PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Approve, no, although it look great it is a monster that will provide you with giant utility costs. .

From a potential maintenance standpoint there are 3 valleys, 4 sidewalls and 2 big honking chimneys just in the front view. Every one of those is a potential leak.

Also look at all the overhangs that need to be painted or clad, they provide nifty nesting places for bees and even if clad need to be pressure washed occasionally to keep looking nice.

Obviously you have not spent much time on a ladder with a paint brush.

 

When I got the 29 pound jack I was facing putting the iron one in my van and lugging it to a job then dragging it around a yard. Suddenly buying a new light jack made perfect sense.

 

I really, REALLY like this one as a "first home"...

Country Style House Plan - 3 Beds 2.5 Baths 1242 Sq/Ft Plan #72-715 - Eplans.com

 

@RustyGreen

I know what you said about the deck, but this house is the perfect size and it has a simple roof...

 

It is actually a 4 speed on the wheel, while never used on a domestic vehicle it is not uncommon on older vehicles manufactured overseas.

 

Most sensible choice yet.

Massive houses are "nice" to have but just like driving around in a V8 Tundra the operating costs are very high and rise over time.

The nicer the house you have the more the tax, insurance and utility folks like you, those costs have a 100% chance of increasing almost every year. Ultimately your house might become so nice to those folks that you can't afford to live there anymore.

 

I would not build this plan today, because it might be hard to resell for the following reasons...

• No walk-in closet in the master bedroom
• Master bath has only one sink and no bathtub
• Spare bedrooms are located in the basement (A young family with a baby/infant/toddler would probably want that kid's room on the same level as the master bedroom)

That said, if this exact house came on the market in the few years, I would buy it in a heartbeat because it has pretty much everything I could ask for in a house; I am not a big cook, but I do like to entertain, and just the kitchen alone is reason enough to buy this house. You will notice that instead of the typical range/oven, it has a cooktop with a separate wall oven. I would do a gas cooktop with a microwave above, and a double wall oven, because I have a huge family and a lot of friends. I could have both sides of the family over for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and have room to cook two turkeys!

 

I would really love to find something like as a first place, fix it up, and sell it for a profit when it's time to buy something bigger. Yes, it's incredibly small, but I would probably end up knocking down a wall or two and making two of the small bedrooms into one big bedroom (and adding a walk-in closet...

Ranch Style House Plan - 3 Beds 1 Baths 864 Sq/Ft Plan #72-590 - Eplans.com

 

We see this regarding trucks all the time on the forum, specifically questions like "...if I buy an SR versus a TRD will it be difficult to sell... or ...if I buy a manual will it be difficult to sell..." absolutely ridiculous - buy what you want, not the next guy.
I usually answer that question "there is a butt for every seat, every Tacoma sells".

Within reason, the idea of making a life purchase (defined as a purchase you intended to keep 15 - 20 years minimum) based solely on potential resale is kind of silly.

You are buying/building a house for you to live in and enjoy for a long time, if you keep it in good condition and the neighborhood doesn't go to crap you will be able to sell it in the future, good houses in good neighborhoods always sell.

None of us can predict where we will be in 20 years - above or below grade, so get something that:
1) location, good neighborhoods always sell
2) doesn't put you in financial difficulty to purchase
3) is well designed to be reliable, long lasting and affordable to operate day to day
4) you enjoy living in

 

If we're being honest, this is my ideal "house"...

Country Style House Plan - 1 Beds 1 Baths 690 Sq/Ft Plan #72-286 - Eplans.com

 

Now you are using your head. With a nice full basement you could entertain an army down there. As a bonus the smaller the house the bigger the garage you can afford.

(Not) serious question: Just how big are you? -- I'm betting no more that about 16 square feet lying down, my queen bed is about 5 x 7 = 35 square feet. So beyond a good bed to stretch out in just how much space does one actually need?

 

I like the idea of those but couldn't do the steps everyday.

 

I am 5'11" and at least 275 pounds.

My grandma's house in New Jersey was built in 1947 and is extraordinarily similar to that rancher. Her house originally had a detached 1-car garage that was technically attached by a breezeway, but my grandpa bricked in the breezeway and turned the garage into a family room. He even added a fireplace. They bought the house in like 1975 and it was a shitbox. They turned the garage into a family room in the 1980s, and added central air in like 1987. They finished the basement and added a second full bathroom in 1995. The kitchen was renovated for the first time in like 1977-1978, for the second time in about 1999, and for the third time in either 2019 or 2020.

My grandma currently has a fully renovated all-brick rancher with no mortgage, and I absolutely love her house; I do not feel closed in or cramped in her house, but the problem is that it's New Jersey. I absolutely HATE New Jersey!

 

@RustyGreen

I have no criminal record and have never been arrested. Among other things, New Jersey doesn't respect my right to carry a firearm in my truck or on my person for protection. My uncle is a lieutenant with 30 years on the force in the same Jersey town where my grandma lives. Even after he retires, as a former police officer he will able to carry a gun. Needless to say, he thinks Jersey sucks as well and will be getting the hell out of dodge once he retires.

 

I also really like this one. It has one less bedroom, but it is slightly larger and I like both the exterior and the floorplan layout a bit more...

Colonial Style House Plan - 2 Beds 1 Baths 880 Sq/Ft Plan #72-589 - Eplans.com

 

My truck has helped a lot of people out over the last decade or so. It was the roadiemobile for my friend's band on numerous occasions, I onced hauled part of a stage set that was used in a play, I hauled probably $20K worth of liquor and wine from 2015 to 2018 when I was working at Puck...

I taught a 19-year old coworker how to parallel park in my truck back in 2016 (this was right before I had the backup camera installed, and I taught my friend Mike how to parallel park in 2019; Mike has Aspergers like me and was the last in my inner circle of friends on the autism spectrum to get a driver's license (He was almost 31; I got my my license at 22 and a couple of my Aspie friends got theirs when they were in their teens). The car his parents originally planned to give him, a 2009 Chevy Cobalt, did not have a backup camera. The Cobalt got totaled when a tree fell on it, either right before or right after Mike got his license. My belief was that if Mike could parallel park my truck, he could parallel park damn near anything; I started him out using the backup camera, but then I shut off the entire stereo so the backup camera wouldn't turn on, and he managed to parallel park my truck without the backup camera after a few tries. He passed his driver's test the next day!

 

If they already started reassembly you may even get it back a day early! Glad to hear the head was not warped, never expected that it would be.

 

@ColoradoTJ
@TnShooter
@wilcam47

I don't think I've ever told this story on TW, but here it goes. In early March, I was headed back home from a car show if I remember correctly, and I was listening to the news on the radio; I was literally just about to get off the PA Turnpike when a woman started reporting live this Ukrainian Cultural Center in Jenkintown. Their goal was to fill up an 18-wheeler with food, diapers, medical supplies, and other essential items to ship to Ukraine; I immediately changed course and drove to this place to see if I could help. They were set in the volunteer department, but they needed supplies; I hopped in the truck and drove to the nearest supermarket...

It was at this supermarket where some random older black dude with a Porsche Macan flipped the fuck out at me because I was absentmindedly running towards my truck and he thought I was trying to jump him or something (see first quoted post); I was literally just running to my truck in a sudden fit of excitement and I wouldn't have noticed this guy if he hadn't flipped out. He said something like "You're gonna get yourself killed running up behind a soldier like that!" and then just cranked up his stereo and drove off in a fit of rage when I called him out for being such a douchebag; I believe that he was a veteran suffering from PTSD, and I sympathize greatly with that, but being a veteran with PTSD does not give you the right to go batshit crazy on perfect strangers. I am still dumbfounded over that whole situation, even though it happened back in March...

Anyway, back to the story!

 

@shakerhood

So, this was after the pipe incident at Sullivan Scrap, but before my truck had gone into the body shop for repairs. My passenger door was still smashed in; I pulled up at this Ukrainian Center with almost $300 worth of groceries in the bed of the truck, and they went wild! This one Ukrainian guy saw the damage to my truck, and I believe he worked for a body shop. He did not speak the geatest English, and he pointed at my thoroughly smashed door and in his thick Eastern European accent was like "Bring by my shop; I fix for you!" I actually think he would have fixed my truck for free. If the accident that led to the damage had been my fault and I was either paying out of pocket or facing increased insurance premiums, I probably would have accepted that offer. However, it hadn't been fault and the scrapyard's insurance company was paying for everything. Due to the language barrier, it took a few minutes to politely refuse his offer, but I was very appreciative of his offer. The Ukrainian immigrants facilitating that mass-donation of essential items were some of the nicest people I've ever met!