Maybe it’s the impending sense of being trapped in the city this winter, knowing all too soon I’ll look out my window and not see Red. But on the other hand, I do mostly ride my bike and take the bus around town, and normally rack up few winter miles except going to Walmart and my parents house once a week in the winter. And lots of visits in vein to manual car wash. Really giving up driving during the winter is hardly a loss, as I only occasionally was able to get out in country, camp in snow, have fires and giggle along with the Dire Wolf.
Still not having a vehicle seems a bit imprisoning, though I realize it’s from choice. I have the money that if I want to cut a big enough check, I can get a SuperDuty truck, even a fancy one tomorrow. Not that I want a fancy one, indeed the low feature set on basic XL heavy duty trucks make it much more appealing in my mind then the standard full-size and mid-size trucks that are full of big colorful screens and technology. And I could certainly get one of those used Honda Civics to drive to your suburban office and plastic-covered home or whatever the frugalists say you should drive as a financially responsible people say you should drive.
Certainly not having a truck will be inconvient at times. Probably the biggest issue will be when I have to do my wash and can’t get a ride out to my parents house, it will be trudging the wash to the laundromat a mile in snow either on my back or bus and asking my neighbor to use his trash bin. Or having to haul groceries home from the bike. I probably will shop primarily at Hannaford as that’s closer, though I can ride over to Walmart from time to time. And no more drives out to the country, up to camp for overnights in snow, watching the flicker of the flames as the stars rise overnight. But winter is cold, and honestly I should be saving money without a truck to gas up or insurance to pay.
I have such a bunker mentality, trying to get as much food and supplies from Walmart before it’s too late to conviently get what I need from the store. Trying to get as much rice, beans, flour as possible, as those things will last several months, are heavy to carry on my bike and are cheaper in bulk at Walmart. They also are staples in my diet. And other things that will last for a while like onions, and frozen fruits and vegetables though freezer space is a bit limited, though I can certainly take out the ice blocks if I’m not heading out camping. An extra pair or two of jeans if it’s while between getting down to the laundromat. It’s not like I can’t ride my bike or even take a bus to Hannaford, but it’s inconvient.
I often have to remind myself not owning a vehicle is a temporary situation, I will get a truck once the salt season is over and I want to travel again. I will get back out to wilderness, see the hills and hollars again. Despite my rundown apartment and my often dated and broken equipment, or riding sluggish local the bus to work, I am much better off then most Americans. I choose to live as I do, to camp in winter, to ride the bus and bike to work. Many people choose frugality out of necessity, I do because I hate excessive consumption, the bright colorful lights of modernity and all that plastic except of course besides those big pickup trucks with the old fashioned dashboards.
The weatherman warns of an impending ice storm, I should probably turn up the heat so things are survivable and pipes don’t freeze when inevitably we loose power for the next three days. Put more fuel in my truck if I have to seek shelter elsewhere or stay warm in the cabon it’s final Sunday.
Seven degrees this morning, 🥶 they say it’s 3 degrees out in Rensselearville. I could have camped the last two nights there in the foot of snow that came Friday and came home before the ice storm, but it would have been cold and both my gas tank ⛽ and especially my propane tank dangerously low. Still in some ways I would have enjoyed those additional nights in wilderness with Red with the inevitable coming in fast on December 31st. That frame is really starting to flop more and more, or maybe my mind is just focused on it. I could have chosen to get Red welded, but Red is old and I am sure there are further issues that would need to be addressed sooner then later.
I will have to clear the snow off Big Red 🛻 for one last time today, before heading out to Walmart to get additional supplies when I figure out everything I need to get. I’ll probably drive in one last time on New Years Eve and get anything else I need at Walmart before taking the truck out to it’s final resting place for remainder of winter, but I want to get stocked up as much as possible as shopping is going to be so much more inconvenient without a vehicle. 🛒 Somethings just can’t be predicted and none will last through April so I’ll have to ride to grocery store and get what I can and if necessary do mail order. I don’t want to go too late and get caught in the freezing rain, though honestly it doesn’t matter it’s not that far from home and there are no hills in way.
Yesterday, was just a lot of reading, watching random YouTube and thinking. 📚 I could have gone out but it was rather cold and gray yesterday. I was hoping for better weather today, but it doesn’t seem like much of an improvement with the impending ice storm. Tomorrow is going to be a definate busing it work day, at least after work, I’ll get my steps in walking the Plaza. 👣 I got playing with the A. R. E. Realtruck.com designer, and created another A. R. E. MX cap like the one I have on Big Red, and mounted it on a Big Red F-250 4×4. Wouldn’t be quite as big or high off-the-ground without a lift kit though relatively close, especially if I eventually added a leveling kit and 35s or 37s. I don’t really want to do the lift kit thing again. It causes a lot of problems and stresss to suspension. But then I came to realize whatever my next rig is like, it won’t be another Big Red. A heavy-duty truck inherently is going to drive and ride differently then a lifted-truck. But it might be more reliable, though I’m not sure I had that many problems with my lifted Big Red over the years.
And at times I question spending the money and fuel consumption of Mini Godzilla 6.8L, 💵 when it will be gone much like Red in not too many years, though I do like traveling and like my big trucks. 🏡 And then I saw that house in Coeymans, but realizing without a truck this winter and spending the money on truck in spring, it’s mostly a pipe dream, unless of course I sold a bunch of stock. 📈 It’s not like I’ve already spend any money or have to get a F-250/F-350 truck, the only decision made so far is to retire Big Red on Wednesday and not get him welded. I did look at Ford Rangers while I was on Ford site, because maybe that’s closer to what I want, but those trucks are so tiny and I’ve acquired so much camping gear over the years. And they have all those blown-engines, I mean turbocharger and big screens everywhere, keyless ignition, which I hate. The relatively plain interiors of XL Superduties with regular cabs remind me a lot of good times I had with my little 1998 Ford Ranger XL, before I got Big Red. It’s not like Big Red was top spec – it was LT which is Chevy’s equivalent to the XL but it sure had a bit more technology then old the Ranger, plus the extended cab which I don’t like. And maybe the constant brake problems I had Ford Ranger, the bad wheel cylinders and rotted out brake lines, wheel bearing and burnt out starter motor, have faded from my memory over the decades past, compared to rotted out frame on Chevy now. 💭
And I saw that house in Coeymans, 🏡 that could have been mine, if I had a vehicle and didn’t delete Zillow, though I’m sure there is a reason why the past three sale attempts failed over the past few months. Also, that house in West Coxscakie is still for sale, the one that used to always have smoldering burn barrels 🛢️ before the ban. Also that had a woodstove and 10 acres of rocky land, but it’s been on market for a few years now, with no takers. But it’s too far from Albany for easy commuting, moreover, it is New York State. Do I really want to settle down? I like riding my bike to work. 🚲 But winter. I should stop dreaming about trucks and homesteads, as they all suck in New York and continue to read more about goat farming. 🐐 I also need books out of Hoopla for the month, I should get at least one or two about car buying to learn as much as I can, so I get a good truck, whatever I end up buying, a SuperDuty Godzilla or else wise.
So yes, I decided for the first time in months to open Zillow. Last winter I had disabled the app, tired of endless suggested homes rundown in the ghetto or perfect but too far from work for practical commuting. Then this popped up and it sort of checks many boxes – 20 acres, a big woodstove, out in the country though probably smells like cow shit in the autumn and spring from Stantons Dairy down the road spreading the fields across the steet – but obviously it must have some kind of defect because several recent attempts to sell the property have ended in failure. But I can’t even look at it – as I no longer have a vehicle. Kind of a charming looking house though, way removed from the road. Heated at least partially with wood, which is almost a mandatory thing for me to consider a house, along with the supporting woodlot.
Everybody asks why don’t you just want to settle down, buy a house like that beautiful one? Or at least not a poverty-spec rundown, but cheap apartment that is moldy and cold all winter. Don’t you know, professionals don’t waste their time transferring between the slow local city bus and state shuttle out to suburban office building. The bus is for the desperately poor. Professionals don’t live in disgusting old buildings that might be fine for a recent college graduate but not a unit director who oversees a major data division. Somebody whose assets have grown through a long period of stable and sustained investing. I am after all, a lot better off then most people financially, even if I am frugal on everything besides big, overpriced pickup trucks for my many weekends up to wilderness.
Truth is that I had lost interest in looking at houses, and are back on my plan to travel and focus on early retirement in not so many years to build that off-grid homestead in a freer state where nobody cares if you own lots of guns, have a burn barrel, low taxes and lots of freedom to have hogs and other livestock that I butcher myself, compost my shit. Live somewhere far away from the cities, the garbage dumps and pollution. Never have to wash out another plastic container or separate the paper from the rest of burnables.
Buying a house means not just cutting a very big check, it also means constant buiying of household appliances and furniture, supporting services, gassing up and maintaining vehicles. No more riding my bike to work – a pleasurable and healthy activity! Rural living means commuting by car, traffic tickets, crashes, snow, heavy rain, and dark drives dodging deer. And a homestead means goats and chickens to feed, manure to haul,and water to break the ice on. Wood to chop to keep things warm. Homesteading, after all is primarily about home. And I’m sure somebody has take over the family homestead once my parents are gone in not too many years from now. For now, camping and traveling is a lot of fun while I still can do it.
While I probably should be thinking more about buying a house, ever since I learned about Big Red’s mandatory retirement in only a few days, my mind has drifted first towards surving the winter without a vehicle, busing it and biking it every where. And when I need a fun distraction, my mind drifts back towards building that next rig and future travels, as good or better then what I have. Seeing the Midwest and the Upper Peninsula next year. I just don’t want to get tied down to New York State, even though I already am with my job. A truck has wheels, it can take me out of state for good. Or it can be repurposed for homestead uses like plowing driveways of snow, hauling livestock and cattle panel.
As I would pay cash for either a house or truck – despite fluerting with mortgage agents a while back – it’s all about cutting a check or in case of buying a house, maybe selling some investments. Just like I could buy a vehicle tomorrow, I could also buy a house. But owning a house just seems so imprisoning, not only the long drives through traffic out to countryside, but also all the maintance and work that comes with a house and homestead. I really enjoy my nights in wilderness, exploring new places, having fires, sitting under the stars, watching things burn as I smoke my dope and enjoy a cold one or two. But there was actually another house I kind of was intrigued by on Zillow, but again, it has problems. And I just don’t want to settle down, even though people say so. I want to build my rig, continue to save and invest, and focus on enjoying the next 13 years until early retirement and full-time homesteading or whenever I end up having to focus more on helping my aging parents and taking over their homestead.
Some AI based research that seems correct. I did the lifted truck thing and I’m not sure I would do it again but I do like Big Red trucks even if I’m slightly closer to the ground on my new rig.
A 2011 Chevy Silverado 4×4 with a 6-inch BDS lift overall height is approximately 84.75 inches, while the stock F-250’s height ranges from 78.9 to 81.6 inches, depending on the configuration. The Silverado’s ground clearance is increased by the lift and larger tires, likely exceeding the F-250’s stock ground clearance of 9.1 to 10.2 inches.
For the 2011 Chevy Silverado 4×4 with a 6-inch lift and 35-inch tires, the total estimated height is about 84.75 inches, calculated by starting with a typical stock height (around 77.2 inches), adding the 6-inch lift, and half the difference in diameter between the new 35-inch tires and stock 31.9-inch tires (half of 3.1 inches is about 1.55 inches).
The ground clearance for the stock 2011 Silverado 1500 was around 8.08 inches; with a 6-inch lift and larger tires, the new ground clearance is substantially higher, likely around 14-15 inches or more, depending on the specific lift components and the lowest point of the vehicle.
In contrast, a stock 2026 Ford F-250 4×4 has an overall height that generally falls between 78.9 and 81.6 inches across various cab and bed configurations. Its stock ground clearance varies from approximately 9.1 to 10.2 inches.
One potential vision of a Big Red 2.0. No lift kit on this one but I might eventually put 35s and a maybe eveling kit on my new truck when the first set of tires wear out. Or maybe not.
