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packnrat

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Posts posted by packnrat

  1. On 4/15/2019 at 8:17 AM, NDBirdman said:

    Hitches are made for short beds as well as long beds, just shop around.  I have a 6ft bed and use an Andersen hitch.  It is a much lighter hitch, just as strong as the big heavy hitches.  My use of this hitch comes mainly from the weight.  I can lift it in/out, move it about, etc because it is only around 40lbs.  The big/heavy hitches go up to/over 300lbs which also figures into what your truck can handle weight wise.  Also, consider a goosebox.  It is a modified and safe version of a gooseneck, only needs a ball in middle of the bed.    As for the truck, 3/4 ton, check manufacturer weight recommendations.  It's really not 100% about what the truck can haul, more like what is the truck safely capable of controlling in a strong wind, how well the truck can *stop* the weight, etc.

    Ok, a short note about your choice of truck.  F250, if you must get that small of a truck, DO NOT BUY THE ONE WITH THE DIESEL 6.0 ENGINE!!  I made that mistake once, never again.  It's one of the main reasons I changed over to RAM.

    nothing wrong with the 6.0 diesel. just change the oil, (often) and the coolant. never let it over heat,   the ford factory coolant is the problem behind all the problems, if kept stock. no need to "beef up" this motor. but yes to bullet proofing, and a coolant filter.

    No to any "chip" or exhaust mods. use only factory fuel injectors, etc. out of the box it is a good motor. just fails when peps try to turn it into a hot rod motor.

    as to the truck. read the tow ratings before you buy. might just go for a F350.   as to long/short. how tight do you want to turn the rig? a hitch set up right. and your pin set up stretched. you can/might do a 90 deg angle. but try not too. as it is hard on things that go pop, and co$t lot$ of money.

    a fifth wheel hitch is better and safer than a goose-neck. for reg hwy usage.  off road a goose has more movement room. but needs heavy safety chains to be safe going down the hwys. then the bolt on mod for the hitch. is a fail point.

  2. sad but not much can be done for a rv.

    install auto on lights.

    wired and recorded cams. with a computer sending alerts to your phone. (at the least you can see who is attacking you).

    walls are very thin and can be breached with hand tools. doors are.. well can you say, fail.

    but install the anti smash plastic covering to all glass. (co$t$  lot$ of ca$h). rebuild the door and door frame? at what co$t?

    leave nothing of value laying around outside. if must be outside, use only a 3/4 in dia hardened chain  

    https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to/a8048/can-you-buy-a-bolt-cutter-proof-chain-11416068/

    and a $200.usd high security lock.

    https://securitysnobs.com/Choosing-A-Brand.html

    any padlock at a hardware store is easy to breach. even i can pick them.

    as to anti tow not possible. unless you embed the rv in concrete.

    think in layers for any security. as in how much effort does the creep need/want to get in.

    best is leave nothing of value in the rv. except behind a fake wall, and 3/8 reinforced steel plate.(see locks above)  those walmart safes are at times easier to break into, then using the key or combo.

  3. a stick n brick. just put up some cams. auto on lights, and a visible alarm box.

    and grow plants that will stick you, (like roses, cactus, etc) under windows. go triple pane glass, and a 1/2-3/4  pvc pipe cut to fit to keep windows closed.

    do not keep anything in the yard a crook can use to smash a window. a smash and grab can be turned away with this approach.  but if one knows what is inside and wants it. only a on-site armed guard is going to mostly work.

    as to the rv. lights and cams are best. as well as anti smash glass coatings. but the doors, and locks are so cheap.

  4. security when home? or away?

    most crooks will leave a home (on wheels or stick and brick) alone if there are dogs there.

    but yes on any better quality (optics) video recorder, then you know if you are being checked out.

    never thought about the "day/night" units, but i am planing on installing some weight sensitive  led lights on the folding steps. and movement sensors under the awning.

    as i like it to be dark when i am asleep or just sitting outside watching the night sky.

  5. i do not know how this last mile is handled. but for me i go to the post office to pick up my mail, and packages.

    so all the post office is doing for me (and many others in this county) is just hold them, but then i do rent a po box there, some do not. (and/or other reasons?).

    i just know every thing is safe and secure. but then a couple months back, i went a little crazy on flea-bay. so if delivered to my front door, it would have been a nightmare for the contract delivery car, or a "special" one stop delivery thing. a lot of boxes came same day.

    the sellers packed them great, so most boxes were larger than "item inside". think med u-haul box times so many.

     

    and the crazy thing is i can see the post office from my front door, it's just down street a short half block away.

  6. On 4/2/2019 at 6:30 PM, pjstough said:

    I know of a post office that will accept FedEX and USPS, and I dont understand why they do it as the USPS gets no income from these parcels unless they are "last mile" deliveries.

    sure they get nothing out of it, but here in calaveras county, ca. the post office does accept ups, fed-up, fed-x, even amazon.

    we are a rural delivery county. not every street is on any maps, or just a problem getting any low ground clearance car/truck on to even try to find the address. i have found it to be great my mail is safe in a fed building, not in my box at the ditch. but larger boxed go to my door step, then there are some shippers that refuse to ship to a po box.

    i have not had the pleasure of using general delivery...yet,  but the post office here has a spot for such.

  7. yes,

    there are many un seen taxes on the fuel we use not just the $150 a gallon at the pump.

    crude gets taxed.

    refined fuel gets taxed.

    delivery gets taxed

     

    decades back there was this "special" tax fund account for the roads, ca had the best roads back then. the fools under the dome in sacramento closed it and put all that money into the general fund. so now very little of it goes to maintain the roads.

     

  8. well a sunny day here... at last. we are getting winter weather here in ca right now, (today is MAY 20 2019), we should be complaining of the heat. more snow over Donner pass. and even more on the way this week.

    but back to my posting.

    how to remove the black spots of a rubber roof. gave my roof a good washing. lots of dirt, the white of the mtr looks great. but the whole of it looks "spotted" kinda like a leopard. any help with out going up there and using bleach?

  9. i never said all dogs are friendly, just 99.99% of them are.

    and yes even in the inner city there can be friendly pitts, at least till the bad owner trains it to be bad. and yes i have seen this happen a couple times. on the bad flip side even a owner beating the (****) out of there pit with a baseball bat, just trying to make it let go of the other dog.  this goes ageist the grain of generations of breading to hunt badgers. the dog will not let go.

    sandsys, i tend to think more in the line of the dog is just scared, not turned "bad".

    seen where some strays have been attacked by bad humans, so the dog is scared of everybody.

    and any cornered critter will bite, even that little mop dog, or the family cat.

    seen where a dog got hurt, and will bite anybody, even there human.

    and as to the "mailman", for some unknown reason some dogs just have this thing about a human in any uniform.

     

    with this all said, my two rotts were off lead trained, but in any new area,  new people, they were on there leashes.

    any proper owner takes care of there dogs, and controls them. as they are responsible for the dogs actions.

  10. i believe if one (or group) breaks the rules, and needs a rescue (life threatening or not) then they should be required to pay the FULL cost.

    including a money,  and jail time penalty. a ankle lock up works here. saves the tax payers money.  (pending the time, place, and nature of said event).

    now if one (or a group) is going by the rules then no problem for them getting a free ride.

  11. On 5/16/2019 at 7:31 AM, FL-JOE said:

    In my time as a K-9 handler (Illinois State Police) we went through an initial 9 weeks of training with our canine and then quarterly certification plus advanced week long training each year.  Obviously I love dogs since I literally counted on my old partner to save my life if needed.

    As we travel I have watched hundreds of pet owners with their pets.  90% or more have probably never been though any classes with their canines and have little or no control over their behavior.  Is there a need to be concerned when camping around someone with dogs?  You bet there is.

    I am an avid walker.  I also do not leave my RV without being armed.  My reaction to a dog attack would probably be different then others.  For a small dog in the 10 to 15 pound range I would rush at it yelling just before it got to me.  That would probably stop the attack long enough for the owner to respond.  For the larger dogs that may also work, but if it didn't then I would need to get my hands on them and get them on their back.  I would possibly take at least one bite but once you get a larger dog on their back they will submit and be done.  For breeds such as a pit bull with devastating bite power I would simply pull my firearm and put them down.  I would never risk taking a bite from a pit bull.  There are a few other breeds out there I lump into that same category but the pit bull is the most common you will find in today's world.

    sad you feel this way about the so called pit bull. as i have know many of them and they are very friendly, never a problem with that breed in my 60 years here. now if you want to talk about the little scrawny rat dog (sorry i do not know how to spell the name) there i have been attacked by them many a time, but there bite is nothing.

    i once owned a couple rotts, off lead trained, very friendly. except if you got into there yard at night. or tried attacking my mom. around me only love there. and there bite is many magnitudes stronger than a pit bull.

    pit bulls were trained to hunt badgers had to bite and hold on for life.. there life,  as they were trained to hunt very good killers..

    never a bad dog born... just bad owners.

  12. On 5/6/2019 at 8:10 PM, Twotoes said:

    Actually they are law enforcement, carry a badge and a gun and have the right to search for fruit and vegetables if you consent which is an exception to the requirement for a warrant.  You do have the right to refuse and turn around and go back from where you came. 

    if true, then that makes another unneeded law enforcement agency to add into the police state ranks. yes i would rather have some police out there, but how many is too many?

    not that i payed them much thought, but i do not recall ever seeing a badge or gun on them (truckee is the only place i have ever been stopped by the bug "police"). and there is no place to allow U-turns there.

    only thing they ever wanted from me was this "new gal" wanted to see "my papers" , so after stating that my trailer was empty, she demanded, so i handed over the 3 in thick signed receipt of delivery papers. she got mad and said "get out of here".

    i had complied and gave her the papers she asked for.  😕   i pull a 48 ft frozen foods van, all painted up with the logo, and ad for the company i deliver to.

     

  13. any "jobs" where i would not have to talk or interact with people?  am not much of a people person. guess why i like driving?

    i have been working hard for 50 years now, and still have eight to go. if i live long enough. but i do not want to work when i retire, it would be time to relax a bit. or at least learn how to slow down and relax.

  14. 50 minutes ago, docj said:

    This is a proposal by the governor, not enacted law, and it looks as if it has quite a ways to go before it becomes law, if it ever does.

    https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lamont-to-present-option-for-tolls-on-all-vehicles-13621840.php

    does this govern relise that some truckers are all ready driving around some states due to the tax the truckers to death mentally.

    most would love to stop, at a good clean truck stop, and leave good cash behind for needed services. but the forced tax penalty's say go around that state. or do not stop,,, except for the forced must buy so many gallons of fuel tax.

  15. On 2/25/2019 at 2:22 PM, docj said:

    I continue to be puzzled as to why people make such a big fuss about a few toll roads and/or bridges.  When you're getting ~8mpg the cost of a trip is almost always dominated by the cost of fuel.  At ~$3'gal for diesel it's costing us $0.375/mi.  So our planned 2,700 mile trip to PEI this summer will cost ~$1k in fuel each way (and that's not counting the higher cost of fuel in Canada).  The additional mileage of taking a detour to avoid a toll would, almost assuredly, result in spending much of the supposed savings.  IMHO the cost of tolls is in the "roundoff error" for a trip like this.

    if toll roads are so great.

    then stop collecting fuel tax.

    stop forcing us to pay a part of our property tax for the roads.

    stop using our sales tax for the roads.

    stop having the dmv tax us for the roads.

    stop collecting "other" taxes for the roads.

     

    how much TAX does a state need to fix the roads, as here in ca they are 20 years behind in road building and repair.

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