Framing Nailers-Cordless vs Pneumatic

[bosco]

I've got a need for a framing gun and am indecisive about which way to go ... cordless or air. In the past I have used a friends cordless paslode nailer and really like it. I realize they are a bit expensive, but not sure if it's worth the extra bucks over the cost of an air driven nailer. I have a compressor, so that cost would not be an issue.

What would you recommend if you were purchasing your first framing gun..? It would be used quite often and I would like a something very dependable.

Gordon, I did read the thread you had started some time back about air nailers ... which model did you decide on?

Thanks.....

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by bosco
I've got a need for a framing gun and am indecisive about which way to go ... cordless or air. In the past I have used a friends cordless paslode nailer and really like it. I realize they are a bit expensive, but not sure if it's worth the extra bucks over the cost of an air driven nailer. I have a compressor, so that cost would not be an issue.

What would you recommend if you were purchasing your first framing gun..? It would be used quite often and I would like a something very dependable.

Gordon, I did read the thread you had started some time back about air nailers ... which model did you decide on?

Thanks.....

I have not purchased one yet. If I do, I may base my choice on the fact that I would only use it here, and might want to build a cabin out in a reforestation project where there may not be electricity. In that case, the impulse gun would be neat. I will be interested to see what comments you get.

[MoparNorm]

A Senco 602 series Framing Gun. Fairly light weight, durable and I have both electric and gas powered compressors so location and utilities are not a factor.
For everyday use, I'd be leary of the cordless and Paslode models. I'm talking shooting 2,500 to 5,000 nails per day so limited use may make a difference for you, but you do NOT see those type of guns on the job site, only at small production or homeowner projects. The Paslode cartridges are too expensive to use the gun for everyday use and the drability is a question. The cordless guns are too new and light duty to have a proven track record, their target market is the homeowner who shoots three dozen nails on a weekend project and calls it a day.
MN
Added a link to the Senco web page; Senco (http://www.senco.com/con_rem/ViewTool.aspx?toolid=142)

[Bill in MI]

I have a Porter-Cable FR350A Nail gun and really like it. Altough it is not my main occupation I have been a licensed builder for 20 yrs. The nail gun really sped up my work output.

[MoparNorm]

The Porter-Cable FR350A is a good gun, It's a little over a pound heavier than the Senco and about two pounds heavier than a Hitachi. That's not a big deal for casual use, but for all day, non-stop shooting it adds up. Probably not an issue for the use intended here. Another consideration is the range of nails that one gun can shoot. Most common is to be able to shoot a 6d to 16d nail. otherwise you will need a gun for every penny nail shot, not very cost effective.
One thing that IS important, regardless of the gun chosen is the NAILS. Some guns, such as Hilti use gun manufacturer specific nails, that means you have to buy their nails which are usually very expensive. The nail you must buy is controlled by the degree angle of the feed magazine. Look in the gun specs and see what the feed angle is, then go nail shopping FIRST to price the nails. You'll see that wholesale bulk gun nails sold in 35 or 50 lb boxes are much cheaper than the gun manufactuers tiny boxes of nails.
Some manufacturers have patents on their nails and they cannot be produced by others (Hilti 19 degrees). Porter Cable (22 degrees), Senco (21-23 degrees), Hitachi (22-23 degrees) and a few other guns can shoot a generic nail, thereby saving way more money than the gun price over the life of the gun. BE SURE that your gun can shoot a FULL HEADED nail, "C" or "D" headed nails are not legal in some states and have poor holding value.
MN

[bosco]

Good point, on the nails MoparNorm. There are a few places I will check on this weekend to find out what nails are available and the cost of them.

The weight of the gun is also important to me, of course I wont be using it to make a living. Only using it for rebuilding my barn and putting up a new 3 rail fence. The fence project is what made me think of the cordless gun. I sure would hate to load my compresser and generator on the trailer, but it can be done.

[powerwagontim]

Hi Bosco,
I would stay away from the Paslode impulse like the plague. I have one and its been trouble from the start. It has been into the repair shop several times and they cant find anything or they find something that will fix it and it still wont work reliably. It will work awhile, then not, then yes. Why I havent thrown it off a high roof baffles me.
I had an old Paslode framer that I bought 19 years ago. That gun was a workhorse. I broke the blade off on it and am told Paslode no longer makes parts for it. It was such a good tool that I bought another Paslose air framer. When I get done throwing the Impulse off the roof I may climb down the ladder and get that gun and see if it can fly. I used to really sing Paslode's praises but not anymore. I now have 2 Senco framers. One, almost brand new has the annoying habit of double firing. All guns will do this but not if you are consious of it. This gun will do it no matter what. I WANT MY OLD PASLODE BACK, WAAAAAAA.
Tim

[MoparNorm]

I put a small in-line regulator at the end of my gun (it actually helps with the balance) I found out that two things cause the double firing, mine did it too a few times, too much air pressure causing the gun to "bounce" and resulting in your finger coming off the trigger slightly. The other is the collating plastic getting stuck in the tip. Different brand nails have different types of plastic.
Were you impact nailing or pulling the trigger one nail at a time? Mine works better to just lock the trigger down and use the impact feature, the regulator at the handel saves walking all the way back to the compressor or climbing down the ladder since the compressor always ends up 300 feet from where you are when you need to adjust the pressure.....= )
MN

[powerwagontim]

Hi Norm,
This new Senco is the first full round head gun I have owned. The plastic collating material is a real menace. The little bits of plastic fly off and sting when they ding off your face. I always wear safty glasses but its not too far fetched to imagine a piece slipping in behind them. I suspect its the collating material causing the double whammy. We have both framers set up to bump fire instead of sequential trip. I may try the regulator. Seems like an easy test.
Thanks,
Tim

[MoparNorm]

I've had more junk pulled out of my eyes than I care to remember. Now that I wear contacts it's easy to find really nice eye protection that wraps around and still breathes, AND WORKS! No more vented (which never worked!) rubber divers masks! ha!ha!
Even if the regulator fails to completely stop the occasional double fire, it is really a time saver if you are far from the compressor and shooting two different types of nails in the same area. CA siesmic codes are good but engineers are office anal with little or no field experience, it is not uncommon to have two nailing schedules on the same floor or wall which requires changing from 8d .148 nails to 10d .131 nails or even 16d nails. You simply set the compressor at the highest required psi and regulate down at the gun, it works great! I found a regulator that is very small and precise, I'll try to find a photo for you.
MN

[bosco]

Tim ... thanks for the info on the Paslode impluse gun. I will definetly stay away from it.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Home Depot to check out the Senco 602 and the Porter Cable FR350A. But just for the heck of it I just checked out their website tonight and this is what I found:

Porter Cable FR350A for 229 bucks.

Senco 602 was not listed.

Senco 702XP with free palm nailer for 299.

Per the Senco website, the 602 comes with a 1 year warranty while the 702XP comes with a 2 year warranty. The specs state that the 702XP is a tad smaller, but also a tad heavier (by only .3 pounds). Does anyone have the 702XP, if so ... comments please.

Norm ... does the addition of that inline regulator add to the overall length of the gun..? For instance, will I be able to get the gun between a set of rafters (24" oc)...?

As for safety glasses, I use the ones I get at work. They are ANSI Z-87 certified ... a must in the plants. They work great for any carpentry work. Even got a set with a reading lense built in (very nice for old eyes). They cover the eyes very well and I have not had a problem with anything entering my eyes while wearing them.

[MoparNorm]

....doesn't interfer, you can get the gun between 16" oc rafters or studs(I'm trying to envision a scenario where the gun could not be turned to fit).
I can't remember the brand name of the filter, but it's very small and has a flat or low profile gauge face. I tried to find an on-line photo but couldn't.
The 702 XP is the top of the line, for now, production nailer, there must be some internal changes in it and a palm nail actually comes in pretty handy for nailing hangers and brackets and getting into those tight places where a gun or hammer will not fit.
MN

[bosco]

Good to hear that the gun will have no interference issues with with 16"oc spacing.

If I buy the Senco 602 or 702 tomorrow, what type of nails would be recommended for 1) basic framing of stud walls, rafters and joist. 2) exterior sheating, ie T111...? I've used the ring shank many times before, but if you need to remove those nails ... well you know it ain't easy. I just want to be sure I use the correct nail for the job.

Thanks

[powerwagontim]

Hi Bosco,
For framing stud walls use 16 penny nails (3 1/4") For the T-111, make sure the nails are galvanized, 8 penny (2 1/4") and I would go with the ringshanks. If you are worried about removing them, use duplex form nails! (they have 2 heads for easy removal). A palm nailer is a great tool. I scoffed at them for years and finally bought one. I was an instant convert. They are really handy. The first tme you use one your co workers will turn in awe and ask what the heck you had for dinner. BRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPP!
Tim

[Sickcall]

Those 16d nails should be coated sinkers, whatever Senco nails are using. Make sure you use your flush nailer attachment for the siding, and galvanized 8d.

[MoparNorm]

...in CA, Vinyl coated sinkers are illegal! As are 16d nails that are only 3.250 long. (3-1/4")
If you are performing work on an inspected, permited project use only non-vinyl coated nailes and only 3.5 (3-1/2") .131 minimum (some specs call out .148 dia).
It all has to do with our siesmic codes, if you are in a non-siesmic-wind-snow load code area you will be fine with the nails mentioned, but not in CA. Vinyl coated nails are undersized as much as 25% from 16d commons and have less holding power. Many Structural Engineers living and working in their little cacoon worlds had no idea that these products were even out there until the California earthquakes of the 1990's. When structural failures began showing up in buildings that should not have failed they began testing the nails and discovered that they were seriously substandard. Look for "ICBO" or other National Building Codes standard seals on any nail that you buy, only .131 and .148 nails of the proper length, are rated for structural use when applicable.
MN

[bosco]

I stopped by home depot today on my way home from work to check out the Senco 702XP and the PC FR350A. The prices are the same as I had mentioned in a previous post. I took a long look at both units, picked them up and took a longer look. Couldn't really tell much of a weight difference between the two.

After checking out the guns, I looked for what nails were available. Man, the selection can be overwhelming ... so many of them. They had the Senco nails, but they were on the top shelf and I could get a good look at their selection. Other mfg were Duo-Fast and Grip-Rite. There was a good selection of these in boxes of 2500 to 4000 ct. The largest nail I saw was a 3.25 x.131. Didn't see any of the 3.5 nails.

I'm not sure of the building codes along the gulf coast of TX. But, believe it or not, my wife does ... she works for a home builder and is very familiar with all the local codes and specs. With our hurricanes down here, I'm sure the codes are pretty stringent. But, for now my project is only reworking my barn by tearing off the old siding and replacing with new. I may go with the Hardy board instead of the T111, because it ain't gonna rot.

I really appreciate all the help ya'll have given me on this matter. My decision is to by the Senco 702XP with the hand nailer, I just hope that a case is included.

[bosco]

Just an update. I mentioned before that my wife was familiar with the building codes in the area we live. Well, I was wrong ... I stand corrected. She did relay my questions to one of the construction supers. She also, presented me today with the IRC book (International Residental Code). Let me just say that it has a ton of info in it. Lots of good stuff there.

[MoparNorm]

You can find the nails in bulk and cheaper at Builders/Contractors wholesale houses, most will sale to the individual at a slightly higher price, or just tell them that you are a carpenter, but not a company account, most don't really care.
As for the wife story, that made me smile, we were trout fishing in the mts. here and my friend asked me what is the limit here? Mainly because we saw the game warden was working his way up the trail. In CA there are many different environmental zones with different limits, since we were at 5 at the time my wife said she would go ask the warden before he came up to us. She came back and said the limit is 10! "OK!" we replied, and we kept fishing. The warden came up and asked to see our fish, we showed him our catch, he said "too bad boys the limit is 5". We were shocked and exclaimed, we just sent my wife to ask you the limit! At that point she replied, "well, he seemed busy so I asked a lady standing next to him"....ha!ha!
She paid both fines....= )
MN

[bosco]

Hope those fines didn't set her back to much.

I know this is off subject, but I couldn't resist telling this about 2 friends of mine and theirs wifes. Now this happed several years ago. These 2 couples go fishing all the time, but the wifes usually do not fish and stay behind and do what women do. Anyway, on this one particular trip the wifes decided to go fishing for redfish while the husbands were off fishing elsewhere. When my buddies returned from their day of fishing they ask their wifes what they did that day. Well, both of them proudly showed them their catch of the day by opening a 48 quarts cooler full of redfish. Both buddies nearly fell over at the sight. The wifes had a full cooler of 10-12 inch reds (18" is min). Fortunatlly, there was no warden around when they made their catch. We wont even discuss what that fine would have been......

[MoparNorm]

Here is the 602 with regulator. It's a Milton 1145, very small, with a small guage.



http://photos.imageevent.com/moparnorm/editingalbum/websize/DCP_2767.JPG



http://photos.imageevent.com/moparnorm/editingalbum/websize/DCP_2769.JPG


MN

[bosco]

I like that setup you have there MN. I'll have to check around to see if I can find a similar setup. Say, what is the inlet pressure on that regulator..? Thanks for the info.

[MoparNorm]

.....of your compressor rating, that's why I have the gauge. Small nails such as 8d's need about 45-60 psi, depending upon the material being nailed. 16d's need 80- 90 psi, again depending upon what you are nailing into. There may be a limit of 160 psi or so on the regulator, I'm not real sure, but nail guns begin to explode at 125+ so the regulator handles the guns just fine. A bonus is that I can set the compressor at about 110-120psi and use two regulators so that two people can use two nailers and nail different nails at the same time.
MN

[Doc Dave]

Bosco,
I saw back in the thread that you are going to put up a fence.
I too will be doing this, and I am getting to old to swing a hammer so would like a nailer!
What nails have you decided on? I want galvanized of course with an outdoor project like that. I have a friend with a pneumatic nailer who will loan it to me, but not sure of the brand yet. If you or others like Norm have a recommendation for nails for nailing 3/4" oak boards to treated pine 4X4's let me know.
For power, I am fortunate to have a 25kw, pto powered trailer mounted generator. I got this off ebay after the last hurricane with a power outage of 6 days! I can pull up with the tractor to my work site and have plenty of juice for a compressor I can place in the bucket of the tractor.

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by Doc Dave
Bosco,
I saw back in the thread that you are going to put up a fence.
I too will be doing this, and I am getting to old to swing a hammer so would like a nailer!
What nails have you decided on? I want galvanized of course with an outdoor project like that. I have a friend with a pneumatic nailer who will loan it to me, but not sure of the brand yet. If you or others like Norm have a recommendation for nails for nailing 3/4" oak boards to treated pine 4X4's let me know.
For power, I am fortunate to have a 25kw, pto powered trailer mounted generator. I got this off ebay after the last hurricane with a power outage of 6 days! I can pull up with the tractor to my work site and have plenty of juice for a compressor I can place in the bucket of the tractor.

I really like the PTO idea, I wish I had one of those generators.

[MoparNorm]

8d galvanized would work fine. Post the make of the nailer and I can find out the head degree and recommend some sources for nails.
MN
PS, don't shoot yourself in the butt, unless you train the horse to post a photo.....= )

[Gordon Maney]

Norm, when I was looking at nailers this week, I saw a Makita that looked nicely made. Of course that says nothing about how it might work. Have you seen any of them?

[bosco]

Originally posted by Doc Dave
Bosco,
I saw back in the thread that you are going to put up a fence.
I too will be doing this, and I am getting to old to swing a hammer so would like a nailer!
What nails have you decided on? I want galvanized of course with an outdoor project like that. I have a friend with a pneumatic nailer who will loan it to me, but not sure of the brand yet. If you or others like Norm have a recommendation for nails for nailing 3/4" oak boards to treated pine 4X4's let me know.
Doc ... I haven't started working on the fence at this time, but I would follow MN's advice about the 8d galv. nails for your fence. I will be installing corral boards that are a true 1" by 6" nailed to 4x4 pressure treated post. At a minimum, I will use a 10d hot dipped galv. ring shank nail and there will be 3 nails at each board end. Sense I will be buying in bulk, if the local house sells a larger nail cheaper ... then I will go with larger nail. But I definitely will be using a hot dipped galvanized ring shanked nail.

Just curious, Doc ... how man feet of fence are you putting up..? I myself, only have 1400'. Now how many post holes is that ... lol.

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by bosco
Doc ... I haven't started working on the fence at this time, but I would follow MN's advice about the 8d galv. nails for your fence. I will be installing corral boards that are a true 1" by 6" nailed to 4x4 pressure treated post. At a minimum, I will use a 10d hot dipped galv. ring shank nail and there will be 3 nails at each board end. Sense I will be buying in bulk, if the local house sells a larger nail cheaper ... then I will go with larger nail. But I definitely will be using a hot dipped galvanized ring shanked nail.

Just curious, Doc ... how man feet of fence are you putting up..? I myself, only have 1400'. Now how many post holes is that ... lol.

There seem to be a lot of stainless steel nails and screws sold now. Do you consider using those? You can buy stainless deck screws. I use those for certain projects I think are worthy.

[Doc Dave]

Bosco,
I will eventually have a total of about 4000 feet. But I am going to do it in stages; I already have electric fence to keep them in.
You said Norm recomends 8d nails, but you are using 10?
Also my oak fence boards have air dried and are pretty hard. I wonder if that will cause any problem
GOrdon,
If I was using treated boards, I would be strongly leaning toward stainless. If the price is not that much more I may still use them, even though my fence boards are not treated.

[MoparNorm]

Gordon, I haven't used the Makita, but my thoughts on them are this; light cheap and disposable. The many Makita tools on professional job sites are used because they are cheap in price and cheaply made. The Makita screw guns, for an example, are about half the cost of a Milwaukee and the guys buy them and throw them away after one or two jobs. That's not my philosophy, I buy American Made when possible and keep them for decades. The Hitachi nailer is one of the best out there, light, good balance and durable, liked by many professional nailers, but not American Made, so I didn't recommend it either. If one is determined to send their dollars and the resulting jobs overseas, buy the Hitachi, pass on the Makita.

Doc, I recommended 8d galvanized because your 3/4" plank is being shot into pine. A very hard surface board into a very soft support board. The air pressure needed to shoot into the hard oak will be higher than required to shoot into the soft pine, an 8d will work fine, a 10 at higher pressure may just blow the oak apart. Bosco is using a thicker board, therefore he needs a longer nail, the 10d. If the oak plank is free or on hand, then go for it, if you haven't bought the planks yet, use Cedar, it's more durable (not stronger but rot and termite resistant) and easier to nail. The best choice in areas that do not have rot, mildew or insects is popular or spruce, won't split or warp as easily and holds paint well. Cedar can be left untreated and unpainted and last for years and insects hate it. Oak is great for strength but you may end up splitting a lot of planks if you nail too closely to the ends or edges.

Gordon, the stainless steel nail is a VERY expensive nail to buy in quantity, it is unnecessary unless used around corrosive chemicals. The galvanized nail will work just fine at much less cost. As for the new copper napthante (sp?) treated wood, as opposed to the formerly used wolmanizing solutions which have been banned by the EPA, they WILL corrode nails over time. A coated and/or galvanized nail will last much longer than an uncoated or galvanized nail when used in pressure treated lumber.
MN

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by MoparNorm
Gordon,
I haven't used the Mikita, but my thoughts on them are this; light cheap and disposable. The many Mikita tools on professional job sites are used because they are cheap in price and cheaply made. The Mikita screw guns, for an example, are about half the cost of a Milwaulkee and the guys buy them and throw them away after one or two jobs. That's not my philosophy, I buy American Made when possible and keep them for decades. The Hitachi nailer is one of the best out there, light, good balance and durable, liked by many professional nailers, but not American Made, so I didn't recommend it either. If one is determined to send their dollars and the resulting jobs overseas, buy the Hitachi, pass on the Mikita.

I am for keeping my money in this country, and do so whenever possible. I enjoy and purchase Milwaukee power tools, and have had really excellent performance and life from them. I gather the Senco nailer is made here?

This may be naive reasoning, but I wish people would start businesses manufacturing things here that may cost more, and consumers would pay more, to keep the money in this country. Support our own.

[Doc Dave]

Thanks everyone for excellent advice.
When I get to doing the fence I will try and not do what the house framer did in California some years back who accidentally shot himself in the heart with the nailer!

[MoparNorm]

The headquarters and original manufacturing facility is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have seen a few products that are made in Japan and Ireland in their smaller gun line and staplers, so they have outsourced some items, Bostich, another American Company also makes almost all of their products overseas now.
Interesting that Hilti, the largest company in Litchenstein, makes their guns in Tulsa OK. It's becomming increasingly difficult to find American made products, but I draw the line at red china. Most Milwaulkee cordless tools are also made in Japan.
MN

[bosco]

Doc ... that's alot of fence line to put up. Sure hope you have some help. I've not use oak for fence rails before, but I have used 3/4" treated pine and they just didn't hold up well to horses. Now, I'm not sure if your keeping horses or other livestock in. The thinner pine rails would break if the horse leaned on it to much. Those also would warp after time, making the fence look bad. I went the cheap way on a section of fence one time by using that thinner pine and will not do that again.

I do not have any horses today, but debated on replacing the old fence with different materials. Heck, I even considered this PVC manufactured fencing ... but I have not talked with anyone who has used it before. There is a fairly large stable a few miles from me that I believe is using that material and I have been meaning to stop by and check out, but haven't so far. It looks pretty good from a distance and has several advantages. Of course the major disadvantage is cost.

I too haven't started my fence project, but when the time comes I'm going to have a blast with the old M37 pulling out all those old post. I wonder how many I can pull out at one time without digging a big rut in the pasture. Kinda like a tractor pull ... M37 vs fence post ... lol.

[Doc Dave]

Bosco,
I also have some 1" thick pine in addition to my oak. I would prefer all oak but don't have enough. That is good info you gave on the situation with the thinner stuff.
I have seen some pvc fence around here on some of the farms. I think the people are pretty happy with it, especially as to not needing painting, etc.
Several years ago our daughter was riding at a stable with PVC. They are a little flimsy when you grab and shake it, but I don't believe they have had horses get out. I can't remember though if they had one strand of electric inside or not.
BTW, as to pulling posts, have you ever looked at the Army's vehicle recovery manual? In there, I believe, it shows having a chain slip around the base of the post, then wrapping the chain around your rear tire. Then as you pull forward, the post is pulled up and out. Have never tried it myself though.
Dave

[MoparNorm]

Hi Doc,
The advantage of the vinyl fencing is the elimination of dry rot and termite damage. While most residential vinyl fencing has center mounted rails, these fences work fine if the rails are mounted on the inside. Old ranchers learned years ago that mounting the rails, pickets or slats on the inside is the way to prevent the lifestock from pushing the fence out and heading for the hills.
MN

[bosco]

Doc ... I don't believe I have that recovery manual. What's the TM number..? Maybe it's on that CD of manuals I have. Thanks, I'll check it out. Say, anyone else used this method for pulling post..?

Your right MN, mount the rails on the inside. But with the PVC fence, the rails go through the center of the post. The post is hollow, but still stout. I understand that the gate and corner post are filled with concrete and rebar for extra strength. If I did put up a PVC fence I would definetly run a hot wire.

[Doc Dave]

Bosco,
It is called:
Vehicle Recovery and FIeld Expedients
I got it from Portrayal Press, and is it the most interesting "old" manual I have. The portrayal press # in the back is 179-6650/15/592/pp
also army # A-1645
Among many fascinating things it shows how to pull a truck out backwards from a hole, using a front mounted winch!
I did not see the post pulling idea in it thogh, I must have seen it elsewhere. It makes sense though. When the wheel pulls the chain up in the arc before going forward, it pulls the post up and then out.
Norm,
that is correct, cattle especially seem to push against fence as if they are testing it's strength. That is why I think I may run one strand of electric inside just to keep them off it.

[MoparNorm]

There are many different types and companies supplying the vinyl fencing. Look for a supplier that does not sell the pre-punched posts, most posts are not pre-punched and have fittings to attach the rails on the inside or in the center.
I buy this stuff in bulk and install it to suit the situation. Most fences here in SoCal are for ornamental reasons, but occasionally there are horses or cattle that love to push against the rails, horses will simply eat their way out...ha!ha!
MN

[bosco]

Doc ... thanks for the info on that manual, I'll check with Portrayal Press to see if it's still available. Just curious, what is the publication date on it..?

Norm ... about that vinyl fencing, I only checked a few mfgs online, but the one that impressed me the most was "A Vinyl Fence and Deck, Inc." ... here's a link to their website. Seems they have a good product and it's manufactured here in the states.
http://www.ranchfence.com/index.htm

I'm still pretty much leaning toward the traditional 3 or 4 rail wooden fence with hogwire (woven fence) for extra strength. That's typically whats done in this area for horses. Not only does the hogwire add strength, it keeps many unwanted critters out. The average cost of the wire for a 48" height is about 200 bucks for 330 feet, but that does depend on the wire gauge.

[Doc Dave]

December 1952 was the original military publication date. Apparently it originally was classified. They did not want the commies to know all the poop on off roading we learned the hard way, I guess.
As I said, it is very interesting. Among other tidbits... how to get a tank out of a mudhole, how to drive a truck (like an M-37) on 3 wheels and so on.
With its vintage, Maybe Norm helped write it? haha

[MoparNorm]

...if I could reach my cane, I'd whack you one!...ha!ha!
MN