Dutch_12078

Could this be coming to the US eventually? It sure would make the monthly cost more appealing... "Starlink Imposing High-Speed Data Caps in France (But Monthly Cost Will Drop)" "Under the new policy, users in France may experience slower speeds once they exceed a 250GB data download limit, according to a message SpaceX sent to customers." https://www.pcmag.com/news/starlink-imposing-high-speed-data-caps-in-france-but-monthly-cost-will

Agreed, Linda, sometimes us oldsters need them NOW!

Yes, and I wonder what form they'll take for true mobile use.

Agreed it's not perfectly flat, but I think you'll agree that it's nothing like the traditional parabolic satellite dishes.

I'm quite sure if they decide to market it on this side of the pond, they'll know what, if any, changes need to be made to meet our standards. I doubt that I'd buy one between the size and my advanced age, but I do think it's a great looking unit and I wish them well with it. And yes, we really did enjoy our Westy back in the day. I was disappointed that the Buzz doesn't carry on the VW Bus design "cuteness".

I think one thing that needs to be made clear for those new to the Starlink concept is that it does not use a "dish" in the traditional sense. The user terminal is a flat panel of phased array antennas that are electronically aimed "under the covers", so the only movement seen by users is the initial positioning of the flat panel.

Yes, importing vehicles less than 25 years old and not built and certified to US safety standards must meet or be modified to meet all applicable FMVSS requirements, but they also most meet the EPA's Clean Air Act requirements. Modifying vehicles to meet those requirements isn't always easily done.

Cool! The headlight treatment is very "Rivian like" and does give the bus something of the old VW bus look. As for importing them into the US, at least they won't have the emissions issues that are often the biggest problem in importing ICE vehicles not built for our market.

Heh! Quite right, Gary... The Gloversville IOOF hall is a couple of blocks from the Foresters hall. I missed that in Ray's post.

There's a Foresters chapter located in Gloversville, NY. My wife and I had our 50th anniversary party there eight years ago.

Passport America has an affiliation with the MyRVmail forwarding service, and the Escapees mail forwarding service is very much alive and well offering addresses in three states. https://escapees.com/mail-service/

Cryptographic science... My examiners were all required to have high level government clearances.

Cites I used from Nature articles in my doctoral dissertation were one of the few elements I was not asked to defend. Not one examiner questioned the source.

I would relate it more to towing an ICE vehicle with a standard transmission in gear with the engine off. The gear selected would dictate the load on the tow vehicle. Ignoring potential damage to the engine of course. If I recall correctly, at least one or more of the EV's have a means of controlling the level of regenerative braking. Rivian has published directions for towing their pickup to recharge the battery regeneratively, although they do specify the technique is for emergency use only at this point.

Depending on the amount of the MPG reduction, it may well be an acceptable trade off. We already loose some MPG just towing the vehicle anyway.

Of course a transmission lube pump such as REMCO offered is not needed when a drive shaft disconnect is used. The pump kits were used in front and all wheel drive vehicles that didn't self lubricate with no disconnect needed. We've been using our REMCO pump on AWD Toyota RAV4's since 2008. After 2014 they could no longer be used due to the switch to CVT's. We'll continue to tow our current 2011 RAV4 as long as we can. Note that REMCO is still very much in the pump business as Kirk noted. They offer quality water pumps to the RV and other industries.

The research reported in the articles comes from the government's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, so the patent status at this point is moot. I'm sure companies picking up on it though, will put their own spin on it for patent purposes.

I don't know how intentional that was, but it's certainly a beneficial side effect...

Interesting articles! I really hope the technology scales up well to the EV world.

At least front wheel drive CVT equipped vehicles can still be dolly towed. Not as convenient as four-down, but less hassle than a trailer.

As long as they're willing to put up with the problems that entails...

I thought the reasoning was pretty much self evident as the list of vehicles that could benefit from a Remco lube pump shrank each year. I'm not aware of anyone else manufacturing a similar pump and installation kits. Drive shaft disconnects are still available as listed in the link I posted above.

Since the spread of constantly variable transmissions (CVT's) that cannot be lubricated with an external pump such as the one REMCO offered, there have been fewer, if any, new vehicles that can be adapted for flat towing. There are also fewer vehicles that can be flat towed with no modifications. Remco offered their pump systems for quite a few years with little or no push back from the vehicle manufacturers. At one time, Ford was even offering the Remco pump system as a work around fix for one of their models (Escape?) that they had listed as flat towable in the manual, but had recurring transmission failures.

"Just For Towing" still has some Remco parts available, but they sold out of the pumps. They also offer driveline disconnects though: https://justfortowing.com/remco_lube_pump_parts.html

I do carry a spare water pump, although it wasn't intentional. I was given a pump that had failed, and when I tore it apart I found that an accumulation of sediment had clogged the internal pressure switch port. A bit of cleaning and the pump worked as good as new. I left it in place and still have my original pump as a spare. I also carry a universal ignitor board in my spares that works with many furnaces and water heaters. A handful of spare PEX quick connect fittings and various other products like a roll of 4" EternaBond roof repair tape, hose repair tape, a selection of various sized nuts, bolts, screws, and clamps make up another section of my spares.