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Messages - Flyin6
1
« on: May 02, 2024, 10:17:32 PM »
Rheumatoid Arthritis can be a bear.
It started affecting me last spring, a little more than a year ago. As the disease took hold it made me an effective cripple. My low point was a morning when I could not get up out of the chair to go to the bathroom. It is an awful disease and it kicked my butt for sure.
It takes months to get an appointment with a Rheumatologist, but through the utter persistence of my wife, she got me in in a week.
I had to undergo a lot of tests. I had studies done on my heart, Liver, and Kidneys. Some of those studies involved minor surgery. I confess starting last May until late this past fall, I was pretty miserable.
The Rheumatologist started dosing me with Hydroxychloroquine, two times a day. The thing about treating RQ is that they are aggressive or else you could suffer permanent joint damage.
I discovered I could take a small dose of prednisone and get 2-3 days of relief. The long-term drugs take at least six months to start to become effective. Luckily, I think I am a little past that point now and hopeful of finding a cure.
I am writing this here because as soon as I started gaining mobility, I started working out, but it has been a slow road. At first, I could only do 10-15 minutes of walking on a treadmill. I could not reach down to the floor or even effectively bathe myself. Yea, it was a bit_h.
As I started getting a little better and then a little bit more, I started walking more. I could not bend my wrist to do even a single pushup! By comparison, I used to do 100!
Well, today, I completed a 4-mile hike, and just yesterday I did a hike up and down 500-foot elevation changes at a place called Benger Mountain. It has been a real struggle, but I am fighting it with everything I have.
At the moment the pain from today's hike is under control after taking three Tylenol, but I am making headway.
I will not give up and hope to fully recover from this crippling disease.
2
« on: May 02, 2024, 09:51:55 AM »
I did the same thing to mine. Weld it back together and carry on...
With your torture testing background I can’t say I’m surprised….. ![popcorn :popcorn:](http://real-man-truckworks-and-survival.com/Smileys/default/popcornemot.GIF)
Well... ;-)
3
« on: May 02, 2024, 09:02:32 AM »
Congratulations, Matt for delivering the word of God on a daily basis for years now!!
Coming to this thread has become a regular thing for many of us here. In fact, we have now visited this thread and God's word over 100,000 times
May the glory be to God for he is the very reason we have this thread.
But also, Thanks Matt
4
« on: May 01, 2024, 11:18:46 PM »
Costco here is the same as the stations and No diesel! Why be a member?
Wow, not here. Costco is way cheaper than anywhere else, even Sam's Club. And it has diesel.
5
« on: May 01, 2024, 11:17:51 PM »
I did the same thing to mine. Weld it back together and carry on...
6
« on: May 01, 2024, 07:14:50 PM »
Knocking on the door of 100,000 views
One hundred thousand times someone wrote or read God's word!
7
« on: May 01, 2024, 07:13:06 PM »
8
« on: May 01, 2024, 07:11:58 PM »
NW MT
D $3.95 G $3.50
Both have been floating within 5 cents a gallon of those prices for a couple weeks
Kentucky is approximately the same. Costco fuel, of course, is about 50 cents a gallon cheaper.
9
« on: May 01, 2024, 07:10:40 PM »
Tate, Thanks for that update. My takeaway is that Mopar is doing their homework and installing some stout components. That, and now we know for sure that we are back to clutch-type limited slips. Another takeaway is that this newer carrier is going to be a tad bit more difficult to play with given its pressed-together nature. I for one will just run this factory setup until Trump leaves office after he completes his second term in 2033.
10
« on: April 30, 2024, 07:46:31 PM »
I then added 20 psi to the bags to test for leaks overnight.
That raised the rear end a bit more.
Obviously, the back end will settle down with 4,000 lbs. in the bed, but I can say, I am pleased with the results.
11
« on: April 30, 2024, 07:42:29 PM »
I did not get any pics, but I added a 1" spacer beneath the airbags. I then used bolts that were over 1" too long. After threading them through the spacer and mounting them into the bottom of the bags, they protrude downward. The idea here is to allow the suspension more flex if I ever extend it in more severe terrain. The Carli shocks will allow for more droop so these bag extensions will accommodate that should it ever happen.
Here are the finished Carli install shots:
12
« on: April 30, 2024, 07:37:39 PM »
Here's a before and after showing the additional height with zero air pressure.
Before looks like 43 1/4"
After is 44 3/4"
Some of that is just the fact that the suspension has not settled from being unloaded on jack stands for two days. but I easily picked up an inch +.
13
« on: April 30, 2024, 07:33:31 PM »
I finished up the rear suspension and repaired the leaky airbag fittings (I think...)
I pulled the air bags off and tossed the factory supplied cheapo swivel fittings in favor of the brass ones the local truck repair shop gave me yesterday
14
« on: April 30, 2024, 10:06:17 AM »
So here's a question: I like the lug nuts showing look, that and the rear hub showing. It is either that of slide on the cheapl plastic hub caps.
Question, Leave em off, of go all girly and install them back like factory?
I don’t mind it either.
My .02..
I’m not sure how much luck and crap will get on them. What I’ve found with my Chebby ones, they are clean. In my trailers, without the plastic caps, the mud and goo really plugs up the threads. So much so that I’ve had to shorten some wheel studs.
My vote would be based on your operating conditions. Not to goooey, then lose ‘em. Gooey, probably keep ‘em.
Good thoughts... My concept of the operation is that I want to be able to visibly see if any lug nuts are loosening up with all this road warrior stuff coming right up...
15
« on: April 30, 2024, 09:02:28 AM »
We do have a pond that would hold it. 96 does speed it up considerably.
Sam's right. Ponds eat zero turns. My neighbor across the street, 3X! If it weren't for my truck and its front winch, would have been a fiver! Oh and then there's a notable member of this community ;-)
16
« on: April 30, 2024, 09:00:27 AM »
So here's a question: I like the lug nuts showing look, that and the rear hub showing. It is either that of slide on the cheapl plastic hub caps.
Question, Leave em off, of go all girly and install them back like factory?
17
« on: April 30, 2024, 08:58:39 AM »
Getting there. Dodge has always had solid running gear. Some of the earlier auto trans were not up to snuff and not a huge fan of the AAM front axle.
Stock wheels look good too.
Doing steps on it too? I sold my powersteps as I prefer the side protection of the stationary.
On the steps, dunno. It came with the cheapo side steps and actually, they do work. My oldest son says I need to lose them. I would prefer AMP Research steps for this one, but again, dunno... Opinions?
18
« on: April 29, 2024, 09:07:43 PM »
I had to attend a fire department board meeting, so I did not finish.
Chatting with the guys at the truck shop, they told me that my airbag leak issue is being caused by leaking swivel fittings. They do not use them but have some better stationary solid brass fittings. They just gave me two of them for no charge. How cool is that?
So here is the resting condition as of COB, today. I'll get on the bags tomorrow and hopefully, have it ready for the alignment shop.
19
« on: April 29, 2024, 09:04:28 PM »
After the U-bolt thing, I was able to proceed, and managed to get the first, then the second Lift block installed with the new hardware.
20
« on: April 29, 2024, 09:02:03 PM »
Very quickly, I noticed the warehouse guys sent me the wrong U-bolts, so I had to go out and have some made up for me. Having to take a couple of hours to chase down the U-bolts effectively killed any chance I had of finishing the install today...
In the box, you can see the Carli-supplied U-bolt, and the one I just took off my truck. They are the same length!
So is life, no big deal.
21
« on: April 29, 2024, 08:59:34 PM »
As is usual, the dog chose a spot that was in the way of everything...
I throw boxes and trash on him thinking it will startle him, but he never moves...
22
« on: April 29, 2024, 08:58:20 PM »
They sent me the rear shocks, lift blocks and U-Bolts.
The shocks have a lot of gas pressure. I'm talking getting a jack to compress them!
23
« on: April 29, 2024, 08:56:42 PM »
Today I got after the rear suspension (again).
Before adding the Carli stuff, the rear is about level with the front.
24
« on: April 29, 2024, 06:35:12 PM »
That'll work!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
25
« on: April 29, 2024, 06:32:47 PM »
96"??? What??? Huge, that is what that thing is. Now get that boy of mine on it mowing your pastures. He needs to learn to operate stuff like that...
26
« on: April 29, 2024, 06:31:15 PM »
Moving along! Hope you get the nice ride you’re after first round this time.
Just caught the 12 bolts in the rear axles. I think it was 8 in the 11.5, so that one has been beefed up considerably.
It is apparently. I chatted with Tate this morning about it. He sent me some detailed information about that axle. We can settle the argument about which kind of differential is in there. It is a two-piece differential with internal clutches preloaded by some Belville washers. Apparently, it is possible to rebuild it. There are 30, 32 and 33 spline axles depending on what truck you are driving. The dually gets the mutant strong stuff. That is why everything seems so darned oversized in the pics of my truck axle.
27
« on: April 29, 2024, 10:23:41 AM »
28
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:28:31 PM »
The front end is mostly done. I'll have to bolt on the front steering stabilizer if/when it comes in. But for now, I am front-end complete. On the backside tomorrow.
29
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:26:54 PM »
In went the springs and shocks along with the new Panhard and except for the axle side Panhard attachment it all went on fairly quickly.
30
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:16:46 PM »
Factory vs Carli springs:
31
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:15:55 PM »
Panhard or front centering link or whatever it is called has to be setup and adjusted. It is a bit of a process, but I had done one earlier on the blue truck, so this one went together faster.
32
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:14:08 PM »
After removing the front cross bar, and disconnecting the shocks, the front can be lowered enough to pull the springs out.
33
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:12:49 PM »
I call it 40 7/16" before the Carli springs and I measured it at 43" even afterward.
Carli says their springs lift it 2.5", I actually measured a 2 7/16" lift.
Pretty close
I started by jacking the thing up and pulling off the wheels on the front.
34
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:10:19 PM »
Today I got after the Carli suspension parts I just purchased from Tater. Most of the stuff was delivered, enough to get the front end almost completed.
The idea is to level it, the same as I did on the 2022 single wheel 3500
Carli lifts the front 2.5" and the rear 1" to level everything.
Here are some before and after shots
35
« on: April 28, 2024, 10:14:36 AM »
How do you guys get your wife to get rid of stuff she hasn't touched in over 10 years? I'm trying to get our house back in order after a remodel and just don't want to move stuff again that will never get touched again until our kids have to clean out the house after we are gone.
Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
This is a great question! Here's how I did it I talked her into moving into a smaller house, a barndominium we are yet to build. There was not going to be either a basement or tons of storage space. She connected the dots naturally and has been shedding stuff for almost two years. I figure in about another year or two we will be back at fighting weight.
36
« on: April 27, 2024, 04:11:26 PM »
Hiked all loops of the Bender Mountain loop/trail today. It was a good one for cardio and leg strength. The hill rises 713 feet from the parking lot and then runs along either side then finally up on top of a narrow ridge overlooking the Ohio River. Not particularly long, like 2.5-3.0 ish with all the loops, but a lot of up and down. We took our granddaughter. Good times! Yesterday we did 4+ along the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati and Newport, KY. Beautiful time of year to get out. We are doing a fair amount of hiking/walking in preparation for the July Wyoming trip. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ohio/bender-mountain-loop-trail
37
« on: April 27, 2024, 08:33:31 AM »
^^^^^^^^^^OK, them's some gud comments. At least for the popular herd, I must be doin' something right for once ;-) ^^^^^^^^^^
38
« on: April 26, 2024, 07:31:27 PM »
I recall that round, when o bummer got elected you couldn’t find any of that ammo anywhere.
Ashley had a friend with a gun in that round back then and I recall him hitting me up. I’d say if you get one have the coin to buy several cases and stock up. I personally don’t need another round and I like the .22mag in the pmr-30 obviously not comparable ballistics but I have several rifles and pistols in 22wmr already and it’s a light fairly powerful round. That pistol has 30 rd mags too.
I’ve personally been stocking up on .410 as of late. When looking at my inventory I was light on small game shot. The wife and I are planning on grouse hunting this year to get us out of the cabin after the big game push is over.
I don't necessarily see myself as needing a 5.7 but a few of the operators were all over that gun over in the stan. Not sure if anyone got shot by one over there, have to ask around. And the .410 thing is a great idea. You had me wanting to buy two. One for me and one for an up and coming grand daughter who needs to do some field time with me.
39
« on: April 26, 2024, 07:04:59 PM »
And there you are, ready to get started on the suspension mods
40
« on: April 26, 2024, 07:01:58 PM »
And the slightly larger tires do a good job of filling up those wheel wells.
41
« on: April 26, 2024, 07:01:07 PM »
The rear axle is all business and looks beefy without the tires obscuring the view.
42
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:59:34 PM »
They fit the front fender well, and I will be staying with the stock wheel (for once)
43
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:57:45 PM »
We are going up in size from a 235/80R17 to a 255/80R17.
30.something to 33.1" OD
44
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:56:22 PM »
The hubs on this new 3500 are enormous. This thing is built for hard work and longevity.
I count 12 axle retention bolts. I want to say my older 11.5" AAM had 10, am I correct? Someone check me out on that.
45
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:54:14 PM »
And here's how we got there. I used the same shop I have been using for a couple of years now, Crittenden Tire and Lube. It is run by an ASE and seasoned mechanic, Kyle.
46
« on: April 26, 2024, 06:52:13 PM »
New tires are installed.
We used the balance beads and Whew...$356 to swap the seven tires out with the beads!!!!!
Here's a before and after:
47
« on: April 26, 2024, 01:04:38 PM »
Update: The work was going well on the repair. In fact, it was almost finished, lacking only the installation of the awning which has not come in yet.
But, then something happened.
Holman Motors not only repaired the slide floor but reinforced it. They did not like the plastic cover Forest River provided, so they installed a piece of Aluminum instead. Well while they were testing the operation of the slide, they noticed the slide rollers were hitting the aluminum, and have actually gouged the new aluminum and the new floor!
Ya, something is not right. Upon investigation, they discovered the slide mechanism was incorrectly installed by Forest River! So now, they have to replace the floor a second time along with the aluminum cover and repair or replace the slide mechanism again. I was going to get my camper back on Monday, but it now looks like I am in the hurry-up and wait mode once again.
The tech who discovered all this has been working on campers for 22 years and is one of the best they have. He says the damage was not caused by the impact at all and that I am not on the hook for it. He places the blame totally on Forest River. He is also reluctant to let anything leave there that is not 100% repaired correctly. He said if he had not discovered the problem, my slide would have failed in the extended position shortly. So there was a hidden blessing in having had the accident in the first place.!
48
« on: April 26, 2024, 09:08:42 AM »
OK, nothing heard from Tate on the diff question...
Off to get the tires installed...
Stuff just keeps showing up:
49
« on: April 26, 2024, 08:42:46 AM »
50
« on: April 26, 2024, 08:32:43 AM »
I did not write this, but I wish that I had.
History tells us nations also have seasons: Imagine a Roman of the 2nd century gleefully contemplating an empire that stretched from Britain to the Near East, thinking: This’ll endure forever.... Yeah, forever was about 500 years, give or take.... not bad, but gone!!
France was pivotal in the 17th and 18th centuries; now the land of Charles Martel is on its way to becoming part of the Muslim ummah.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the sun never set on the British empire; now Albion exists in perpetual twilight. Its deceased queen is a fitting symbol for a nation in terminal decline.
In the 1980s, Japan seemed poised to buy the world. Business schools taught Japanese management techniques. Today, its birth rate is so low and its population aging so rapidly that an industry has sprung up to remove the remains of elderly Japanese who die alone.
I was born in 1941, almost at the midpoint of the 20th century - the American century. America’s prestige and influence were never greater. Thanks to the 'Greatest Generation,' we won a World War fought throughout most of Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. We reduced Germany to rubble and put the rising sun to bed. It set the stage for almost half a century of unprecedented prosperity.
We stopped the spread of communism in Europe and Asia and fought international terrorism. We rebuilt our enemies and lavished foreign aid on much of the world. We built skyscrapers and rockets to the moon. We conquered Polio and now to some degree conquered COVID 19. We explored some of the mysteries of the Universe and the wonders of DNA...the blueprint of life.
But where’s the glory that once was Rome? America has moved from a relatively free economy to socialism - which's worked so well NOWHERE in the world, ever!
We've gone from a republican government guided by a constitution to a wicked regime of revolving elites. We’ve less freedom with each passing year. Like a signpost to the coming reign of terror, the cancel culture is everywhere. We've traded the American Revolution for the Cultural Revolution.
The wicked incompetent fraud in the White House is an empty vessel filled by his handlers. At the G-7 Summit, 'Dr. Jill' had to lead him like a child. In 1961, when we were young and vigorous, our leader was too. Now a feeble nation is technically led by the oldest man to ever serve in the presidency.
We can't defend our borders, our history (including monuments to past greatness) or our streets. Our cities have become anarchist playgrounds. We’re a nation of dependents, mendicants, and misplaced charity. Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.
The president of the United States can't even quote the beginning of the Declaration of Independence ('You know - The Thing') correctly. Ivy League graduates routinely fail history tests that 5th graders could pass a generation ago. Crime rates soar and we blame the 2nd. Amendment and slash police budgets.
Our culture is certifiably insane. Men who’re mindlessly claiming they’re women. People who fight racism by seeking to convince members of one race that they’re inherently evil, and others that they’re perpetual victims. A psychiatrist lecturing at Yale said she fantasizes about 'unloading a revolver into the head of any white person.'
We murder the unborn in the name of freedom, while our birth rate dips lower year by year. Our national debt is so high that we can no longer even pretend that we’ll repay it one day. It's a $30-trillion monument to our improvidence and refusal to confront reality. Our 'entertainment' is sadistic, nihilistic, and as enduring as a candy bar wrapper thrown in the trash. Our music is noise that spans the spectrum from annoying to nauseating.
Patriotism is called an insurrection, treason celebrated, and perversion sanctified. A man in blue gets less respect than a man in a frilly dress. We’re asking soldiers to fight for a nation our leaders no longer believe in.
How meekly most of us submitted to Fauci-ism (the regime of face masks, lockdowns, and hand sanitizers) shows the impending death of the American spirit.
How do nations slip from greatness to obscurity?
* Fighting endless wars they can't or won't win
* Accumulating massive debt far beyond their ability to repay
* Refusing to secure their borders, allowing the nation to be inundated by an alien horde
* Surrendering control of their cities to mob rule
* Allowing indoctrination of the young
* Moving from a republican form of government to an oligarchy
* Losing national identity
* Indulging indolence
* Abandoning God, faith and family - the bulwarks of any stable society.
In America, every one of these symptoms is pronounced, indicating an advanced stage of the disease.
Even if the cause seems hopeless, do we not have an obligation to those who sacrificed so much to give us what we once had? I'm surrounded by relentless ghosts urging me on: the Union soldiers who held Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, the battered bastards of Bastogne, those who served in the cold hell of Korea, the guys who went to the jungles of Southeast Asia and came home to be reviled or neglected.
This’s the nation that took in my immigrant grandparents, whose uniform my father and most of my uncles wore in the Second World War. I’m grief stricken to imagine a world without America, even though it becomes increasingly likely.
During Britain's darkest hour, when its professional army was trapped at Dunkirk and a German invasion seemed imminent, Churchill rightly reminded his countrymen, 'Nations that go down fighting rise again, and those that surrender tamely are finished.'
The same might be said of causes. If we let America slip through our fingers, if we lose without a fight, what’ll posterity say of us?
While the prognosis is most depressing. Only God knows if America's sun has permanently set."
Read it and weep, forward or erase it! I read it and am now forwarding it to you, believing that we in America are at the moment in time to stand up, or let it fall! We now may soon be at the next step in our country's future. I believe that it might be infinitely closer than we think.
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