I guess the receiver hitch preference is based on location and terrain.  Because I would prefer to leave the receiver open at both ends so that when you back into large pile of dirt or snow and pack it full, you can just push it the rest of the way through and avoid digging it all back out of there.

There's that picture again. I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. That and the discussion that followed has cost me some money. Not only to run one on 22 pistols, but also to rig one of those M&P 40 I just bought to be capable also. Not sure what the results of that are yet. Still waiting on booster from liberty that's on back order. More importantly waiting on that stamp.

Moto,
 As RN mentioned, some states do not allow them. Not legal advice from me, but check your local laws and visit with a lawyer that specializes in NFA trusts would be my first suggestion on this matter.

Thanks for the info.  I've only talked to people located in IL, so it hadn't crossed my mind that it was a state issue and not a country wide issue.  Stupid IL ... but at least it's legal to concealed carry now.  They are making progress.

Whoa, those are some serious sized windows!  I like it!

I agree, the additional land would not be of much use compared to what I already have.  I would just hate to regret it 5 years from now as my view turns into construction and new housing.  Then I definitely would have to move.

6. 22LR pistol and rifle - suppressed.  If things get nasty you'll want to harvest food quietly.  And maybe a few other things quietly.

Lots of great info there, but I am curious about this comment.  I was always told suppressors are not legal to buy, has this changed or are there exceptions that I should review?

Then I drilled the "Pin" holes in the camp site tire rack support legs to hold them in place. I used the new Milner tools lifetime warranty drill bits. Those drill bits like a higher than normal bit speed from a "Normal" bit

This sure is sounding more like all of the in-show advertising now days.  Too bad you aren't getting paid / free tools for it.  It seems like every home improvement show just absolutely needs a brand new sierra denali to go pick up one sheet of plywood.  And they have to spend 3 minutes telling things I don't care about in the process.  Jeesh.  ::)

I understand the frustration with a reduced summer vacation since I had that as a kid and thought it was awesome.  But the flip side is that kids and public school teachers should be happy you still get any vacation at all!  In my world of infant daycare and private school through 6th grade we run year round.  The parents that use our services work a full time schedule, so their kids need school year round.  The only break we get is a 2 week shut down over Christmas.  And even then our parents are all angry that we are closed because it forces them to use their personal vacation time.

At first glance I was completely thrown off by the depth of those footings.  We have to be 36" minimum below ground I think.  You must not be in a snowy climate, lucky you!

Those are some really straight trees in the background.  Are you going to be able to save any of them for later?  I am thinking fire pit seating, kid treehouse or swingset, etc.

Whoa, thanks for posting.  My brother and father have trucks that are included in the list.

The temp and compass on my mirror has slowly gotten dimmer and dimmer over about 4 months.  I took the mirror completely apart and tried to fix any loose connections but couldn't find any.  Put it back together and it started working at full brightness again.  But now another month later and it's too dim to see the numbers anymore.  Please update if you find a solution for yours!

The new mirror!

I know this has been covered a multitude of times on other sites, but since we don't have a write up yet I thought I would include some pictures.

2002 GMC Sierra 2500HD
New OE style mirrors were purchased on Amazon for $160, power and heated but no turn signals, came with the right plug already installed!

Without failure there cannot be motivation to succeed.  You can have both or neither.

When it's all installed and done, what does a set of those wheels cost?  And are you guys typically ordering them online or from a local tire store?  They look awesome!

I am confused... I see three different wheel sets and three different side mirrors sets.  I know you said you did this over 9 years, but where are we in the build progress so far?  Did you get it new and it now has 115K and you are thinking of doing another change?  Or is this a summary of changes from the past?  Either way it looks awesome!

Well you guys continue to be as entertaining as ever.  Glad to know there are future truck builds already planned.  I would hate to run out of reading material and have to actually eat my lunch during lunchtime.  :)

Also for what it's worth, would there be any value to having the second vehicle be smaller and more mobile for recon and supply runs instead of building the second vehicle to be bigger?  I am wondering about something like a Jeep Wrangler with a 4BT.  I am thinking grocery getter for the SHTF scenario.  Something that runs on the same fuel, but gets better mileage and wouldn't end your overall survivability if it received damage or was stolen during use.  You could just go back to using square D.

Are you going to get a set of pallet forks for it to move stuff around?  I have been looking for a set for my 2320 but didn't want to get anything that's designed for a larger tractor or skid steer because the weight of the forks and frame would really reduce my lifting capacity.  I am leaning toward the Artillian forks, but can't justify the price quite yet.

http://www.artillian.com/JDQAPalletForkSets.htm

Gotta disagree with you on this one-

As a teacher, I have to differentiate what I do for multiple levels within each class.  Requires sacrifice of time from the sharp ones who get it, to the glass lickers who can't perform simple tasks, like use a ruler; can't read, comprehend or follow written or oral directions.  Can't solve simple problems with out being led to the answer through questioning that shouldn't be necessary, but is!  Daily and multiple times each period.  Some cannot even grasp concepts when demonstrated infront of them!  THESE ARE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!

Sorry, you are right and I shouldn't have generalized all teachers.  I wasn't even thinking of the higher grade levels.  Actually some of my personal close friends teach chemistry and math in high school.  There are definitely some great teachers out there trying to help the slower students keep up and trying to continue to challenge the more "gifted" students.  But as you also pointed out, this takes significant time and effort on the teachers part.

But also to elaborate on your concern, by the time a student reaches high school there is already a clear problem and it's basically too late to save them.  At that point the teacher can only do so much no matter how hard they try.  I would like to see a more system wide evaluation at the earliest level.  Before kindergarten, and before pre-kindergarten.  The children need to be educated and brought up in an environment where learning can occur from day 1.  This is where I believe the root of good student versus lazy student is born.  Time and time again, I hear stories of how mom wanted to stay home with little jimmy because he's so precious.  Great, but are you qualified to teach your child everything they need to know?  Doubtful.  They simply do nothing and let them watch movies for 4 years then send them off to kindergarten expecting someone else to educate their kids for them.  At that point it's unfortunately too late.  The parent's didn't take an active enough role in education and their child will have rough time adapting to school and will suffer as a result.  Typically since they feel left behind, those are the kids who become mean or disruptive.

Again I am over generalizing because there can be great stay-at-home mom's who educate their children and the opposite can also be true where there can be horrible trained child care centers that don't educate at all.  But you get my point, that I am sick of hearing people say that kids need to be kids and learning can take place later.  NO, learning can take place AT THE SAME TIME!

The opposite is also possible and frustrating for those of us who spend (probably way too much effort) educating our children.  I have heard 4 different accounts this year about how a child has flourished in school from an infant to 4 years old.  They are progressing nicely in math, reading and social interactions.  Unfortunately when they enter kindergarten they are so advanced compared to the kids who did nothing for 4 years that the teachers don't know what to do with either one of them.  The answer I keep getting is that the advanced kids are not allowed to be challenged or progress further until the rest of the class catches up.  This could take 6 months, could take 2 years.  So the kid who could have been really bright, is now held back 2 years for no reason except that the system doesn't have any idea what to do with them?  My wife started our own school simply to avoid or at least delay this problem.  We go up through 6th grade so at least we can avoid the major issues in the first few years.  By 7th grade it appears that at least some of the issues are diluted and although our children might not be challenged as much as we would like, they also won't be held back as much either.  Additionally the child will be old enough to understand different points of view and hopefully not be swayed by some of the bad behavior and poor attitudes of classmates.

Only time will tell for sure if this will produce the desire results in our own child.  But these methods have been in practice since I think the 50's with great success.  It's just too bad it has never caught on with the mainstream due to the amount of effort required from the parents.

There was a really cool see-saw that someone had built.  Of course we had to try it.  My brother went so fast that he basically used it as a ramp and jumped clear over it.  I tried to go slow enough to roll down the other side - definitely a bit more challenging that I expected.  The photographer was pretty fast to be able to get 4 shots in series in one take.

Well, the photobucket site just crashed and locked up.  I will finish adding pictures later.

Had a good laugh about the stick, pretty creative!  But man you seem to get a lot of flat tires.  Is it all sharp rocks that you are riding on?  I can't remember the last time I had a flat tire, but the majority of Illinois is loamy, soft black dirt when it's dry or quicksand when it gets wet.

I am beginning to become suspicious ... I think he DID try to fire up the engine and after multiple failed attempts he wants to string us along while he works out the issues in secret.  Gotta preserve that reputation of perfection after all.  ;)

Or maybe not and with a magic turn of the key he will ....

FIRE IT UP

Yep, I tried out those two new buttons for a while now and they work better than the previous way I had been using.  So I'm a happy camper.

The dealer presence in a particular area seems to have a lot to do with tractor brands.  When I lived in Wisconsin Case IH was the preferred choice.  Here in in Illinois (literally 20 minutes away from John Deere world headquarters) the deere dealers are awesome and it's really the only brand of used tractor available within an hour.  I've got 3 family members that work for deere and I can tell you they pay their employees very well.  Part of their theory is that paying local employees an awesome wage will get the best engineers and designers to design the most reliable equipment.  In the compact tractor market that we are talking about thou, it is very easy for any other company to reverse engineer the designs and end up with basically the same functioning tractor.

That being said, I still could not purchase the deere Gator.  Review flyin6's gator build project for more info on these.  The Polaris ranger was leaps and bounds better when I purchased mine 2 years ago.  Plus it helped that my brother works at a Polaris dealer, so I was able to get an equivalent "family" discount on either that or the gator.