The FORD Lounge

[Gary Lewis]

Oh, ok.  I guessed incorrectly.  Anyway, waiting patiently to see what it is.  

[salans7]

Gary Lewis wrote

Oh, ok.  I guessed incorrectly.  Anyway, waiting patiently to see what it is.  

Me too, still trying to find a way to pick it up for this weekend, but it's hard due to the holiday weekend, everybody is using their trailers for their offroad toys. I'm too cheap for Uhaul and I would rather give the money to a friend, I give enough money to uhaultruckpartsonline (u-techcenter) as it is.

[Gary Lewis]

You aren't paying them very much.  Their prices are a steal!

Wish I was close enough to help with my trailer.

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

You aren't paying them very much.  Their prices are a steal!

And, their shipping costs are more than reasonable!

[salans7]

I've spent way more than the cost of a truck and trailer rental with them, that's for sure. Definitely great prices, they're one of my favorite clearance retailers.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I would say $4.95 shipping is LESS than reasonable.

But I'm a pedant.  

[Gary Lewis]

I wouldn't put it in a package and take it out for shipping for that, and that doesn't cover the cost of shipping.  Yep, less than reasonable.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary,
Will you be buying a Tesla truck if they build the plant in Tulsa?

With all the S models now having a 400 mile range, THAT anxiety seems to have passed.
I love the idea that I'd never have to touch another exhaust system, belt, change oil or coolant, rarely have to replace brakes, ect...

[Ray Cecil]

Wow...ive been super busy. I havent had time to do much online. Thought id drop in and say yes, I am still alive.

....and Jim...I think I will buy an electric truck one day, but I sure as heck aint buying that Ugly tesla truck. I dont get the styling on that one. Rivian looks goodish, still not sold on it.

[Gary Lewis]

No, I won't.  The range still is just not there for what I've done.  As I type Blue is in Denver on its way back from Granby, CO to Skiatook with my daughter and family.  That's a distance of 775 miles and they are pushing to do it in one day as my SiL has a meeting to attend tomorrow.

There's one Tesla charging station in range from Granby, and that's at 350 miles at Colby.  If they have a head wind or are for some reason not getting the 400 mile range, that would be a significant problem.  And even if they did make it the charge time is at least an hour.

But there's also the towing issue, which to me is the killer.  My brother and I brought Big Blue back from Florida through the night at 75 MPH.  With 35 gallons of gas we had a reliable range of 300+ miles, and we pushed it several times with the DTE showing 7 miles once.  There's no way we would have wanted to plan our stops to match the limited # of charging stations on that run, nor would we have been willing to wait for an hour while it was charged.

Similarly, when Janey and I pulled the boat to Powell and back we stopped several times each day for gas.  And some of those times were in out of the way places, like Page AZ, where there is no charging station.

So while I'm not averse to electric vehicles, I don't see them as a good replacement for a truck for my use - yet.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ray, I think Elon was going for the Delorean look, with a smattering of '70's B roll sci-fi.
Yep, it's butt ugly, but you'll know EXACTLY what it is when you catch one from the corner of your eye in traffic.
And you know what they say, 'even bad publicity is still publicity'

Gary, I know when I've gone 400 miles I could use a break.
You talk like there aren't dozens of new Supercharger stations rolling out every week.
The ones at every rest stop here in Connecticut have at least ten 'pumps'.

There's a strategic reason it's at 350 miles.
And as their algorithm gains more input from cars on the road, more and more will fill in where the network is sparse.
You also talk like battery technology is stagnant.
I think lithium/sulphur and other chemistries are going to upend charge rates.

[Ray Cecil]

I have to admit, I wasnt onboard with electric vehicles at first. However, the older I get and the less time I have, time saving appliances like a dishwasher, washing machine, and now electric vehicles are much more appealing.

I still dont have a dishwasher....

[Gary Lewis]

Gary Lewis wrote

No, I won't.....
.
.
.
So while I'm not averse to electric vehicles, I don't see them as a good replacement for a truck for my use - yet.

That's why the "yet" was there.  Charging stations are being rolled out.  And battery tech is changing.  But your question was if I'd buy a Tesla pickup if Tulsa gets the factory.  And that pickup doesn't do what I've done several times.

But that isn't to say an electric vehicle wouldn't be a viable option if we were to replace Janey's GLK.  (We aren't about to as we love the car.)  We no longer drive long distances each day of a trip like we did when we were younger.  Now we have to get out every few hours.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ray Cecil wrote

I still dont have a dishwasher....

I do, but she doesn't like it when I call her that!  

[Gary Lewis]

I was thinking along the same lines.  His is named Holly.

[ArdWrknTrk]

....
I would never insult a man's wife.

(Or a woman, for that matter)

[Gary Lewis]

That wasn't an insult - at least to Holly.  

Personally, I think an electric dishwasher is a health item as much as a convenience item.  I do the majority of the "dish washing" now, and I get the dishes pretty clean before they go in the washer.  But the washer does the last little bit and ensures that any germs have been killed.

A few years ago we visited our kids in Nicaragua, and when we got there they were suffering from some malady that they were passing around between family members.  As I usually do I did the dish washing, but quickly learned that they not only didn't have a dish washer but they didn't even have hot water.  Instead, they used a soap meant for cold water.  Period.

I explained that it takes HOT water to kill germs, but that bleach helps.  So we started heating water on the stove to rinse the dishes with and used a bit of bleach in the wash water.  Miraculously the malady soon disappeared.

So I'm a firm believer in electric dishwashers - to ensure dishes are truly free of germs.  (But, they also work nicely in a shop to clean parts, and since the one in the shop is now broken and we need a new one in the house 'cause the rack is rusting away, I'll get a "new" one in the shop soon.  )

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah that's no fun.  

Cholera, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, whatever...
It all sucks.
A little potassium permanganate or bleach will fix all that.

[Gary Lewis]

All I know is what I was taught in college.  I was in a fraternity that did its own food serving and dish washing - w/o an electric dishwasher.  The health inspector came by at the first of every year and taught us how to wash dishes, and then came back periodically to make sure we were following his instructions.

And they were to use water hot enough that we couldn't hold our hands in it to rinse, and he said that is typically above 130 degrees F.  And to add a little bleach to the wash water.  We did, religiously, and I don't remember anyone passing illnesses on.

[85lebaront2]

The setup our BSA camp had was a commercial dishwasher, it ran a powerful blast of hot soapy water followed by a rinse at 180° F. The humorous part of it, being automated, the kids had to cycle it until the rinse temperature reached 180°, then they could start washing the dishes, serving trays etc. As built the safety switch to keep the cycle from starting until the linked in-out doors were both shut protruded into the back side of the out door opening. Three guesses what happened.

I got up there one weekend with my late wife to serve as campmasters, Dan Daughtry, the camp Ranger and I were riding around when he mentioned the problem. In order to run the dishwasher it was necessary after closing the doors, to hold the proximity sensor next to the magnet to get it to cycle and keep it there until it finished. I took some measurements and we went back to the shop area and fabricated a right angle bracket for the sensor that mounted it back away from the opening and another one for the magnet. Dan and I tested it to make sure that (a) it worked reliably and (b) if the door was opened enough to be a problem it shut down.

They ran it that way all summer without any problems. The next spring when the Hobart Dealer service rep came to check everything, he looked at the modification and asked why and who did it. Dan explained and the rep looked at the drawings of the unit as built and shook his head, he took a bunch of measurements and pictures and left, about 3 weeks later Dan received a package from Hobart, in it was a nice stainless steel (mine was wood, aluminum and steel screws) "safety switch relocation kit".

When I went through BSA Woodbadge AIDS was the big concern, what we were told to do was add some Clorox to the rinse water as the temperature limit for sticking your hands in holding a dish, utensil or pan isn't high enough to be sure of disinfecting them.