RE: Fire wood, take your own or buy at cg?

[wynot]

 springer02
Tena,
 
 We use a used tote from work which fits lengthwise in the trunk and is about 18 inches or so wide.  I try to cover it with shrinkwrap.
 
 You re going to the Eastern Rally, if you want to see it, I ll try to make sure we bring it down there with us.  I ll see if I can rummage up another one if you re interested.  Another thought, Our local trash company also has good sized recycle bins that one could use (BFI).  Would be about the same size...
 
 Personally, I don t usually make more than one fire per trip if that, and I usually can find enough downed timber around to fuel that.  The only reason I have this wood is because of being in a area with few trees on the MD Eastern shore.  Like another poster, I also have scrap wood around from woodworking projects and home maintenance.

[barbjeff]

 springer02
We usually fill up the old trusty rubbermaid comtaier with wood from home and cart it with us. We have a well treed lot and over the past 10 years have had to cut down many trees that were in their last legs due to disease, lighting strikes etc. The majority of these trees were Maple and Oaks.......the burn time sure beats the pine that most cg sell you.

[Camping Coxes]

 springer02

The box is in the camper now, just inside the door and it ll be the first thing to be taken out at the cg.

 This is where ours goes.  That way sweeping out isn t such a big job.  We use a plastic storage bin that used to be used as a recycling bin by our city trash company.  So we re recycling it into a wood box!  
 
 We avoid buying wood at the campgrounds.  It tends to be very expensive and not always dried out enough.  We buy 1/2 cord every other year (about $80), and that works for our fireplace, campouts, church outings, etc.

[Redwolf]

 springer02
We generally bring our own.   We replinish our pile at home by keeping a keen eye out for tree cuttings our neighbors have sitting on the curb for pickup, as well as picking up wood left behind by fellow campers.  :-)

[P-MAN]

 springer02
We have also tried bringing it with us and buying it at or near the campground.  Our experience typically is that when you buy at/near the campground the wood is often not " seasoned"  and/or wet, and soft wood that burned quickly (assuming you can get it started).  
 
 With my Silverado s 6 and 1/2 foot bed and camper cap, we could carry pretty much anything and all we needed, With the F-150 Super Crew, the bed is a foot shorter and I only have a tonneau cover so I am a bit concerned about storage capacity.  One of the things I am contemplating is having a " Front Receiver"  mounted on the front of the truck.  That would allow me to mount a storage " basket"  in the receiver and would give me another 10 square feet of storage space with a capacity of 500 pounds.  (The storage basket is 24"  x 60"  I believe...)  If I get a storage basket I would have more room in the truck s bed for a 50 Gallon Container of firewood.... We ll be going on our first camping trip next weekend hopefully, and I will see then how much storage space I have with the F-150.  
 
 Hey MesaMadness, where did you get the large Rubbermaid container that has wheels?  How big is it?
 
 
 

[wynot]

 P-MAN

One of the things I am contemplating is having a " Front Receiver"  mounted on the front of the truck. That would allow me to mount a storage " basket"  in the receiver and would give me another 10 square feet of storage space with a capacity of 500 pounds.

 I m thinking about a front receiver for our bike rack, but do you really want a worse aerodynamic disaster with a large box of wood in front of your radiator?

[topcat7736]

 springer02
Our state parks sell kiln dried Firesticks at $6/25# bag. So, I keep a bag in the van (just in case we arrive after the office closes) but buy the wood we need when we get to a campground ($5 for 12 split logs). I split what they sell us into sticks about the size of a 2x2 and feed the the fire one stick at a time, every 15 or 20 minutes. The 12 logs usually last us the weekend. Whatever we don t use is left for the next person.

[P-MAN]

 wynot
Wynot,
 
 Interesting thought on the box or boxes in front of the radiator.  Hadn t thought of that.  I would be more concerned with engine cooling than the aerodynamic issue.  From an aerodynamic standpoint, I don t really see an issue.  Truck gets lousy gas mileage towing anyway, so what s another 1/2 mile or so per gallon off of whatever it gets because of poor aerodynamics.  Very good point though.  Actually I was rethinking what I was actually going to store in the " basket"  on the front receiver if I got one... i.e... the firewood, which would be quite heavy, or perhaps a cooler or two.   Looks like I ll have to think about the whole thing a bit more.

[wynot]

 P-MAN

Wynot,
 
 Interesting thought on the box or boxes in front of the radiator. Hadn t thought of that. I would be more concerned with engine cooling than the aerodynamic issue. From an aerodynamic standpoint, I don t really see an issue. Truck gets lousy gas mileage towing anyway, so what s another 1/2 mile or so per gallon off of whatever it gets because of poor aerodynamics. Very good point though. Actually I was rethinking what I was actually going to store in the " basket"  on the front receiver if I got one... i.e... the firewood, which would be quite heavy, or perhaps a cooler or two. Looks like I ll have to think about the whole thing a bit more.

 I can make another suggestion though.  I also use a carrying rack on the back of my vehicles - you know the kind, mounts in the receiver, about 2 foot wide, and 5 foot long.  Using a front receiver, you could lay the firewood down on that, not much deeper than the depth of the basket frame, strap it down, and have that at bumper height, rather than in front of your radiator.  Still not the greatest for airflow around your truck, but you know that you ll almost always clear the person in front of you with the rack (since you ll be compensating anyhow for the hood of your truck).

[P-MAN]

 wynot
Wynot,
 
 When you speak of " airflow around the truck" , is your main concern truck aerodynamics that would affect gas mileage, or airflow into the radiator, thereby affecting (adversely...) engine cooling?  Which aspect do you see as the larger concern?
 
 I think I did a poor job at explaining the gadget that I was going to mount in the front receiver. I believe I was talking about the exact same thing (" carrying rack" ) that you are.  I am talking about a flat, rack with metal mesh for a " floor" , surrounded by an angle iron rectangle made of perhaps 2"  angle iron surrounding that, measuring 24"  x 60" , with a 500lb capacity.  I looked at one at a local " Truckin Thunder" .  It sold for about $140.00 and comes with these sort of " guide poles"  mounted at the front corners of the rack, that stick up above hood level a bit, with international orange colored balls on their tops so you can tell how far out in front of you the rack is protruding.  
 
 

[forestwalker]

 wynot
The movement of firewood is prohibited in many California counties-due to the Sudden Oak Death pathogen.The state is trying to control the problem that has the potential to kill millions of trees. We used to bring split fire logs to burn on our camping trips.For the time being,we burn scrap lumber,brought from home.

[jackgoesthepopup]

 springer02
Sense my son cuts firewood and then sells it when he is laid off for the winter. I get my wood for free. This way i can get seasoned fwood which is mush easier to lite and burn. I am going to make a box on the back of our TT to store it in. And the weight should not be a proplem because seasoned wood is lighter then green wood.

[Horscampr]

 springer02
I have done both.  I prefer to bring my own firewood as opposed to buying at the campground....$$$$$, but there are times when buying at the campground becomes a necessary evil[:@]
 
 a.) Camper (..in my case NEWBIE, ROOKIE CAMPER) brings wet firewood to " attempt"  to build campfires with....(looks at shoes...BIG DUH!![>:])
 
 b.) My mom comes along and I underestimate how much wood I will use in a weekend (my mom LOVES to play with fires[][]).
 
 c.) We get rain, and the newbie camper AGAIN fails to protect the precious supply of wood.
 
 All of the above has happened to me, in which case I am grateful that campgrounds sell firewood (even if its expensive).
 
 That said....I usually TRY (emphasis on the word " TRY) to bring enough firewood with me when I go camping.  I get is at $20 a facecord from a friend of my dad s and store it in my yard.  When I have a camping trip approaching, I just take what I plan on using and put it in the barn a week or two ahead so that its nice and dry when I take off for my trip.
 
 As far as transport goes, I am lucky enough to drive a pickup truck, so it just goes in the back (along with a lot of other STUFF).  If my mom goes, I make her take some in her SUV too because my truck won t hold enough to keep her happily burning throughout the weekend[][][]  LOL......