Dan's Blog

  On my Arizona trip we first drove West via i-90, leaving mass March 21st. We saw some downright chilly weather along the way. Low's in the single digits at night. back in December 2022, I'd gotten these 12volt Facon pipe elbow heating pads and with some foamboard/reflectic, they worked great for keeping my water jugs from freezing, and keeping my batteries happy. I remember we drove to Albany when there was a cold snap. When I started the drive the batteries were only like 5F, and the heat pads got them up to 30F in no time so they could start charging, like maybe 1 hour. Very happy with that.  

      One of the reasons I bought the Ford Ranger was for its adaptive cruise. I really like it, it makes highway driving much more pleasant. The new winch bumper meant I had to relocate the adaptive cruise sensor from the bottom center of the OEM bumper to the upper corner of the radiator. I bought the addictive designs adaptive cruise relocation bracket, and BuiltEast installed it when they did the bumper installs. There are plenty of Ford's using this relocation bracket, so it's not dangerous to block 1 corner of the radiator I guess. Since the relocation, it's "mostly" worked. The problem is half of the time I get an error message saying that the sensor is blocked, and then I can only use normal cruise (waaah!!! I know I'm being a big baby). The sensor is also part of the pre-collision assist system though, so it's better to make sure it works IMHO. Touch wood, since moving it 1.25" lower, per this slideshow, I'm not g...

    Spent a couple days at my folks before going camping with my friend Jeff in the ADKs.  Thursday was low key, drove from Belleville, via Lowville, thru Old Forge to Inlet NY and Limekiln campground. From there I entered the Moose River Plains after airing down my tires from 30psi to 20. The roads are in good shape, but there are protruding rocks, so airing down makes the ride more comfy. Took about an hour to get to Wakely Dam from Limekiln, and Jeff had already found a primo site by the time I got there. We didn't move around, just stayed at that site over the weekend. On the drive in, I saw quite a few of the heavy duty hunter lodge kind of tents. The ones that almost look like buildings and have mini wood stoves in them. We heard the occasional gun shots around dawn and dusk from the hunters. Guessing it was muzzle load season for deer hunting. Usually just 1 shot at a time. Thursday was cold, so we didn't hang outside that evening and I just tu...

  Forgot that I never blogged on the new 2nd drawer that I'd done before the vermont trip with Jeff, so mentioning now. photos are here, click here I may have also now completed the last updates to the GFC camper (until I redo stuff) . Added a little frame that should keep the duffel bags and tote bags from falling into the driver side of the truck when overlanding. Used a truck tailgate net, and a couple more of the 12volt led lights. Also cleanedup some of the previous wiring near the driver side taillight, so the water wouldn't get to it. updated the strap that I use to gently lower/raise the tailgate when I enter/leave the tent via the truck bed (usually do that when the weather is bad). and I added a few more bolts with 8mm roller skate bearings to help support the 2nd upper drawer when it's fully extended. see photos here, click here

    Spent the week with Jeff. It was nice to have a Midland 400watt GMRS radio this time. Gave extra range so the few times we got separated driving, we could still talk. Many times we were in parts of Vermont with no cell coverage, even on the good roads. Didn't do any hiking, biking, or kayaking. This was just a driving trip mostly. See pics here. click here We drove up separate to Somerset airfield on Monday. I was updating the truck right up to the last minute Sunday. So Monday morning I still needed to pack. So I left around 11 and Jeff left a couple hours earlier. We got some rain Monday afternoon, and the drive on rt 9 to the road leading into Somerset had a ton of delays with lanes blocked off for repaving. It's a main route to Stratton I think (big skiing area). Anyway, I still didn't have the heater I ordered 2 weeks earlier, but got by ok. It's getting cold at night now, but that's Fall camping. Toughen up buttercup, lol. ...

  Before I get into all the details. I consider the trip a success. It went from 75 degree days with low's of 60's at night to a high of 55 and 30's at night. And I was comfortable even though there was about 48 hours worth of rain over the week. The truck carried everything I wanted, but it felt unorganized and cluttered at times. I need to work on that still. The electric system is a game changer. But overall I'm happy with the concept, it just needs more refinement before I do a month long, cross country trip in it. Anyway, here goes. Oh, and the bluetooth keyboard I brought along for my phone became unusable because the space bar wouldn't work, so I had to go old school. I think handwriting my notes for this blog was useful. Slowed my mind down. Technology detox is good from time to time. Friday Sept 9th I drove to Belleville to see my folks. My Dad was very keen on seeing the Truck updates in person. He seemed impressed. The more I tr...