was busy this past weekend... lots of pics!

[OhioBurner©]

Trying to get ahead for next year (after joining the forum and finding out I am suppose to be atleast a year or two ahead...) so this past weekend I went to the farm and started getting some wood for next year. Hopefully a few more trips this fall/winter will get me enough for next year and then in the spring start working on the year after. Thats the plan anyhow... I'll be happy if I can atleast get 1 full year ahead for now.

Its pretty nice back there so thought I'd snap a few pics, and of course my fully loaded (over) rig back at the house...

As far as I dare go with the 1 ton and 'conticrap' pizza cutter tires:

Here is a 'panoramic' shot between the two pipelines. Its actually a few photos wide stitched together (about 3-4X wider than my camera could take in a single shot)

The ol' 70s IH cub has done me well, wish I had one of them fancy UTV's but for what I spent on the cub and as tough as nails it is I am pretty happy. With the deck and undercarraige off it has enough clearence with the oversized tires to get back in the woods just fine. I just need a bigger cart for the longer runs! And my 6x10 is to large and heavy for the steep and uneven hills there.

And back at home:

By my calcs I had a hair over a cord on the truck and some more on the trailer but didnt measure that. Its a long drive from the families farm, but overall worth the -3mpg I got on the return and the fun time (sshhh dont tell my wife that) I had in the woods.

 

[soupy1957]

You said, ".........I am suppose to be atleast a year or two ahead."

I dunno, I can see being a year ahead, but two years seems a bit excessive. I know...........I know.........some of you have wood stacked up for 5 years (lol).

I figure.........let's see how much I truly use THIS year, (I figure I'll have some left over, but I COULD be in for a surprise), and if there IS some left over, I'll be able to better gauge just how far "I" have to stay ahead of the game.

Of course it's about aging the wood, but I find that even GREEN wood dries quickly enough to be useable the same year, provided it was cut that Spring.

I heard someone say they DON'T cut wood in winter, saying that the wood is too hard. Is that typical for most of you who cut wood yourselves? You don't cut in Winter?

-Soupy1957

 

[loon]

cool pics and looks like a great spot pile o' wood :coolsmile:

 

[muncybob]

I'll cut anytime there is wood to be had. On our own land I choose the better days and yes even in winter. Winter normally has to be on Sundays to not tick off the local hunters. Craigslist or other scrounging methods not on our land gets cut when the opportunity presents itself, such as the large ash we got this summer but it was 90* just about every day I was there cutting. We are working on next years's wood (I hope!) and shooting for 2 yrs on hand at a time. But even w/2yrs on hand I'll still go get some if I see the chance to.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Firewood seems like as good a reason as any to go hang out at the farm. The difference between burnable and dry results in no hassle burning, more heat and a lot less wood consumed. Well worth the hassle of getting and staying ahead. My goal is to to have 2 years stacked under the roof, 1 in the heap and be working on the following by the time we start burning in earnest. Not quite there yet, but I really felt the benefit last year as I had plenty of 2 year seasoned wood to burn when it was cold and blowing.

 

[FireAnt]

Nice pics. I will take wood whenever I can get it. I would love to be 2 or 3 years out. You might not get to it right away but adding to the pile won't hurt anything.

Love the Cub!

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Nice woods sure looks like a great place to hang out and have fun. I got all of my wood except 1 cord from our farm. Its a long haul 350 miles each way but it has worked out because I am hauling stuff up to the farm and no use coming home empty.

Billy

 

[wsorg]

Looks like a good day at the office!

 

[OhioBurner©]

Thanks all for the replies...

Yeah I love to get back to the woods any chance I get. That particular farm (222 acres) is tough to farm and they havent for the last several years. No one stays at the house, the family just uses it as a getaway. Its really off the beaten path, about an hour to the nearest highway, dirt road, amish neighbors (closest neighbor each side is over half mile). Shot many a deer in those woods.

I hope to get all the wood I need from the farm, I think if I do 2-3 truckloads a year like that I should have enough (it isnt as long of heating season in ohio as some other places), maybe a couple more smaller loads in my half ton (hunting truck). I would like to get ahead per the reccomendations of folks here but so far I have only ever really burnt wood from the spring. I'm not too worried, I already have a good headstart now, and any more I get will just mean less worry later. Next thing I got to do is build a woodshed!

Cowboy Billy - yeah its a long haul for me too but not that long! Its about 1:45 to the inlaws, which we go nearly every weekend, and another 40 min to that farm, which I dont mind. I try to get down there any chance I get anyhow, if not just to check on the house and deerstands. I lost about 3mpg comming back which aint bad for such a load... I figure I was probably at or over the 4000# (just a WAG)load rating of the truck, plus the trailer was probably another 3-4k. So if you figure about 8k of extra weight and the truck weighs in about 7500# I dont think 12.5 mpg is bad for a gasser. Yeah a smoker would do better but it wasnt in my needs/budget.

 

[thewoodlands]

pile o' wood nice pictures and great view, I would rather have 2-3 years worth of wood cut and stacked then deal with unseasoned wood, cut away.



zap

 

[OhioBurner©]

Thanks Zap, the problem is though that I didnt start getting ahead until now meaning the wood I have for this year I cut in spring and didnt start splitting until summer :-S some of it was dead and down but most was windblown cherry (that wasnt really completely dead). Just got my moisture meter last week... the stuff that was dead was in the 20-25% range and the rest was averaging 25%-35%. Not sure how much more it will dry, but I hear cherry dries quicker than most. My neighbor who I got all my wood from the first two years in this house has wood that is 1yr+ cut and stacked (out in the open). I might get as much of his as I can this year even though I hate having to buy wood, but I think he only has maybe 2-3 truckloads of the good stuff left (thats stacked level bed fulls). Atleast burning that the first month or two would give my wood a little longer to dry. Hopefully from next year on I wont have to worry about it any more.

Oh and cowboy billy... been wanting one of those smaller farmalls like you have! Would make going back for wood a little easier. I got to be really careful with my 'cub' not to get stuck, and I could probably haul alot more at once. Just dont have money right now. One of these days...

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks P o' W

Thats not bad for that truck. My smoker need a new engine so I have been using my Dad's V-6 F 150 and I am only getting 13.5 with the trailer. If fact you trailer looks just like my 5x10 before I added taller side racks stronger springs and running boards and moved the axle back. It sure helps hauling dry wood. I have been taking wood out of my farm pile and hauling it home but since I finally got my farm wood split I cut some trees I knocked over last year with the dozer. It was still really wet and I could tell by the load on the trailer. It really doesn't make sense to haul all the water home when you want to get rid of it anyways. I also found I haul more wood in rounds then split when I get home.

While the cub is a fun tractor and can do a lot its kinda limited for a big property it only has a three speed trans and tops out at 6mph and doesn't have much power at all in third. The Super A, 100, 130 is a much better tractor. The last one I bought was $2250 and was in great shape and new paint. $1800 is a good figure for one bare tractor if it is in good running condition. The first 130 I got I paid $2915 with six implements with it and it was in good condition and paint too.

Here's my little trailer after I added my rack extensions but before I moved the axle and did the other stuff to it. Before I moved the axle I couldn't load it fully and have enough tongue weight.

Billy

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Here's the trailer as it is now. I am going to a railing around the tongue 14" high that will strengthen it and give me a place to put my spare tire and some gas cans. The running boad (brush gard) along the side of the trailer lets me reach into the trailer and keeps me from knocking the fenders off in the woods.

Billy

 

[SolarAndWood]

I like the brush guards Billy. I keep a bar in the box on my trailer for the semi-annual prying the fender off the tire ritual. Keep extending those sides up and your tongue is going to look like mine. I had to get a different draw bar to compensate for the curve.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Billy - Yeah I know what you mean about the cub... I am looking for a super A (was a nice one for sale but cant afford it right now) or one of the 'hundreds' like there was also a nice 300 utility. Of course I'll need a bigger trailer to haul them though. And thats the problem with my 6x10 is I have to also haul my cub and cart and gas, etc etc and dont have much room for wood on it. But a good long day of cutting will fill my truck and the trailer perfectly, much bigger and I'd need to spend a couple days at a time to fill it. My 6x10 construction could handle a lot more weight(3x3 angle construction and bigger) but currently only has a 3500# axles and the tires slightly less. That trip home from the pics and the trailer tires were getting real warm... With my cub on board I can get 2 full rows across the front, and then just filling in about a foot wide on each wide and a little behind. Eventually when I have some extra cash I'll get a bigger trailer, or put an heavier axle on mine. I suppose you'd have to be more carefull with tounge weight on a bigger trailer since I usually already have the truck at capacity (or over).

I thought about loading the trailer up atleast flush and then driving the tractor ontop the wood, but decided against that. I'm sure I'm already pushing the 3500# rating.

 

[Got Wood]

Had a thought for you guys getting your wood at the farm(s) and bringing it home. Think about splitting/stacking/seasoning it there on the farm and then transfer it home - should be much less wieght and you likely have good spots on a farm to season it.

 

[SolarAndWood]

The reduction in weight is not worth the extra handling to me. That and anything split and left at our family's property is likely to get burned in fairly short order.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks S&W: Once I get the tongue boxed it will make it a lot stronger. The sides are up as far as they are going the trailer can't handle any more weight than where I have it now. But I was starting to get ticked off everyone was coming up having a big bonfire all day and night even when no one was around but no one was helping me cut. But it sure felt nice when I was cutting slabs and my sister and the kids loaded them up on the mule and took them to the trailer and stacked it while I cut more.


P o' W: Since my trailer will handle way more weight than the truck all my wood is on the trailer and the truck handles the extras. That way it allows me to drop the trailer and not have to worry about unloading the truck to be able to use it the next day. I am running load range C tires right now and they get a bit warm when I get some money I want to get load range D tires. I broke one of the 3500lbs pr springs and put 5800lbs pr springs on it which are a little too much I would have been better with 5000 lbs pr springs. But the bearings are holding up fine and not getting warm. And the axle is doing ok the big thing that bends them is having the springs bottom out on a bump and the shock of the frame hitting the axle bends it.

G W: Thats the way I am going. It is a different mindset going from scrounging wood to having my own wood supply. Last year is the first time I really cut much wood in the winter. I am used to getting a tree when and where its down. But it works out a lot better the rounds are a lot lighter then and doesn't take so long to dry.

Billy

 

[OhioBurner©]

Had a thought for you guys getting your wood at the farm(s) and bringing it home. Think about splitting/stacking/seasoning it there on the farm and then transfer it home - should be much less wieght and you likely have good spots on a farm to season it.

Well that would be a good thought but like the folks above me, anything left there is 'fair game'. Last year when I was up there for deer hunting I spotted a downed tree that I could get my truck to. Chunked it and loaded my F150. Couldnt fit it all in the 6' bed so I stacked up the biggest chunks next to the house. When I returned next a couple months later they were gone. Also had a hang-on treestand stolen out of a tree even though I took the first few tree pegs out of the bottom. Thats the problem with no one being there on a regular basis. Of course the other issue would be the time needed to split everything, and bringing in a splitter. I usually only get a day to do this every month or more, so I cut as fast as I can and throw it on the truck! If lived closer it might be different.

Billy, eventually I'll have a bigger trailer or beef up the axle/springs in mine. But if I put all my gear in the truck and wood in the trailer, well one issue is getting the cub in the truck... the truck sits way to tall I have to have a hill to back up to to get the cub in or out. Maybe if I got some of those longer curved ramps. But I dont mind loading the truck up, since that was one of the reasons I bought the 1-ton... convinced my wife to let me buy the 1-ton since I needed to haul all this stuff in the truck ;-) even with a trailer my F150 was pretty useless. With the little V6 the thing was only rated to pull 3200#. Pulling 3800# and was thinking I might not even make the hills! Sad thing is the new one ton can pull several times more, haul several times more, seat double, all sorts of power, and gets only 2mpg less! If it were a smoker it would probably even get better mpg than my 150! It was a great truck, but not when pulling any amount of weight.

 

[Flatbedford]

Nice truck and Cub.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Nice truck and Cub.

Thanks. Got to love them old cubs... especially like your narrow frame. Almost bought a narrow frame (107) but my brother-in-law who picked it up at an auction wouldnt part with it. And I just happened across good deals on the 129 and 1000. Also got a project tractor which is a 1450 I hope to restore in another year or so.

Speaking of getting wood and cubs made me think of another pic I have of a narrow frame (not mine) and I forget whos it is (someone on the ihcubcadet forum)...

I had some 70's fords as well, two 78 F250's that I've sold and a 78 bronco that I still have and plan on doing some restoration too. It was running a couple years ago but its sat for two years now, all tires are flat, and some other issues that are going to take a little work to get going again.

 

[Flatbedford]

That log grabber hing is pretty cool!
Here's my 125 moving some firewood. Not nearly as cool.