Hauling wood

[odingrey]

I have 4 Runners, so I use a hitch carrier basket if I am base camping and bring wood I purchase locally by the cord. Otherwise I buy local or gather wood if it is legal.

Dude I miss this. I had a quarter cord when I lived in AZ, but space is a premium in California, so no backyard to store wood anymore...

Lemme ask you, my basket has a lot of upsides... The ability to carry a stupidly large amount and a pre-made flat surface when I park, but the fact it covers up the backup camera and it kinda kills my departure angle makes me wary... I haven't really hit an issue yet, but the last big trip I did where I used it I was very unsure of if I wanted to continue using it...

It sounds like you use yours pretty regularly... Have you hit those issues I was having?

 

[odingrey]

I bought the small one on Amazon a couple weeks ago for $42! If you're not in a hurry, watch the prices as they will fluctuate. They actually work well, and put off decent heat. If you are using them for heat, you are really only going to get 4, maybe 5 people around it. But like I said, under a canopy they work awesome, and the heat goes up and get's trapped by the top, and swirls around, warming the area much better.

I also love it because if both my wife and I get up to do other things, we just turn it off until we are ready to enjoy the fire again!

There are other brands that a lot of people like, but I have been happy with Camp Chef, especially for the value vs quality.

Here is the big one:
And the small one:

I'll have to keep an eye on that...

Honestly this might be a harder sell to my wife that any of the other stuff I've got. She's a hardcore wood burner and is more likely to just not have a fire than not have a wood burning fire.

 

[DMS1]

Dude I miss this. I had a quarter cord when I lived in AZ, but space is a premium in California, so no backyard to store wood anymore...

Lemme ask you, my basket has a lot of upsides... The ability to carry a stupidly large amount and a pre-made flat surface when I park, but the fact it covers up the backup camera and it kinda kills my departure angle makes me wary... I haven't really hit an issue yet, but the last big trip I did where I used it I was very unsure of if I wanted to continue using it...

It sounds like you use yours pretty regularly... Have you hit those issues I was having?

I only use it when base camping, so I go to my camping spot, setup camp and unload the firewood and cargo rack before hitting the trails. I have hit a huge rock with it and it pulled the bolts holding it together right thru the aluminum, so I had to fix that when I got home. I am using this unit from harbor freight https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-aluminum-cargo-carrier-69688.html If I had to do it all over again I would skip the Aluminum cargo basket and get the all steel one.

 

[odingrey]

Yeesh!

I went with the Curt basket
Steel is nice, but that thing is friggin heavy and awkward... It's somewhat difficult to get it hooked up with one person, takes a bit of coaxing.

It's also surprisingly large

So it can haul a huge amount of stuff. I was like a half inch shy of being able to put four Plano boxes flat into it.

 

[LostInSocal]

Doesn't look fully loaded yet. Is the additional weight on the rear noticeable? I have one (steel) that I originally bought to haul gear for camping. What I ended up using it for was to haul soil and mulch. I would recommend a hitch stabilizer if you haven't already picked one up.

 

[odingrey]

Definitely got a hitch stabilizer, it's a night and day difference. Loaded I don't notice much, but I don't put a lot of weight on it. What I have on it in the picture is just to show how big it is, normally it's just a layer or a few boxes of wood.

I hadn't thought of using it for hauling non camping goods... Seems obvious, no clue why it never dawned on me, but definitely a good idea!

 

[DMS1]

Dude I miss this. I had a quarter cord when I lived in AZ, but space is a premium in California, so no backyard to store wood anymore...

Lemme ask you, my basket has a lot of upsides... The ability to carry a stupidly large amount and a pre-made flat surface when I park, but the fact it covers up the backup camera and it kinda kills my departure angle makes me wary... I haven't really hit an issue yet, but the last big trip I did where I used it I was very unsure of if I wanted to continue using it...

It sounds like you use yours pretty regularly... Have you hit those issues I was having?

I only use it when base camping, which is most of the time, once I get to camp I unload it all. I have never taken it on an adventure where we were actually overlanding and setting up camp each day, the couple of times I have done that I just carry about two plastic crates worth of firewood, if every vehicle on the trip carries enough firewood for one night we should be good.

 

[Rexplorer]

we don't usually bring wood. maybe in the winter bring a bit of something to get a fire going. a chainsaw is way smaller than a load of wood.

 

[Corbet]

I just throw mine in the trailer.... all kidding aside I generally don't haul wood on overland trips. Don't have the space and I burn 6 cords+ every winter heating my home. Not having to build a fire is part of getting away for me.

 

[pcphorse88]

I only haul wood if I'm camping relatively local at a state park, otherwise some of the places I camp allow you to gather wood. It's a little tricky with the Jeep..

View attachment 28332

I really like the shelf you have installed. What brand is that?

 

[000]

I live in ca. If in the Sierras I bring the chainsaw to cut up all of the dead wood that's everywhere. If I'm planning on cooking over wood I bring a small milk crate of split red oak and cut or gather all of the downed dead pine etc. If I'm in a desert situation I bring a plastic tote of split oak and use the space the wood took up in the tote after burning it for trash, dirty clothes, etc... if you're using a hitch basket make sure your exhaust is pointed well away from it. I had a Toyota sequoia that's exhaust pointed barely in the direction of the basket and when I got to my destination the plastic milk crate I had strapped to it had melted through the cargo basket. Fortunately it wasn't a gas can or something... hitch baskets work pretty good otherwise if you're not planning on more than mild dirt roads, otherwise the departure angle is so bad you might as well be driving a Honda Accord.


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[Craig M]

I really like the shelf you have installed. What brand is that?

It's this one:
Though it was a little less when I bought it ($169).

 

[blackntan]

Am lucky to live. A mile from the beach were drift wood and fish boxes wash up. Pile the drift wood till dry then cut up to fit my fish boxes For camp fires only up on roof rack Took to much to the peterboro landrover show so hid it under a tree i wonder if its still there for next week end

 

[HEYElliott]

I know, buy it where you burn it,

Im really glad you made this point, I work in conservation and seeing the devastation of forests because of invasive species is horrifying.

I do the same as for carrying it, its usually my last pick up before getting the camp so it goes on top of one of the storage totes in the bed of the truck.

 

[Overland USA]

I just throw mine in the trailer.... all kidding aside I generally don't haul wood on overland trips. Don't have the space and I burn 6 cords+ every winter heating my home. Not having to build a fire is part of getting away for me.

View attachment 33942

I love this picture!

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

Roof basket for me. I make sure it's bundled up well. I'll take things off the roof to free up space if needed. I generally don't rely on wood fires for cooking or heat, so I don't focus on having a ton of wood. I also tent to forage for wood around where I'm camping, especially for tinder. Sometimes I'll get lucking and find extra wood.

 

[Outdoordog]

Sorry for bringing up an old thread...

I wrap my wood in a tarp and throw it in the backseat, but looking to improve it. Its messy and not really my ideal setup.

 

[TomInOregon]

I found these when looking for something to haul firewood years ago. It won't work for me now since I have a trailer on the hitch and can just throw the firewood in the truck bed.Erickson 500 lb. Capacity Folding Hitch Cargo Carrier-07496 - The Home Depot

 

[Draykas]

Like the tip for camp fire ring. I carry 20 lb propane bottle and should be able to tap into it and save space for carting fire wood

 

[sabjku]

I try to gather wood as often as I can at my camp site, and try and refrain from bringing wood in(illegal in many areas). I actually find it extremely therapeutic gathering, and processing wood for my camp fire. If I do bring some with me I put it in my Smittybilt rear basket that sits over my spare.