Firewood?

[Nemesis56]

The only problem we had last outing was firewood.  I don't want to haul wood in the camper due to extra weight and also bugs getting in the sleeping areas.  We hauled about a dozen good size pieces in a heavy cardboard box in the van.  It took up a lot of space and lasted us a little over 1 night.  We bought 2 stacks of firewood for $5.00 @ in a milk crate size bundle that was more like kindling. Our neighbor had to cut their trip short and gave us a couple of nice logs.  That with what we brought and bought tided us over till we left.  Short of bringing my pickup loaded with wood, (we have a fireplace and have at least a cord or two stacked in the back yard) or paying a small fortune for mediocre wood, Any suggestions or ideas?  What we did with the boat is not fuel it up when we leave home (20 gal tank) and haul wood in the boat, unload and then fuel it when we get setup.  That worked good with our tent.  I'm thinking about using our hardshell car top carrier and roof rack.

[robpoe]

Since the lake we camp at is (was) so hugely flooded, there was about 10 tons of driftwood that had settled at the highwater mark and was pretty dry.

The Corps pretty much relaxed their rules temporarily to allow more than just handsaws, and I think every campsite had all they wanted.

We'll burn a lot of wood for labor day, and since the camp is near two (very) small towns, we're going to contract to have a cord (or maybe a half a cord) of wood delivered and stacked at our campground.

[dthurk]

We have a cord of wood at home and load up a relatively large Rubbermaid container.  We don't create large fires, so one container can last us a few nights out.  If we're out longer than that, we'll buy local wood and do the best we can with what we've got.  Sometimes, that's not too satisfactory, but we enjoy our evening nontheless.  
 
Be careful of the Emerald Ash Borer and other quarantined bugs.  You're not permitted to carry firewood into some areas anymore.  Don't even try crossing the Canadian Border with wood.  You'll be turned around.  Also, be careful loading wood on a roof rack on your car.  Many cartop carriers are only weight rated to about 100 lbs.  The load of wood on top can also dramatically change the handling characteristics of your vehicle.  This could be quite unsafe, particularly when towing.  Better safe and fireless than in a doctors office...or worse.

[fallsrider]

We have the same concern now. When I had my 1/2 ton pickup, hauling wood was not a problem. But now we have a mid-size SUV, so the room just isn't there. I don't know what we're going to do to haul wood. I've considered the rubbermaid container slid into the door of the pup, but, as you pointed out, there are bugs and also the extra weight. With our luggage and other things, two kids, plus the dog, it is going to be a tight fit as it is.

We've always enjoyed a pretty good fire every night, and some mornings. We may have to cut back on how much wood we burn.

On the other hand, we just need to have my wife's cousin's family go with us as they have a pickup. Problem solved!

[mklawz]

Be careful of the Emerald Ash Borer and other quarantined bugs.  You're not permitted to carry firewood into some areas anymore.  

Just got back from the Warren Dunes S.P. in sw'ern MI and one of the campgrounds got pretty wiped out by EAB a year or two ago.  They were emphatic about  people not bringing in their own wood.  And since we're there to enjoy the great outdoors and not facilitate destroying it, I was happy to oblige.   Unfortunately this meant bending over and spending $20 on wood at the camground for 2 nights.

[bonscott]

We never bring in our own wood because it's illegal in most counties in Michigan.  And don't even think about taking any wood across the bridge into the UP.  You will be stopped by the cops and you could be slapped with a $10,000 fine.   :yikes:

What we usually do is if it's a short stay we'll usually buy wood at the campground unless it's crazy expensive.  If it is there is usually a gas station nearby that has wood for better prices.
If we're in for a longer stay (more then just a 2 day weekend) then when we get to camp if it's late we might get one bag of wood from the campground and then the next day we'll drive up and down the road the campground is on and typically there are some locals selling wood cheap.  A blue tarp in the back of the SUV keeps things clean.  We've gotten enough wood to fill the back of the SUV for as little as $10 as these local places.  Can't be beat.

And you can bring in your own wood so long as it's from the same county.

[Nemesis56]

I knew about the EAB and called the cg and they had no ban on firewood.
If I'm not mistaken isn't the whole state of Illinois under quarantine?  I know Starved Rock and Illini both said not to bring any firewood.  I don't mind helping the local economy and spending 20 bucks for firewood for a weekend.  It's when I get what looks like a bundle of shims and furring strip scraps with an average chunk thrown in for $5.00 that aggrevates ne.  Stuff burned about an hour tops.

I like the idea of not hauling any wood.  It just kills me when I get a whole truck bed full of hardwood for $40.00.  May check out those pre fab  fire logs.  Menards has a dozen for $9.99 and there isn't a ban on them.

[Nemesis56]

I knew about the EAB and called the cg and they had no ban on firewood.
If I'm not mistaken isn't the whole state of Illinois under quarantine?  I know Starved Rock and Illini both said not to bring any firewood.  I don't mind helping the local economy and spending 20 bucks for firewood for a weekend.  It's when I get what looks like a bundle of shims and furring strip scraps with an average chunk thrown in for $5.00 that aggrevates ne.  Stuff burned about an hour tops.

I like the idea of not hauling any wood.  It just kills me when I get a whole truck bed full of hardwood for $40.00.  May check out those pre fab  fire logs.  Menards has a dozen for $9.99 and there isn't a ban on them.  They supposedly burn for 3 hrs or more.  The box was about 1/2 the size of what we used.  Maybe mix that with some cg bundles.

[Jeremy]

Only 1 of the CG's we've gone to in WI has said anything about bringing in firewood and that was a little insert in our packet they mailed to us.  I have a bunch of pine logs in my garage that I got from the local firewood place that I brought up and they never even said a word to me.  I double wrap it in a blue tarp and it's one of the last things I put in the back of our Trailblazer before we head out so (knock on wood) I haven't seen any bugs inside the TV.  Before we had the TrailBlazer we had an Equinox that had very little space in the back after we had bags & stuff in there, so if I was going to bring wood, I would wrap it in blue tarps and strap it to the roof of the camper up near the tongue.  I have purchased wood from local residents near the CG's before (usually a pretty good quantity of wood for $10), but it's usually so wet that I end up with a smoke fire.

[SpeakEasy]

Does anyone besides me "scavenge?"  When I arrive at a campground I take a quick walk around to the sites that are unoccupied, and I look for firewood left behind. I almost always find some. Sometimes it's good hardwood, sometimes it isn't. I'm getting so I can tell by the look and feel of a piece of firewood whether or not it will burn well. If it looks questionable I leave it there.

Just yesterday I was camping at Letchworth SP. The park rangers had cut up some pine trees and left it for people to use. This was about a foot to a foot-and-a-half in diameter, and cut to firewood lengths. Since I had my splitting maul with me I dragged three of these puppies back to my campsite and split them up. I ended up bringing home more wood than I took with me, even though I had nice fires both nights.

My biggest beef with buying wood at a campground is that most of the time it is unseasoned. I have spent many an evening trying to get green wood to burn and getting nothing but smoke for my efforts. It's bad enough to pay sky-high prices for it, but it's like adding insult to injury when it doesn't burn.

We usually bring two or three plastic crates of seasoned hardwood where-ever we go. Only once, while trying to get into Canada, have we run into any restrictions. From what I've been reading, that has changed dramatically this summer. For instance, apparently Great Smoky Mts National Park will not allow any wood from NY to enter. We'll be planning around that.

-Speak

[dthurk]

Speak-
 
Should we give away ALL the secrets?!  

[fshnfool76]

We bring some wood if we're going local, but if we're traveling far we usually just bring a bunch of good firestarters like fatwood to get it going and buy local.

[wavery]

We have so much building going on in our area that we just stop by a job site, every once in a while and load the truck with scrap 2x4s and 4x6s (we always ask permission) :sombraro: .

Scrap lumber is easy to load and doesn't have much in the way of bugs. It stacks easily in the PU, it's comparatively light weight and burns well. Besides, I hate waste :swear:

[bountyhunter]

I guess this is where I get a benefit from our Baja pop up.  We have a large "bed" area on the front of the camper to haul 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, etc.  When going local(without toys), I can put more firewood on there than we will burn in a weekend plus all the coolers, and other gear.

[wernstriumph]

If you can't bring wood with you, here's what we do sometimes:
We bring a few of the Duraflame logs and we buy some of the campground wood. Use the real wood for cooking if desired, and use the duraflame with some real wood at night for the "get together" fire. They make an outdoor duraflame that leaves very little ash and lasts for 3 hours.They really do make a 5 dollar bundle of CG wood last alot longer!