10:12 – Barbara wants to move quickly on relocating, which means we need to schedule a couple more day trips up to Jefferson for research and reconnoitering, followed eventually by a week-long trip as a final check before we make the jump. And I have to plan and stage everything to minimize disruption to the kit business, which is going to mean building and transporting a large number of kits so that we can ship from either location until we finish the move.
That also means I need to replace my 22-year-old Trooper with a 4×4 pickup truck with a trailer hitch. We’ll hire a moving company to move the furniture, but we’ll move a lot of our stuff ourselves as we gradually transition from completely here to completely there.
For the time being, I’ll also stop adding to our stored food. We’re at 2+ person years as it is, and the last thing we’ll need is more stuff to move. Once we’re up there, I’ll make a couple of more big Costco/Sam’s Club/LDS Home Storage Center runs with a trailer to finish stocking up. After that, we can depend on local supermarkets, the Walmart Super Center, the farmers’ market, and so on.
More kit stuff today.
96% Of Americans Expect More Civil Unrest In U.S. Cities This Summer
Link is to zerohedge, but the original survey was WSJ.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-04/96-americans-expect-more-civil-unrest-us-cities-summer
96%! I don’t think you could get 96% of people surveyed to agree that the sky was blue and water was wet. Accelerating your plans sounds like a good idea.
Unfortunately, I’m stuck in town. Fortunately, the little enclave I live in has the lowest crime rate in metro Houston. This is partly due to our 24/7 constable patrol. For those outside TX, that means that our homeowners association pays for police to exclusively patrol our area in addition to the police provided by the city of Houston. It’s partly due to the demographics of our community too. Our surrounding area is improving rapidly but still MUCH worse than us wrt crimes. It helps that despite being the population center of Houston, our neighborhood is on the western edge of the metro area.
My rental house is in the inner loop, within sight of downtown, and is undergoing gentrification. Until that’s complete though, that neighborhood is a mix of young affluent urbanites, and poor urban renters in broken down crap shacks. What could possibly go wrong with that mix? It’s worth noting that those youngsters have been conditioned by the educational system to ignore the evidence of their own lying eyes, which significantly degrades their personal security situation. Good for me as a landlord I guess….
nick
with a 4×4 pickup truck
Don’t just get any 4×4 cowboy Cadillac. Find one with a trailer towing package original from the factory. That will get you a transmission cooler, an external engine oil cooler and upgraded brakes. Get a new enough model vehicle that gives you four wheel disc brakes. You also have all the necessary wiring for signals and a class V hitch that is installed by the factory and bolted to the frame. Also get a full size vehicle. Towing with one of the smaller trucks will be a miserable experience.
I tow a boat that weighs 6,000 pounds, dual axle trailer, surge brakes on all four wheels. My tow vehicle is a 2014 F-150 dual cab 2WD with towing package. It is the Ecoboost V-6 which does quite well towing that much weight. Maximum towing weight is close to 10K but I would not want to get that close.
If you get a diesel, you can get a diesel geni and have a much easier time storing fuel. Someone else can comment, but I think you want an older diesel instead of a new one as something related to emission control changed, requiring additional additives and other stuff.
It is much easier and safer to store diesel in quantity than gasoline.
On the other hand, why not rent if the only reason to buy a new truck is to pull a trailer for your move? Or pull smaller loads with the trooper if you are going to take time and several trips? Enterprise and Uhaul both rent full size pickups.
On the gripping hand, a pickup is almost indispensable on a rural property, but that need can be met with an older vehicle.
nick
“That also means I need to replace my 22-year-old Trooper with a 4×4 pickup truck with a trailer hitch. We’ll hire a moving company to move the furniture, but we’ll move a lot of our stuff ourselves as we gradually transition from completely here to completely there.”
“On the other hand, why not rent if the only reason to buy a new truck is to pull a trailer for your move? Or pull smaller loads with the trooper if you are going to take time and several trips? Enterprise and Uhaul both rent full size pickups.”
I might also recommend hiring someone to move your smaller stuff, or perhaps renting a real truck once or twice. The distance isn’t great, and you could get the job done the way you want, and not be stuck with a vehicle you don’t want long term. I know too many folks who drive too-heavy-duty vehicles just to use them occasionally to haul something. I have helped others several times with rented bobtails. The daily rent is cheap, and they can haul vast volumes of stuff.
Thanks. I was thinking an F150 or F25o with towing package, maybe in a crew cab model. And a tonneau cover.
Barbara is worried that the Trooper won’t make it up the hill towing something, and she may be right. She’d prefer an SUV anyway, so I might look at something in the Honda Pilot class. Something like this:
http://www.allegacycars.com/Used-2013-Honda-Pilot-EX-L-Winston-Salem-NC/vd/26599534
Robert, you might want to consider purchasing your new vehicle(s) from a dealer in your new home town. Making friends with the local dealer will help you avoid being just another city slicker invading Eden.
“Barbara wants to move quickly on relocating, which means we need to schedule a couple more day trips up to Jefferson for research and reconnoitering, followed eventually by a week-long trip as a final check before we make the jump.”
Let me just point out here that if someone with Dr. Bob’s and Barbara’s knowledge, background, reasoning ability and skill sets is accelerating a move from a potentially dangerous locale, it may well behoove some of us on this board to consider doing the same ASAP.
We’re getting set up here to bug-in and remain in place, but we will also begin moving some stuff and stocking up at the oceanside cottage 600 miles and 11 hours to our northeast. If all things stay relatively quiet in this region and we don’t suddenly enter into dystopian nightmare, the plan has been to eventually get to the point where we’d spend summers up there anyway and the winter holidays, etc., down here.
In other nooz, concerning the continuing degradation of language and culture here, OFD has been learning some new words, mainly from the online Maoist Salon:
Mansplaining–when ugly fascist men condescendingly explain things to vastly superior womyn
Manspreading–what ugly fascist men do on bus, airplane and subway seats; spreading their knees wide apart and taking up the superior womyn-space
Manflab–ugly fascist men who are criminally overweight and exhibit areas of loose body fat
The hate and visceral loathing become ever more rampant in this society, and no more so than in the college and university humanities and social “science” departments and the media.
Gorgeous here today; temps heading into the high 70s and low 80s this week.
Phone interview in a couple of hours for yet another IT drone gig, this time in a high-powered academic research setting. Supporting scientists and engineers. With Linux. I’ll give it a shot, mainly for due diligence; see what chips may fall. Nothing to lose.
I was thinking an F150 or F25o with towing package, maybe in a crew cab model
For your needs the F-250 would be overkill, cost more and consume a lot more fuel. The crew cab will normally come with a shorter bed which may affect your hauling ability. You can get a six foot bed which extends the truck chassis and that really adversely affects parking. An option is the eight foot bed which guarantees you some real problems parking and maneuvering.
Ford F-150, Chevy (GM) 1500 or if you are desperate Dodge 1500. Most common size pickup truck around. If you have to tow more than a F-150 will allow best off renting a truck. If you haul more than a F-150 will allow better off renting a U-Haul truck.
Whatever you get do not get a drop in bed liner. Instead have the bed sprayed with Linex or Rhino. Much more durable, looks nicer and avoids water and debris under the liner.
Our crystal ball isn’t any better than anyone else’s, and there’s nothing particularly urgent motivating this move other than a desire to get away from the big city on general principles.
We’re fortunate in that we can make a living anywhere that has Internet service and a post office, but most people aren’t that lucky. (Note that “luck” = prior planning.)
Sounds like a plan, although I’ll admit that the idea of moving south for the winter to Vermont does sound a little strange. I think of Vermont as a nice place to spend summers.
“I think of Vermont as a nice place to spend summers.”
Too hot. Too many touristas clogging up the roads on their expensive bicycles and wearing spandex. And all the bugs, two-legged and six-legged and winged, pop up and out all over the place. We’d let family and/or friends stay here for the summers, who also think it’s neat this time of year in Vermont.
But we like our fall and winter here, and the traditional holidays.
And a tonneau cover
She’d prefer an SUV anyway
Wouldn’t the SUV be better in terms of keeping your ‘bug out’ gear stowed safe and dry?
Yes, and I also think Barbara is more comfortable driving an SUV.
Whatever you get do not get a drop in bed liner. Instead have the bed sprayed with Linex or Rhino. Much more durable, looks nicer and avoids water and debris under the liner.
Agree 100%. My 10 year old GMC Canyon (toy truck by some standards) with a LineX sprayed bed looks almost as good as it did when I bought it new.
My Tacoma has a the bed liner from the company. I believe all Toyota trucks have that now. I’m not sure if it is all steel underneather, but it is nice. The gate is lined, too. I got the tow package with the stuff Ray mentions from the factory. I haven’t towed anything yet, but use it to haul shit to our storage unit and back all the time. I got the access cab version (suicide doors), so the bed is about 6 feet.
LineX sprayed bed looks almost as good as it did when I bought it new
I need to get my truck sprayed. I wanted a color that would match the paint on the truck. LineX had a red, but no a metallic red when I bought my truck. I saw a silver truck with matching sprayed line and from a few feet away you could not tell the truck had a sprayed liner. I want that for my truck.
I got the access cab version (suicide doors), so the bed is about 6 feet.
I had those doors on my ’99 F-150 that I sold. Never really like those doors as on the F-150 you had to make certain the front door was the first one opened and the last one closed. More than once someone getting in the truck that was not familiar would close the front door and then the person in back would try to close the back door. Annoyed me significantly. We also found the seats somewhat cramped.
With the full crew cab there is room for three comfortably in my new truck. Along with heated seats in the back (heated and cooled in the front), 12V power outlet and 110V AC power outlet in the back the exchange students can now charge their phones while we drive.
I am not really fond on the shorter bed. With the six foot bed I could lower the tailgate and haul a sheet of plywood or 2×4’s. Not so easily done with the shorter bed. I could have opted for the six foot bed with the crew cab but that would have made parking in most places difficult unless you could pull through and take two slots. So there is a trade-off. If I need to haul something big I will just rent a Home Depot truck which is $19 (no mileage) for 75 minutes.
I like the Ford Expedition. It is built on the F150 or F250 chassis, not positive which. Many of the parts are the same. You can fit an 8ft board inside if needed. With the seats down, the back has as much space as a full size pickup bed. It has a pretty square cabin, so lots of bulkier items fit in the back. Lots of towing capacity. Lots of mass. Lots of structural steel.
Rent a trailer when needed for heavy, dirty, or bulky items.
I test drove the Pilot and was not impressed. There was a huge amount of wind noise from the wipers, and the seats weren’t comfortable. This may have changed since then. IIRC it’s built on a car platform, which is ok, but not as strong or durable as something built on a truck platform.
nick
not sure of your exact needs but our friend david bought a vw tourieg , not sure of spelling, a couple years ago and is quite impressed. uses it to tow his antique cars it has and 9000 lb towing capacity as much as my truck it pulls nicely very comfortable automatic seat adjustments and all other options one could want but they are pricey. just some food for thought you may want to give him a call. if you need his number or email text me
I drive a 2WD 2005 Ford Expedition with the 5.4L V8 and trailer towing package (extra transmission cooler, up-sized radiator, rear tow bar and hitch, trailer wiring, limited slip rear axle). Mine has 155K miles on it. It is a gas hog with the old four speed automatic, getting 13 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway. I towed a 3,000 lb boat with it about 7 years ago and could not tell it was back there when accelerating. The new Expedition gets 16/22 mpg.
http://www.ford.com/suvs/expedition/
The Expedition is built on the F-150 crew cab chassis with a very important exception, the solid rear axle is changed out for an independent rear suspension. That means a way better ride, a smaller turning radius by about eight ft, etc than the F-150 crew cab. The built in camper top is very nicely done and the rear hatch does a good job of sheltering you in a rain storm while loading. The down side is that you do not want to put a load of dirt in the back. With the middle seat and rear seat down, you can carry an amazing amount of “stuff”. Except for queen size mattresses will not fit back there (width issues).
The 2015 Expedition comes with the ecoboost 3.5L V6, 365 hp, 420 ft lbs torque, and a six speed automatic. There are two versions, the 20 ft and the 23 ft EL model. I have the 20 ft version as it is easier to park.
For any area that has possible snow and/or ice, I would recommend the 4WD version. I have driven mine in west Texas on solid ice for over 50 miles but moving uphill is always dicey with rear wheel drive. The limited slip helps a lot on ice but having driven front wheels would be nice in that case also. The ABS system in mine actually knows how to stop on ice and can do so well.
The Expedition is a very large vehicle. Some women hate it (my wife who has backed it into two other cars) and some women like it. I love it and will buy another some day.
May I just be an annoying twit and point out one more thing here today?
Big-ass pickup trucks, SUVs, and whichever vehicles hauling trailers and boats and suchlike during a dystopian event or events, is sure gonna attract some attention you don’t want. Gas and oil availability may also be an issue, not today, or this week, of course, but a few years down the road? The current energy rainbows and unicorns and endless fiat currency rolling off the presses 7×24 ain’t gonna last forever.
@ofd,
that is an important consideration, for when things get really bad.
I’ve been thinking that a volvo station wagon, at least 20yo would be a good vehicle in that case. Very nondescript. Good mileage. Some cargo capacity. Roof rack. Small size. Reputation for reliability and durability. A nice ‘urban stealth’ paint job (looks dirty, worn out, rusty, basically one step up from primer), some poorly applied window tint, a couple of dents but nothing to catch the eye….about $1500 to $3000 so cheap enough too.
If I was going to stash a vehicle outside the most likely roadblock radius, this is what I would likely pick.
For my current everyday driver, I’ve got a dark colored compact pickup, with extended cab. It is almost as anonymous as a white pickup, which around here is the ultimate in unnoticeable. I’ve had it for a while, so I didn’t pick it for anonymity. If I did it again, white, with a couple of door magnet signs, maybe for a generic delivery, or a generic contractor company would be the way to go for low observability and wide access.
nick
Exactly. Low profile will be the way to go, and actually, even now. I concur on the Volvo station wagons; we had an older one and besides the attractive features you mention, I gotta say it had the smoothest friggin’ ride of any vehicle I’ve driven or ridden in in my life.
We violate our own advice here, currently; wife has a yellow Saab convertible and I have a Toyota RAV4, color silver. Silver is pretty good as a low-profile color but it’s a late model cah (2011) and would be attractive to thieves and jack specialists. We’ll be looking at older Volvo wagons in the near future and also older pickup trucks, manufactured before all the computer chip stuff, but so far it’s been difficult to find the latter up here without a lot of rust damage. ‘
I’m also ditching all the veteran crap from the Toyota and replacing it with minor-league baseball stuff, you know, everybody likes sports, amirite? The veteran stuff brings to mind possible nut cases like me with guns. But who doesn’t like the boyz of summer and minor-league ball out in the sticks? Six-dollar tickets, cheap hot dogs and beer, families at the park, young guys trying to get to The Show, and some truly wild-ass pitching after about five innings.
Had the phone interview; seemed to go OK, but naturally they had two or three technical questions I couldn’t answer; and naturally I could turn the tables and ask them similar stuff and they wouldn’t have the answer. Whatever; due diligence; now back to my home projects.
Mrs. OFD’s hotel in Wichita Falls advising residents of nearest tornado shelters, tornado watch now in effect there:
http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/l/USTX1464:1:US?phenomena=TO&significance=W&areaid=TXC485&office=KOUN&etn=0039&tid=400223
“Parting note: You think this is bad? Wait till the middle class gets disillusioned and pissed off enough to involve themselves in the bedlam. When the poor riot, cities burn. When the middle class has had enough… nations crumple and the pillars of heaven shake. As Old Remus said… “Death and slaughter won’t just be in play, they will be a metric,” and rest assured, they will be carried out with a robotic level of efficiency and mercilessness that will horrify proceeding generations.”
http://www.dethguild.com/dear-government-consent-revoked/
And Fred’s thoughts on the “Ballmer” situation, soon to be a feature in most Murkan cities, evidently, and heating up nicely this summer, I’m guessing:
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Ballmer.shtml
We purchased a used 2011 Honda Pilot last fall. I have been generally happy with it. Gas mileage is acceptable (15-20 mph), physically its very comfortable, it is noisier with the windows down than I was expecting but not a real problem. It’s cargo capacity is splendid. I can get 5 round 33 gallon trash cans with lids inside without removing the child’s car seat from the center position in the passenger row.
My previous vehicles had been an older Honda CRV which I adored but wasn’t a good tow vehicle (nearly wore it out pulling a 1,000 lb pop up camper). Upgraded to an older Jeep Grand Cherokee. I liked the Jeep a lot and it did precisely what I needed (light weight occasional towing and daily driver). Regrettably the Jeep, Skamper, and nearly myself met their early demise in a horrific collision on the highway. Had the Jeeps we had available when we were car shopping had higher crash ratings we probably would have purchased another.
The Jeep crashed well in that I wasn’t killed, but not as well as the sedan which struck me.
We tried out a lot of vehicles, but kept coming back to the Pilot.
My requirements were 1) lots of metal and best crash rating we could afford; 2) Tow 3k-4k pounds a few times a year; 3) room for 3 dog crates, toddler, and two more passengers; 4) compatible for two drivers with VERY different heights.
I was rear ended in the Pilot shortly after we purchased it. Other driver may have been going as fast as 35, I was stopped (slick roads…). I went to ER however that was mostly because I was still pretty busted up from the highway collision. My toddler and dogs were all fine. The Pilot sustained minor damage – I think the repairs were around $2,000.
I was pleased with how it crashed.
I’m still thoroughly spooked by driving. I expect my feelings about driving such a large vehicle will change as more time passes. I anticipate wanting to move down a size in a few years – will have to see how that works with towing capacity.
So. My two cents from owning a Pilot for perhaps 6 months.
OFD, have you been starting rumours?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-07/jade-helm-15-prompts-texas-takeover-conspiracy/6452810
My experience with Volvo differs … Bought a new 850R (high boost turbo) wagon not quite 20 years ago.
Good points … beautiful handling and excellent ride. Decent gas mileage and the turbo provided plenty of acceleration when necessary.
Bad points … it spent more time at the dealer under repair than it did on the road. Low profile tires were a disaster. I would have one fail (on average) once every 10K miles due to potholes. Also had to replace 3 or 4 of the 4-spoke magnesium wheels. Worst one was where the wheel fractured from aforementioned potholes. Wheel plus balance plus tire ran around $600 each.
Last repair it had before I bought my GMC truck cost $4K and took 3 weeks. The engine wiring harness overheated and burned many wires. After a 20 mile tow to the dealer, they found the harness wasn’t readily available, total time to repair 3 weeks.
Original cost of the 850R wagon was $40K, and my various repair bills over 100K miles for things other than routine maintenance ran close to $15K.
I was pleased with how it crashed.
I have been in two wrecks in a Toyota Avalon. First one a guy rear ended me as I was stopping. Differential speed was probably 40 MPH. Car took all the abuse and I walked away with no injuries. Air bags did not deploy because it was a rear end collision. The collision was strong enough to break the driver’s seat. Car was totaled at $30K as it was not repairable at three years old.
Second time a guy on drugs pulled in front of me. Front end crash with almost total destruction of the front of the car. Passenger compartment stayed intact with the driver’s airbag deploying (violently I might add). I was slightly injured. Car was a total loss at about $15K as it was six years old.
The guy on drugs has been to court as have I five different times. Case delayed for various reasons. Now they have moved the case to criminal court which may take another year. His insurance would only pay 85% as they knew going after the other 15% would cost more in legal bills. However, since it was a DUI the drug head had to make up what his insurance did not pay as ordered by the court. Failure to pay would have resulted in immediate jail time.
I am hoping, and have been told by the DA, that I will get to appear and testify against him. Some of that will depend on whether he strikes a deal with the DA. I have also learned that I have a say in what the DA wants to present to the court as a sentence as such a sentence will involve jail time.
I was told by the DA when this happened that I would be victimized three times. Once by the accident, second by the DA and third by the legal system. They were correct. A year later and the loser is still driving.
Well, what I’d really like is an M1A2 Abrams MBT but the credit union car buying service doesn’t list any for sale. I suppose I’d settle for an M2 or M3 Bradley with the BUSK upgrade.
I want a helicopter, fully equipped and armed appropriately, and I feel strongly that my good buddy MrAtoz out in Lost Wages should be able to use his many mil-spec connections and get me one.
I want a helicopter, fully equipped and armed appropriately,
The SF versions of the Blackhawk are suhweeeet! All “glass” cockpit, in-air refueling, terrain radar, full auto-pilot, etc. Sign me up Mr. OFD!
When I was working, I wanted to get an F-117 or an F-22, but there was no employee discount. 🙁
“… but there was no employee discount. :-(”
Bummer.
“Sign me up Mr. OFD!”
Hey, that’s all sci-fi stuff to me; I’m an old-skool Huey/Cobra guy, plus Puff the Magic Dragon, variants of which are still in use. Wanna level a few city blocks? Dial up Puff.
I’ve been thinking that a volvo station wagon, at least 20yo would be a good vehicle in that case. Very nondescript. Good mileage. Some cargo capacity. Roof rack. Small size. Reputation for reliability and durability.
I used to own a 1973 Volvo station wagon back in the 1978 to 1982 period. Hand me down from my mother. A big POS. The analog fuel injection used rubber hosing that lasted about 3,000 to 5,000 miles, then I would smell gasoline and pull over, pop the hood, and replace another piece of hose. The analog computer would crap out occasionally and just open all the fuel injectors wide open, flooding the engine. It would actually still run, pouring black smoke out the exhaust pipe.
Carried an enormous amount of junk when the back seat was down, good for moving back and forth between college dorm and home in the Land of Sugar. Flooded out in six inches of water (very bad in Houston). Got to rebuild the engine due to engine sucking in water during flood (Houston). The electrical connections used paper tape instead of wire nuts or electrical tape. Replaced the water pump every 10,000 miles (cooling fan was too heavy and wiped the bearing). Replaced alternator every 10,000 miles (see paper tape electrical connections).
Suggestions, then, for a solid, reliable, economical, LOW-PROFILE vehicle, Murkan-made or not, that isn’t dependent on a whole lotta pooter electronics and basic repairs can be done by most derps and shade-tree mechanics?
Not all of us are gonna be sporting about in heavy-dooty gigantic trucks hauling powerboats and trailers around the countryside, or trying to boogie off to bug-out-land somewhere in them.
Suggestions, then, for a solid, reliable, economical, LOW-PROFILE vehicle, Murkan-made or not, that isn’t dependent on a whole lotta pooter electronics and basic repairs can be done by most derps and shade-tree mechanics?
1959 Edsel?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel
Just about anything built after 1970 has a computer in it. How about a 1968 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser?
http://bringatrailer.com/2014/01/04/1968-oldsmobile-vista-cruiser/
That Olds looks pretty good but it still ain’t low-profile.
So I guess a late 60s pickup truck, Range Rover, something along those lines, too beat up and drab to attract much attention.
Classic cars ain’t gonna cut it.
Late 1960s station wagons are probably just about the best computer-less beaters out there. Good luck in finding one that runs without a new motor and transmission. And is not a complete rust bucket.
I had a 1977 Chevy pickup HD 1/2 ton in 1977 – 1978. It did not have any emissions controls since it was over the 6,000 lb gross weight limit. Those were added in 1978. The engine was great but the automatic was absolutely horrible since it had plastic spacers in it that melted when the truck was driven hard (yup, teenager). So I would not advise that particular vehicle. The pre 1976s chevy trucks might be good, especially the 3/4 tons.
I loved our Range Rover for the short time we had it up here; we’d just put $6,000 of work into it and it ran like a top and then our son took it out with his buddy on New Year’s Eve, got about two miles from the house, slid on black ice and rolled it. The tow company came and got it and whatever they did, they totaled it. Still pisses me off all these years later.
There’s a Rover place pretty close by that deals mostly in parts, but when we were last there, they had some old Rovers out on the lot, including former UK military. But again, those would not be low-profile.
What about the Toyota Land Cruisers? Anyone have any experience with those?
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/05/brandon-smith/when-the-power-elite-wage-war-on-americans/
Any questions?