Friday, May 13, 2011

New Additions

Trying again. Blogger lost the last post!

Yesterday my neighbor dropped by on his way to Alpine and wanted to know if I wanted to ride along. I didn't really need anything, but said I'd ride along for the heck of it. On the way he made me an offer I couldn't refuse and that was to buy his old Ford Pickup that he didn't need anymore since he got a newer Dodge PU.
 It runs like a top, but has a lot of other issues before it can be registered and driven on the highway, but can be driven on the ranch roads as it. Once I get this up to snuff and have it street legal it will solve a lot of problems for me. For one I'll be able to deliver my on water which will save some bucks (Especially since the Swampie is going through about a gallon of water per hour.) I won't have to drag the trailer every time I go to Alpine or elsewhere, but can double load if I do. Will cut down on ware and tare on the falcon. (Main thing for me) I'll also be able to get to places I wouldn't dare to try to get to now in the falcon)


And to answer one question asked in this thread before it got lost... The truck is a 94 model and has a V8 and automatic so it isn't the same truck you had Larry. Don't remember what Frann's post was?

Cooking with the Sun
I was planning to use the old satellite dish I'd used to get WiFi for a solar cooker, but my neighbor wants to get WiFi from me and he had a dish that hadn't been modified for WiFi yet so I traded with him. On our trip to Alpine yesterday our first stop was AutoZone so after reading on the net where some guy got stick on chrome decal material from an auto parts store to cover a dish for cooking I bought a roll of that there. It works very well as can be seen below. I have that dish mounted on the trailer now and just need to rig a holder for my cast iron skillet on it to start cooking. The roll of stick on chrome tape cost me $10.99 and there was enough of it for at least two or three of the dishes. It should also be a LOT cheaper than buying a bunch of small mirrors made for that application and then having to glue them all in place. No doubt saved hours of work not having to do that. I could have done a better job of sticking it on, but I was in a hurry. It works quiet well as is.
Maybe more later, but for now that piece of wood has been burned completely through in several places and actually caught on fire. Just imagine what kind of heat could be generated by using an 8 foot dish rigged like that. Might even melt some metals. The dish I used was only about 24 inches.

Update. Heavy Smoke in Area
Really smokey out there now and the smell of smoke is heavy. Who knows where this all came from???


21 comments:

  1. Congrats on the really cool truck...R and L rock!
    I could cook a ham on the hood of my Jeep today..I burned myself leaning on the trailer so your chrome should really do the job!

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  2. That truck looks like the one I sold in 2005. A 1996 ford, six speed manual 4X4 but it only had a six cylinder. Clean, white, no trim, a great truck for hauling stuff like boards, manure, cows whatever. (Yes, to all three).

    I sold it to carmax for a great price after it had only 50,000 miles on it after 11 years.

    Is that it?

    LOL

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  3. WooHoo, congrats on getting the truck, and what a great idea about using the chrome tape, I love that stuff but didn't think about using it like that. :) Be sure to invest in some good shades to protect your eyes, it will be bright cooking outside with the sun being reflected toward your face.

    Wretha

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  4. Yeah Wretha, I think I'll like the truck real well. I'll probably do more road trips when I get to on the road. I'll register the falcon as an antique then so I can at least drive it from time to time. That will save me $ also.

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  5. Are you going to make some burritos with your solar cooker? :)

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  6. Na Dave, I don't think I'd look good in a bikini.

    For those who don't know what he's talking about see http://www.greenpowerscience.com/videos.php?v=ScrpZ1jwIkk&h=Solar%20Bikini%20with%20a%20Linear%20Fresnel%20Lens%20Cooking%20a%20Bean%20Burrito%20Canon%20XHA1%20Canon%207D

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  7. Does the truck have plates and stickers?

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  8. Last time it was registered was 2002 and the last time it was inspected was 2001. The title is signed by the last owner that registered it, but has never been transfered. It has Farm truck plates on it.

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  9. Its really smokey around here so I updated the blog with a picture of it.

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  10. David, we will be at starlite tonight. My girlfriends who
    Are riding with me are done for the day although we got
    Invited to JW's place, it looks like we wont make it out there.
    :-(. If anyone wants to meet up tonight, feel free to join us. Can text
    Or call me at 2 one zero - 8 six two-308 seven
    Terry

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  11. Terry, that leaves me out. I don't drive the falcon after dark because the headlights have a bad habit of going out on the way home coming out 118. Not a fun thing to happen coming down the curved mountain road and all of a sudden not having headlights. Maybe next trip?

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  12. No problem David. Next time i come down, i wont
    Have all these women with me, and i have the
    Truck instead of the bike. It will be easier for
    Me to get out there meet up with u. Maybe the grub shack
    Will be back open by then!

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  13. Terry, you missed out on meeting Bigfoot, Littlefoot, Dave, Steve, Fred and Mario by not being at the legion last night. I'm sure you had a good time where you were though. Looking forward to seeing you when ever that happens. Don't have a clue where Nick was and Frann couldn't make it. Of course I wouldn't have made it if it hadn't been for Bigfoot calling and asking me to meet them there.

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  14. Hwy 90 between Marathon and Sanderson is closed due to heavy smoke. I can smell it here.

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  15. Bigfoot said they passed a big fire on the way in. Said it was northwest of here somewhere.

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  16. That should have read NORTHEAST of here.

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  17. What's the biggest problem with getting the pickup tagged and inspected? You said it runs well? So why hasn't it been, simply because it's been a farm truck or desert truck and hasn't been on the road needing the tags and such? If it's just the title thing, that should be easy to work out. One of my old pickups went thru something like that, just had to explain that it hadn't needed tags, inspection should be fine out there, no smog stuff to deal with. I wouldn't think, anyway. Enjoy it!

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  18. Congratulations on the truck Tffnguy :)

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  19. Dale, yes he has just used it as a ranch truck and never drove it on public roads or highways. I guess getting the rear brakes fixed would be the first thing that needs to be done. Then the windshield wipers even though we hardly ever get rain. I have a good spare for it, but its on a Chevy rim so I need to get it switched to the ford rim that came with it. The power steering needs some work as it has a leaky hose and I think he put hydraulic oil in it so its like steering a Mack truck. Other odds and ends need to be done, but none of them would keep it from passing an inspection.

    Thanks MsB. It will be nice when I can get it registered and road worthy.

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  20. Cool about your truck. I just bought a used 92 Ford with V8 302, just for hauling stuff around out there.

    So sorry I missed meeting everyone at the Legion. I was kinda at the mercy of this group I was with. Two of the women who came with me were not used to long distance riding, plus the heat. So they were pretty much done by 3 or 4 p.m. each day, and ready to head for the bar. I wasn't keen on riding the bike out there in the evening by myself in an area that I'm not really that familiar with yet. After running into JW and getting the invite out there, and not being able to make it, I was really bummed.

    Next time I come by myself in the truck..me and the dog.. I did get to visit my property and locate the survey pins, so that was good, and met some locals on "the porch"...White Bear and his wife...they seemed cool.

    Sorry I blogged on your blog...lol
    Terry

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  21. Terry, I think everyone down here needs at least an old beater PU. It was just my time to get one. :)

    I understand why you couldn't make it out here. I can't handle long bike rides myself anymore either.

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