Phillips wrote for C/D seemingly forever, so he must’ve been tolerable enough since they kept him on for so long. I’ll admit his was a column that I often did not read. I was more of a Bedard man myself.
I ran into Bedard, Csere, and Don Sherman as they were taking in the Woodward Dream Show. Bedard was getting some kind of lifetime achievement award. Too bad I didn't have an old copy of the magazine or my autograph bag for them to sign.
Sherman Is also a guy worth having. Hell of a great guy to talk to. As PC as an old drill sergeant, and about as fearful of sharing his opinions. How he’s still allowed to get anything published nowadays keeps me scratching my head.
I hired him as often as I could at the insurance company but there was little interest in getting his work over on the magazine, possibly for those reasons. Much more love for Brett Berk and Elena Scherr and other people who shouldn't be allowed outside.
That’s just sad. There have few better technical writers in the automotive journalism world. I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t want him contributing regularly if I was running things. Except, of course, for the fact that he isn’t built for the modern world.
I use and like battery powered tools, but for utility cutting of wood, nothing beats an AC powered genuine Milwaukee Sawzall. My cousins are plumbers and they swear by them. My father was a wood worker and tool guy and he had Milwaukee drills when they were only available from contractors' supplies (my uncle owned such a business). Their drills today are a bit more disposable. Apparently, the Sawzall is one of the few tools that the Milwaukee brand still makes in the U.S.A.
The 15 amp Super Sawzall is the one you want. I'm a bit sheepish to admit to wearing one out. Another great tool from Milwaukee is the 1/2" Magnum Hole shooter. It has a cord and it's capable of breaking your arm, but sometimes that's the kind of relentless brute force you need.
I picked up an AC powered guessing 80s or 90s vintage AC Milwaukee Sawzall for $10 at a garage sale a few years back. Man, that thing has some power. I otherwise use the M12 fuel line (impact, ratchet, hackzall, multi tool etc.) mostly for portability. My HVAC and electrician friends use the M12 line but the 18v is what I see the plumbers use. My m12 impact drove a 16in lag bolt into treated 4x4 that made my BIL's Dewalt 20v brushless driver overheat and start smoking.
I live out in the country these days, near my parents, and part of my weekends are spent helping them renovate their property. Right now, we're in the demolition stage - tearing remarkably-poorly-installed drywall and moldy insulation out of a board-and-batten barn - probably made from whatever scrap was leftover after constructing the house - put up by guys who had no concept of craftsmanship. Pure subsistence-farmer's-mindset nonsense: We Ain't Got No Money But We Gotta Keep The Rain Off The Chickens.
But the thing is that old habits die really hard. Even though the county dump here takes ANYTHING, I'm a car nut from the nice suburbs who's been building vehicles for decades. I always feel like a ne'er-do-well who's gotta get in, dump whatever toxic/metal/oversized/whatever I need to be rid of and get out before anybody sees me.
As a product of the suburbs who found himself owning several acres of woods.... There is a lot to learn about living in more rural areas. The number one thing: you really would benefit from owning a proper tractor, with a loader. Perhaps a backhoe.
Also, if you have any trees: get a chainsaw. Something smallish, echo or Stihl.
This from someone who counts a Land Rover as a truck and recently ran a chainsaw using wayfarers as "safety" glasses
I've read that chaps aren't much help with the battery powered saws because the electric motors have too much torque for the kevlar fibers to stop it before you hurt yourself. Can't speak from experience though - I don't plan to test this.
I've been happy with my Stihl chainsaw so far, happy enough that when I could no longer change the filament on the Ryobi trimmer I had, I replaced it with a Stihl.
a good quality electric chain saw and a generator is a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than a gas powered chainsaw. I made the switch about 20 years ago and don't regret it. The electric one is also a heck of a lot lighter.
The generator gets used for a lot of other things, but if I gotta go someplace to far from an outlet, it's still easier to deal with than a gas powered chainsaw.
Trying to wrap my mind around the idea that a $700-1400 4 stroke generator + a $200 consumer grade electric chainsaw is a better proposition than a $350 professional 2 stroke chainsaw.
The entirety of maintenance on a chainsaw is sharpen chain+ check bar oil + tension chain. All of these apply to an electric saw. Add a generator and you go from adding 50:1 to doing an oil change
Not just small 2 strokes, my 90s era Seadoo needs "rec" gas also. Destroys carbs, fuel lines, etc. Hell, I've had stabil treated standard E10 gasoline ruin a carb on a 2 year old ariens snowblower last year.
On the chainsaw topic, used an Ego battery saw to chop up an apple tree that had fallen over the drive at the family homestead this summer. Cut like butter, plenty of power vs any sub $400 gas saw. My FIL similarly switched over to Stihl battery saws (and trimmers and blowers) on his 200 acre horse farm. He keeps the gas for heavy lifting cutting firewood to fuel the stove during winter but the battery saws do 95% of the work now.
I had issues with a 4 stroke outboard until I made sure to run the bowls dry after each and every use. It now starts and runs great on E10 which is good since even the marina stopped selling E-zero. The snowblower gets it's tank and bowl drained at season end. Stabilizers never helped.
a good electric chainsaw is under $100. I have a portable honda generator (that I use for quite a few things other than the chainsaw - like for when the power goes out in a storm). But you can get a fairly good generator that will power it for a lot less than you realize.
Every gas powered chainsaw has to be rebuilt every few years, (or every year if you use it enough) two cycle motors need the carbs rebuilt often. That's the hard part. And started them can also be a pain in the butt.
We’ve moved to Milwaukee battery chainsaws at work and this hardcore skeptic is now a convert. For anything other than professional tree work or firewood production it it the cat’s ass. Just keep a spare battery.
They were, anyway. The steel frame and aluminum body ones behaved and were built like trucks. My stick shift 1997 Disco was especially trucky and I wish I could get a new one today.
Today's Rovers are lifted cars with some remarkable off-road-oriented engineering. But I wouldn't want to abuse them. I once put twenty eight bags of cat litter in my 2002 disco 4.6. 1400 pounds behind the back seat. Wasn't a problem.
I moved a similar mass of wood flooring in my wife’s 2014 Pathfinder, i.e., a sedan on stilts. One of the most frightening things I’ve ever done in a car. I still don’t know how I didn’t burn up the CVT. Whatever the “u” stands for in CUV, it’s not utility--useless feels more accurate.
I’m going to put a trailer hitch on next year so we can take of some hauling tasks on our land. Hopefully the car market crashes before the CVT does. She wants a truck anyway and she’s open to 3/4 ton too.
I'm not sure how the L405 (2013-22) range rovers would handle real work, but I think you can expect the same sort of service out of an LR3, LR4, or L322 range Rover. Ditto the first gen RRS which shares underpinnings with the lr3.
I routinely put ~1500lb loads
of building or landscaping materials in the back of my LR3 (disco 3). It doesn't really notice, and air suspension makes loading and unloading easy.
The price of LR3s and LR4s on the used market supports this -- I declined to buy an LR3 new as I thought it was just too cavernous inside, compared to the Discovery and P38 Range Rover which felt Jaguar XJ6-ish. But yeah they are serious vehicles.
And serious piles. I very recently spent some time in an LR3 belonging to a close friend and I was appalled at the general condition of the materials, squeaks and rattles, air suspension gyrations. And would not start a couple of mornings with the every dash warning light illuminated. I've very gland we didn't buy an LR3 to replace the aging Disco IIs.
It's not a Land Cruiser by any means, but I'd rate the maintenance requirements on par with a BMW or similar.
My 07 is around 137k miles. The only dash light is an intermittent P0420 code I don't feel like replacing a catalyst to deal with. There's an occasional rattle from the sunroof on dirt roads.
Every car is a pile at some point if you don't care for it.
Not be a Debbie Downer, but I will add that both a tractor and a chainsaw can be deadly. Take the time to learn safe usage of both. I can tell several stories of folks who experienced the results in the last few months.
A local neighbor could be an excellent mentor...but choose wisely. A few hours of volunteer labor with a patient mentor could yield some excellent life skills.
EquipmentJunkies suggestion about a local neighbor helping teach stuff is a good one. If you're up in metro Detroit and would like some tips on how to derp with a chainsaw, let me know.
Good friend is an OSHA inspector. He had a call where a guy took a shield off of a chipper. He did not go thought it like Fargo but the scene looked the same nonetheless.
It was PTSD inducing sad for my friend and the other responders. The homeowner was beside himself. Don't be that guy. Think about what your corpse is going to look like and who is going to find it.
There’s something incredibly liberating about owning a real work truck. Much like your comment about the Sawzall, having the right tool for a given job makes a huge difference.
A 1/2 ton crew cab short bed truck is a Swiss Army knife. I had one for years as a DD and work vehicle (realtor and remodeler). Last year, I bought a 2013 Silverado 2500 with the Duramax. 8’ bed, work truck with rubber floors, extended cab whose back seat was promptly replaced with a set of custom shelves for tool storage. It wants to work and get dirty and has zero pretensions about what it is and isn’t. I have another 1/2 ton now as a DD only and a ‘47 5 window as a weekend toy (ask me how I went from growing up in a family with zero trucks to owning 3....).
I’m loathe to offer fleet advice, especially based on small glimpses of life you share here, but I will. Ditch either the Canyon Denali or F250 Platinum and get something with rubber floors, a manual transfer case, and a long bed. Sounds like you really need a work truck, and can appreciate the pleasure from using a zero-compromise, purpose-built tool.
So far the Roxor has been very good for that kind of work but I agree that I need something like what you're describing. In a universe where trucks weren't fetching twice their 2020 prices I'd already have one. The funny thing is that I've looked back into Nineties Fords and most of the surviving ones are too nice to be put to that use!
I absolutely hated and despised my Silverado work truck. Reg cab, 8' bed, basically no options. That was the most miserable, soulless, and poorly built vehicle I've ever owned.
With the roxor, he's got something to get dirty. A utility trailer behind the F250 can get dirty and beat on with minimal concern.
At the risk of sounding like a real candy ass, I've broken too many bones to enjoy an eight-hour racetrack pull in a work truck. The Platinum was intended to pull my wife's race car or a double trailer; the Canyon is stout enough to pull a Radical in a small enclosed trailer.
Extremely common around NE Indiana for RV haulers to have 3 year old, 300,000 mile well-kept Platinums, Longhorns, Limiteds, and High Countries for their office. OTOH, a sizeable minority use XL, Tradesman, and WT spec trucks. The beauty of the market and all. If I were in that line of work, I'd probably get a WT because I'm a cheap bastard and see where I could buy a high-spec front seat, but my on-road audio need are 90% spoken word, 10% music with the balance filled with nothing.
John Deere 1025R with a front loader and backhoe. Also, get a pallet attachment. You might want something a bit larger, but I'm happy with mine. I also have an M60D belly mower for it, which cuts well but is a bear to install. Would not recommend that. I'd love to have the front grapple attachment, and auger. Maybe someday. My setup cost $25K in 2015, and buying it meant I didn't get to own a "play car", but it was money well spent.
I agree with your tractor sentiments. I think that Jack is a Deere 2000-series candidate. Pallet forks are insanely handy. A 4-in-1 bucket will pluck fence posts out of the ground so fast, it's almost sinful.
I almost chimed in with this. 2025r is really the sweet spot, or a pre emissions 2032r or 2720.
Buddy with 3 acres bought a 1025. He regrets that it's a bit too light for some tasks, but also a bit big for mowing easily. Also for the cost of a mid mount deck for a CUT, you can buy a residential zero turn.
I'm on 2.5 acres and was planning on a 2025 sized machine to do tractor tasks and a zero turn for mowing. It's very much an area where some degree of specialization makes sense.
In any case, tractor with a loader would make quick work of fence posts.
I talked my college roommate into a 2520 a few years ago and convinced him on the pallet forks. He really likes it. I think that Jack would also be an ideal candidate for the 2-series. A 3-point finishing mower would be fine for his needs. I used one for years and found it handy for mowing under trees.
My dad bellyaches about our 4052R being too big to use around his place. He's right and I would prefer him using something smaller at age 85 anyway. (I'd rather not pay for broken cab glass) I almost have him convinced that a 2025R would be ideal.
Deere has used yanmar engines for ages, but the current line of Deere CUTs are, to the best of my knowledge, designed and built in house in GA. I don't know how yanmars tractors are, but their engines are impressively durable.
I would second equipmentjunkie on parts availability. I have very little trouble finding parts for my Deere 322, which was built in 1988.
Agreed, that a 2000-series would probably be better. Also, a "thumb" for the backhoe: is an insanely useful accessory. I've used mine for all kinds of things. https://www.bxpanded.com/all-bh-accessories
I just moved back out into the country four years ago. For work reasons, I'd moved to California, then for housing market collapse reasons I got stuck there longer than I wanted to because I couldn't sell.
I do prefer living out here, and honestly I wish all the people who suddenly got the urge during covid to come out this way would just leave.
Yeah it took a while to get used to having to drive 15 to 25 minutes to get to town again (depending on which town you wanted to go to - the small one or the big one) to do any serious shopping, or a number of other things. Because I got a little spoiled by California where everything was 5 minutes or less away. But now that I'm back out here, I don't mind it anymore. The only difference is I'm in Texas now - we looked into going back to Oregon but that place has been permanently ruined by all the Californians who moved there. It's more socialist now than California and the warlords are taking over in their cities.
At least here in Texas most people will not put up with that crap and have the guns and ammo to stop it. I've also been working on local food supplies, just in case the worse case scenario everyone seems to be talking about hits. This is definitely a time to stay far away from the cities and learn how to be handy with a gun.
First time I’ve laughed out loud all day. I’ve pulled hundreds of utility pole butts from the ground. Sometimes even the 200,00.00 line truck won’t get it done.
I was having visions of the scene in Shane where the two guys won’t give in until they get the stump out of the ground. Well done!
ya did good. Stop talking about brand names and do this 20 times a day, and you'll be where you need to be. On the other hand, the juxtaposition of brand names with "it matters not" is pretty funny.
Hard to believe the Bobcat driver would've been too bothered, if you had left the problems in place, and had you mentioned it beforehand. Shhe0-it, those Bobcats are tough. They're from Gwinner, ND, ya know, and they've seen things before.
I didn't recognize “Yoder&Frey cap” and figured, since it was you writing, that Yoder & Frey was some kind of high end men's clothing brand till I found out that's a farm machinery auction company. If I was editing this, I would have changed it to "Yoder&Frey seed cap". If it's got the name of some kind of seed, tractor, or other agriculture related brand, it's not a baseball cap, even if it's a baseball cap. Sort of like how a mesh-back baseball cap with a plastic snap back is called a trucker's cap, even if it's a baseball cap.
I agree Phillips book was terrible, but I did enjoying his writing at C/D. His personality ("miserable prick") is not relevant to judging the writing. After all, we're here paying for your writing and I suspect a lot of people say worse things about you.
I bought the book based on the hype it got. It was a slog to finish it. I especially loved where he bragged about interviewing Biden and being in awe of his intellect. Can’t let people think you’re turning into some sort of conservative because you are living nearly off the grid.
I am approximately 17 years ahead of you, Jack. We have 10 acres in the country outside Portlandia, and I had to learn to be a country mouse with the help of my neighbors, a few books, and YouTube. Building fences was my biggest wake up moment. I realized that the way I was doing it was not the best way, but I had to get it done.
I got to know Philips some over the past few years, and can state definitively that he is a good man with a big heart. He also seems a private man, and perhaps not one to suffer fools gladly. But in my dealings with him, and what I’ve come to know of him, he is certainly a man of good character.
Too bad the dream of rural ownership is evaporating quicker than Lake Mead. I became "House Rich" off a wisely timed home purchase, but the market hasn't stayed cheap out in the boonies - in fact, I'd be extremely poor even if I traded straight across for a rural property, with no cash left over to build a lean-to - let alone a garage big enough for my dreams.
The Christmas tree from where we get our trees every year has the option of borrowing a saw and cutting it down yourself, or, at no additional charge, they come around with a chainsaw. The first Christmas my kids were ambulatory we went there and in full Clark Griswold mode I chose the former. That was the first and last time I chose the janky-ass handsaw over the chainsaw.
I'm still a city dweller, but I DIY most things that don't require heavy equipment or working with voltage higher than 110. I'm fortunate to have a friend with contractor-level skills; he and I help each other out. (To be fair, he's definitely the foreman and I'm the apprentice / laborer.) There's a real sense of pride in ownership that comes with DIY'ing home repairs and renovations. I've got friends and colleagues who are absolutely stunned to hear I put a roof on the place, for example, or that I renovated the bathroom from the joists and studs out.
Whenever I start feeling proud of that or thinking I'm something special, I recall something you casually mentioned when I mentioned these things. I'm paraphrasing, but it was essentially, "People in the country do that all the time. It's only people in the city who pay others to do their work."
In the years since you mentioned that to me, I've learned just how right you were. I know perhaps three or four other people in Oakland who aren't tradesmen who do anything more involved than replace a lightbulb. I'm not passing judgement on anyone, but I am grateful that my father taught me the skills needed to maintain a home and a car.
Phillips wrote for C/D seemingly forever, so he must’ve been tolerable enough since they kept him on for so long. I’ll admit his was a column that I often did not read. I was more of a Bedard man myself.
Same here. I moved heaven and earth to get Bedard on the site but never thought about anyone else from that era.
I ran into Bedard, Csere, and Don Sherman as they were taking in the Woodward Dream Show. Bedard was getting some kind of lifetime achievement award. Too bad I didn't have an old copy of the magazine or my autograph bag for them to sign.
Sherman Is also a guy worth having. Hell of a great guy to talk to. As PC as an old drill sergeant, and about as fearful of sharing his opinions. How he’s still allowed to get anything published nowadays keeps me scratching my head.
I hired him as often as I could at the insurance company but there was little interest in getting his work over on the magazine, possibly for those reasons. Much more love for Brett Berk and Elena Scherr and other people who shouldn't be allowed outside.
That’s just sad. There have few better technical writers in the automotive journalism world. I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t want him contributing regularly if I was running things. Except, of course, for the fact that he isn’t built for the modern world.
I use and like battery powered tools, but for utility cutting of wood, nothing beats an AC powered genuine Milwaukee Sawzall. My cousins are plumbers and they swear by them. My father was a wood worker and tool guy and he had Milwaukee drills when they were only available from contractors' supplies (my uncle owned such a business). Their drills today are a bit more disposable. Apparently, the Sawzall is one of the few tools that the Milwaukee brand still makes in the U.S.A.
The 15 amp Super Sawzall is the one you want. I'm a bit sheepish to admit to wearing one out. Another great tool from Milwaukee is the 1/2" Magnum Hole shooter. It has a cord and it's capable of breaking your arm, but sometimes that's the kind of relentless brute force you need.
I picked up an AC powered guessing 80s or 90s vintage AC Milwaukee Sawzall for $10 at a garage sale a few years back. Man, that thing has some power. I otherwise use the M12 fuel line (impact, ratchet, hackzall, multi tool etc.) mostly for portability. My HVAC and electrician friends use the M12 line but the 18v is what I see the plumbers use. My m12 impact drove a 16in lag bolt into treated 4x4 that made my BIL's Dewalt 20v brushless driver overheat and start smoking.
I live out in the country these days, near my parents, and part of my weekends are spent helping them renovate their property. Right now, we're in the demolition stage - tearing remarkably-poorly-installed drywall and moldy insulation out of a board-and-batten barn - probably made from whatever scrap was leftover after constructing the house - put up by guys who had no concept of craftsmanship. Pure subsistence-farmer's-mindset nonsense: We Ain't Got No Money But We Gotta Keep The Rain Off The Chickens.
But the thing is that old habits die really hard. Even though the county dump here takes ANYTHING, I'm a car nut from the nice suburbs who's been building vehicles for decades. I always feel like a ne'er-do-well who's gotta get in, dump whatever toxic/metal/oversized/whatever I need to be rid of and get out before anybody sees me.
Jack,
As a product of the suburbs who found himself owning several acres of woods.... There is a lot to learn about living in more rural areas. The number one thing: you really would benefit from owning a proper tractor, with a loader. Perhaps a backhoe.
Also, if you have any trees: get a chainsaw. Something smallish, echo or Stihl.
This from someone who counts a Land Rover as a truck and recently ran a chainsaw using wayfarers as "safety" glasses
I'm definitely an amateur logger but I would recommend a biggish chainsaw and all the safety gear.
Kevlar chaps?
18“ takes care of most cleanup work without being a pain to manage. Definitely need something bigger available if you never want to call the pros.
I'm happy with a battery powered saw, but I have multiple batteries to swap and I'm never using it far from power (if power is still on).
I have a 50cc echo with an 18" bar. That thing absolutely rips through oak, hickory, etc and is great to have around.
For most day to day chainsaw use, the 30cc saw with a 14" bar is my go to simply because it's lighter.
Re chaps: I have a set of kevlar chaps, wore them religiously the first few years I used a chainsaw. They spend a lot of time on the shelf these days.
I have a 20" Husky and I've never wished it was smaller.
I do wear chaps. No complaints
I've read that chaps aren't much help with the battery powered saws because the electric motors have too much torque for the kevlar fibers to stop it before you hurt yourself. Can't speak from experience though - I don't plan to test this.
I've been happy with my Stihl chainsaw so far, happy enough that when I could no longer change the filament on the Ryobi trimmer I had, I replaced it with a Stihl.
a good quality electric chain saw and a generator is a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than a gas powered chainsaw. I made the switch about 20 years ago and don't regret it. The electric one is also a heck of a lot lighter.
The generator gets used for a lot of other things, but if I gotta go someplace to far from an outlet, it's still easier to deal with than a gas powered chainsaw.
Trying to wrap my mind around the idea that a $700-1400 4 stroke generator + a $200 consumer grade electric chainsaw is a better proposition than a $350 professional 2 stroke chainsaw.
The entirety of maintenance on a chainsaw is sharpen chain+ check bar oil + tension chain. All of these apply to an electric saw. Add a generator and you go from adding 50:1 to doing an oil change
Ethanol free gasoline saves a lot of trouble with carburetor issues on small 2 strokes.
Not just small 2 strokes, my 90s era Seadoo needs "rec" gas also. Destroys carbs, fuel lines, etc. Hell, I've had stabil treated standard E10 gasoline ruin a carb on a 2 year old ariens snowblower last year.
On the chainsaw topic, used an Ego battery saw to chop up an apple tree that had fallen over the drive at the family homestead this summer. Cut like butter, plenty of power vs any sub $400 gas saw. My FIL similarly switched over to Stihl battery saws (and trimmers and blowers) on his 200 acre horse farm. He keeps the gas for heavy lifting cutting firewood to fuel the stove during winter but the battery saws do 95% of the work now.
I had issues with a 4 stroke outboard until I made sure to run the bowls dry after each and every use. It now starts and runs great on E10 which is good since even the marina stopped selling E-zero. The snowblower gets it's tank and bowl drained at season end. Stabilizers never helped.
I learned all that the hard way. Modern gas just doesn’t work well in infrequently used gear, like snowblowers.
I don’t know if it’s emissions regs, but I also find modern small engined stuff just doesn’t run as well as it’s ancestors did.
a good electric chainsaw is under $100. I have a portable honda generator (that I use for quite a few things other than the chainsaw - like for when the power goes out in a storm). But you can get a fairly good generator that will power it for a lot less than you realize.
And of course extension cords are even cheaper.
Every gas powered chainsaw has to be rebuilt every few years, (or every year if you use it enough) two cycle motors need the carbs rebuilt often. That's the hard part. And started them can also be a pain in the butt.
Jeez man you for real? What sort of chain saws are you using and what are you filling them up with?
IMO you can't beat a nice good sized Stihl or (pick your brand).
We’ve moved to Milwaukee battery chainsaws at work and this hardcore skeptic is now a convert. For anything other than professional tree work or firewood production it it the cat’s ass. Just keep a spare battery.
Land Rovers are absolutely trucks, spiritually and literally
They were, anyway. The steel frame and aluminum body ones behaved and were built like trucks. My stick shift 1997 Disco was especially trucky and I wish I could get a new one today.
Today's Rovers are lifted cars with some remarkable off-road-oriented engineering. But I wouldn't want to abuse them. I once put twenty eight bags of cat litter in my 2002 disco 4.6. 1400 pounds behind the back seat. Wasn't a problem.
I moved a similar mass of wood flooring in my wife’s 2014 Pathfinder, i.e., a sedan on stilts. One of the most frightening things I’ve ever done in a car. I still don’t know how I didn’t burn up the CVT. Whatever the “u” stands for in CUV, it’s not utility--useless feels more accurate.
I’m going to put a trailer hitch on next year so we can take of some hauling tasks on our land. Hopefully the car market crashes before the CVT does. She wants a truck anyway and she’s open to 3/4 ton too.
I'm not sure how the L405 (2013-22) range rovers would handle real work, but I think you can expect the same sort of service out of an LR3, LR4, or L322 range Rover. Ditto the first gen RRS which shares underpinnings with the lr3.
I routinely put ~1500lb loads
of building or landscaping materials in the back of my LR3 (disco 3). It doesn't really notice, and air suspension makes loading and unloading easy.
The price of LR3s and LR4s on the used market supports this -- I declined to buy an LR3 new as I thought it was just too cavernous inside, compared to the Discovery and P38 Range Rover which felt Jaguar XJ6-ish. But yeah they are serious vehicles.
And serious piles. I very recently spent some time in an LR3 belonging to a close friend and I was appalled at the general condition of the materials, squeaks and rattles, air suspension gyrations. And would not start a couple of mornings with the every dash warning light illuminated. I've very gland we didn't buy an LR3 to replace the aging Disco IIs.
Sounds like your friend hasnt cared for it .
It's not a Land Cruiser by any means, but I'd rate the maintenance requirements on par with a BMW or similar.
My 07 is around 137k miles. The only dash light is an intermittent P0420 code I don't feel like replacing a catalyst to deal with. There's an occasional rattle from the sunroof on dirt roads.
Every car is a pile at some point if you don't care for it.
A pole saw is handy as well, and I'm a long way from truly rural.
Also, when you buy the chainsaw, go to youtube and learn how to adjust the carburetor so the saw will run properly.
Very good points.
Not be a Debbie Downer, but I will add that both a tractor and a chainsaw can be deadly. Take the time to learn safe usage of both. I can tell several stories of folks who experienced the results in the last few months.
Yeah I barely feel competent to operate a sawzall much less a chainsaw. I'd approach that like an uncaged tiger.
A local neighbor could be an excellent mentor...but choose wisely. A few hours of volunteer labor with a patient mentor could yield some excellent life skills.
It's a tool that merits considerable respect.
EquipmentJunkies suggestion about a local neighbor helping teach stuff is a good one. If you're up in metro Detroit and would like some tips on how to derp with a chainsaw, let me know.
Thank you sir!
That's the correct attitude Jack ! .
I have and use a chainsaw but I'll _NEVER_ trust the damn thing .
-Nate
Good friend is an OSHA inspector. He had a call where a guy took a shield off of a chipper. He did not go thought it like Fargo but the scene looked the same nonetheless.
edit-through, not thought, wtf?
It was PTSD inducing sad for my friend and the other responders. The homeowner was beside himself. Don't be that guy. Think about what your corpse is going to look like and who is going to find it.
While reading towards the end I was hoping Tannerite would somehow be involved. Am disappoint.
So where are the hens going to live when eggs are $5 apiece?
I don't consider a job complete until I've somehow bled on it.
Tannerite is always the answer!
There’s something incredibly liberating about owning a real work truck. Much like your comment about the Sawzall, having the right tool for a given job makes a huge difference.
A 1/2 ton crew cab short bed truck is a Swiss Army knife. I had one for years as a DD and work vehicle (realtor and remodeler). Last year, I bought a 2013 Silverado 2500 with the Duramax. 8’ bed, work truck with rubber floors, extended cab whose back seat was promptly replaced with a set of custom shelves for tool storage. It wants to work and get dirty and has zero pretensions about what it is and isn’t. I have another 1/2 ton now as a DD only and a ‘47 5 window as a weekend toy (ask me how I went from growing up in a family with zero trucks to owning 3....).
I’m loathe to offer fleet advice, especially based on small glimpses of life you share here, but I will. Ditch either the Canyon Denali or F250 Platinum and get something with rubber floors, a manual transfer case, and a long bed. Sounds like you really need a work truck, and can appreciate the pleasure from using a zero-compromise, purpose-built tool.
So far the Roxor has been very good for that kind of work but I agree that I need something like what you're describing. In a universe where trucks weren't fetching twice their 2020 prices I'd already have one. The funny thing is that I've looked back into Nineties Fords and most of the surviving ones are too nice to be put to that use!
I'll chime in with a contrarian opinion.
I absolutely hated and despised my Silverado work truck. Reg cab, 8' bed, basically no options. That was the most miserable, soulless, and poorly built vehicle I've ever owned.
With the roxor, he's got something to get dirty. A utility trailer behind the F250 can get dirty and beat on with minimal concern.
At the risk of sounding like a real candy ass, I've broken too many bones to enjoy an eight-hour racetrack pull in a work truck. The Platinum was intended to pull my wife's race car or a double trailer; the Canyon is stout enough to pull a Radical in a small enclosed trailer.
Out here, you see King Ranch Ultimates in that "owner-operator" mode of "this is my small business and I want decent seats in the thing".
Extremely common around NE Indiana for RV haulers to have 3 year old, 300,000 mile well-kept Platinums, Longhorns, Limiteds, and High Countries for their office. OTOH, a sizeable minority use XL, Tradesman, and WT spec trucks. The beauty of the market and all. If I were in that line of work, I'd probably get a WT because I'm a cheap bastard and see where I could buy a high-spec front seat, but my on-road audio need are 90% spoken word, 10% music with the balance filled with nothing.
i towed a 2700lb ferrari on a single-axle unbraked trailer with a saab 900s for several thousand miles
Yes but you have a habit of living through things that would kill most people.
John Deere 1025R with a front loader and backhoe. Also, get a pallet attachment. You might want something a bit larger, but I'm happy with mine. I also have an M60D belly mower for it, which cuts well but is a bear to install. Would not recommend that. I'd love to have the front grapple attachment, and auger. Maybe someday. My setup cost $25K in 2015, and buying it meant I didn't get to own a "play car", but it was money well spent.
I agree with your tractor sentiments. I think that Jack is a Deere 2000-series candidate. Pallet forks are insanely handy. A 4-in-1 bucket will pluck fence posts out of the ground so fast, it's almost sinful.
I almost chimed in with this. 2025r is really the sweet spot, or a pre emissions 2032r or 2720.
Buddy with 3 acres bought a 1025. He regrets that it's a bit too light for some tasks, but also a bit big for mowing easily. Also for the cost of a mid mount deck for a CUT, you can buy a residential zero turn.
I'm on 2.5 acres and was planning on a 2025 sized machine to do tractor tasks and a zero turn for mowing. It's very much an area where some degree of specialization makes sense.
In any case, tractor with a loader would make quick work of fence posts.
I talked my college roommate into a 2520 a few years ago and convinced him on the pallet forks. He really likes it. I think that Jack would also be an ideal candidate for the 2-series. A 3-point finishing mower would be fine for his needs. I used one for years and found it handy for mowing under trees.
My dad bellyaches about our 4052R being too big to use around his place. He's right and I would prefer him using something smaller at age 85 anyway. (I'd rather not pay for broken cab glass) I almost have him convinced that a 2025R would be ideal.
Isn't the 2025R just a Yanmar in disguise? I only mention this because I have a really competent Yanmar dealer in the area.
I need to research that specifically, but historically there was very little shared between comparable Deere & Yanmar tractors.
Yanmar is relatively new to the US market again after leaving in the late-‘80s. I’m not saying that is bad, it is just reality.
Deere’s advantage is long-term parts availability, a strong dealer network, and excellent resale value.
Deere has used yanmar engines for ages, but the current line of Deere CUTs are, to the best of my knowledge, designed and built in house in GA. I don't know how yanmars tractors are, but their engines are impressively durable.
I would second equipmentjunkie on parts availability. I have very little trouble finding parts for my Deere 322, which was built in 1988.
Agreed, that a 2000-series would probably be better. Also, a "thumb" for the backhoe: is an insanely useful accessory. I've used mine for all kinds of things. https://www.bxpanded.com/all-bh-accessories
I just moved back out into the country four years ago. For work reasons, I'd moved to California, then for housing market collapse reasons I got stuck there longer than I wanted to because I couldn't sell.
I do prefer living out here, and honestly I wish all the people who suddenly got the urge during covid to come out this way would just leave.
Yeah it took a while to get used to having to drive 15 to 25 minutes to get to town again (depending on which town you wanted to go to - the small one or the big one) to do any serious shopping, or a number of other things. Because I got a little spoiled by California where everything was 5 minutes or less away. But now that I'm back out here, I don't mind it anymore. The only difference is I'm in Texas now - we looked into going back to Oregon but that place has been permanently ruined by all the Californians who moved there. It's more socialist now than California and the warlords are taking over in their cities.
At least here in Texas most people will not put up with that crap and have the guns and ammo to stop it. I've also been working on local food supplies, just in case the worse case scenario everyone seems to be talking about hits. This is definitely a time to stay far away from the cities and learn how to be handy with a gun.
First time I’ve laughed out loud all day. I’ve pulled hundreds of utility pole butts from the ground. Sometimes even the 200,00.00 line truck won’t get it done.
I was having visions of the scene in Shane where the two guys won’t give in until they get the stump out of the ground. Well done!
ya did good. Stop talking about brand names and do this 20 times a day, and you'll be where you need to be. On the other hand, the juxtaposition of brand names with "it matters not" is pretty funny.
Hard to believe the Bobcat driver would've been too bothered, if you had left the problems in place, and had you mentioned it beforehand. Shhe0-it, those Bobcats are tough. They're from Gwinner, ND, ya know, and they've seen things before.
You're probably right but I didn't want to be the source of any hassle.
I didn't recognize “Yoder&Frey cap” and figured, since it was you writing, that Yoder & Frey was some kind of high end men's clothing brand till I found out that's a farm machinery auction company. If I was editing this, I would have changed it to "Yoder&Frey seed cap". If it's got the name of some kind of seed, tractor, or other agriculture related brand, it's not a baseball cap, even if it's a baseball cap. Sort of like how a mesh-back baseball cap with a plastic snap back is called a trucker's cap, even if it's a baseball cap.
"Seed cap" sounds like a euphemism for a prophylactic.
The English called them French Letters, the French called them Capotes Anglaises - English Hoods. They both thought the other was having more fun.
I agree Phillips book was terrible, but I did enjoying his writing at C/D. His personality ("miserable prick") is not relevant to judging the writing. After all, we're here paying for your writing and I suspect a lot of people say worse things about you.
Much worse! For the record, I've never met him and I have no opinion.
I bought the book based on the hype it got. It was a slog to finish it. I especially loved where he bragged about interviewing Biden and being in awe of his intellect. Can’t let people think you’re turning into some sort of conservative because you are living nearly off the grid.
Jesus. I'd rather read the parts in Village Creek where Baxter beats his teenaged wife.
I am approximately 17 years ahead of you, Jack. We have 10 acres in the country outside Portlandia, and I had to learn to be a country mouse with the help of my neighbors, a few books, and YouTube. Building fences was my biggest wake up moment. I realized that the way I was doing it was not the best way, but I had to get it done.
Also, piling on that you need a tractor my man.
I got to know Philips some over the past few years, and can state definitively that he is a good man with a big heart. He also seems a private man, and perhaps not one to suffer fools gladly. But in my dealings with him, and what I’ve come to know of him, he is certainly a man of good character.
Which would perhaps explain why he wasn't well liked in this business.
Too bad the dream of rural ownership is evaporating quicker than Lake Mead. I became "House Rich" off a wisely timed home purchase, but the market hasn't stayed cheap out in the boonies - in fact, I'd be extremely poor even if I traded straight across for a rural property, with no cash left over to build a lean-to - let alone a garage big enough for my dreams.
The Christmas tree from where we get our trees every year has the option of borrowing a saw and cutting it down yourself, or, at no additional charge, they come around with a chainsaw. The first Christmas my kids were ambulatory we went there and in full Clark Griswold mode I chose the former. That was the first and last time I chose the janky-ass handsaw over the chainsaw.
I had the same experience once - took forever with the borrowed handsaw. Glad it's not just me.
*farm, not from, although from kind of works in a pretentious way.
I'm still a city dweller, but I DIY most things that don't require heavy equipment or working with voltage higher than 110. I'm fortunate to have a friend with contractor-level skills; he and I help each other out. (To be fair, he's definitely the foreman and I'm the apprentice / laborer.) There's a real sense of pride in ownership that comes with DIY'ing home repairs and renovations. I've got friends and colleagues who are absolutely stunned to hear I put a roof on the place, for example, or that I renovated the bathroom from the joists and studs out.
Whenever I start feeling proud of that or thinking I'm something special, I recall something you casually mentioned when I mentioned these things. I'm paraphrasing, but it was essentially, "People in the country do that all the time. It's only people in the city who pay others to do their work."
In the years since you mentioned that to me, I've learned just how right you were. I know perhaps three or four other people in Oakland who aren't tradesmen who do anything more involved than replace a lightbulb. I'm not passing judgement on anyone, but I am grateful that my father taught me the skills needed to maintain a home and a car.