I lost my password so that’s part of the reason I hadn’t been updating it. To make matters worse, the spam filter was eating all of the github password resets, so I had to dig through my settings to find the missing emails. But I got my access and reset my github to new more secure password and made sure it’s in my keyring.
Like a homeless bum in wilderness 🏕️
I had to feel a bit like that when I was winter camping last weekend in that incredibly frigid weather. It really was not pleasant, but in my mind maybe necessary as I said my goodbyes to Big Red and watched the flames flicker one more time as the year rapidly draws to a close.
Truth is it didn’t have to be this way. There is a good chance I could have bought that hunting cabin up that way a while back and made it a residence, but it was too far away from work. I do see a simple, hunting-style cabin in my future but not tied to New York.
I just like my freedom and being able to travel to different places to camp, even if such things are hardly permanent. Winter camping won’t be quite so harsh when I get my new rig and install a diesel heater for warmth. It will also have a lot more room between the long-bed, assuming I decide to stay with an MX cap.
There won’t be another one just like Big Red 🛻
The other day I was playing with the Real Truck A. R. E. Truck Cap modeler with a F-250 truck on it. In many ways visually similar to Big Red, though a few inches lower to ground as my new truck won’t be lifted. Maybe it’s my desire not to let go of red, to keep his spirit alive. But I’m really not sure if I want to do everything the same.
Truth is while I have a lot of good memories with Big Red and in some ways I want to recreate much the same experience with my new truck, there are things I want to do different based on my 14 1/2 years of experience with Red. And technology moves on, the trucks of today have changed since 2011. I don’t even know if there is a BDS Dealer locally anymore, even if I did want to my lift my new truck. Part of reason, besides simpler engines, for getting a HD truck is so I can have a big truck without a lift kit on it with all the reliability issues that brings. Likewise, with the price of 35s these days, I am not sure if I will ever get 35s or 37s for the new truck when the first tires wear out, though I guess I could decide on that later on if I wanted more clearance. Big tires used to be cheaper, or maybe I’m more frugal these days.
My new truck will drive differently. An F-250 or F-350 is going to be fair more heavier then lifted truck, and will have a lower center of gravity. That’s good in sense it won’t wallow all over bumpy roads as much and be better in the snow, though the risk of high centering is greater. A 6.8L engine is much more burly then a 5.3L engine, it will sound different, have a different acceleration and braking pattern. The F-350 would certainly have much stiffer rear springs for higher load capacity, indeed that is the primary difference between the two trucks. Because of similarity in price and equipment packages, that’s why I will consider either the F-250 or F-350 with the 6.8L and same 3.83 axle ratio which will have similiar fuel economy. The difference in fuel economy between the Silverado and Superduty, it will probably be a wash, as while the 5.3L might be more fuel be efficient with the lift kit and 35s, most of that benefit was canceled out, especially on the highway. The 6.8L will be a fuel pig in city, but whatever I try to avoid driving in traffic and city streets with all those cops whenever possible. And I drive mostly for fun, so who cares about a MPG or two. I’m not getting a diesel, as because with all the now required diesel emissions crap and added expense, it’s not really worth it to me.
And my new truck will be a long-bed, regular cab, the way I think trucks should be. With the Silverado a lot of people suggested I get an extended cab, but I honestly prefer the regular cab, and a long bed will be great for packing a lot of camping gear including a future diesel heater and batteries in the bed. The 8 foot bed should allow me to get at least two and probably 3 solar panels on the roof. Extended and crew cabs make a lot of sense for families, and maybe if you have an uncovered, empty bed, but I want my bed to be useful for camping. I think I will likely stick with the MX Cap if it’s not too expensive as I like the extra height room but I am undecided if I will get the Sportsman windows that flip open. I found that tended to leak, especially after I was rear-ended and limited air flow in the truck cap. That said, it does certainly make it easier to access things in the front of the bed with that option.
I like red trucks, and I don’t want want to get a white one for sure, but I will get whatever color that I can get at a price and package I want to get. Limiting yourself to just a red truck dramatically reduces options, though that remains a popular color for the Superduty Regular Cabs, at least in my research. But I do want to keep my options open, and not necessarily strictly build a new Big Red – at least not to exact specifications of the now retired truck.
Icy and not too hazy but well rested for those final days of work for year ⌛
I was happy to look out the window and see the street lights were still on and we didn’t loose power. Everything though on the driveway is a sheet of ice, and it’s raining out and expected to get real windy by afternoon. I’ll leave a few minutes early for the bus stop lest I slip on the ice racing out to the 18. Who knows if it will be early or late in this weather, sometimes drivers cut their break short if they’re worried about falling behind schedule.
Took a hit of some weed and popped two sleeping 💤 pills early in the evening for a solid night sleep. Still groggy this morning but I’ve not slept well since learning the news 📰 about Big Red though that cold blustery night in the wilderness helped. Those sleeping pills 💊 certainly happen for the sleep but they leave me a haze in the morning, but it helps I did them early enough in the evening, then stayed up reading and watching more YouTube. 📹 I usually don’t smoke weed at home, but whatever, I thought it be fun, and it’s not like I camped all three days in State Forest due to cold. Probably won’t do anymore the rest of the winter if I’m not traveling. 🥶 Apple pancakes 🥞 🍏 for breakfast, last night I stumbled upon some pea soup I had frozen a few months back, and cooked that up in the microwave. Along with ground oatmeal, cranberries, Splenda and sugar-free maple syrup for desert.
Busing it to work today. 🚍 It’s icy out! Good time to do some reading, then some laps in the Plaza after work. Tuesday I might ride in if not too cold and icy 🚲 (probably Corning’s Hill) and then Wednesday I’ll drive Big Red one last time, hopefully not snapping the frame on those massive bumps on Water Street. The bus is slow but when I don’t have my bike, I can spend the entire bus ride reading 📖 and I haven’t gotten a lot of exercise this past weekend so walking laps in the Plaza after work will be good.
I find it hard to believe this is week Red will be retired. 🛻 Goodnight 2025! Seems like only yesterday I was picking him up from the dealership. The year will be done come Wednesday. I will drive in that day, and leave mid-day to run a few errands and maybe take him for a final drive before I am driving until spring time. Hell of it is, I swear Red drove perfectly yesterday, no wobble, but I also know what the frame looks like at this point. I’ve been thinking about the plan for replacing Red, continuing to do my research but I don’t want to buy until winter is done. And I just need time to process this all a bit more. It will be adventure to do the car-free lifestyle, butI’m ready for spring though to come and have my SuperDuty truck.
I went to Walmart yesterday, 🛒 to get some needed food and supplies for the coming week and continue to prep the pantry for Big Red’s retirement on Wednesday. I got a box of laundry soap flakes – I debated about laundry soap versus flakes but I think it’s easier to measure out a cup of them, and toss them in a reusable 🧼 container before going to laundromat. Soap flakes were in recyclable paper. While liquid laundry soap and pods are the rage, I think bar soap or flake soap is much more sustainable and less toxic, and a heck of lot lighter to carry when I’m lugging that bag of laundry down the road to laundromat. And a whole lot less plastic to pretend to recycle or turn into black smoke. I’m really trying to cut back on plastic, and non-recyclable things as part of my sustainability journey without a vehicle. 🔥 I mean it’s just trash if you can’t burn it.
I’ve gone into deep dive on to what is best way to buy a truck, 🚚 and how leaving the car-free lifestyle can benefit me by giving me time to make my decision and not buying until the end of Quarter 1 in late March. 🗓️ By then the road salt will be done, dealers probably won’t want to keep plow trucks on their lots, and sales quotas. Plus, if I do a lot negotiations over the internet, and do it slowly, the balls in my court. 🏀 In February, though I to catch a bus, climb in and test drive maybe an F-250/F-350 in the configuration I want, then carefully look at dealership inventories online over the next month, and start making offers in second half of March. Let dealers know I’m interested in their products in February with a plan to buy by end of quarter from them, if the price and model is right. Learn to be flexible too – the difference between the F-250 and F-350 is pretty small, and the appearance and features packages are relatively small too. Don’t like the wheels, but get a good price, I can always get new rims later on, especially if I do 35s or 37s with a leveling kit. I like the color red, but other colors probably will work for me if the price is good. Just not fleet white. I was hoping I could find a book at library 📙 detailing the ins and outs of different pickup trucks, but I might get a book on car buying for more info. I figure this month, January is the one to research. Then February, test drive.
I should call Meadowbrook to see if I can get milk delivered in reusable glass today. 🍶 That would be another source of plastic trash eliminated. I’ve never had milk delivery, but would be good way to boost my sustainability, and fresh local farm milk 🐮 is certainly delicious in ice cold glass. I don’t drink the amount of milk I used to – mostly coffee and cooking so I could probably just get by with like a half gallon of week. Definately get whole milk if I do it this way, dairy fat is fine in moderation. Dairymen at least want you to believe whole milk cuts your appetite so you eat less other unhealthy things. 😋
I also put in $15 in gas in the tank for certainly the last time, ⛽ as I was low and I will probably drive into work on New Years Eve, leaving work early, then get whatever remaining supplies I can think I need at Wally World, take Red for a bit of drive, then he will be parked at my parents house until spring. 😔 I made sure to leave my windshield wipers up so they didn’t freeze to the windshield. I swear Big Red is driving pretty good, though on those tough bumps I do fully feel the frame flex, and I know it’s living on borrowed time. I do in some ways regret not having him welded, but I know I can build a better rig, if not quite a high or big as Ol’ Red. I think the Ford 6.8L will offer similar fuel highway economy performance as t he lifted SIlverado without the oil consumption issues. And if it uses more gas but is super reliable, it’s fine, it’s not a commuter vehicle.
