OnTheReel

Yeah, I set my mom up with DTV stream. Got in when it first came out under the AT&T brand. It was like 40-50 bucks a month. It's went up since but still reasonable. I prefer cable because it doesn't freeze up or buffer like the streams do. But the cost just sucks. Pluto and Roku both have a ton of programming we watch for free. Pluto especially. Old Top Gear, Baywatch, Walker Texas Ranger, etc.

Insurance is one of those things. If you aren’t changing companies every couple years you’re probably getting screwed. We had American Family for nearly 20 years. Never made a claim, no tickets, nothing. Back in June they showed appreciation for my loyalty. Sent me a $1200+ bill for 6 months coverage on two vehicles. A $200 increase over the last period (which I already thought was too much). Anyway, that pushed me over the edge and went to GEICO. $572 for the same coverage levels. Thankfully the TRX isn’t penalized as a sports car. Now if I could just address the $200 cable & internet bill. Another one of “those things”…

Did half a brisket point. Only cooking for 3 today. Tried a new brand of pellets that seemed better at generating ash than smoke. But still got great bark and could eat it with a spoon.

2022 Tiguan, 10,532 total miles, 2,293 on interval. M1 0w20 and Mann filter out, Amsoil Euro 0w20 and Fram XG11784 in. Also gave her the old Italian tune up on the interstate. Wife only drives it a few times a week, and when she does it’s never above 40 MPH. Needed to stretch it’s legs a little, methinks.

4569603.pdf The latest one. RL 5w40 Euro, Fram XG2

The early SRT engines actually used Mobil 1 as the factory fill. Mobil stopped extending them products on credit once Chrysler’s bankruptcy began looming. Then they moved to Shell when Fiat got involved. They obviously can’t force you to use a certain brand of oil, but it doesn’t stop them from making it seem like their previous oil partner is now totally unacceptable in the same exact engines. Another fun fact, the 6.4 Hemi cars initially called for 5w40 but quickly went to 0w40, which is where we are now for all 6.2 and 6.4 Hemis. And the 5.7 just got bumped from 5w20 to 0w20 in the last year or two. Fuel economy above everything, I guess.

Wouldn’t say problems. Short intervals for a couple reasons. Still breaking in and working on getting wear metals down. That corner is rounded so maybe the leash will get a little longer soon. Especially with the oils I’ve been running lately. The oil that Ram calls for in the engine is a joke and it started this whole adventure (and short intervals). It literally cannot stay in grade, even for just a thousand miles. So it’s been a process of finding what works best. Will probably get buried in this truck so I’d like to get it right.

2021 Ram. 17807 total miles, 2784 on interval. 7 QTs RL Euro 5w40 and Fram XG2 out, 7 QTs HPL Super Car 5w40 and Amsoil EAO11 in.

I know they won’t but GM, Toyota or Ram could sell me a Maverick sized truck with crank windows and a stick today. Would be a perfect little work truck. And would end my impossible search of a clean S10 or first gen Colorado.

I did some reading on the HPL Super Car I have ready to go in. PAO, AN, and POE blend according to a thread on BITOG. Any upside to them using all three vs the Red Line PAO/POE?

Cabin air filters are good one nobody thinks of. For just a year and a half on mine, it was shockingly bad. Put a K&N one in, noticeably more airflow and reusable. I have a full size matching spare I rotate in on my truck so I never lose track of its pressure. My mom’s car on the other hand was 8 PSI when I checked it. Don’t think my wife’s car even has a spare. Progress.

2015 VW Jetta (mom’s car) 49,509 total miles 6,302 OCI on Amsoil Euro & Fram Ultra out 4 Quarts Pennzoil Platinum 0w40 & Fram Ultra filter in Wanted to get rid of the Pennzoil since it didn’t pan out in my truck. Will shorten the interval a bit vs the Amsoil. But honestly the old iron block VW 2.0 is a cockroach of an engine. It’ll be just fine.

Wife’s Kia was perfectly dependable but rust was getting to it on the rockers and underbody. I did what I could with the Fluid Film over the years but I think it was just cheap metal and not properly designed or treated at the factory. Had a VW 10 years older with 4x the miles and it had no rust whatsoever. German cars don’t do everything right but their paint and rust protection is the best I’ve seen. Got her a Tiguan and the build quality so far is excellent. The domestics could really learn a thing or two from them. My GMs have all had orange peel from hell, and ripples in all the panels, especially the bedsides. Ram is a little better but far from perfect. Had some panel fit issues I fixed myself. Hood and door alignment / adjustment. I don’t mind perfecting things myself. Never had a Nissan but my buddy has leased a few. Frontier currently. Their trucks seem to be good. Older designs, not a lot of fluff. Kinda how Toyota was before they re-did the Tundra (and Tacoma now too).

Most of the gas powered Nissans are closer to a disposable appliance than a car, and the electric ones are even worse. Depreciation is nuts with that brand. Can get a first gen Leaf with less than 40,000 miles for under 6 grand. If they weren’t so dull and ugly they would be appealing at that price for something to get around town in. But buying one new would be suicide. I think the same for any EV though. Still in that early phase where improvements will be exponential.

I do miss having something simple in the fleet like my old S10s. Stick shift and power nothing. Red one didn’t even have a radio. Issue now is that I’m not prepared to spend 5-10 grand on a nice example when I bought mine for less than 500 dollars each back in the day.

TRX was the dealer markup machine. MSRP was the best anyone could do. For 2022s & 2023s there were some dealers doing 10k off but by that point the sticker price was already 15k higher. Just moving money around again, but this time Ram themselves were getting in on the action. Best option these days, especially for a diesel truck, is probably ordering from a volume dealer out of state. There’s a few doing a couple percent under invoice on Ram orders. Not sure on the Ford front since the only one I ever owned was a 1994 Probe. Just not a brand I care for. We’ve been mostly GM and Mopar.

I did okay on my Ram during Covid (August 2021 to be specific). Custom order at MSRP. Owned my 2019 Silverado outright and got back nearly what I paid new in trade. Financed the difference at 2.9%. No real fuss or fight in the process besides waiting ~4 months for the truck to come in. Since then MSRP has gone up over 15k, and rates are probably double or more. Called the same dealer for a Jeep a year later and they wouldn’t move off markup. Timing is definitely everything and loyalty means nothing.

They love doing that trick of just moving money around to give the illusion of a good deal. What they eat on the trade gets tacked on elsewhere. Either on the new vehicle price or in the finance office. Interesting business model in general though. Make all the money you’re ever gonna make off a customer in one sale because they will never come back. Can say that for both dealers and the automakers. Wouldn’t think that’s sustainable… For what it’s worth we wound up buying from Carmax. They used to be on the expensive side, but when everyone else got stupid with markup they wound up being the cheapest. Go figure.

I won’t rule out EV completely but I have no interest in one any time soon, maybe never. I will however absolutely say “never” to all the dealers I called last year looking to buy an SUV for my wife without markup. Including one I used to have a good relationship with for a decade. Their arrogance was unbelievable and they are finally getting theirs just like I knew they would. Unfortunately we weren’t in a position to wait until now to buy, but I bet I would have had much better luck.

…but you can only skin them once. Good to see dealers finally ran out of dumb people to pay $5,000 markup on a Chevy Equinox financed at 8%. EVs are no longer the hot commodity they hoped for either. https://jalopnik.com/dealers-now-have-nearly-two-million-new-cars-sitting-on-1850647358

Born in Lake Forest Illinois, hopped the border to WI years ago. Grew up dirt, dirt poor. Tape and toilet paper for Band-Aids. Mom was (and is) great, dad was a crusty Vietnam vet with a drinking problem. Got a paper route when I was 12. Couldn’t work or make money fast enough after not having “enough” of what I wanted as a kid. Did a few odd jobs before getting hired at a national department store. Had the alarm code and keys to the store by age 19. Spent over a decade doing retail management while simultaneously trying anything and everything else to not only make more money but be my own boss. First side business was going to junkyards all over the region to find rare parts that I could sell for good money on eBay. Then I got into boats as a hobby, and started fixing up and selling marine electronics. Fishfinders, GPS, radar, etc. Took a shine to that, and currently own and operate a large company specializing in these second hand items. Love learning how stuff works and keeping it out of the dump. In my free time I fish, tinker with my vehicles, and hang out with my wife and son more than anything. Obviously need money to live and want continued success, but losing some of that tunnel vision and making new friends, hobbies and memories has been a worthy trade. Won’t pretend I have life figured out yet but I’m getting there.

Did some jerky in it’s simplest form. Top round, sliced ~1/4”, seasoned with garlic salt and black pepper, cured overnight. Then smoked and dehydrated for around 6 hours. Haven’t touched the store bought jerky in years. It’s not even close.

Maybe the Titan sub really was “safer than crossing the street” if the roads are full of Silverados with ground down brake calipers.

Not against it but honestly don’t think I’ve ever used it. Guess it kinda splits the difference between the strong mesquite and the mild fruit woods.

I stock mesquite and apple. Have no use for the rest!