Firewood Woes Options

[KentuckyCampin]

Ok, how many of you on here have ran into this problem while out camping. With the introduction of the ash beetle, transportation of firewood between state lines is pretty much now a no-no. Here in KY, there are certain counties that you cannot move firewood into or out of.
Since my county is not in the restricted list of counties, and the counties we usually camp in here in KY are not affected, I can use my pile of wood here at home when we camp locally.
However last fall we went down and camped in FL, and of course, transportation of wood is prohibited, for good reasons.
So of course while out camping, we love to have a camp fire, besides, camping for a week in FL without a campfire, just isnt camping!! So we purchase a couple bundles of firewood from the camp store. Pretty expensive, at $8 a bundle, which was 6 pieces of wood per bundle! Well the wood was not seasoned and did nothing but smoke and would not burn hardly at all. So I took a trip to the local Home depot and picked up 2 of their bundles of fire wood.
Wouldnt you know it, same thing!!! So after spending close to $30 for unseasoned wood that performed like an indian smoke signal, we were pretty upset. Here in KY, you can get a pick up load of fire wood for $30, and I spent that much on 25-30 pieces of wood!!
So I took the unopened bundle of firewood back to Home Depot, and bought 8 2X4 studs. I already had a hand saw in the camper, so cut them up into 1' sections and burned them for firewood!! And they burned excellent, nice and hot and just your average smoke from a campfire!!
So now I have a new firewood when we go out of state or into a county that transportation of firewood is prohibited. The 2X4's are cheap, dry, burn awesome, and can be taken anywhere in the states, they dont take up much room, and they can be used as blocks to level the camper if need be!!!!
For you campers that have had this same problem, get you some 2X4's (non-treated) and cut them up for firewood!!!!!

[edcornflake]

I hadn't considered that. I've had the same issue with unseasoned wood at campgrounds. Nothing like smoking yourself out of your campsite with green wood!

[jamarynn1]

My only worry about burning lumber would be if it was treated with some sort of chemical that would make the smoke unsafe to breathe. If not, it would make a great fire.

[vincee]

Two years ago I spent quite a bit of money on firewood during a season of camping. It seemed every weekend adventure was a trip to a guy selling wood for $10 for a about 15 good size pieces and maybe another $10-$20 while at the campground. So, my son was having a new home built and I noticed that the builder just throws all the lumber cuts in a pile out front. One day going to check on the progress of construction some of the workers were still there and I asked if I could grab some of the discarded wood cuts. I filled my suv with as much as I could get in. From that point on I have not spent a single penny on firewood. Everytime another new house was going up in my son's development I would go and load up cuttings. Sometimes alot, other times just a few "choice pieces" When I store my rig over the winter I park it on planks that I got from wood piles that are used for main roof ridge board. Now around this time of year I will go around to new housing sites and build up my store of wood for the forthcoming season. Clean, no bugs or beetles to worry about and legal everywhere we camp. Really burns nice!

[Dutch_12078]

My only worry about burning lumber would be if it was treated with some sort of chemical that would make the smoke unsafe to breathe. If not, it would make a great fire.

Ordinary kiln dried lumber is not treated with any chemicals, so no worries there.

[RanMan]

I think this is a neat idea. To save even more, try to find the "rejects" pile of 2X4's. Most building supply stores have a pile of lumber rejected by builders because it is twisted, crooked, or too knotty to work with. Usually they will let you buy it cheaper than what the usable lumber goes for(maybe half price). Plus this kind of wood stacks better and doesn't shed it's bark in the bed of your truck. Kudos to KentuckyCampin.

[dog bone]

I have been doing it for a few years now, but I just use it for kindling. Once the fire is hot you can mix in some of the green wood. I don't know how a hot dog would taste over a pine fire. I guess if you just want to sit by a fire it would be good. It ain't camping with out a campfire.
I have just about an endless supply of wild cherry. I take it up to camp with me. I do cross a state line, but the campground is only 48 miles away. I don't know if the beetles know they are crossing the line. Plus I don't know if they get into cherry.

[KentuckyCampin]

I have been doing it for a few years now, but I just use it for kindling. Once the fire is hot you can mix in some of the green wood. I don't know how a hot dog would taste over a pine fire. I guess if you just want to sit by a fire it would be good. It ain't camping with out a campfire.
I have just about an endless supply of wild cherry. I take it up to camp with me. I do cross a state line, but the campground is only 48 miles away. I don't know if the beetles know they are crossing the line. Plus I don't know if they get into cherry.

I wouldnt want to test the waters so to speak. DNR wont care if you have cherry,oak, hickory or ash. The rules are black and white, no wood to cross state lines, and even within certain states, such as KY, you cant even transport firewood into/out of certain counties. I have tons of firewood at my house, but its cheaper to buy some cheap 2X4's and not risk getting into trouble!

[BJMA]

we carry fireplace logs that we buy by the case at Sam's Club OR we buy wood near the campground. There are always fire wood vendors near the campground.

[JBH]

If you are buying from The Home Depot, ask if they have any lumber in their cull cart, that is where they cut up the lumber that isn't marketable as standard lumber (just make sure what is there isnt treated). Another option if you happen to find any, many pallets are made from oak instead of pine (typically concrete pallets) becaus of the weight. Those pallets usually are not treated. The Home Depot won't sell these pallets cheap enough (20.00 pallet fee) to use as a regular source of firewood but I often see stacks of pallets at other places that will let you have all you want for free...just make sure you clean out the fire pit when you are done because a big pile of nails might make the GC folks ban pallets.

[dog bone]

I wouldnt want to test the waters so to speak. DNR wont care if you have cherry,oak, hickory or ash. The rules are black and white, no wood to cross state lines, and even within certain states, such as KY, you cant even transport firewood into/out of certain counties. I have tons of firewood at my house, but its cheaper to buy some cheap 2X4's and not risk getting into trouble!

I know what your saying. I live 1 mile from the NY state line. It doesn't matter which of the 2 ways I go to the campground, it's still 1 mile. Here, they where talking transporting within a 50 mile radius. I am within that. 45 miles one way and 48 the other, to the campground.
I just found out last week the NY wants you to fill out a permit to transport wood. Being from NJ, I didn't know that. One of the guy's from the campground showed it to me. He lives just up the road from me, but in NY. He sells wood for extra money.
You are probably right, I would get in trouble. I have enough up there for the next couple of years. I can start cutting down the trees at the campground. They keep adding more sites and need some trees cut. My friend and I are glad to oblige.

[mpfireman]

Ok, how many of you on here have ran into this problem while out camping. With the introduction of the ash beetle, transportation of firewood between state lines is pretty much now a no-no. Here in KY, there are certain counties that you cannot move firewood into or out of.
Since my county is not in the restricted list of counties, and the counties we usually camp in here in KY are not affected, I can use my pile of wood here at home when we camp locally.
However last fall we went down and camped in FL, and of course, transportation of wood is prohibited, for good reasons.
So of course while out camping, we love to have a camp fire, besides, camping for a week in FL without a campfire, just isnt camping!! So we purchase a couple bundles of firewood from the camp store. Pretty expensive, at $8 a bundle, which was 6 pieces of wood per bundle! Well the wood was not seasoned and did nothing but smoke and would not burn hardly at all. So I took a trip to the local Home depot and picked up 2 of their bundles of fire wood.
Wouldnt you know it, same thing!!! So after spending close to $30 for unseasoned wood that performed like an indian smoke signal, we were pretty upset. Here in KY, you can get a pick up load of fire wood for $30, and I spent that much on 25-30 pieces of wood!!
So I took the unopened bundle of firewood back to Home Depot, and bought 8 2X4 studs. I already had a hand saw in the camper, so cut them up into 1' sections and burned them for firewood!! And they burned excellent, nice and hot and just your average smoke from a campfire!!
So now I have a new firewood when we go out of state or into a county that transportation of firewood is prohibited. The 2X4's are cheap, dry, burn awesome, and can be taken anywhere in the states, they dont take up much room, and they can be used as blocks to level the camper if need be!!!!
For you campers that have had this same problem, get you some 2X4's (non-treated) and cut them up for firewood!!!!!

I have been doing that cut lumber thing for years. With the slow down in housing though, it has been harder to find houses under construction. All I do is ask if i can raid there dumpster, as there is always plenty of different sizes of wood that is being thrown away. Two weeks ago, i found one large dumpster, and filled my truck up almost two times with discarder wood. I store it at my sons farm, and have enough cut wood for at least two years camping.

[vincee]

Gotta Love That Dumpster Wood! Burns beautiful, clean and legal to take anywhere!

[RLM]

I've been using the Duraflame, or other brand, fireplace logs for sometime. They even have a product that you can roast or cook over. They are easy to transport, easy to start, and burn as well or better than real wood. Granted, you don't get the true outback feeling and smell from this 21st century camp fire, but there is a real convenience factor. I've found the price to be significantly lower during summer months when the fireplace market dries up.