Ford F700 Build

[Lynn]

Since I've busted on California, let me mention that one of the favorite places I've lived, from a variety-of-geography point-of-view, was Sacramento, CA. 1986 & 1988, and again 1993 & 1994.

Not that Sacto really had that much to offer in itself (how many times can you tour the Blue Diamond Almond Factory?), but half a day's drive and you are either in the mountains or on the beach. Pretty cool.

 

[MultiSmog]

San Diego

You could choose San Diego: Live at the beach although it is too cold for me except for 4 weeks; have the dessert next to you, but too hot April to October; Go skiing 2 hours from here, but the mountains are little; Live in a nice place, but the cost of living is huge and too intrusive; Have Disney, Legoland, Sea World, USS Midway, etc but it ends up costing a fortune but you are not a tour guide anyway and you'd rather go somewhere else as you have been there more than enough times; Have Mexico 30 minutes away and enjoy food, music, free ranging condors, beaches for yourself, best surfing, sand dunes.... etc.

EVERYTHING has a price.

Saludos

 

[Ford Prefect]

Wow MultiSmog, that really does not sound very appetizing at all!

You know, if you are thinking of Colorado there are a ton of really great places, better than boulder for sure.

Golden is wonderful! Just as nice as boulder without all of the all of the polotics, and prices. Everygreen is also an amazing gem, wonderful! If you are willing to get away from denver by an hour then you should look at Keystone, Frisco and Breckenridge, which are perhaps my most favorite places in Colorado. I lived in Keystone for a while and loved it. We also lived in Carbondale (Between Aspen and Glenwood Springs), and that entire valley was a very nice place to live also.

Looking forward to seeing progress on the truck!

 

[dwh]

!!!! Besides...WE DON'T WANT NO KOOKS WITH AN AIRPLANE DUCT TAPED TO THE TOP OF THEIR EXPEDITION TRUCK!!!!!

Yea! Nobody likes airplane ducts!

 

[MultiSmog]

Wow MultiSmog, that really does not sound very appetizing at all! ...

San Diego is great!!! I am just saying that regardless of the place you choose it will have both sweet sides but it will always have a downside. You just choose what "downs" are not a problem for you.

Saludos

 

[hdemetrious]

California is very appealing, but the high cost of living makes me think twice. Figuring out where to move next takes a lot of effort. It's so hard to get to know a city or region in a few days.

 

[Ford Prefect]

So, if I may be so bold, why are you moving at all?

 

[hdemetrious]

Well, I live in key west which is an island with about 20,000 people. I love how I can walk most places and how small town it is. It is always lively and you actually feel like your a member of community and not just a number. On top of that the water is awesome.

All that said, I want to leave because I want more diversity in my job. I'm a lawyer and the litigation here is not interesting to me. I want to be in a larger community that will provide me with more challenging opportunities.

I don't want to stay in Florida because its all sprawl and the cities lack a sense of community.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Thank you, very kind of you to respond with such detail.

I would consider a lot of medium size towns. For instance Provo Utah is only about 45 miles south of the greater Salt Lake City area, but is a smaller feeling community. Evergreen Colorado, Parker Colorado and Castle Rock Colorado are about the same distances from the Denver Metro area. I think that something like that may offer what you are looking for nicely. Then again if you check out Alexandria VA you may be very interested. In the old town you have an amazing small town feel but you are literally just minutes from the Washington DC area. (Not to mention it is amazingly beautiful there.) I guess one last thought is that it seems as though the city centers in a lot of the major metro areas are making a resurgence, and people are moving back into town. I am not sure how you would go about finding parking for your new truck, but beyond that you may be surprised at the quality of the amenities downtown, and you would easily have access to a myriad of litigation opportunities.

Well, I hope you find what you are looking for in a community!

Any updates on your truck by the way?

 

[hdemetrious]

Dinghy

Is it better to tow a vehicle or carry a motorcycle to use as a dinghy? My girl and myself and our two twenty pound dogs will be traveling for about a year from Alaska to Panama. We will be doing remote camping and touring cities. We plan to take our time slowly taking it all in.

Why do you guys think is the best dinghy system?

 

[cwsqbm]

The problem with a flat-towed vehicle is that its hard (if not impossible) to back-up without unhitching. With a second person, unhitching the car isn't that big a deal though.

However, with dogs, a four-wheeled vehicle is a much better option than a motorcycle for trips away from the camper.

 

[Ford Prefect]

I agree with the above fully.

If you are planning extended excursions away then you may want a Jeep, or Samari, but if you can get away with it a quad might be a good choice. Otherwise I would most certainly go with a motorcycle.

If you are comfortable on the bike, and do not need to bring the dogs, then do the bike for sure. It is a nice run about when you want to pop into the grocery, or the redbox for a movie, etc. They are legal everywhere, where as you can only plate a quad-bike in a few states (including mine).

Another thought for you would be to run down to the local Home Depot of Lowes and buy one of those $700.00 trails and put a UTV/Side By Side on that trailer and bring that with you. You can get a plate on those in most states, and they are very handy as well. Personally I like them because they make for a full service self rescue vehicle if you get stuck or parts getter if you break down.

Still, I would personally prefer the moto over the other choices.

By the by, would you mind putting up a latest photo for us? I have been wondering what it looks like to this point... Thanks

 

[Jeep]

Hi Hani, I will be dragging our Jeep behind for a commuter and trail rig, I have a DR650 as well and I love it, but the practicality lies in the Jeep for us.

 

[hdemetrious]

I've been working on finishing the interior. I had most of the wood cut and in place then it rained and I found a few leaks. So I took out all the exterior ambulance lights and covered those holes with aluminum. Those lights let in a good amount of water. After I seal up everything I will put all the wood back up. I am frustrated but at least I found the leaks now as opposed to being on the road with rotted moldy wood.

 

[hdemetrious]

Since I was already dealing with leaks and water damage, I figured I should start to fix the rusty rain gutters on the truck. I wire brushed all the rust off and all these holes appeared. Then I used Ospho a metal converter to stop the rust and then sprayed on a self etching primer. I filled in all the holes and the entire gutter with a material called fiber tec from napa that is waterproof. I talked to a friend who does body work and he said I should have filled in the gutter with silicone. Filling the gutter in with hard material will result in cracks from all the movement and allow the water to get in. So he recommended I seal the entire roof with a rubberized paint. I hope to do that this weekend.