"Free Wood!!"

[jcarlberg]

Rented a dump trailer to haul a couple of cords a few hours away. It was our first "big" wood delivery.

So the dude that rented us the trailer (very good deal IMO; 7x14 dump trailer for $80 for the day; it was no prize but hauled & dumped just fine) says "Hey if you cut a few trees down for me you can keep the wood!"

It's just up the road from his shop; an intersection of two country roads; he wants like a dozen or so trees cut down along with some brush. It would take a day at least. I probably would end up with less than a cord of usable wood and it would be lousy wood at that.

Thanks but no thanks - call a tree removal service to see what they would charge you.

 

[Bill G]

Why not do it as a favor and maybe next time you can use the trailer for free. It is the neighborly thing to do. We barter here all the time. Rarely does money change hands.

 

[full chizel]

Why not do it as a favor and maybe next time you can use the trailer for free. It is the neighborly thing to do. We barter here all the time. Rarely does money change hands.

it surely shouldn’t be $80 next time.

 

[Gullet]

"Free Wood!!"​

@dall

 

[Bill G]

it surely shouldn’t be $80 next time.

We barter and trade labor here. Sometimes one person is up a bit but it balances out the next time.
We used to pour a lot of concrete for hog floors and need a few extra bodies. They worked for the low price of a few beers afterwards and rabbits. Years ago before they got cocky and lazy some cleared brush here for the rights to hunt deer.
Dad cut trees for guys for a nice grilled steak and a beer when done.
I cut a lot of trees and clear brush for a man that has kept my farm rent price the same since 1986
Not everything in life needs to involve money.

 

[jcarlberg]

Why not do it as a favor and maybe next time you can use the trailer for free. It is the neighborly thing to do. We barter here all the time. Rarely does money change hands.

It def crossed my mind to just do it as a community service. But this guy lives 40 miles from me & with 4 kids plus six jobs there’s only so many of the world’s problems I can solve!

 

[Duce]

No such thing as free wood. Nothing is free, unless you get a free chainsaw, free chains, free tools, free gas, free oil, free vehicle, free trailer, free labor, etc. Nothing much in life is truly free.

 

[Hoser]

Amen. Don’t pay for standing trees in fence lines or yards, don’t cut what won’t sell and only do favours for those who will remember or return them

 

[KS Plainsman]

40 miles is further than I'd travel, but I've done dozens of trees for "free", for people in my town. Self sufficiency and saved money on a power bill has been payment enough for me, for years. I enjoy helping folks.

I don't know your situation and don't necessarily need to, but if a person struggles finding wood (like I've read people have) being generous with labor is a good way to build up a supply of firewood. Everyone is different, with different situations.

I have 6 years worth of firewood cut, split and stacked, plus another 2 years in log form, from doing just that. Now, my situation is either town trees, that are usually good wood, or the country trees along creeks, which is mostly cottonwood and a 30 mile round trip.

For a one man operation, I'm pretty efficient and have a good enough system, that I can get through jobs pretty quick. I'm finishing a job now, that will yield me a winters worth of firewood, for about 20 hours of effort on their property. That's pretty good, I think.

My point is, situation dictates whether "free wood" is a scam, or bad idea, or not. 80 mile round trip would be a no go for me.