While I did the sleeping in an unheated truck bed for many years now, my toes do not like the cold anymore. I've been wondering what the best way to pipe the heat in from a diesel heater when I get my next rig and truck cap. This seems like a good solution.
Truth is I celebrated New Years Eve 2026 and the closing hours of the year with a classic basically Trumpian rant about how I was justified to push him into early retirement, and no I don’t want to spend all my money on a plastic house in suburbs even if it does smell like cow shit and that I should by myself that ginormous Ford SuperDuty so I can still see the country before I get elderly and are stuck at home feeding goats and shoveling hog manure. I work hard for my shit, buying in New York sucks, land is too expensive, neighbors too close, can’t legally burn my garbage, gun restrictions and fees. Truth is if you can smell your neighbor’s crap burning or hear his gun fire, he’s too close. Yeap, that fluid flim is going to stink like sheep shit when I coat my SuperDuty but whatever beats the fucking rust bucket I was driving until last evening.
So yeah, on that note, Happy New Year. 
We made it to 2026, and I didn’t think last year was the worse year ever, the economy was good, my investments done good, I worked hard and improved and developed the systems at Assembly Data Services. Road my bike to work many days, smoked some shit and good weed, burned most of my trash up in the woods, had some great adventures with Big Red until he was done, towards the end I could really feel the frame starting to give way and wobble, especially as I rode along the twists of Tan Hollow, Hillson Road, and Hunt Road out to my parents place in Dormansville as I went for one last little drive with Big Red before the year came to a close. It made it to it’s destination, the frame did not crack but maybe I should have taken the advice of the shop to stay safe, but whatever it was fun. But whatever, that was 2025 and it’s a new year now – and that ol’ Gram Parson record reminds me of those days past riding mountain bike in the rain stoned out of my brain smelling like wood smoke on those logging roads in the Conifer Easement last autumn. Days gone by! A new year, no more Big Red!
Truth is I am going to miss those drives out in the country, 
but I know the whole situation is kind of temporary, and truth is I don’t drive that much in the winter months, as the roads are shit and city 
and it’s hard to get to the back country with the snow and ice much of the winter. Life without a car will have it’s inconveniences, especially when it’s mostly the impoverished and seriously disabled who don’t drive, 
but I’ll figure out how to make it work, especially if it end up with me owning a new ginormous pickup truck, a trip out to the woods of the Upper Peninsula, lots of bonfires and weed up in woods, 
and maybe some more hunting and foraging this year. 
Maybe because I’m leaning so much on the 25 lbs of kidney beans and 10 lbs of rice I have at home to make it through my time without owning a truck this winter, I’ll want to eat more meat and plants not wrapped in plastic from the woods this year. Beats buying and burning all that toxic, smelly plastic shit. 
Or landfilling and maybe storing it until I get a new truck.
Left work at 1 PM yesterday, picked up a few necessary supplies at Walmart, 
and did a quick wash down of the truck at the car wash, noting how bad the frame has gotten. Unpacked things at home, spend a bit of time sitting behind the wheel of Big Red, getting out most of the things I’ll need for winter at home. I left most of my camping gear in the now retired truck, 
I will move things over once I get my next truck in April. Then I decided to go for a little drive out and up over Cass Hill and Reidsville, then back over through Tan Hollow. 
Saw more burn barrels then I expected, kind of put a smile on my face. That one house I briefly studied on Zillow with the weird lot and neighbors too close has sold. 
Had to think that circa-1800 house I just saw on Zillow in Coeymans must have issues and that’s why the past three sales fell through on it, but also it’s kind of pricey but I do wish now that I could have looked at it lest my truck, but still New York State sucks except for the money, the woods, and the weed. Amazing how priorities change when you reach your mid-40s. Maybe I’m stupid about the truck and the homestead – just buy the 20-year old Honda Civic and plastic house like everybody else in the suburbs – but that shit stinks when you burn it. 
Spent the night over with Mom and Dad at this their homestead, celebrating New Years Eve with cheese fondue. 🫕Truth is not having cooked any beans up since I used up the last I had cooked on Monday, so it was good to have some delicious dairy fat and protein. 
I have so little cheese these days at home as I know it’s junk food but it was good to spend some time together, as I don’t know if this will be our last fondue together as a family. Maybe or maybe not, but much like my truck, time lasts forever until it’s done. I keep going back to how blessed that at least I had a date when I knew Red would be retired. Plus realistically, I know this is the year to travel with my new rig, as I don’t know how long this will be an option in the future. 
I was reading at article I shared earlier about that firefighter who was laid off because he refused the COVID vaccine because he couldn’t bare the thought of having a foreign fluid injected into his body, much less his years of ever so secretly scrubbing his uniform, washing his body in the sea, and cleaning his car to keep any harm from the chemicals he was exposed to in fighting fires from being tracked into his home. A life of secret rituals, which people had hints about being a bit odd or unusual.
Some how that struck a nerve on me, with my semi-secret trash burning fires, my pyromania, my aversion to landfills and consumerism more generally. While it’s not what it was when I was in my younger years, I do see it as something I really should confront before the day it’s used against me, intentionally or otherwise. As obsessive-compulsive thoughts are kind of silly, and despite the stern warnings of the NYS Health Department and Environmental Conservation Department, a little bit of plastic in a rednecks burn barrel isn’t biggest crime or threat to our world today. Yes, there are hazardous metals and dioxins, but we live in a world of chemical soups.
Indeed, at this point I’ve become more and more open about my pyromania. As I know it’s kind of an open secret, a joke by people that read the blog. It doesn’t pain me nearly as much to throw things away, especially knowing what a joke recycling is. I produce far less trash then most people, I don’t do all the internet buying of junk, and while I have my vices, namely my big pickup truck, the food and supplies I buy is often in bulk and minimally packaged. And quite burnable. I don’t get upset at parties anymore, avoiding paper plates, and I don’t say anything and try not to be too judgemental about other people when it comes to generating a lot of trash and not properly recycling.
Truth is in many more remote parts of country, people burn all kinds of debris from tires on down to bagged household garbage and plastic. I am not arguing it’s not stinky or produces some noxious compounds, but it’s also quite locally accepted. Most off-grid cabins, remote farms, ranches and homes still burn. It’s just what happens in country, and while I might enjoy a good fire and sometimes burn shit I shouldn’t it’s just that. My week-to-week landfill output is almost zero, as I recycle the few cans I use and also clothing and used shoes. I do stockpile some other non-burnables and metals, one of these day’s I’ll get rid of them, but it’s not a lot.
The key to Obsessive – Compulsive disorder might just be to accept things as they are, and I’ve really tried to do that more now. Indeed, without a vehicle, I won’t be able to have my fires, so I’m going to have to use the trash and recycle now more. It’s fine, and maybe it will change my life for the better. And some day, I will have that off-grid cabin and things will be different and nobody will care what I burn up in the woods.
Rarely does the end of a year coincide with the end of an era in one’s life. Big Red’s retirement is only a few hours away, one last drive, I will put him in park. Despite people asking and emailing me, I have not determined Big Red’s future after over 370 nights camping in him, 120,000 miles driven most of scenic, remote country. And a few trips to Walmart and the transfer station to get rid of tin cans and glass. I washed him, but first before I can sell him, I need to get out all my camping gear, the solar and batteries, relays, switches, radio moved over to the new truck. Will the rims I have the 35s on Red be able to fit on a SuperDuty 8-bolt wheel? Things to investigate!
Some ways closure is good. It’s so rare in life you know when the end is coming to a close. I had planned to retire Big Red in April 2026, but the frame rust moved it up a few months. Too often people don’t know when to quit, don’t toss in the hat when they are at the top of their game. They just stick around, enjoying the high, and keep pushing it way past their prime. 14 plus years is a good run, it’s a similar period to which I plan to toss my hat in a work from now. Not because I have to but because I can, and I want to leave at the top, rather then the bottom of my game, still have time to do the things yet done in life.
There will be life after Red. I am looking forward to the adventure and experience of living in the suburbs without a car for now, though there is still somewhat passable bus service around to get me to work and to the grocery store as necessary. And I have my mountain bike, which I will continue to ride to work as much as possible, to the grocery store, etc. Laundry and trash will be more difficult but I figure out solutions. In many ways it would have been better if I could have pushed Big Red into the new year, but it’s been a good ride regardless. And maybe stuck in city except for bike rides to fringes of suburbs, will be a time to find a bit more sanity.
In many ways, I am excited about the year to come in 2026. I doing a lot of neat stuff in the office, building capacity that at times feels like building a superhighway to a vacant lot but one that will help prepare my agency for the future. The car-free lifestyle this winter will be an experience, but I think the best is yet to come. For one, I am not permanently considering going car free, hell I’m looking at buying Ford SuperDuty Truck, though not one of the crazy big club cab, long ones. Get small, slow gasser model. Honest. I will get another cap, additional solar and batteries, and diesel heater for come next winter. And all this money I’m pouring into the new rig will go towards making a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and maybe in November I’ll head back to West Virginia for a week or two. There is a lot to look forward in my life, even if first I got to go through the 20 lbs of pinto beans I’ve stockpiled in pantry, and 10 lbs of brown rice. At least I won’t go hungry in short term without at ruck.
I was sitting in the cab, taking a deep breath, saying this is really over. It’s been quite the ride Big Red!
I can't believe the era of Big Red is coming to an end so quickly.
Wednesday December 31, 2025 — Big Red
What came first? The first chicken or the first egg?
I’ve been watching videos on car buying strategy to get a fair price and good service when buying a new automobile. It has me thinking about what my strategy will now that Big Red is retired. I also have several books I’m getting out from the library on both the seller’s and buyer’s perspective on the transaction. While similar to when I bought Big Red, setting out a cash price, I also want to be much more informed about inventory and price, as I do think I may have overpaid a bit for the truck, not fully understanding the different 1/2 ton packages Chevy offered that year.
Buying a car gets a bit complicated as I don’t have a car, so I have really only a handful of options to getting to car dealerships – catch a bus and/or bike there – ask somebody for a ride – rent a car for a day. I probably want to do the first option, discretely as that gives me the most flexibility. I won’t ride my bike into the dealer’s lot, but instead walk over so they can’t see how I got to dealership except on my feet. When I asked if I have a trade, I will keep an open mind on that, but remind them it’s something to discuss in the finance office once we have a price. I certainly don’t want them to know I took a city bus there and want to be able to drive home at any costs.
Right now, I am dealing with the emotions of losing Big Red. And while I have used public transit and biked in the past to get around town, I want to get really experienced and comfortable with it, so I can walk into the dealerships with zero pressure. I want to spend the month of January researching as much as I can about trucks, though I am strongly leaning towards a basic SuperDuty 4×4 long bed regular cab truck. Not as much for price but for it’s Plain Jane but big nature. But that ignores the vast options you can get even of just those trucks regular cab long bed, especially if you are willing to consider both the F-250 and the F-350. My first mistake in researching trucks was thinking there was a significant difference between the two. There really ain’t.
Then come February, I want to test drive one of those trucks to confirm that is my choice of vehicles. Catch the bus up to Metro Ford and DePaula Ford, tell them I am looking at 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks. In advance, I’ll print out window stickers of vehicles I’m interested in. I don’t have to make clear I am not buying that day, but I do want to hear their sales pitch. Then leave without buying. I don’t want to buy a truck and get it salty, and I would rather have the pressure on dealer not me to buy when I want at a price I want. I am sure if I give them my phone number, they’ll be harassing me within minutes after I walk off the line. I have a feeling thought, they’ll be thinking I am into budget trucks and my budget stretched – but I want a basic configuration SuperDuty not just for price but also reliability, ease of maintenance, and fuel economy. No LED lights, please!
Obviously, if Metro Ford and DePaula treat me well, I will be more likely to consider purchasing from them even for a slight mark up. I have a feeling at least one or two of them will be trying to convince me what I want to a 1/2 ton with all the features or probably a Ford Ranger. You can get a top of line Ford Ranger for the price of a basic F-250/F-350. Don’t you want those high tech screens and self driving sensors? Heated seats? No! But I don’t want a little fancy truck. I want real truck, one that I can push hard, drive a lot of rough dirt roads, idle, and drive full days on the highway with no issues. Cheap bastard the dealership will probably say, or insist I must some kind of contractor or farmer.
Truth is once I’ve climbed into and driven a SuperDuty or whatever truck I end up deciding to buy, they’re all going to be pretty much alike, it’s just a matter of package and price, and I can pretty much buy sight unseen. If the dealer isn’t local but offers a good price, and agrees to honor such a price in writing, I can get bank check, and mail it to them, and when it clears pick the truck up. New vehicles in particular are going to be identical from the factory, bar the features that listed out on the window sticker and dealer write up.
When it comes down to it, I think the best strategy is to work the phones and emails to buy a vehicle. You can avoid answering questions to dealer on the phone. It’s easier to hang up then walk off a property. It is much better to investigate when you have full window sticker in front of you and can read the details carefully before paying. All of the major car dealers have websites, and you can call them up and email them asking for the out the door price on the vehicle – what you would cut the check for if you pay for cash, ask the bank to finance, or finance through the dealer. Ask the dealer for a written break down of the fees and taxes, which are mostly imaginary as dealers pay both of those things, but are part of the total out the door costs. Some dealers won’t give it to you remotely, but if they want your business and think your legitimate, they will. For example, if I don’t hear from a dealer in Syracuse there is no way in hell I’m going to get a ride or take a bus out there to visit in person just to get a total out the door cost.
Some people suggest searching dealers within a two state radius of your home state. Indeed, if you can come to an agreement that saves you thousands of dollars out the door, a plane, train or bus ticket is worth it. Seems a bit more traveling then I want to do but I will consider a radius from Glens Falls to Syracuse to Oneonta to Newburgh to North Pittsfield to Bennington. I will contact outlying dealers first, and if anything its practice in getting quotes for out the door prices for vehicles. But whatever info gets me is both a negotiating tool, and if they offer a good rate, I’ll buy from them. No reason you have to buy from the local dealer. It would be a fun adventure to take a train or bus to a remote town, get picked up by dealer at the train station, hand them the check and drive home in what will be the basis for my new rig.
Once I gather information on real costs – and not the imaginary numbers on window stickers and dealer websites – I’ll make a decision mid-to-late March. There are a few reasons for doing it this way – I don’t want to get the new truck covered with salt until after the autumn when I coat it with fluid film. Also, dealers are more motivated to sell at the end of both the month and the quarter so they can meet manufacturer quotas. And the more time you take, the more the odds tilt towards you. While finance is something you decide after you settle on a price and vehicle, I will keep my options open. I generally dislike loans, but depending on incentives it could make sense. People said it was a mistake to not take 0 percent financing last time, when I could have been allowing my cash to earn money in the markets. That said, I do like the finality of cutting one check and owning the vehicle in the clear.
Buying a truck without a vehicle poses it’s challenges, but if I am strategic and learn the games the dealers play, and find the truck I really want based on Internet research, I can buy the truck I really want at a fair price and not risk getting scammed like so many do at the auto dealer’s lot.
