New England B.S. Thread

Not sure when it changed but several friends of mine in about 1993-4 had small trucks (ex Ford Ranger and Chevy single cab) that had commercial.

Friend of mine has a bumper sticker "would you drive better if I shoved that phone up your ass!"

Yikes, did she get a ticket or a warning?

 

Yes, well, kinda, no.... not the FULL commercial inspection.
Because truck is over 10k, I had to go to a different station than my normal one.

They didn't do the DOT commercial
Basically, regular safety check, and even though I'm emissions exempt, they DID do a smoke/opacity test, as DMV was watching live, and flagged me.
They double checked all emissions equipment, and recorded everything with OBD2 etc.

BUT, my van w/ commercial plates, I go right to my regular inspection station...

 

They're not smart about the sales tactics. They should rate them all for 9500 lbs and then the mini tow package that brings it up to 11k is like, flipping over a light or something like that. That way you have the idiots dailying a pick em up like me who can skirt under the radar, but if you do actually get into that 10-11k range, you can flip the switch it costs 0$ and you fall into that category. But I'm not sure if that varies wildly by states, especially down south where you fall outside of safety inspections and into farm plates.

I also don't tow heavy so I might be talking out my arse.

Ah bananaland I forgot that commercial could/would have different inspection needs and criteria and whatnot. Good point on that too.

 

I think my refrigerator is on its way out. My whole kitchen is terrible - especially the cabinets, so I was hoping to redo it all at some point. I wasn't planning that for another year or two, though.

It's from 1996 so I shouldn't be surprised, but I'd still rather not have to spend the money right now!

 

The problem is, the reg fees, and inspections are grossly different here.

So, if grandpa retires, and wants to haul a 5th wheel, with a dually, needs commercial plates. I call BS.
However, he should be subject to the same inspection from a safety standpoint, as a hot-shot, as the only difference is the for profit, or for private.

In reality, the FMCA needs to be updated, with today's trucks in mind.
And ALL STATES should follow THAT. Would make things simpler.
Today's half trucks are nothing like they were I the 90s.

Hell, there are states, that require a SLIDE IN TRUCK camper to have a plate.

No cohesion on a national level with vehicles, Drivers licenses, or licenses of ANY KIND....

 

It can be fixed. Though usually not worth the cost.

I'm not an appliance tech... but, I might know some depending on where you are?

Could be worth it to stave off rushing into something.

Hell, could be just needs a little maintenance.. coil is dirty etc.

 

I was initially thinking that, but given it's 25 years old I figured it's probably not worth it unless I planned to keep it as an extra refrigerator when I do redo the kitchen. It's just the two of us so we probably wouldn't get much use out of a second one. The only times we've been short on space were hosting an occasional cookout.

We have a little thermometer in it that tipped us off. It usually recovers pretty quickly from being open for a few minutes after grocery shopping. Last night we noticed it was still at 44 degrees after being closed for two hours. By morning, it had only made it to 39 and was still running non-stop. It's usually very stable at 36. The freezer seems fine. I cleaned the coils on the bottom this morning but they only had a light coating of dust so I'm not optimistic that it's going to make a big difference.

 

My kitchen is from 1962
But it works and I'd rather not spend either.
My counter is literally orange with gold specs in it and silver trim
It's a good thing the misses can make anything look good

 

Well said

I hate hot shots....
I also hate giant campers...
But at this rate I hate 90% of these truckers out here too
The lot of em can't drive.

 

If freezer is doing okay, could be the "blend door" or the control for it.
If it isn't opening, could be sticking, due to frost, etc...
Or the controller could be going out of whack, which could hold it closed longer....

 

Possibly a way to reset blend door?
Might be worth a look.

 

If a short money fix, I would get it repaired and keep it until the kitchen job..sounds like you're going to do that soon?

My large appliances were good already but I had to replace several small things pretty quick after redoing mine. I suspect at least in part from the moving around, sheetrock, etc.

 

It does seem like the freezer is blasting ice cold air but the refrigerator is more like a slight trickle of cold air. I'll look at it more when I get home.

I'd like to say a year out, but more realistically two. I sort of pondered doing a home equity loan for that and some other projects, but I have a lot of equity in the house and don't really want to diminish that, especially if home values drop. Maybe in another year or so if values hold strong I'll reconsider it. I'd love to redo the bathroom and replace some large older windows in the dining room with a sliding glass door, then put a deck on.

In the meantime I've just been trying to set aside money every month to start tackling the bigger projects. I was actually making great progress then I bought a shed, new floor and furniture for the mudroom, new mountain bike, etc. It's all stuff that I did prioritize over a new kitchen so I don't regret it - there just isn't enough money on a public school district salary to do everything I want as quickly as I want to.

 

I know it’s an age old topic and it all comes down to personal preference, but I am jumping back into the General Grabber world. I have run these (with SL rating) the KO2 in Load E, and the Falken in the SL and E. This will be my first go with a load range C - but when I weighed the factors of weight, trade depth, wet handling, off road performance & dry road - this is where I ended up. Anybody run this in Load C and have any opinion?

 

Our kitchen needs cabinets and all that jazz, I’m holding for that balance when lumber prices and labor costs settle and I know how much of this increase in home value is here to stay.

 

Yeah, mine gained at least 40% in value practically overnight. I have a hard time believing it won't drop at least somewhat.

 

I refinanced to get my rate down back at the end of 2020, I was floored what house appraised at. There is no way the value will stay that high, I expect to drop about half that 40% increase. But for now, I’ll watch everything get bought for over value and wait for the brakes to get slammed on.

 

I refinanced in mid 2020 - I had 22 years left on my original 25 year (4.5%) and I dropped down to a bi-weekly 15 year at 3%. So I have less than 12 years left on it now.

You probably timed it better than I did - I think the rates went even lower near the end of 2020.

 

FUCK PUTIN!!!!

 

Our kitchen is a "survivor kitchen" because it's as it was built in 1967 except for adding a dishwasher. It has a "patina" to it, so it's worth more when we sell.