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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Snowbird returning to Ohio
As I still drive out that way fairly often (and was over there yesterday) ...
I-75 through Dayton: Very few cars, a few service vehicles, and LOTS of trucks. Even more trucks than usual, I think. Same on I-70 in IN and OH.
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atreis
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03/26/20 12:14pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Insanity in the grocery stores...
Why there will soon be tons of toilet paper
“All the grocery stores are going to have pallets of toilet paper sitting in the aisles, and nobody is going to buy it, because who needs to buy toilet paper when you’ve got a year’s worth sitting in your garage?” :B
Indeed. The great toilet paper glut of 2021. :)
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atreis
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03/18/20 05:10pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Northland TT's?
Gotta say ... Their website does not impress ...
https://www.pacificcoachworks.com/
Scroll down. Apparently they're going to be showing 2017 models at a show in CA sometime soon. :D
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atreis
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03/10/20 04:48am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: A Real Poser
Love the definition of a Sasquish. :D
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atreis
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02/26/20 05:50pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: What is this
It's a very pretty wood table.
Oh, and there's a strange metal thing that looks like it rotated something sitting on it.
;)
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atreis
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02/20/20 05:23pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: what do you think about hybrid Mitsubishi
Later this year Ford and Toyota are expected to announce hybrid versions of the F-150 and Tundra. Toyota has had a hybrid Highlander (about the same size as the Mitsubishi Outlander) for years.
That said, I'd guess the OP is a spammer, attracted to the "Hybrid" travel trailer forum by accident. :)
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atreis
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02/12/20 05:30pm |
Hybrid Travel Trailers
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RE: Were older travel trailers built better?
Were older trailers built better? On average, no. However, the badly built ones are likely not around in usable form anymore, so the ones you're likely to find available for sale probably were built better. That's why they've survived.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias
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atreis
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01/26/20 10:38am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: RV wholesalers?
I've bought two trailers from them and been happy both times with both the process and service upon delivery.
FWIW, for me they're not all that far away. :)
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atreis
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01/05/20 01:23pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: I must be getting olde !
Just for fun, ask a teenager what qualifies as a long distance call and how much they think it would cost per minute. :)
FWIW, standard shift cars are still available from Honda and Mazda. Not sure about others ...
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atreis
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12/28/19 06:24am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: How do you summer travel?
We do 250-350 mile stretches between campgrounds that are mapped out months in advance with all reservations booked and paid for, or we're doing weekends within 2 hours from home at a state or county park. While I like spontaneous exploration once we're at a destination, travel days must be planned for me, with enough time to see something cool if we happen across it. Some day I'll take up a more aimless travel style but for now vacation days and aligned schedules are too precious to waste.
We go further, up to 600 miles in a day, but otherwise do the same thing for the same reason.
As for electric, we point the top of the trailer at the sky and get it for free (after the initial capital investment for solar panels and charge controller) with no noise or mess from the sun. We have a 320 watt array.
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atreis
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12/28/19 06:18am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Everyone's gotta see this VW.
Those are really nicely done. Some talent there.
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atreis
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12/16/19 08:05pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Non-renewable Lithium...Fact.
Nope. Used EV batteries are already in high demand. Expected real world lifespan of the cells is 30 years. Never make assumptions on todays technology. In three years it will be a different game.
PS. I'm one of those who trade in their vehicle every 5 or 6 years. (I like tech) Whoever gets my EV next spring will have an amazing problem free EV with probably at least another decade of life...if not more. We have a bunch of neighbours who have already called dibs.
In cars, the useful life of LiFePO4 batteries is about 10 years. After that they still have lots of life, but capacity and maximum rate of discharge decrease to the point where they're no longer effective in a car. So the person getting your car has 5 years, not 10, before they'll need to do something (unless either they or you don't drive much). At that point they're good as backup storage for solar/wind on the grid, where capacity vs. weight and volume isn't as much of an issue and discharge can be spread out over many banks, where they can be used for another 15-20 years.
After that (25 to 30 years old), most will be spent and they need to be disposed of somehow. Hopefully by then there's a cost-effective way to recover the metals from them for re-use. Right now there are ways but they're not cost effective.
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atreis
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11/24/19 06:13pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Charging electric car
I guess I'm not explaining myself properly or my idea is just too stupid. The bus is dragging the toad down the road; the toad's wheels are turning; the toad's motor(s) are turning - throw in a little regenerative braking on the toad and its battery will charge. The bus has to work a bit harder but there is no modification to the bus.
Convenient, yes. Efficient, no. You're effectively charging your electric car from a gas generator. Your bus's engine has to work that much harder to overcome the increased resistance of the toad as it generates electric. (Sorry, no 1st law violations allowed.) In terms of efficiency, you'd be better off towing a hybrid or charging from mains at your destination.
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atreis
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11/24/19 07:29am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Non-renewable Lithium...Fact.
according to Wikipedia this is a list of the top 9-lithium producing countries. several are not exactly friendly to the USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_lithium_production
And some are very friendly. The same is true for petroleum.
FWIW, Canada, the US, and South America also have Lithium deposits but they're not being mined much currently. (It's a very abundant material.)
If you want to be concerned: The batteries also contain small amounts of Cobalt and Magnesium. Those are far more concerning, especially Cobalt, in terms of their rarity. There's a lot of work to reduce/remove those. (Actually Cobalt has been reduced a lot, in favor of Magnesium, but is still needed.)
There's also active research on recycling but the technology is still under development.
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atreis
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11/24/19 07:17am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Tesla Cybertruck
Ugly as sin, and obviously no good for a fifth wheel... But the specs on the high end model are very impressive. 14K tow rating, 3500 lbs capacity, 500+ miles range, and the price is in the ballpark of high end trim lines of other pickups. I hope it sells well, proves the whole notion possible, and they put one out (or Rivian does) that can tow a fiver.
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atreis
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11/23/19 05:50am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Cell service in Canada
AT&T has a one month international roaming plan that's a better price option than the day-at-a-time option if you're going to be there for more than a few days. Verizon might have something similar.
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atreis
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11/09/19 08:04am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Boeing 737 crashes..........why ?
Nose-heavy aircraft is nothing new. Setting ALL trims according to the take-off weight-and-balance data is nothing new. Hand flying during takeoff, and and trimming the aircraft as necessary during climb-out is nothing new. Granted, in order to do it safely, you not only need to be systems knowledgeable, but you also need to be an experienced aviator,...not just a pilot. An aviator knows the limits of elevator and stabilizer authority, and the difference between full power and takeoff power, and the limits of rudder authority,.....plus hundreds of other important related things.
In aviation, it's easy to learn that if you go too slow, you might fall out of the sky. It takes a lot more time to learn that if you go too fast you might go into Mach Tuck, from which you will problably NOT recover.
Yes, nose heavy aircraft, etc ... Quite true, but part of the goal with the Max was to have pilots be able to go from other 737 models without having to relearn the plane. (Why? It's good for sales to airlines, who want pilots to be able to fly a variety of similar planes and minimize training time.) So, they put in a software system aimed at taking care of those adjustments for the pilot, didn't tell the pilots, and messed up the implementation.
Somehow I doubt that passenger 737 Max pilots spend a lot of time worrying about Mach Tuck. :D
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atreis
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11/02/19 07:11am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Boeing 737 crashes..........why ?
Why were the MCAS controls installed in the first place ? I read 3-4 months ago, somewhere, that Boeing retrofitted the 737 with new engines. Heavier but more fuel efficient.
The added weight affected the wings...causing the plane to dip down.... and the MCAS was added to keep the plane level.
Did not work apparently. Anyone else have info as to why the MCAS was added ?
The engines are physically larger and would have hit the ground if mounted at the original location. They moved them forward some so that they could mount them at a higher location. Engines are heavy.
That shifted the center of gravity of the plane forward from where it was previously, requiring a flight control system fix to adjust how the plane flies such that it would behave similar to what pilots were expecting.
CG in planes is very critical for good flight control. (BTW, this is why when you're on a not-full flight passengers get scattered around the cabin - to keep the weight distribution even.)
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atreis
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11/01/19 05:30am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Why did the motorists cross the road?
Never heard of these (I'm 48), so googled it. It ends up, if you have some, TODAY (Oct 15, 2019) is the last day that you can cash them in.
https://m.wikihow.com/Redeem-S%26H-Green-Stamps
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atreis
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10/15/19 04:54am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Tow with Chevy Bolt?
In terms of load on the system, towing a small trailer on the flats should be easier on the system than driving up a long moderate grade without a trailer. (With a trailer, one really just has to get it up to speed. Keeping it there is light work outside of the mountains.) The system had better be up for normal mountain driving.
It's an interesting project and I look forward to hearing how it goes.
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atreis
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10/15/19 04:50am |
Tow Vehicles
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