How far to travel for wood until it's no longer worth it?

Most half ton crew cabs only have a 6.5' bed. I like most people don't haul wood everyday, but I do park in my garage every night. That's my conundrum, and why the manufacturers make most crew cab 1500's in 6.5' beds.

 

Bed extender, just buy a truck with an 8 foot bed, Duh

ya, i remember those rules from when i lived there now that you mention it.

 

I'd get fat(ter) if I didn't cut split and haul in winter.

 

How long are you on the "no log list"?

 

the bottom line here is, what is the value to you, and how far you are comfortable in going. A couple of gallons of fuel to get a load of heat for your home is probably still cheaper than other heat options. Heck I cut, split and stack wood, then I buy pellets to heat with, then give the wood away. Someone is getting free heat and it surely is not me.

 

well said Spencer. I agree. Could you imagine doing what we do if we didnt enjoy it? I think some of my most peaceful times have been when Im in the bush cutting. Ill go because Im in a good mood and go because Im in a bad mood and need a pick me up. I also spend lots of time with the dog in the bush hiking around looking at potential trees.

 

Thanks for the TMI!!!

 

Oh, TROGDOR can handle it!

 

My added cost of a long trip is the cost of driving the S10 instead of the Civic. The Civic hauls zero wood but is my usual transport in foul weather so driving the S10 is an added cost itself. Civic gets about 38 MPG vs. the S10 at 25 so it is a big difference if that is all you consider. I go lots of places over 1/2 hour away and if I want to haul back wood the cost really is just the comparison of the S10 to the Civic I would otherwise drive for my primary business at that remote location.
A couple of months ago I was driving 45 miles each way to help a woman with some carpentry work on the weekends. If I could have picked up wood along the way, the comparison I would have made would have been the S10 vs. the Civic that I did use to carry me and my tools. The comparison is one I can do in my head without a spreadsheet because the S10 stays home unless it has just sat too long or I need to haul something too big for the Civic.

 

My reasoning for the mathematical approach, was based on the title of this post. If someone has many options and want a sound means to analyze those options, fifth grade math can and will resolve the challenge. That is pure financial worth, which is entirely separate from the love many people on here express. Even with many toys and tools, I have gone 45 minutes to cut wood although it was the only option. I love being in the woods, running a chainsaw, splitter and tractor. I cannot monetize that, although I have tried many times to determined how to turn this obsession into a career, and there is no way I can make as much cutting firewood. I can always dream right. I am not picking on oldman, and I apologize if it seemed that way. I run a few large businesses by day, so I dive into the math too quick.

 

No offense taken but it just struck me that you were diving in too deep for what I was actually comparing. With a woodlot that I own about 6 miles from my house and another one outside my back door I seldom do any scrounging but wood lot management will actually be the main factor for me for several years because I am going to be dealing with around 900 ash 25 or 30 years old that will be dying. I planted 1000 and lost about 10% of my total planting to mower mishaps and such in the early years. I never did go back to identify how much of each species survived those early years because I knew I had more or less randomly planted the species. When you load 50 seedling bundles into the planting tray it is easy to mix and match the 200 or so that go with each load. Once you have them in the tray it is not so easy to tell them apart when they are just leafless foot long whips so what goes in each spot is pretty random.
The only calculation I make will be a bit harder because I will need to decide whether or not to spend the money, from a capital point of view, to buy a trailer that my light weight truck can pull safely. The trailer would affect mileage and would also affect how many trips at that lower mileage but for 6 miles I doubt I could pay for the trailer using saved trips for analysis because there would still be a limit for me to how many of those dead trees I could reasonably drop, buck up and load in a single trip to the site.

 

Oldman, I hear you loud and clear, and again apologize since I am very analytical, and also aggressive. I just bought a new one ton truck since my half ton was not trailer loads properly. I bring my tractor to the larger hoards and cut everything into 20-24 ft lengths and hog things out now. Once home I block and split at my convenience. Not everyone has that luxury. As far as trailers go, whatever they recommend, go one size bigger!!!

 

if you over analyze it, and figure what your time is worth plus cutting / hauling / equipment etc. etc. expenses are, it is cheaper to raise the thermostat and forget about it.

I would be better off doing what I do for a living and paying for heat, like was stated above though it is not all about the money

 

But then one can argue the other side of the coin, that if one is to apply monetary value/equipment costs to personal activities such as wood cutting, surely they would apply to other things?

It's my belief (and others will agree or disagree) that your person time (doing work for yourself) is worth nothing, until the activity becomes so futile that it's better to just pay someone to do it for you.

 

Absolutely, it applies to everything you do. If I can get the car fixed for 20 bucks and it will cost me 15 bucks and an hours time why not just pay. Then again if a tune up on my Saturn is 600 and parts are 100 and I can do it in an hour, I do it. I think a good example might be oil changes, 19.95 at Valvoline, sit back and its done or oil + filter + mess + time, could be doing something else.

Also agree with your second comment, personal time = fix, build, accomplish something or watch tv, so yes it is free. This was kinda my point, above they were putting a value on time, so if you do that, there are better ways to spend time.