My latest video - how do YOU get firewood out of the woods?

[tradergordo]

At first I made this video as a joke to poke fun (in a friendly way) at my friend who blew a ton of money on a new truck he doesn't need (and because he likes to make fun of my cars). But then I got to thinking, there are probably a lot of people out there that don't realize what a small economy car can do... so I put this video up on the internet to show people that you don't need an overpriced gas guzzling SUV or truck to get some work done, on or off road. In this video I take a Toyota Echo into the woods to pickup a half cord of firewood. My friends and neighbors think I'm nuts of course... The first time I did this it was surprisingly exhilarating/amusing, mostly because there is a steep hill which doesn't come out great in the video, and you have to turn pretty sharply right at the top of the hill while maintaining momentum, not to mention dodging trees the whole time.


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2508215/toyota_echo_off_road/

 

[karri0n]

Bahaha, looks like you had a blast.


Good luck with your tranny, though... Sincerely, not criticizing.

 

[MovingOffGrid]

hahhha - nice!

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Excellent post.
A larger vehicle would have got the sides wrecked due to the limited clearance.
A Toyota Echo though??? you are a mad man..just kiddin.

 

[smokinj]

Looks like you had a great time! good for you!

 

[fossil]

Good thing it was uphill goin' in empty. Lots of paintballers up in those woods. Did the car's owner know what you were going to do with it? %-P Rick

 

[Jamess67]

Your a NUT.. can I come next time..lol

 

[tradergordo]

Good luck with your tranny, though... Sincerely, not criticizing.

I wish there was more info out there about transmission life, seems like a major source of misconceptions to me. I know people with big trucks that don't even pull anything very often and the transmission has needed service after just 50k miles (my friends F250 can't go 100k miles without a transmission rebuild).

Small cars are often rated for 2000 lbs tow weight (Toyota Echo for example) - so my 1000-1500lb loads of firewood shouldn't strain it much. These cars also come from the factory with pre-drilled mounts for adding a hitch, so obviously the manufacturer thinks its OK. I've been hauling firewood for 3 years with the car in the video, it has 170,000 miles on it, and so far no problems whatsoever with the transmission. If the transmission goes out next week, I still wouldn't know if it was because of anything I've done, because I've had cars (honda accord) with fewer miles on them than this toyota who's transmissions have died despite the fact that I never took it off road or even had a hitch to haul anything with it.

When I haul stuff I just go slow and keep overdrive off. When its in the woods, I keep it in 1st gear the whole time... I'd love to have a nice quad for the woods, but heck one of those toyotas could be had (used) for cheaper than a decent quad and you can do a heck of a lot more with the toyota.

 

[TreePapa]

I used to have an old '83 (or so) Tercel 2-dr hatchback that I basically used as a p/u truck. I didn't have a woodstove or fireplace at the time, so I didn't haul firewood, but I hauled a lot of old lumber and other junk. As much as I could fit in the back w/ the back seat down. I know I overloaded it on a regular basis. I have no idea how many miles it had (speedo broke). It eventually died from cooling system failure, not tranny or suspension or anything related to being overloaded. In 1998, on a rainy day, I traded it in for my '94 Ferd Ranger, which I have to this day.

Apparently, someone bought the Tercel from some funky-arsed dealer in a low-rent district, 'cuz about a year or two later I got a letter from the new owner asking for help with the title transfer (seems it hadn't been completed correctly). The Tercel was running again and the guy was apparently using it as a daily driver.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[savageactor7]

Dude that's a great video ...and I also believe in the power of chains.