Cool. Damp. [53F and 99%RH is pretty cool and damp!]
Well, maybe not “finally” as this week went by very quickly. Tons of stuff to do still, so I’ll be avoiding work all day….
Wife and kids will be at Girl Scout camp this weekend, so I’ll be home alone with the dog. Wild women and parties, I guess.
Or maybe more work.
Either way, good times, amirite?
n
Cali is burning…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7609231/Hundreds-evacuated-massive-wildfire-spreads-rapidly-Northern-California-70mph-winds.html
And the black man who pushed the white woman into the subway is identified. 18 priors. Which means many times that number of crimes but was still walking around free.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7612091/Thug-shoves-woman-headfirst-train-arrested-long-history-subway-crimes.html
n
Gotta keep up with RBT’s traditions here.
In Bastrop this morning we’ve got 47 degrees, and got just over 3 inches of rain last night.
I should add that it’s currently 51F and raining, and that my weather station is showing 1.24 inches since midnight. Doesn’t seem like there’s been that much rain, its just a slow and spotty drizzle, mostly.
WRT the wildfires in Cali, they are VERY widely disbursed. Cali is roughly the size of Peru, and I don’t imagine the reporting would conflate all the disparate fires into “Peru is burning”… or to look at it another way, if cali were superimposed on central europe, from the heel of the boot in Italy to Luxemburg, it would be as if there were fires in Rome, Milan and Switzerland….and maybe a couple of fires across the Adriatic Sea on the coast of Croatia.
Fun with maps….
https://thetruesize.com/
n
For perspective,
https://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/static/effis_current_situation/public/index.html
Turn on “active fires” and select “last 7 days” zoom to show Europe.
n
Eating PB&J and canned soup and working 16-hour days?
Only 16 hours? Whattayou? A slacker?
n
and canned soup? P#ssy. I hunt my soop in the wild. A bucket, strainer, and ladle are all you need if your bushcraft is up to date!
John Wilder nails it this week.
https://wilderwealthywise.com/
n
(and my earlier post, when I thought the JUDGE had made the decision, about how voting for local judges is the most important vote, even MORE valid when the judge is on the side of sanity.)
But… but… how big is Peru? Oh, I get it, about the size of CA 🙂
Those map sites are interesting, but challenging on my phone and before coffee.
A frickin’ jury?
Fsck.
Priceless!
+1000
The winner of the Innernet so far today.
@Brad,
I have no knowledge whatsoever of the economic aspects of home solar energy installations where you reside. OTOH, I do know that here in Kalifornication, it is a total scam.
Personal experience: I’ve had two door-to-door scammers, one from the Elon Musk scammery, try to sign me up. My terms were: 20% savings from current electrical utility provider’s bills and 100% certainty of those savings. Both scammers just walked off.
Government mandate: This year the state legislature passed and Gov. Screwsom signed a bill requiring solar installations on all new residential buildings starting Jan. 1, 2020. Well, if it were such a beneficial economic deal, why is it mandatory? Why is it another form of socialistic taxation?
Yes, and almost all grid tied solar shuts off in the event of a power failure.
If it was a good deal for the homeowner, the multitude of companies calling me wouldn’t have to work so hard.
n
(I figure it’s like leasing a vehicle- it makes sense for some people in a small subset of circumstances, but for most people it is a bad deal.)
added– in the USA, and given the current rebates, incentives, and other market distortions.
If it was a good deal for the homeowner, the multitude of companies calling me wouldn’t have to work so hard.
Correction: the multitude of companies’ *overseas call center staff members* calling you wouldn’t have to work so hard.
When dealing with Indian call center cold calls, just ask if they are “freshers”. That usually gets the males off the phone real fast in my experience, but the “IRS” guy told me he was going to come to my house and shoot me in the face personally.
Yes, rebates are a part of the scam. I told them that rebates were not part of the 20% savings due to the uncertainty. Their company could file for the rebates and keep them, if any.
They would connect a new meter between the household wiring and the old meter. I would read the new meter monthly for electricity going into my household, use utility company cost factors, %.kwhr, and give 80% of that to them.
That was too simple, concise and reliable with which they concur.
This occurred in the middle of the day, 6 miles from my house.
https://abc13.com/-armored-truck-driver-shot-in-face-in-ambush-police/5644255/
n
Re solar, I posted here that I had begun looking into an air source heat pump to supplement my solar heat, prompted by their rather new ability to work at low ambient temps. I spotted a “solar assisted” heat pump. Now, I am an old hand at solar space heat, and have had it for forty years, so I assumed it was some sort of collector that supplied heat to the heat pump to boost its COP. Wrong! It is a scheme to use PV collectors to make electricity, plus a computer to manage where that energy goes. So, the overall efficiency is probably low, but somebody gets a fat paycheck. Pffft!
CowboySlim is right. Solar, or any other scheme for that matter, should be about life cycle cost. Right now, PV solar is for rich people, subsidized by taxpayers. That is changing, driven by political tinkering and technology.
I wonder if some day it might be economical to just say no to the grid? Not for you folks in cloudy Houston, where you need lots of AC, but maybe for a thin slice of climate where not much heating and cooling are required, and where it is sunny. This is already making previously unbuildable remote sites somewhat practical.
Fun time to be alive.
Re: California fires: I was caught up for a bit in the “Tick Fire” yesterday, while visiting my old boss. We went for lunch about five miles from his house – since his area had no power, and had to hurry back when he received a call from his family that they were ordering an evacuation for his neighborhood. Hurry, as in an hour to drive the five miles back…
We had to walk in, then they called off the evacuation, and I eventually left.
This morning I learned the fire flared up overnight, and he and his family evacuated at 3am. They are safe at a hotel.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-25/tick-fire-jumps-14-freeway-friday
He said what? And …
Ah, well, I got in trouble a few months ago for saying that the Music Ed major female who won an award for my work last Winter should be “on top of things” with regard to ongoing problems in that project.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/billionaire-ken-fisher-offends-financial-conference-audience-lewd-sexual-references
Fisher Investments is a big tech employer with a back office operation not far from where we lived in Vantucky, but they never even looked twice at my resume.
“Thank you for saying that. I’ve been recording this conversation and am going to hang up now so I can call the police to report a terrorist threat.”
Re solar scam – About 15 years ago in CA we reached a break even point with high electrical usage due in part to working from home and medical issues. We BOUGHT a 34 panel system when costs were considerably higher than they are now and paid off the bank with regular payments that, over the year, closely matched what we would have paid PG&E for the year but in even amounts rather than wildly fluctuating amounts that weather would have dictated. We actually paid it off a bit early saving some interest. That approach is different than the door to door leasing scams where they get most of the benefit. There after we had a free ride, our last true up for the year was $0.92, payable to PG&E. The cut-off if the power goes out is for safety reasons. It is possible to get around that at a cost. A true off the grid system would cost as much again as the original system and IMO can only be justified if living in a remote location where extending the power lines would be cost prohibitive. Having moved to OR for family reasons since I really miss that system.
@ed, glad to hear your friend and his family are safe. Wildfires are no joke and in cali will sweep up a draw and into a neighborhood in a flash.
Load the car while you can think clearly.
Monitor the situation.
If they tell you to go, GO.
If you’re not coming back, you should be able to strip every valuable thing out of your house in less than 30 minutes*. Throw it on the bed, then use the top sheet as a bag. Load up trash bags. Stuff pillowcases. Think it thru before you need to do it in a panic.
Search for my post on my 5-15-30 list for what I use to remind myself…
n
If they tell you to go, GO.
The same applies to hurricanes.
From JimB yesterday,
Lynn, I assume this is your engine. Apologies if not. I was appalled that such a design could make it into production, but note that the sludge problem can be avoided by frequent oil changes. The spark plugs… not sure. The lesson is to pay attention to the details of a particular brand. Sometimes the factory is right; sometimes the aftermarket. It is a good idea to watch field experience and act accordingly.
I have the 5.4L v8 3 valve. Ran awesomely until 209,000 miles. I have no complaints about the engine. However, I should have junked her last year when the transmission failed. I have put 19,000 miles on her since then though.
Yes, I am attached to her. Very comfortable vehicle. And the new ones cost a lot.
Plus the wife was telling me that I could not buy a new truck configured the way I wanted. I want a 4×4 and she was dead set against it. I drive in ice and snow at least every other year and want the ability to to get around. Al Gore keeps on saying that ice and snow are gone but I had to clean three inches of ice and snow off my vehicle earlier this year before coming home from OK.
A frickin’ jury?
Dallas, Austin, and Houston are just as crazy as Chicago and DC.
That wife is a pediatrician. There is no way I would take my kid to her. Hopefully she is dropping patients like crazy.
WRT, to Solar Energy scams, my electricity comes from a nearby plant which burns CH4, I do not own any portion of that facility, why should I own the solar panels on my roof? I will just buy energy from installer company for 20% less than local utility while solar installer retains ownership of that which they install.
Lynn, even before I retired, I refused to go to work when it snowed. If it started snowing while I was at work, everyone knew I would bug out. Only had to do that a couple times in 30 years, though. I grew up in the Detroit area, and was no stranger to commuting 25 miles with slush and occasional glare ice. Keeping a car nice for more than a couple years was a challenge I don’t miss.
I have had my “new” 94 PU for over four years, and have yet to drive it on wet roads. Must be some kind of personal record. I feel so lucky to not have to go out every day.
Re your engine, I wasn’t trying to bash it. I have no doubt that lots of them are fine for a ton of miles. If, though, one has these issues, a replacement engine, whether rebuilt or pulled, is better than a patched one. And, for a budget, you really should look at a late model used truck, preferably from a part of the country with better weather. I don’t like them, but friends have had good luck with buying services. They can be expensive, but much less than new.
I am slowly looking into a Ford smallblock for our 68 Mustang. Rebuilding the original 289 is not practical for my wants (vs needs.) I would like something modern, with roller lifters and EFI. I would have thought a pulled 5.0, along with the donor car for all the electronics, would be the way to go (because I like factory systems,) but the aftermarket is evolving fast, and I might go that way for convenience. It will be more expensive, but possibly better. I also want the AOD trans, which can fit if done right. Decisions. Hope I live a lot longer!
That wife is a pediatrician. There is no way I would take my kid to her. Hopefully she is dropping patients like crazy.
A lot of doctors my wife worked with in her last private practice gig had family money of some kind. What they made at their job was irrelevant. Most of my wife’s colleagues were part time.
Generally, the more liberal the doctor, the likelihood of family money and/or a Caribbean med school was higher.
UPDATE: Dr. Anne Georgulas. UTSA Med School, but born in France — ding ding ding ding!
I’m guessing family money.
@JimB: Check with DMV wrt legality of replacing OEM engine, even with a more modern, more emission controlled/correct. Many years ago ago was told by repair shop guy that he could replace a 318 cid Dodge V8 with a more recent (like 1969) 318 V8.
Boy, do I hate the L drivel. We got a Dodge Coronet wagon with 318 for wife in 1968, and she loved it. Then, 2nd after that, we got her a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee with same block, but now called 5.7L. What a fraud!
Regarding the Texas jury and the little boy. I wonder if the jury was told the father was opposed to a “medical treatment plan for an ongoing medical condition”. As appalling as humans are I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around the idea that 11/12 people found it reasonable to chemically castrate a 7 year old.
Unless we’ve really fallen so far that society prefers to mutilate little boys before they can grow up to be the hated white male.
I’m sending some money to the Save James fundraiser. A judge overturned the jury BUT issued a gag order. That’s going to hurt the fathers fundraising in a big way.
That poor kid. And that poor father. What a nightmare.
On another note. Bugging out. Saw The Reliant last night. The opening scenes are worth watching the movie.
The Swan Eaters: village of zombies
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2019/10/25
Granny, you’ve been bad ! And is that Granny’s old boyfriend ?
Re: Solar systems for a prepper is a strategic decision even if the cost of a true off grid setup exceeds Lynn’s new truck. Beyond the panels are the batteries, back up generator and control gadgetry. Planning the house to minimize electric use to match a reali$tic system pretty much requires some painful compromises. A propane tank for cooking, space heating, clothes drying and hot water adds complexity and new vulnerabilities. Water well pumps are a major concern.
OTOH, my first apartments in this town were in a 1917 vintage building with 2×15 amp circuits per apartment. No A/C, laundry or dish washer included and central steam heat and hot water, gas cooking, but very comfortable otherwise. I did cheat when I became manager and wire molded another circuit from the public power EXIT light to a window A/C. I disconnected that when I left. 🙂
“Dash Cam: Fatal Police Chase Texas Bank Robber”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-d29DVSfxE
Wow. You can outrun the cops but you cannot outrun the radios.
Where abouts in OR? I grew up in OR, spent most of my teen years there, the last two of those years with Uncle Sam dealing with Johnson’s fiasco in Vietnam.
From @JimB yesterday:
There are so many issues with keeping a car for a long time. Just one is the EPA’s pressure on manufacturers to extend oil change intervals. This one issue has sent countless engines to early failure. OTOH, a high percentage of cars are junked with perfectly good engines and drivetrains. One size does not fit all. Long ownership and lots of miles do not fit the customer who buys a new car every year.
So that campaign to stretch the oil changes from 5,000 miles to 10,000 miles is from the EPA ? I wonder why ?
I change the oil in my vehicles every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. That has worked for me for 40+ years now. The wife’s new Toyota Highlander V6 does not want to be changed until 10,000 miles. I am thinking about running it to the local oil change place even though it has free three year maintenance at the Toyota dealership.
Lynn, if you drive in ice or snow only every couple years, why not get a car that’s better suited to the warm weather and rent a truck for the occasions when you drive to Wyoming or whatever?
Re your engine, I wasn’t trying to bash it. I have no doubt that lots of them are fine for a ton of miles. If, though, one has these issues, a replacement engine, whether rebuilt or pulled, is better than a patched one. And, for a budget, you really should look at a late model used truck, preferably from a part of the country with better weather. I don’t like them, but friends have had good luck with buying services. They can be expensive, but much less than new.
If I was going to keep the vehicle then I would get a rebuilt motor from Thunderbolt Motors. $3,795 installed + tax + extra parts (water pump, etc). But the rest of the vehicle is worn out. The undercarriage is creaking in a nasty way, one of my guys swears that the back end is going to split from the front end one of these days. The driver leather seat has holes in it from my wide butt. the console lid is broken on the driver side from my resting my right arm on it. Etc, etc, etc.
https://www.tbolt.net/
I am still thinking about putting it on http://www.craigslist.com . Maybe I will get $1,000. Yeah, in my dreams.
Used trucks around here are expensive. $20K for a five year F-150 with 100K miles on it. And you always get somebody who lied about doing maintenance.
“Check with DMV wrt legality of replacing OEM engine, even with a more modern, more emission controlled/correct.”
Of course it is probably illegal, but inspection is only upon sale in my county, and that will be my heirs’ problem. I will check, however, but in some of these cases it is sometimes better to not ask.
Re your 318s, there have been many versions of the LA engine, starting with the 273 in 1966 (earlier 318s were a different design.) They were made in a few displacements. I have owned two, a 77 and an 80. Very similar two barrel carbureted setups. In general, these early ones were good. Some time in the early 80s, Lean Burn was introduced, and induction, heads, and exhaust were redesigned for better emission control; I have no experience with these, but they are to be avoided. In about 93, the engine was redesigned, and called the Magnum. It is available as a 318 or 360. These have roller tappets and EFI. All castings are new, and the only interchangeable parts are the connecting rods, although all external attachment points are (I think) the same. In general the Magnums are good engines. They were eventually replaced by the third generation Hemi.
I don’t know about your 95, but I like my 94 360 in a Dodge Ram 1500. It is very smooth, torquey, and quiet, just what it should be for a PU. It has enough power for me. Like anything of its kind, it gets lousy mileage around town, but 18 on the one out of town trip I took. It has a 35 gal tank, which gives it good range. I drive it less than 2k miles a year, so gas mileage is unimportant. It has somewhere around 78k miles so should last the rest of my life. My only worry is that it is so nice that I won’t haul much in it. It replaced a somewhat beat up 77 D100 that I would use to haul anything in. I am thinking about getting a low flatbed trailer 🙂
On another note. Bugging out. Saw The Reliant last night. The opening scenes are worth watching the movie.
One day in the movie theater ? What ?
https://www.thereliantmovie.com/
Is this about a civil war ? Or a general failure of society ?
“The Race Is On! Can the Deep State Get Rid of Trump Before Barr Can Indict?”
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/10/25/the-race-is-on-can-they-get-rid-of-trump-before-barr-can-indict/
“RUSH: We’re gonna go back, we’re gonna be revisiting some previously covered territory because they are on TV today en masse lying like they have been from the get-go about the Trump-Russia collusion investigation led by Andrew McCabe, who is one of the people that ought to be in jail, but where is he? He’s a commentator, paid commentator on CNN, and he lied through his teeth this morning about an hour and 45 minutes ago.”
“I think it’s really about trying to come to something, they’re trying to convince the American people that Trump is guilty and should not be president before Barr and Durham and Horowitz have time to reveal anything. And there’s one downside to what happened here. We now have an official criminal investigation. That means that Durham and Barr can impanel a grand jury. And this is why the McCabes and the Brennans and the Clappers are running around today in a near panic.”
Somebody is going to go to jail finally. The last time I looked, the FBI works for the people, not itself. Trying to depose a duly elected President is treason.
Lynn, if you drive in ice or snow only every couple years, why not get a car that’s better suited to the warm weather and rent a truck for the occasions when you drive to Wyoming or whatever?
I drive a truck nowadays. I tow a trailer 3 to 5 times a year. And I occasionally use 4×4. When you need it, it is too late to run around and find one. It is just another form of prepping.
Over The Hedge: bringing back a T-Rex
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2019/10/25
Oh no ! That is not going to work out. I saw the Jurassic movies.
“Asylum Orderlies Return Hillary Clinton To Padded Cell Disguised As Oval Office”
https://babylonbee.com/news/asylum-orderlies-return-hillary-clinton-to-padded-cell-disguised-as-oval-office
Heh.
I’ve pretty much driven cars exclusively for most of my life and I’ve never had an issue getting around on snow or ice. I guess my biggest obstacle would be extremely deep snow. I have a few friends that also prefer cars over trucks or SUVs and 1 or 2 of them take their cars in every November and get Winter tires mounted and then take them back in March and have their Summer or All Season tires put back on. They swear by using dedicated Winter tires. For me, all season tires on a FWD car has always worked just fine. Though, I do have my wife’s AWD SUV to fall back on when we get a heavy snow and the plows haven’t been through residential areas yet.
Oops, CowboySlim, that 5.7 is a whole ‘nother engine; I read it as 5.2, and hate litres also. No time now.
@JimB
My mistakes, her 95 Grand Cherokee had 5.2L V8 which was same block as 88 318 cid V8. It is my current 2006 Grand Cherokee that has 5.7L Hemi (347.835 cid). So, was that an upgrade from 340 cid block or downgrade from 360? But I can recall any previous Hemis less that 426.
Doing conversions 350 cid = 5.73547L. So, mine was either downed 360, or upped 340, then Hemified.
More emissions fraud: Neighbor has a Tesla with a sticker/decal on the lower left, rear that says “Zero Emissions”. When I see the charging cable going from driveway to garage at night, the charge is coming from the nearby plant , AES in Huntington Beach, that consumes CH4.
Total lie: To be truthful, “Zero Emissions from Car – CO2 Emissions at power plant at Pacific Coast Highway and Newland St. in HB.”
You see, the first is a half truth and leaving out the second leaves a total lie.
Though, I do have my wife’s AWD SUV to fall back on when we get a heavy snow and the plows haven’t been through residential areas yet.
When I lived out in the west Texas town of Sweetwater in the 1980s, I worked 35 miles away in Colorado City. One night we had a 8 inch snow. I was the first in town to head west in my 1982 diesel VW Rabbit that I was putting a gallon of unleaded gasoline in to cut the 10 gallons of diesel all winter (lowers the paraffin wax formation to about -10 F). Anyway, I shifted her into 3rd gear, pushed the pedal to the floor and made my own path to the interstate for about 5 miles. With snow coming over that low hood. I would have never tried that in my 1982 Chevy S-10, she would have never made it up the first hill.
When I got to I-20, it was another matter. The 18 wheelers had cut through the ice and snow all night and left two ruts in the right lane. The center of the right lane was 6 to 10 inches of ice that my oil pan kept on hitting. I could hear it for 30 miles and wondering if my oil pan was going to get ripped off by the ice. Never did.
I change the oil in my vehicles every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. That has worked for me for 40+ years now. The wife’s new Toyota Highlander V6 does not want to be changed until 10,000 miles. I am thinking about running it to the local oil change place even though it has free three year maintenance at the Toyota dealership.
The Toyota dealer will charge you for the 5000 mile oil change. The free maintenance plan only covers the recommended service intervals.
I paid $79 for a 5000 mile oil change on a 4 cylinder. The V6 will probably be around $100.
I have several issues about which the dealers simply blow me off. I’ll take the car to the quickie place for the 15,000 mile oil change.
Though, I do have my wife’s AWD SUV to fall back on when we get a heavy snow and the plows haven’t been through residential areas yet.
Our neighborhood in Vantucky never saw a snow plow, but my front wheel drive Solara was fine. Most of the weight of the car is the engine, and I never got stuck, even in the storm which dumped 10 inches on the streets one night.
OK, back. In some ways, you are correct, but it would be easier to consult a source such as Allpar or even Wikipedia than for me to describe this in detail. I will do a little.
Your 95 is a Magnum, which is not the same block as the 88, which is an LA. The Magnum is a redesign, and its castings are not interchangeable with LA castings. As I said before, the only internal parts that interchange are the connecting rods. I believe the engine mount interface is the same, as is the bell housing interface. The front accessories and mounting brackets are completely different from the LA.
Your 5.7 is a third generation hemi. It is an all-new design from the ground up, and has no similarity with the 340 or 360, which are both LA engines. There are other Hemi family members, such as the 392 Hemi, whatever that is in litres.
FWIW, historically Chrysler produced the first gen Hemi from 1951-58, and the second gen from 64-71. The third gen started in 2003.
The first gen had three versions, Dodge, Chrysler-Imperial, and Desoto. There were many displacements. Almost no parts interchanged between these versions. All three first gen engines are completely different.
All second generation engines were 426 cubic inches, and were “corporate”, that is the same no matter which car they were installed in.
I don’t know much about the third gen.
The first two generations were discontinued because of high cost. Nowadays, complexity rules, cost be damned.
Chrysler also produced wedge head engines, which were lighter and, in street form, almost as powerful. An LA 318 can produce well over 400 hp using all stock components except intake, exhaust, and cam, yet still run on pump gas. A 440 can produce over 600 hp, again with stock head castings. With more modern aluminum heads, the hp can go up further. Add forced induction, and 1000 hp and up are possible. The same is true using GM and Ford engines as a starting point. These continue to be developed in the aftermarket.
Fun times. Something for everyone.
Maybe I should just buy a five year old Expedition.
2014 Ford Expedition XLT SUV 1FMJU1H59EEF11887 – AutoNation USA Katy – Houston, Texas 77094
http://showroom.auction123.com/autonation_usa_katy/inventory/12916/2014/Ford/Expedition/1FMJU1H59EEF11887.html?leadsource=Craigslist|645#contact-us-button
Found at
https://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/d/houston-2014-ford-expedition-xlt/7006087736.html
95,155 miles for $15,613.00
Single owner. Has CD player. Has rear camera.
Don’t know if it has limited slip rear axle like mine with max towing. Does have rear tow bar.
Hey, trad jazz fans, relax to this:
https://youtu.be/ffXQ6qH3gwU
A true off the grid system would cost as much again as the original system and IMO can only be justified if living in a remote location where extending the power lines would be cost prohibitive. Having moved to OR for family reasons since I really miss that system.
I suppose that the off the grid system would have an energy storage system such as Tesla Powerwall batteries for nights and cloudy days.
Having an off the grid system would be nice. But I don’t know if the off the grid system would survive an EMP event.
https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David-Crawford-ebook/dp/B004GHNGKE/?tag=ttgnet-20
Don’t know if it has limited slip rear axle like mine with max towing.
And it does not have a limited slip rear axle. But it has Ford AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control™).
https://www.grooveford.com/blogs/619/advancetrac-keeps-ford-drivers-on-track-with-enhanced-stability/
I prefer the good old limited slip. Or 4×4.
Tesla’s Powerwall runs about $8k each for 14kw storage if I remember right. It does include the charge controller and inverter in the cabinet. There are Youtube videos of DIY versions using gangs of 18650 batteries…
A less ambitious 2kw system would provide 1 normal circuit for a small fridge and LED lights and whatever else was high priority. 5-6 Panels would go for 1500-2000, about the same for deep cycle batteries and a maybe a grand or so for the controller gadgetry. Could dupe that last in a Faraday if EMP was a worry. 800 for a genny and then as much propane or diesel as you’d dare.
You also buy yourself a power station superintendent job.
“Where abouts in OR? I grew up in OR, spent most of my teen years there, the last two of those years with Uncle Sam dealing with Johnson’s fiasco in Vietnam. ”
Salem, the kids have a place next door in Keizer. Mother-in-law was in Coos bay for many years and the kids met at Willamette and lived here off and on so we didn’t arrive as total strangers.
I grew up 15 miles outside of Rogue River up East Evans Creek Road. Returned this last June for the 50 year class reunion. Some pictures from that trip located here.
95,155 miles for $15,613.00
A lot of miles for six years, like they commuted into Houston from an exurb or it was someone’s work truck.
If Ford has all the maintenance documented as taking place at dealerships, it would be worth a closer look. The dealer would definitely have access to the records.
Fwiw, many of these chains report the service, including the mileage, to CarFax and similar services to which some car insurance companies have access and use the data to ‘validate’ the annual mileage you put forth and raise your rates (or worse) if you under-reported.