I have in the "past" went 35 miles for a good cutting site. Here in the land of concrete and beaches, land and trees are scarce. My saving grace for years was a good Nor-Easter or glancing hurricane like were going to get today. Soil gets mushy and usually the Maple trees go over first. I'm also friends with two tree service contractors so sometimes they'll drop a tree, limb it and call me, I'll finish it up and haul it away. In another year of so, it'll be in a 400'+ radius.
You are just a "Rock star"! I don't believe anyone on this site can keep up with you and that Toyota!
Fortunately most of my wood scores/sources are close to home. Small state with lots of neighborhoods. No more than ten minutes is the norm. Ive been cutting from a wood deck five minutes from me. See my thread This Score Could be Epic! I have driven up to 20-30 minutes but not in recent years. Last Summer i drove an hour and a half across CT to cut a truck load of wood for a friend. I got a load myself. Most wood scored is found mostly by accident. I agree with you as far as quality/ease of score vs distance and logistics involved. I had a recent score less than five minutes from me. Wood was bucked and all i had to do was back up and load the truck. Downside was it was red maple and cut from 12-24". Let us know how you make out Pricey106
I am not ever going to do pellets...I like the straight up wood because it's always available. Won't be able to buy pellets if and when the ecomony takes a dump. I am a very cheap wood hoarder...all wood for free. Last time I bought wood was 2 years ago....4 cords of blocks for 200 bucks. I am not fond of pellets because you have to buy them, and not as much fun.
I try to keep it under 1/2 hour one way unless there is some social time involved with the people I am getting the wood from.
Here in North Jersey, 15 miles going north or west could be a 15 or 20 minute trip. Going south or east, same distance could be an hour & a half nightmare. A trip into the country or farmland or a trip in & out of traffic, stank & hell. Like most others have said, it depends. For me, also depends if I've got work & cashflow or not at the time. In the middle of The Great Recession I was willing to travel a lot more. Interesting thing around here though, since that time, scrounging wood has become a lot harder as quite a few new woodburners got installed when heating oil topped $3.50/gallon. Now if the load includes some prime carving wood... I will do a road trip for the right stuff. But all too often these days that sumbitch Murphy is around and I just haven't been able to get a clean shot on him.
I traveled 40 miles when i first started burnin.....i could haul close to if not 2 cords at a time.......now that im 4 years ahead....i try to keep it as close to home as i can... I have about 1-2 cords of chestnut (rock) oak here that i will take down once the leaves fall... our chestnut oaks are in jeopardy...
FREE WOOD you guys crack me up............................... The only way firewood would be free is if it was delivered CSS by someone else.
You have a very good point! It's more "politically correct" term would be, wood for non-monetary exchange to another, only "self inflicted" labor and time...
Free wood turns into firewood. I figure it costs 1/4 between the gas and equipment to process free wood into firewood.
