Bring firewood to your campsite or not?

[cantdrv55]

So I’ve been bringing firewood with me to camp because I have a lot of it back home. I posted a question on a FB group asking for tips on how to transport the wood because my Sprinter camper van has limited space. Holy crap I opened a can of worms!

Many say I’m infecting forests with my supposed bug infested firewood. Only burn locally purchased wood they vehemently suggest. There are also those who say buy canvas duffel bags from REI to carry the wood and pay no mind to the tree huggers. I don’t know where I stand but I do still have a shiite load of wood back home.

Do you carry firewood when you camp or do you burn only locally purchased wood?

[Tobra]

Locally purchased wood only?


You should have punched that guy right in the vagina.

[cantdrv55]

Lol

[sc_rufctr]

Firs things first. Is there a rule at the camp against bringing your own firewood?
- If there isn't then I can't see why you shouldn't.

But if you're crossing into Canada for instance it may be a totally different story.

Can you strap the firewood to the floor of the van? I wouldn't bother with bags. Just stack it up and tie it down.

[Jims5543]

Most Campgrounds sell fire wood at the ranger station and it is reasonable.

Our last RV trip, I had store bought bundles of firewood I brought with me.

I noticed quite a few doing the same on other RV sites.

[stevej37]

I have heard that argument from others also.
Not sure how much truth there is to it.

[craigster59]

I usually bring my own firewood with me. I think some are afraid of those beetles that are killing the pine trees. I also tend to burn a lot of scrap 2x4's and 2x6's.

[masraum]

Assuming you burn it pretty quickly and it's not sitting there for a long time, you're probably OK.
I'm pretty sure the fire is going to kill the bugs.

But, there could be validity to it as well. I'm sure we've all heard of invasive species. You may have heard of zebra mussels.

Zebra mussels are an invasive, fingernail-sized mollusk that is native to fresh waters in Eurasia. Their name comes from the dark, zig-zagged stripes on each shell.

Zebra mussels probably arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s via ballast water that was discharged by large ships from Europe. They have spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes region and into the large rivers of the eastern Mississippi drainage. They have also been found in Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California.

Zebra mussels negatively impact ecosystems in many ways. They filter out algae that native species need for food and they attach to--and incapacitate--native mussels. Power plants must also spend millions of dollars removing zebra mussels from clogged water intakes.

There are insects that can cause issues to trees.

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, is an exotic beetle that was discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. The larvae (the immature stage) feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. Emerald ash borer probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia. As of October 2018, it is now found in 35 states, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Manitoba.
Since its discovery, EAB has:

Killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America.
Caused regulatory agencies and the USDA to enforce quarantines and fines to prevent potentially infested ash trees, logs or hardwood firewood from moving out of areas where EAB occurs.
Cost municipalities, property owners, nursery operators and forest products industries hundreds of millions of dollars.

Our old house was in a neighborhood that went up in the late 60s and early 70s. Most of the neighborhood had beautiful 25-30 year old ash trees with sprawling canopies when we moved in. By the time we left, pretty much all of the ash trees were gone from the emerald ash borer. I can't imagine what they'd do to a forest full of ash trees.

Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), or ALB, is a destructive wood-boring pest that feeds on maple and other hardwoods, eventually killing them. It most likely came to the United States inside wood packaging material from Asia.

Since its first discovery in Brooklyn, NY, in 1996, the beetle has been found in six States: New York (1996), Illinois (1998), New Jersey (2002), Massachusetts (2008), Ohio (2011), and South Carolina (2020). USDA and its cooperators have eradicated infestations in Illinois; New Jersey; Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Islip, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; and Stonelick and Monroe Townships, Ohio. Surveys and eradication efforts continue in central Long Island, New York; in Worcester County, Massachusetts; in Tate Township, Ohio, and in Charleston County, South Carolina. For eradication efforts to succeed, residents must remain on the lookout for this destructive pest.

There are others, but those stand out.

[911boost]

Are you going to actual campgrounds or camping in the woods?

When we go "off the grid" which is about 95% of the camping we do I have a chainsaw and cut down beetle kill or cut up already down beetle kill pines. I do have some friends that bring hardwood from home and we burn that with what we harvest.

If we go to an actual campground we typically either bring stuff from home or buy wood from the campground. Some of them have someone that drives around with a trailer selling it to campers. Like I said we rarely camp like this, I did last year a few times in South Dakota to ride side by sides and we used wood from the campground.

As for transporting it, do you have room for a bigger Rubbermaid container? I'd just chuck the wood in there and it is easy to move around and you pull it out to burn. That way the damn tree huggers can't complain about bugs getting out.

Punch him in the vagina, awesome.

[Tim Hancock]

It is illegal to cross state lines with firewood here in the midwest. I think it is because of the emerald ash bore. With that said, I would likely still load up a rubbermaid type container with firewood if I traveled to camp across state lines and hide it in my cargo storage bays.

[ltusler]

Can't even cross county lines here in MN.

[id10t]

Depends on where one is camping. There are some areas I've been that are known to only have pine - and green pine at that - for a few miles in any given direction. There are some areas where gathering firewood is prohibited because it it is such a popular spot and people are idiots because they thing that means they can whip out a chain saw and chop down a tree (many state campgrounds). There are some areas where there just isn't any wood (beach camping) or if there is there isn't a large supply or reliable supply.

[RNajarian]

I camp out in Joshua Tree CA, the wife stays at the MCCS Inns of the Corps (25 minutes away.)

I bring in my own wood on the rear carrier on my Cayenne, no infestation issues here. It is illegal to harvest wood from the National Park, and I’m not paying for Vons plastic wrapped wood.

[A930Rocket]

It’s been along time since we camped, but when we did, I brought scrap 2x’s from the job site. Being in residential construction, we had a plethora of wood to burn.

[ckelly78z]

Yes, when I go to the trouble of processing 6 cords of firewood a year for my own use, I usually stack a small pile in the back of my Excursion (out of site) that I bring out as I burn it when we go camping. Usually, a friend, brings some dimensional lumber scraps/bits, so between the two of us, we are covered.

[look 171]

Always brought my own. I only burn dry clean Oaks, Maple and Mahogany or what ever cut off we had from the previous cabinet job. I am always bringing wood to camping. Load up the boxes and dump it in the back of the truck. Burns hot, dry and clean. We have bought firewood before from the camp host or the local general store.

I thought we can't burn wood due to dry year / summer?

[red-beard]

When I used to do family NYS Campgrounds (Roger's Rock, Lake George near Ticonderoga, I brought my own wood. They only sell small amounts. I had a trailer I built and brought split hardwood, tents, backpacks, etc. with me.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Locally purchased wood only?


You should have punched that guy right in the vagina.

THIS!

maybe ask Facebook if you should bring firewood or save a tree and make a fire with some old tires.

[bkreigsr]

You should also post this question to a campground splinter-group forum.

[herr_oberst]

What kind of a sap would buy bundles of firewood?