowing business included paying for an almost new plow which wasn’t very fun. The second and third days ago in business were much more fun.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Forgot to answer that yesterday... Chrome here. Keep getting "page unresponsive" pop ups now! Ugh.

Have you done this yet?
open chrome.
click the three vertical dot menu button in the top-right corner.
choose settings.
scroll to the bottom and click on show advanced settings.
under privacy, choose content settings.
under pop-ups, set it to block pop-ups.

 

[JimR]

There were an abundance of NY Alerts for 84 and 87 the past two days... lots of wrecks for sure!

I had my father's two wheel drive PU today to move the snowblower around. I forgot what it's like to drive a rear wheel drive light duty truck on slick roads. Haven't had one since my 3/4 ton Ford Econoline.... I used the emergency snow routes and they were in excellent condition. It was the sloped driveways that were the main problem... lots of tread but lots of wheel spin too.

Put a load in the back for traction. Sand bags on both sides wood help.

 

[sean donato]

Put a load in the back for traction. Sand bags on both sides wood help.

My pop drive 2wd pickups up until he retired/sold the farm and got his little ford ranger. He always said there was no need for 4x4 if you knew how to drive, amd he drove his trucks through whatever amount of snow we got. He would always have weight in the bed, and sometimes use chains. The only time I can recall him not being able to drive because of snow was back in 96 when we got a real big storm.
Kinda amazes me how we get by these days with 4x4 and awd vehicles and people still crash and get stuck so often.

 

[JimR]

After I cleared the snow at my house I did the same at my parents' house. After I was done I went inside and visited for a while. As I was about to leave I looked out the back window and watched 10 deer come into the yard from the south. There were 5 mature does and 5 fawns from this year. They made a bee line for the big yews along the property line.... The snow had them bent over so the deer could reach the greenery. Deer had stripped all the greenery off them decades ago for as high as they could reach standing on their hind legs! Now they've got access to the very tops! I couldn't get them all in one image... best I could do was seven and one of them is very hard to see!

The new snow blower saved me time and effort over the old MTD 8 HP blowers I used previously. I got an Ariens Platinum 24 SHO... it didn't clog once and launched the snow way further than the MTD machines. The differential is wonderful in the complex environments I face... No more wrestling to turn and no more moving the same snow 3, 4, 5+ times to get it out of the box canyon at my parents' house. Happy with the purchase.

View attachment 1142387

Ariens are great machines and really blow the snow. I have 2 of them now. Both are 30" Deluxe models with the EFI motors. One has the 306 and the other has a 369 on it.

 

[farmer steve]

My pop drive 2wd pickups up until he retired/sold the farm and got his little ford ranger. He always said there was no need for 4x4 if you knew how to drive, amd he drove his trucks through whatever amount of snow we got. He would always have weight in the bed, and sometimes use chains. The only time I can recall him not being able to drive because of snow was back in 96 when we got a real big storm.
Kinda amazes me how we get by these days with 4x4 and awd vehicles and people still crash and get stuck so often.

Not sure why but I stihl have the 13" chains I used on my 74 Pinto station wagon. I was the guy that lived the farthest from work and was one of the few that showed up when we had a good snowstorm.

 

[JimR]

My pop drive 2wd pickups up until he retired/sold the farm and got his little ford ranger. He always said there was no need for 4x4 if you knew how to drive, amd he drove his trucks through whatever amount of snow we got. He would always have weight in the bed, and sometimes use chains. The only time I can recall him not being able to drive because of snow was back in 96 when we got a real big storm.
Kinda amazes me how we get by these days with 4x4 and awd vehicles and people still crash and get stuck so often.

Most of the vehicles that you see in the ditches during a storm are 4x4's and AWD. A lot of the people driving them are really morons. They think that they can do 60 and 70 on the highways when covered with snow. Then they hit a bit of slush and off the road they go. Not to mention that you may have better traction in snow but you still can't stop for shat when driving that fast in it. Just about every year we have a vehicle in the ditch along the road we live on. I used to pull them out with my truck or tractor. Now I call the PD and tell them a wrecker is needed. Nobody ended up in the ditch yesterday.

 

[JimR]

Not sure why but I stihl have the 13" chains I used on my 74 Pinto station wagon. I was the guy that lived the farthest from work and was one of the few that showed up when we had a good snowstorm.

Dedication to your job had you there. You saved those chains in case you might need them some day.

 

[JimR]

Forgot to answer that yesterday... Chrome here. Keep getting "page unresponsive" pop ups now! Ugh.

I have gotten plenty of those on my phone also. What a PITA it is.

 

[farmer steve]

Most of the vehicles that you see in the ditches during a storm are 4x4's and AWD. A lot of the people driving them are really morons. They think that they can do 60 and 70 on the highways when covered with snow. Then they hit a bit of slush and off the road they go. Not to mention that you may have better traction in snow but you still can't stop for shat when driving that fast in it. Just about every year we have a vehicle in the ditch along the road we live on. I used to pull them out with my truck or tractor. Now I call the PD and tell them a wrecker is needed. Nobody ended up in the ditch yesterday.

Have the same idjiots here Jim. My response to them.

 

[Pjohnson]

It's all about the tires spend the money buy a set of dedicated snow tires, not all season but actual snow tires. Makes all the difference in the world, complete control on snow and ice.

 

[WoodAbuser]

It's all about the tires spend the money buy a set of dedicated snow tires, not all season but actual snow tires. Makes all the difference in the world, complete control on snow and ice.

Fact! Huge difference. Coffee helps also. Of course it helps most everything IMHO. Some days not so humble.

 

[sean donato]

Most of the vehicles that you see in the ditches during a storm are 4x4's and AWD. A lot of the people driving them are really morons. They think that they can do 60 and 70 on the highways when covered with snow. Then they hit a bit of slush and off the road they go. Not to mention that you may have better traction in snow but you still can't stop for shat when driving that fast in it. Just about every year we have a vehicle in the ditch along the road we live on. I used to pull them out with my truck or tractor. Now I call the PD and tell them a wrecker is needed. Nobody ended up in the ditch yesterday.

Yeah, tell me about it... the stories I can tell from plowing at the township. People are total idiots these days.

It's all about the tires spend the money buy a set of dedicated snow tires, not all season but actual snow tires. Makes all the difference in the world, complete control on snow and ice.

They are better at dealing with snow and ice, but not the end all be all of winter driving traction. Still can't replace bad driving habits during inclement weather. For example Donald Weaver, a guy I worked with at the machine shop, would toss his snow tires on and drive like an idiot. T-boned another car when he couldn't stop at a stop sign. Put the woman in the hospital for a while, beside totaling her car and his van. He was adamant something was wrong with his brakes or tires. Nope, he just drove like an idiot.

 

[svk]

+1 on tires. Game changer. Also, the higher in performance tires you have for summer performance, the worse they will perform in the winter!

I run deep lug mud tires on my plow trucks and try to keep a fresh pair of all season for my drivers.

I’m on season number four of my tires on my main plow truck. As soon as I know we’re done plowing, I’ll pop them off and put the back in the garage. Loud as heck but you get good traction.

 

[MustangMike]

Yes, I used to make it up to my cabin even in the snow with a 2wd Ranger PU Truck, but I put CHAINS on it! No other way it was getting up there (2mi in on an unpaved, uphill 4WD road). I even had to put chains on all 4 wheels of my 4wd Escape to make it up one time (I was then only street vehicle to make it up that year). They had redone the road due to logging that year, and the clay under the snow and ice was very slick!

Now I have my 4wd F-150 with Blizzak tires all around, and I have no thought of needing chains! Progress is wonderful!

I used to hate putting the chains on in the snow (could not have them on for the whole trip), and I'm sure I would like it even less now!

Caution: Be careful what you put in the back of your vehicle for weight, and how you secure it. I vividly remember seeing the results of a fatal accident. The husband had put sandbags in the back of the Station Wagon for traction, and the wife had a head on collision with a bread truck. The sandbags crushed her to death.

You just don't get these things out of your mind!

 

[MustangMike]

I know the rain is predicted for tomorrow and Wednesday and will ruin it, but this morning the temperature is in the high 20s, the sun is bright, and the new snow looks pristine! Got to enjoy it while you can!

 

[sean donato]

I keep studded snow tires on the wife's vehicle, I need to get a new set for her escape for next year. Dry rotted so bad I almost didn't put them on. The trucks and expedition get chains if needed, but we haven't had enough snow to where we've needed them.

 

[SS396driver]

I know the rain is predicted for tomorrow and Wednesday and will ruin it, but this morning the temperature is in the high 20s, the sun is bright, and the new snow looks pristine! Got to enjoy it while you can!

Snow sucks

 

[SS396driver]

I keep studded snow tires on the wife's vehicle, I need to get a new set for her escape for next year. Dry rotted so bad I almost didn't put them on. The trucks and expedition get chains if needed, but we haven't had enough snow to where we've needed them.

If there’s cracks in the rubber I wouldn’t put them on . This tire looked ok

 

[farmer steve]

Snow sucks

+1