F this S. I'm going to live in my FZJ (1 Viewer)

[Killdozer1776]

Labor at a hydro shop would cost more than a cheaper cooler. While I'm sure it's helpful for wheeling, I don't plan on doing much of any hard wheeling at all. I could replace it with another cooler but with my driving I've never needed or desired a steering fluid cooler.

Anybody want to talk me out of just deleting it? Or is the system delicate and the paperclip/cooler necessary?

Also, I do definitely have a slow trans leak somewhere besides power steering. Besides replacing the hoses this week is there anywhere else it would likely be coming from?

 

[BILT4ME]

Labor at a hydro shop would cost more than a cheaper cooler. While I'm sure it's helpful for wheeling, I don't plan on doing much of any hard wheeling at all. I could replace it with another cooler but with my driving I've never needed or desired a steering fluid cooler.

Anybody want to talk me out of just deleting it? Or is the system delicate and the paperclip/cooler necessary?

Also, I do definitely have a slow trans leak somewhere besides power steering. Besides replacing the hoses this week is there anywhere else it would likely be coming from?

Wits End has an alternative kit to build a PS cooler. If you're going to do any low speed crawling, your pump may start to squeal. Again, it's overkill for longevity of these trucks.

 

[Killdozer1776]

I was optimistic when I started this thread. It's still a bugout vehicle build. But I thought the virus would slowly fade and we'd have some normalcy eventually and that I could just have fun riding it out in the woods. Ski slopes, restaurants and gyms open, gas still cheap, etc. Then maybe next year find a job at a place I like and settle for a bit. Even if people are acting a little crazy.

For a year of camping I had planned on having a 24/7 gym membership at a nationwide chain for workouts and showers once in a while as opposed to bushcraft bathing. Assumed functioning grocery and auto parts supply chains etc.

Being on the road all the time I'd obviously have to fuel up often. Get food and supplies probably weekly etc

Well the virus is worse than even I thought (ask if you want) and worse than that, neither side of the political false dichotomy will accept the results of the election.. AND even worse.. The "new world order" (shadow globalist govt) is making a break for it after a century of work.. and I'm very certain of chaos and pain very soon. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

Since I think it will be chaotic (and risky infectious) for a while, and since not all schools/parks/restaurants/ski clubs/etc will remain open/available.. And gas or auto repair could suddenly become an issue (maybe, maybe not) It's going to be safer, cheaper, and 100x easier to "bug in" instead of rolling around in the apocalypse.

Now if things do go Mad Max (I honestly just think/hope it'll be a brief disaster) I still have the same plan and preparations.

Still will be working on the cruiser constantly, planning trips etc. I want to do a short trip to SD and CO this fall and test things out, have some fun. But now I give it a 50/50 of even being a good idea or even possibility. In the mean time I'm going to do as close to a complete rebuild as I can with the 80. Because besides wanting to travel asap, we might need war chariots anyway.

Buckle up

 

[scottryana]

They have good drugs in WI huh?

 

[Killdozer1776]

They have good drugs in WI huh?

Sadly no.

But I don't even drink. I get bad hangovers.

What would you like to discuss?

 

[Railwelder93]

I think is gonna be alright man relax just a bit.

Stop watching zombie movies and reading the Drudge Report so much.

 

[Killdozer1776]

I think is gonna be alright man relax just a bit.

Stop watching zombie movies and reading the Drudge Report so much.

I don't use emojis or anything so I should put it out there that I joke sometimes. But I'm mostly being serious.

I don't watch tv or read mainstream news. Idk what they're saying but I'm sure it's lies.

I'd like for you to be right. Trust me, this is all messing up my adventures.

I just don't see how things magically immediately become better.

All things are cyclical. It'll get worse. Then it'll get better.

 

[BILT4ME]

I was optimistic when I started this thread. It's still a bugout vehicle build. But I thought the virus would slowly fade and we'd have some normalcy eventually and that I could just have fun riding it out in the woods. Ski slopes, restaurants and gyms open, gas still cheap, etc. Then maybe next year find a job at a place I like and settle for a bit. Even if people are acting a little crazy.

For a year of camping I had planned on having a 24/7 gym membership at a nationwide chain for workouts and showers once in a while as opposed to bushcraft bathing. Assumed functioning grocery and auto parts supply chains etc.

Being on the road all the time I'd obviously have to fuel up often. Get food and supplies probably weekly etc

Well the virus is worse than even I thought (ask if you want) and worse than that, neither side of the political false dichotomy will accept the results of the election.. AND even worse.. The "new world order" (shadow globalist govt) is making a break for it after a century of work.. and I'm very certain of chaos and pain very soon. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

Since I think it will be chaotic (and risky infectious) for a while, and since not all schools/parks/restaurants/ski clubs/etc will remain open/available.. And gas or auto repair could suddenly become an issue (maybe, maybe not) It's going to be safer, cheaper, and 100x easier to "bug in" instead of rolling around in the apocalypse.

Now if things do go Mad Max (I honestly just think/hope it'll be a brief disaster) I still have the same plan and preparations.

Still will be working on the cruiser constantly, planning trips etc. I want to do a short trip to SD and CO this fall and test things out, have some fun. But now I give it a 50/50 of even being a good idea or even possibility. In the mean time I'm going to do as close to a complete rebuild as I can with the 80. Because besides wanting to travel asap, we might need war chariots anyway.

Buckle up

You know, truck drivers live like this all the time. @Fj81 knows all about it.

 

[Fj81]

You know, truck drivers live like this all the time. @Fj81 knows all about it.

Yeah, we shower sometimes, and eat all the time! I know the crisis is coming to an end because people are cutting me off and giving me the finger again like the Pre 'rona days.

 

[Killdozer1776]

You know, truck drivers live like this all the time. @Fj81 knows all about it.

Thanks for mentioning that. It suddenly seems like a pretty neat job and I haven't thought about it more than once

 

[Killdozer1776]

@Fj81

Is hot-shotting still a thing? Hauling vehicles, boats etc with a pickup? If so, pros and cons vs driving big boy trucks for employers or for oneself?

 

[Fj81]

@Fj81

Is hot-shotting still a thing? Hauling vehicles, boats etc with a pickup? If so, pros and cons vs driving big boy trucks for employers or for oneself?

Yes, lots of guys still do that.

Pros are that you can get alot of decent loads if you know where to look for a lot less buy in to get started. But you still have lots of costs, like repairs and fuel and hotels. Depending on trailer configuration you might be more maneuverable than my 75 ft long combination. You can also leave your trailer somwhere and drive around in a pickup, which has more access to stuff than my bobtail [tractor without a trailer] since it is still 13ft tall and weights 22k lbs.

Cons are that you are lighter, so the wind blows hotshots around like crazy. The pickups are smaller so you dont have a full sleeping setup like a big truck. I have 2 beds, a fridge, tv, computers, video games, camera equipment, clothing for all seasons, camping gear, cooking gear, and tons of tools in my truck. Much harder to carry all that crap in a hotshot. New diesel pickup trucks are really expensive nowadays too.

Some places request hotshots, but sometimes hotshots are specifically told they cannot run for certain accounts. Lots of variables and costs like insurance permits need to be considered too.

 

[Killdozer1776]

Yes, lots of guys still do that.

Pros are that you can get alot of decent loads if you know where to look for a lot less buy in to get started. But you still have lots of costs, like repairs and fuel and hotels. Depending on trailer configuration you might be more maneuverable than my 75 ft long combination. You can also leave your trailer somwhere and drive around in a pickup, which has more access to stuff than my bobtail [tractor without a trailer] since it is still 13ft tall and weights 22k lbs.

Cons are that you are lighter, so the wind blows hotshots around like crazy. The pickups are smaller so you dont have a full sleeping setup like a big truck. I have 2 beds, a fridge, tv, computers, video games, camera equipment, clothing for all seasons, camping gear, cooking gear, and tons of tools in my truck. Much harder to carry all that crap in a hotshot. New diesel pickup trucks are really expensive nowadays too.

Some places request hotshots, but sometimes hotshots are specifically told they cannot run for certain accounts. Lots of variables and costs like insurance permits need to be considered too.

Maybe something I could get into eventually. I think I'd prefer it but no way I could afford a new truck right now. I'm poor at the moment

Hmm. The local CDL-A school is about 5k for 3 weeks. They do offer financing

I really think I'd like to hotshot -much- more. Any advice given my situation?

 

[Fj81]

If you pick the right runs, you can see some sights. But I have been doing it for a while, so I have alot more flexibility on the amount of tourism and goofing off I can squeeze out from my work. Plus I own my equipment so nobody can tell me what to do ('cept the wife)

 

[Railwelder93]

A CDL is more valuable than most college degrees.
I just have my class B, everyone doing railroad work pretty much has to get at least a B. Even some of the welding trucks weigh 60k+ lol

A friend of mine hauls hot shot style, he said the commercial insurance he had to get is pretty damn expensive.

 

[studawg]

I was optimistic when I started this thread. It's still a bugout vehicle build. But I thought the virus would slowly fade and we'd have some normalcy eventually and that I could just have fun riding it out in the woods. Ski slopes, restaurants and gyms open, gas still cheap, etc. Then maybe next year find a job at a place I like and settle for a bit. Even if people are acting a little crazy.

For a year of camping I had planned on having a 24/7 gym membership at a nationwide chain for workouts and showers once in a while as opposed to bushcraft bathing. Assumed functioning grocery and auto parts supply chains etc.

Being on the road all the time I'd obviously have to fuel up often. Get food and supplies probably weekly etc

Well the virus is worse than even I thought (ask if you want) and worse than that, neither side of the political false dichotomy will accept the results of the election.. AND even worse.. The "new world order" (shadow globalist govt) is making a break for it after a century of work.. and I'm very certain of chaos and pain very soon. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

Since I think it will be chaotic (and risky infectious) for a while, and since not all schools/parks/restaurants/ski clubs/etc will remain open/available.. And gas or auto repair could suddenly become an issue (maybe, maybe not) It's going to be safer, cheaper, and 100x easier to "bug in" instead of rolling around in the apocalypse.

Now if things do go Mad Max (I honestly just think/hope it'll be a brief disaster) I still have the same plan and preparations.

Still will be working on the cruiser constantly, planning trips etc. I want to do a short trip to SD and CO this fall and test things out, have some fun. But now I give it a 50/50 of even being a good idea or even possibility. In the mean time I'm going to do as close to a complete rebuild as I can with the 80. Because besides wanting to travel asap, we might need war chariots anyway.

Buckle up

I agree with you on several points, globalism is a real threat to America and mail-in ballots will assure voter fraud and so either way the loser can fight the results.

But your perception of the virus is just misguided.

The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR, not Case FR) is now down to 0.26%. Thats about twice the annual, seasonal flu. Cases are going up, while deaths are going down, and hospitalizations staying flat. Thats because as states have opened, we are protecting the few who are vulnerable and at risk of serious illness from the virus, instead of, as in some states, forcing nursing homes to take in COVID positives, where fully half of all deaths have occurred. So with deaths going down and hospitalizations staying flat, case number going up is a GOOD thing. We are getting closer to herd immunity every day. Seriously, check the death numbers, they've been going down for two months now.

But, Im glad to hear you changed your mind about bugging out. It is definitely going to be a bumpy ride until Inauguration Day. My plan is to look at it like an oncoming tsunami. Im going to just dive deep down into home/family/work life, ignore the noise, and let the tsunami pass right over me, literally praying all the while that when I come up in spring, all is well.

 

[SNLC]

Not a good thing to be poor and be trying to get an 80 in order.

Here is my last 80, a 93. Bought it for $4200, it needed almost everything. Close to 200hrs of work and about $8k in parts and it was well sorted. Sorted enough to drive 5,000 miles no worries.

Three ways you can go here. Fix things as they fail and stop worrying. Fix everything now. Sell it and buy one already sorted or something else.

Oh and where you live has a thing or two to do with the plague. Here in Idaho, life is normal.

Cheers

 

[Saito]

I ran into one of the more prolific members on the forum who did exactly what you’re proposing about 2-3 months ago. Said he’d left the upper east coast before things got bad. I saw his 80 at the gas station(big shock there ) and recognized it. He had friends here in Wyoming I guess. Great place to escape to. Saw him one more time at the gas station but didn’t chat with him again. No idea if he’s still around here though.

 

[Killdozer1776]

I agree with you on several points, globalism is a real threat to America and mail-in ballots will assure voter fraud and so either way the loser can fight the results.

But your perception of the virus is just misguided.

The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR, not Case FR) is now down to 0.26%. Thats about twice the annual, seasonal flu. Cases are going up, while deaths are going down, and hospitalizations staying flat. Thats because as states have opened, we are protecting the few who are vulnerable and at risk of serious illness from the virus, instead of, as in some states, forcing nursing homes to take in COVID positives, where fully half of all deaths have occurred. So with deaths going down and hospitalizations staying flat, case number going up is a GOOD thing. We are getting closer to herd immunity every day. Seriously, check the death numbers, they've been going down for two months now.

But, Im glad to hear you changed your mind about bugging out. It is definitely going to be a bumpy ride until Inauguration Day. My plan is to look at it like an oncoming tsunami. Im going to just dive deep down into home/family/work life, ignore the noise, and let the tsunami pass right over me, literally praying all the while that when I come up in spring, all is well.

All due respect.. Sorry (not really) to say it is your perception that is misguided. This is why.

Fatalities from this are not the issue.

Deaths aren't bad at all statistically. It will be a lot but not like the Spanish flu and it's not Captain Trips either. Still.. what are the odds of a 1% death and rolling that dice 100 times? It's 1. As in 100%. I won't have wanton disregard but everybody is free to do what they please. Kinda. This was once a free country.. not even close now.

A virus that's super deadly can't be as contagious as possible. They're inversely correlated. Like ebola. If the host dies, it can't infect more people. Viruses that are immediately deadly burn out before they can become pandemics. They just remain epidemics.

Fatalities are the wrong focus and aren't the problem.. This is a bioweapon (created in China with clandestine US funding) intended to maim large numbers. China wrote for a decade about infecting other nations with a virus so that they can take over and repopulate. Lebensraum, right? They've been particularly obsessed with coronavirus research, and have written much about it. They've been caught with Canadian samples transporting back to China. This has all been out in the open for a long time.

So the problem isn't simply fatality rate (which is still ~100x higher than influenza).. it is the organ damage and long-term health affects that many (possibly most) of the recovered end up with. You'll ask how we can have long-term suppositions when it has only been around a few months so far. That is because certain physiological damages are permanent in nature.. They don't magically get better.

One example out of the list of freaky affects this thing causes is cystic fibrosis. SARS1 studies done recently, ~15 years after the fact, showed about 1/3 with permanent lung damage. This (SARS2) is affecting not only more people, but the physical changes are much more prevalent and numerous)

Right now It's a tossup on whether I'd rather die from covid than "recover" from it

Permanent lung damage (30 yo workers will get winded like a 70yo)
Permanent kidney damage (dialysis for life? No thanks)
Possible sterility due to teste damage (affects society greatly)
Clotting disorders causing strokes in even young people
Autoimmune issues popping up (kawasaki's and type 1 diabetes + in people with no genetic predisposition)
Neurological changes
And we're still learning more new complications as time goes on

There is also a genetic mutation (standard development of an RNA virus) that is now the prevalent strain (compared to in March).. D614G.. which causes more problems, is more infectious, and is showing not to be affected by antibodies from the previous strain

The affects this has on our society, economy, and posterity is and will be disastrous, and it is only about 1/3 of the storm brewing (war, communist takeover, etc). Optimism is good but many use it as a form of denial (normalcy bias) and will really lead to people being very under-prepared.

I want 2019 normal life back, but it's gone. If anybody thinks things like economy and social cohesion are shaky now.. it's going to get a lot worse. This isn't doomsday or conspiracy stuff. It's totally standard and normal throughout history. It's been a long time in the making and like every similar cycle in history.. it will get better afterwards too.

 

[Broski]

All due respect.. Sorry (not really) to say it is your perception that is misguided. This is why.

Fatalities from this are not the issue.

Deaths aren't bad at all statistically. It will be a lot but not like the Spanish flu and it's not Captain Trips either. Still.. what are the odds of a 1% death and rolling that dice 100 times? It's 1. As in 100%. I won't have wanton disregard but everybody is free to do what they please. Kinda. This was once a free country.. not even close now.

A virus that's super deadly can't be as contagious as possible. They're inversely correlated. Like ebola. If the host dies, it can't infect more people. Viruses that are immediately deadly burn out before they can become pandemics. They just remain epidemics.

Fatalities are the wrong focus and aren't the problem.. This is a bioweapon (created in China with clandestine US funding) intended to maim large numbers. China wrote for a decade about infecting other nations with a virus so that they can take over and repopulate. Lebensraum, right? They've been particularly obsessed with coronavirus research, and have written much about it. They've been caught with Canadian samples transporting back to China. This has all been out in the open for a long time.

So the problem isn't simply fatality rate (which is still ~100x higher than influenza).. it is the organ damage and long-term health affects that many (possibly most) of the recovered end up with. You'll ask how we can have long-term suppositions when it has only been around a few months so far. That is because certain physiological damages are permanent in nature.. They don't magically get better.

One example out of the list of freaky affects this thing causes is cystic fibrosis. SARS1 studies done recently, ~15 years after the fact, showed about 1/3 with permanent lung damage. This (SARS2) is affecting not only more people, but the physical changes are much more prevalent and numerous)

Right now It's a tossup on whether I'd rather die from covid than "recover" from it

Permanent lung damage (30 yo workers will get winded like a 70yo)
Permanent kidney damage (dialysis for life? No thanks)
Possible sterility due to teste damage (affects society greatly)
Clotting disorders causing strokes in even young people
Autoimmune issues popping up (kawasaki's and type 1 diabetes + in people with no genetic predisposition)
Neurological changes
And we're still learning more new complications as time goes on

There is also a genetic mutation (standard development of an RNA virus) that is now the prevalent strain (compared to in March).. D614G.. which causes more problems, is more infectious, and is showing not to be affected by antibodies from the previous strain

The affects this has on our society, economy, and posterity is and will be disastrous, and it is only about 1/3 of the storm brewing (war, communist takeover, etc). Optimism is good but many use it as a form of denial (normalcy bias) and will really lead to people being very under-prepared.

I want 2019 normal life back, but it's gone. If anybody thinks things like economy and social cohesion are shaky now.. it's going to get a lot worse. This isn't doomsday or conspiracy stuff. It's totally standard and normal throughout history. It's been a long time in the making and like every similar cycle in history.. it will get better afterwards too.

Time to put down the crack Pipe Bro. Just sayin Cheers