RE: Best Bet for Halibut ?
If you want a quick and (relatively) inexpensive halibut trip, take the boats out of Ninilchik.
If you are after big "but, you'll probably want to go to Homer. Most of the charter operators there can put you on to relatively small halibut for a 1/2 day charter and onto the bigger ones with a full day charter (often have to run further to get to the big ones).
This is the Kenai Peninsula view...if you really want to go for big halibut, might consider St. Paul, etc.
RE: Diesel trucks in cold, really cold, weather
The need depends on your definition of "..cold, really cold...". Different oil, alchohol in the brake lines, possibly an anti-gel additive will work for all but the coldest temperatures.
"The coldest temperatures" that I've worked in was out of Northway on a remote site. Had a 6-8 week stint of -60 to -70 weather. The best solution for that weather was the old never-shut-'er-off trick...diesel trucks ran from early January to early March and we cycled them through the shop to melt the crud off, to fuel up, and to change oil.
If you are in -30 or colder weather and you leave your rig sit for a long time, you might consider driving a 50 yard back and forth pattern (slowly) to warm up the various fluids in the powertrain before going fast or hard.
RE: closet weight police
davelinde....
you know you are wrong and intend to tow any way. I can't tell you no, you are grown and free to make your own decisions....but run over me and my attorney will be all over you like white on rice and his instructions are to weigh the other rig and go after them with a vengeance.
Ken
These kind of posts crack me up. It is like the arguments the K-5 kids have in my classroom. Perhaps iceman you would care to site any evidence or past case history to suggest that you would even have a case.
.......
...and these kinds of posts crack me up. I'll match statistics with anyone on this forum since, unlike most, I actually made my living in a courtroom for a period of time as an attorney: 95% of auto injury cases filed (and the remaining 5% usually involve commercial aspects beyond the accident) are settled prior to trial. Cases settled prior to trial are not reported.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot: trial court cases are not reported either, unless they are appealed, and then only the citations to the record appear in the appellate judgement and the case reporter.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot: there is almost always some sort of non-disclosure agreement (it varies, so I won't give specific examples) that is stipulated to by the parties that limits, surprisingly enough, disclosure of the facts of the case or the settlement.
In this instance, Davelinde is welcome to tow his rig and see if it works...sounds like it might just work. That being said, if I was injured in a crash wherein the other party was towing a trailer, one of the first things I would do is start to assemble any evidence I could about the loading status of the truck/trailer combination.
One of the first questions I would ask the other driver in his/her deposition would be "Why did you not comply with the published GVWR and GCVWR data".... I suspect the usual answers that those #'s are just made up and there's no difference between 3/4 ton and 1 ton wouldn't look so good as sworn testimony as compared to being stated on the internet.
RE: Selling my 5th Wheel
I used Craigslist with notable lack of response...rather than fiddle around, I consigned my 5th wheel with PPL Motorhomes in Houston..sold within a week.
Although the fast sale made me wonder if I was pricing it too low, the sales price was only $1,000 below what I had listed on Craigslist. Of course, with the commission, I took a bit of a hit, but a good tradeoff of time vs. $$.
....and I think I was lucky to sell a big, heavy, 5th wheel in today's market for anything close to what I wanted.
RE: Anyone else not an MPG-checker?
I check the mileage on my F350 for a simple purpose...I don't need the F350 for towing anymore, but I do need it for hauling the ATV and deer corn and, and, and....and I keep checking the mileage to see if it is so poor that I'd be justified in getting another pickup w/o dual wheels and w/o the Tow Boss....
....so far, the mileage difference between a lightly loaded F350 and a loaded F150 is not enough to justify the $15,000 or so hit I would take on trading in the F350.
That being said, I have to get another putz-mobile to fit in the garage at work, so I am looking for a low cost gas sipper.
RE: Pilots Will Like This
In Anchorage, there are quite a few visting pilots that fly up during the summer. Anchorage's Merrill Field is the primary general aviation field. They have a runway that runs East/West and is identified as 6/24.
Elmendorf AFB is about 5 miles as the crow flies and has a runway (for the jet jockeys and air tankers) that (IIRC) is identified as 8/26.
One day I'm flying in to Merrill and report passing Muldoon Road. ATC comes back and says "Piper 2378M you are # 2 behind a Cessna on final. Report traffic in sight"...I'm frantically looking since I see no traffic and I'm about to call the tower when a call comes in "Merrill Tower, Cessna XXX, have runway 26 in sight."
"Cessna XXX say again that you have Runway 24 in sight"
"Merrill Tower, Cessna XXX, why do you keep saying Runway 24? I'm on 2 mile final for Runway 26"
"Cessna XXX, Immediately contact Elmendorf on XXX.XX you are operating in military airspace and your traffic is a KC 135 at 10:00" ....or something to that effect.
While I felt sorry for that pilot, I was promptly moved up to No. 1 and cleared to land. :)
RE: Valve Stem Extensions for 2008 F450
Our local camping world has all sorts of valve extensions that work for the Ford dual wheel setup.
I've used two types: one was just a very short extension (curved) that went on the inner wheel stem: this worked fine, but I also used the flexible SS braided hose extensions that attached to the inner wheel stem and were also attached to a guide mounted on the hubcap.
While I haven't done any real offroading, the braided hose extensions have held up for about 25,000 miles and about 10 trips to the deer lease, which is a pretty rough road.
RE: When to retire?
DW and I have it planned out..when we hit the magic #, we're done. The magic # has a range ($x,xxx,xxx to $y,yyy,yyy): once we hit the low end, the trigger point is determined by a daily calculation of income vs. enjoyment: when we don't enjoy the job anymore, it will be time to play the old Johnny Paychek song.
RE: Ice Road Truckers is Back Season #2
Another men acting badly reality show, like Deadliest Catch. A soap opera without the sex. If you have seen one episode, you have seen them all.
Agree entirely, but (having been there) the weather is real, as are the shots of Dutch Harbor...and while it's not entirely clear in the show, more than once a crab boat that has finished its season has bought round(s) for the entire bar.
However badly one thinks of Ice Road Truckers or Deadliest Catch, just watch one (OK maybe two) episodes of The Alaska Experiment and the other two shows will look much more appealing. Paul kind of sold his soul to participate in that show.
RE: B4UDIE
There are (in my view) two answers to the question of when one should see Alaska.
If the question is being asked by the State (i.e. Department of Tourism), then the answer is "when you're physically able to get here, but are limited to staying in developed areas and spending significant coin with the local businesses"
If the question is being asked in an honest manner, the answer is ASAP...Alaska today is not the Alaska of the '90's, much less the Alaska of the '60's and it is different (in an "it will get worse" paradigm) than it will be in another 10 years.
That being said, it is a challenging matrix of whether one comes to Alaska when they have as much $$ as possible (to afford to really get out of the cities) or does one come as early (i.e. young) as they can so that they can do more physical activity. A conundrum to be sure.
Just one person's opinion, but with some degree of experience behind it.
RE: Another toad question...sites to see
A few places that I can think of that one can't CONVENIENTLY get to in a big MH (these are all on the road system):
- McCarthy/Kennecott
- Matanuska Glacier
- Exit Glacier (IIRC, it's been about 10 years since I visited this glacier)
- Flattop Mountain
- Homer Spit...doable, but major PITA factor.
- Any number of side roads on the Parks or Glenn highways;
- Denali Highway;
- Whittier ...doable but a PITA factor once your "in" Whittier...not sure that Whittier is a valid sightseeing spot anyway;
- Girdwood...issue is where do you put the MH when you're there?
- Hope...same as Girdwood;
- Talkeetna....same as Girdwood
Most of the towns mentioned above are small enough to walk around if you're camping nearby...but I don't know if they have campgrounds as I never RV'd in Alaska...the towns would be painful to spend a lot of driving time in a MH and I don't think they have handy parking spaces for non-camping MH's.
Most of the spots mentioned are not serviced by rental companies, but are within driving distance if you rent a car from Anchorage. Most rental agencies don't allow rental cars on the Denali Highway or on the McCarthy/Kennecott road.
RE: Who does your grilling???? The MR. or the Mrs.?????
Me = Grill.
Me = Prepare marinade, sauces, seasonings for whatever goes on Grill
She = everything else
Me = Main dish if we are preparing meal in kitchen.
Me = marinade, sauces, etc for main dish.
She = everything else.
Oh...and I don't do that gas thing...If it ain't got smoke, it ain't grillin'. :)
RE: Motel it to and thru Alaska
In the days of yore (I know, what's yore? Scotch preferably, with kudo's to PHC), when I drove between Anchorage and ______________ (Spokane, Billings, Seattle, Boise, Idaho Falls, DFW!, etc), I didn't have an RV or unlimited funds. I found it quite pleasant to tent camp while traveling and stop at a motel every few days for a good long shower, etc.
Have similarly driven the entire road system (except the northern part of the haul road) and tented around Alaska. This was in my younger days..although as recent as 2003.
A car rental (car, not MH) currently runs $500/week or $1200/10days from Thrifty in Anchorage.
So, if you have time, I'd drive up, bringing tent and camping gear in your car and grab the motel every so often.
RE: being weighed to fly????
As much as I wish it wouldn't happen, I can see that it may be a necessity from the airlines point of view...I suspect it is not a weight/balance issue, but more of a matter of trying to offset rapidly escalating fuel costs. I think I recall when airlines figured the average weight of a passenger was 170#....think we're long past that at this point.
Personally, I'd much rather take a train or drive when going from A to B, but when A is Ewe-stun and B is Anchorage, both driving and trains are impractical, at least for another 5 years or so.
Although it's a much different calculation, I do a rough calculation of everyone/everything on board the PA12 before I take off. As the guy up front, that calculation always means a second trip if there is any passenger that is as heavy as I am.
RE: Motorcycle - am I crazy??
One thing I realized with my last bike was the reason I felt so refreshed after a good ride. Besides really enjoying the riding, I think it was the fact of having to be so focused on the task there was no room to think about anything else if that makes sense.
It makes perfect sense. I feel the same. In that regard, motorcycling is a form of meditation.
In my experience, a good sized bike...your's qualifies IMO...and flying are the same...the degree of concentration required to properly and competently operate leads to an exclusion of a most other mental and physical activity and that period of focussed effort is therapuetic in and of itself.
Congrats on the new ride.
RE: Any investors out there with some good stock picks?
".....
Now, if I was forty with a good income and little debt, then I would see things differently....."
If one is in something close to this position, I'd have to agree with Skid Row Joe....now is a darn good time to be in stocks (or stock mutual funds if one is not ready to try to make individual picks).
My portfolio is significantly in mutual funds, but some of the individual stocks I have are oil cos. and service cos. that support the oil industry...I think there is still a window to make a few $$$ in that market sector. The window is going to shrink, though.
RE: Doing our part to help the economy
This deal, cut-rate or not, puts money into the local economy where it will be used, leveraged, and will increase liquidity for at least one entity.
This is a textbook example (as posted previously) of furthering the free market economy where a willing seller meets a willing buyer and a deal is struck.
I didn't notice anything in the original post that indicates the OP took advantage....could have been that the OP paid the price that the friend asked. The statement regarding a "heck of a deal" doesn't automatically correlate to an excess of market power or leverage on the part of one party or the other.
RE: Need To Sell the Fiver
I just drove the route from Portland to Bend last weekend...saw a bazillion RV dealers...might consider consignment.
I know there will be objections about the cut they take, etc, but there is a convenience factor.
RE: Motorcycle - am I crazy??
I'd get one except for the fact that I still have to work most days of the week and by the time one rides a M/C to work in EWE-stun, one is not entirely presentable for the office during June through September...at least that's been my experience.
I'd take a training course, but wouldn't hesitate to get a bike again.
RE: How late is too late to go to Alaska
I think I'm an experienced RV'er, but not in the North (only took 1-2 trips in AK in an RV)....
....that being said, I've spent a day or two in Alaska and IMNSHO, the most spectacular scenery in Alaska is in the month of September...and my own personal bent says that its great through the month of November.
Personal views aside, if you are in Alaska for the latter part of August and early September, I don't think it gets better for an RV'er. Crowds and bugs will be less, you'll see a few snow capped peaks, and there will be a pleasant coolness to the air in the mornings and evenings.
I'd go now (and again, !)
