A couple hours of Internet surfing this evening, investigating gear.

Chainsaw: We’ll need to get one, so I started some basic research. My first priority was trying to see if I could find a low emission model. There are relatively recent EPA regulations for small engine products such as chainsaws, and apparently some models are less polluting than others. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a guide that lists the emission characteristics of specific brands and models.  So, I posted a request on a Mother Earth News forum and hopefully someone there may have some recommendations.

Shed: Lots of used sheds out there, plus even some new/un-assembled metal pole barns. I would ideally like to create a garage made in a manner that we’d like to keep for the long term, but there may be advantages to delivering a basic structure in the short term that would eventually get removed and recycled again to someone else. It would be helpful to have a lockable space on the property.

Tractor: Lots of great gizmos for acreage properties on tractors, and I could certainly find many uses for them (moving logs, grading, digging post holes, excavating, pulling). However, it’s a bit much to justify the $20,000 expense plus storage needs.  So, renting or hiring services is our likely route right now.

ATV: I could imagine eventually getting a 4 wheel ATV, though. Cheaper, smaller, and versatile in other ways, plus a whole industry has grown up around creating tractor-like (though smaller) attachments for ATVs. There is even an all electric ATV available now, though that wouldn’t do us much good at this point since we don’t have electricity onsite yet.

Grader: I did some research to see what is the best way to start our driveway in the existing bed of the old logging road. A grader is the tool of choice, which is basically an adjustable snowplow-like device that can go on the front of a tractor, ATV, or pickup truck. At this point it would likely be best to either hire someone to come in and grade the driveway to level dirt, or rent a tractor with grader to do it ourselves. I’ll investigate options and prices.

Yurt: For grins, I also looked into yurts as a possible short term housing option. I’ve checked them out before through Mother Earth News and websites found in the magazine’s yurt ads. Long term, we could either disassemble and remove it or else keep it as a cabin.

  • March 2008

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