It is so cold....

Bob Noel said:
but the pickup has far more utility than a one-trick pony (a very valuable one-trick pony, but still....)

A reasonable question might be: what does that option add to the purchase price of the truck?
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Well, to get the 7.5kW version (I think they have a 2kW and a 2.4kW version), you have to have the hybrid F-150, which is another $5K or so over a standard F-150, then the generator is only another $750 option I believe. So, call it $6K to get a 7.5kW generator-equipped F-150. I think I would have just bought a 15kW portable for $3K and you can throw it in the bed of a regular F-150, lol.
 
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Matthew said:
It was 17 and sunny this morning, I felt like I should be wearing a t-shirt.
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When I first went to Alaska I was told that there would come the day where 0 degrees would feel comfortable to me. And then when the temps warmed up to the zero range, I found I was leaving my jacket open and actually starting to perspire....
 
Zeldman said:
When I first went to Alaska I was told that there would come the day where 0 degrees would feel comfortable to me. And then when the temps warmed up to the zero range, I found I was leaving my jacket open and actually starting to perspire....
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I always enjoyed those days when there was snow on the ground, no wind, and a bright high sun. Those were the days you could go outside in a light jacket or sweatshirt and not get cold...until you stepped into the shade. The air was cold enough to freeze your snot when you inhaled, but the sun was warm enough that the rest of you wouldn't notice.
 
texasclouds said:
Sun is out and we should be above freezing by noon. I have a 3pm flight with a student, fingers crossed! Just need the runways back open and the ice to melt off the planes.
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If the ice/snow are thick, they won't melt off all that fast in the 0–5c range. Putting the plane in direct sunlight will help, as will brushing off as much as you can. Even well below 0c, a thin layer of ice will sublimate off in direct sunlight if it doesn't have a thick layer of snow or rime ice insulating it; if there's snow/rime on top, then it could take days in the low single digits (Celsius).

tl;dr - get brushing! ;)
 
texasclouds said:
Sun is out and we should be above freezing by noon. I have a 3pm flight with a student, fingers crossed! Just need the runways back open and the ice to melt off the planes.
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I'm not so sure I'd trust the Aggie Rescue squad in these cold conditions should you need them....

I remember what happened when that Cessna 152 from Austin had a fatal crash in the cemetery not far from campus.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I doubt we go anywhere, but the 4x4 is ready to go. I don't get overconfident with 4x4 though, since it only helps you get going, it doesn't help you stop, lol.
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Actually, it does, or can, at least. Judicious use of downshifting instead of hitting the brakes gives more traction, especially with good snow tires on all four. The key is to keep the tires spinning. Not that I allow this to make me drive more aggressively, that would be fools folly. But, it's just another tool to have in the back pocket.

I also find that helps to go play in a big parking lot after the first snowfall every year (which can be in October around here sometimes!). Do big powerslide circles with the ass end drifting out the entire time, practice downshift stops, etc. Oh, and a parking lot without many light poles is preferable. :) I've been doing this every year for 30+ years. Not only is it great skills training, it's also great fun!

All the above is snow techniques...not ice. Ice, stay at home!
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'm not so sure I'd trust the Aggie Rescue squad in these cold conditions should you need them....

I remember what happened when that Cessna 152 from Austin had a fatal crash in the cemetery not far from campus.
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Are they still digging up survivors.?? :yikes::lol:
 
Zeldman said:
When I first went to Alaska I was told that there would come the day where 0 degrees would feel comfortable to me. And then when the temps warmed up to the zero range, I found I was leaving my jacket open and actually starting to perspire....
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<--- For me, it was +25 F. Anything above that and I had to take my coat off. I don't remember what the temps were in Bethel in November, but they were seldom above +10 or so...
 
Plano Pilot said:
We live in a 12 year old two story townhouse. Most of the water lines are in the foundation or between floors. I have no idea why they ran that one damn line through the attic above the garage!
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Maybe for a sprinkler for a fire suppression system?
 
charheep said:
Just think how low your electric bill will be..
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Saw on Nightly News tonight, a lady's bill went from $40 to $9000 due to some crazy Texas sliding scale or whatever. Don't count on it. TX is unregulated. In OH, we pay for what we use and some other small fees, not $40 one month, $9000 another.
 
flhrci said:
Saw on Nightly News tonight, a lady's bill went from $40 to $9000 due to some crazy Texas sliding scale or whatever. Don't count on it. TX is unregulated. In OH, we pay for what we use and some other small fees, not $40 one month, $9000 another.
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Related stories are abounding as we thaw our way out of this week.

Many electrical customers were on a fixed rate price structure, so we won't see that much of a jump.

But for those that were on the "adjustable" rate structure, yeah, they are going to see a big hike in the bill. And it's becoming known that this huge billing increase is one of many things the Texas Legislature is going to be discussing related to our big freeze.

All for a free market supply and demand economy... but there has to be some amount of sense too.

From a Fort Worth Star Telegram news article dated Feb 18:

Will your electricity bill go up after Texas power outages? It depends
By Haley Samsel

February 18, 2021 10:14 AM,
As Texans withstand widespread power outages and freezing temperatures this week, many are asking the same question: How much am I going to be charged for the electricity I do receive?

The complex answer, according to experts in the Texas power industry, depends on whether residential customers signed long-term contracts with their providers or decided to take their chances paying wholesale market prices overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the nonprofit charged with managing the state’s electrical grid and its “energy-only” market.

“The vast majority of customers are not exposed to the wholesale market for electricity,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research fellow with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas. “Now, you do have retail choice in Texas, and you could have opted to be exposed to the wholesale market. If you did, you’ve probably had low prices for forever.”

It’s true that spot, or current, prices for wholesale electricity have spiked by more than 10,000% since Feb. 10, according to Reuters. Based on scarcity of electricity and statewide demand for heat, the governor-appointed Public Utility Commission of Texas originally ordered ERCOT to raise the wholesale price to the state cap of $9,000 per megawatt hour. On Tuesday, the commission reversed that decision, allowing prices to remain beneath that cap.

((...remainder of article found here: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article249324240.html ..))​
 
IK04 said:
Maybe for a sprinkler for a fire suppression system?
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After 4 of the 5 units of our building having similar problems we are thinking the same. It appears to be a test line and not part of the main fire suppression system.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'll admit to using Camp Mode in the Model 3 during one of the longer night time blackouts.
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Is that where it brings up a blazing fire on the dashboard screen?

Someone showed me that on their Model S.
 
GRG55 said:
Is that where it brings up a blazing fire on the dashboard screen?

Someone showed me that on their Model S.
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Not quite... that’s under the “Toys and Entertainment” menu.

Camp mode is a climate option that will keep the temp setting going down to 20% state of charge, keep power flowing to USB ports, and put rest of car into low power draw mode. Many have used this while sleeping in the back area.

 
@AggieMike88's referenced article points to the stupidity of consumers.

I can get me the wholesale cost.
These other guys want me to have a fixed contract price per KWH.

Doesn't the contract price increase each term to account for the average wholesale cost incurred? Seems logical.

So the question isn't "Will my bill go up", it is "When will my bill go up".
 

for giggles and grins, I looked at my power bill for January. Just $72.00... that includes charging “The Flash”
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
yabut Mike what about February's bill?
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Once I get it, I'll share the info.

But an important data point... my power is supplied by Denton Municipal Electric. So we have our own "mini grid" and power generators. As such my electricity has been a flat rate pricing for a long time. The variance between bills has been how much I consumed. Even after added the Tesla, my bill didn't climb that much.

From the Denton Municipal Electric website: https://www.cityofdenton.com/en-us/...nton-municipal-electric/residential-customers

This news article talks about how much the City of Denton had to spend during the outages. How that will be passed to the consumer has yet to be revealed.
 
I'm on Tri-County Electric Co-operative. No expectation of "surprises" in the next bill cycle. Usage is definitely higher, but that's mother nature, not the opportunistic provider.

On to the next consumer outrage, I suppose.
 
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TailWheelChamp said:
Actually, it does, or can, at least. Judicious use of downshifting instead of hitting the brakes gives more traction, especially with good snow tires on all four. The key is to keep the tires spinning.
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Have to match revs -- works well in a manual but some autos suck at it. Have to know the vehicle well enough to try it or have plenty of room to spin it if testing it out / practicing for the first time.

Some of the electronic balanced AWD systems also do this very poorly trying to front bias making any turn instantly into the rear of the vehicle coming loose.

Then the sometimes idiotic traction control programming takes over and even more "fun" can start. Ha.

Definitely used this technique heavily in old school 4WD trucks. Wouldn't even consider it in the 2017 Subaru. The CVT and AWD and ABS and traction control computers aren't programmed nearly well enough. They want straight ahead stops with ABS pulsing. Anythig else confuses them unless you disable them. And you can't disable the center diff computer.

Went out and played with it the other day. It's extremely rudimentary and clearly programmed to a fairly "meh" driving capability. But it helps the untrained masses.
 
TailWheelChamp said:
Actually, it does, or can, at least. Judicious use of downshifting instead of hitting the brakes gives more traction, especially with good snow tires on all four. The key is to keep the tires spinning. Not that I allow this to make me drive more aggressively, that would be fools folly. But, it's just another tool to have in the back pocket.

I also find that helps to go play in a big parking lot after the first snowfall every year (which can be in October around here sometimes!). Do big powerslide circles with the ass end drifting out the entire time, practice downshift stops, etc. Oh, and a parking lot without many light poles is preferable. :) I've been doing this every year for 30+ years. Not only is it great skills training, it's also great fun!

All the above is snow techniques...not ice. Ice, stay at home!
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I'm not about to start messing with downshifting the 5-spd auto transmission in the Excursion mid-way down an icy hill. I just modulate the brakes enough to keep the wheels moving or use 4X4 Low. It doesn't snow enough here (in frequency or volume) to necessitate dedicated snow tires, so my all-terrains will have to do.

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I see yous guys talking about AWD and after this storm where my 4WD pickups did awesome, I had been wondering how AWD compares to my Toyota Tundra on slick hills/curves or just plain needing to stop etc.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I see yous guys talking about AWD and after this storm where my 4WD pickups did awesome, I had been wondering how AWD compares to my Toyota Tundra on slick hills/curves or just plain needing to stop etc.
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Really depends on who's AWD you're asking about and how they're built.

Some are just a dinky little tiny driveshaft and an electric clutch in the center diff. Others are more beefy and use limited slip techniques. Still others (electric cars) have full control over individual wheel power.

There's no generic "AWD" system. Each has plusses and minuses. Some are truly just cheap junk to get an AWD badge on to some econobox.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I see yous guys talking about AWD and after this storm where my 4WD pickups did awesome, I had been wondering how AWD compares to my Toyota Tundra on slick hills/curves or just plain needing to stop etc.
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FWIW, I have both AWD and 4X4 pickups in our family.

What I like about my AWD GMC 1/2 ton pickup is it's the perfect runabout work truck for here in the Rockies. We get a lot of situations in the days after the roads are plowed where the surface alternates frequently from stretches of packed snow and ice to sections of bare pavement (where the sun gets at it) and back again. In the 4X4s, like my Ford 1-ton, I have to keep switching in and out of 4WD to avoid drivetrain windup on the dry sections of road.

I've had my AWD out in numerous blizzards and heavy snowfalls here in the mountains, as well as deep snow on the back country lease roads. It's my daily driver and it has never failed to get me home yet. I've always run winter ice tires on my trucks.

The GMC AWD systems on my 1/2 tons is a pretty impressive performer (btw, these are the first two GM pickups we've ever owned...I've always had only Fords). The only AWD I've had that might have been better was on my Toyota Land Cruiser when I lived in the Middle East. It had the benefit of individual manual locks on both the rear differential and the transfer case. Handy when you buried yourself in the sand off-roading in the desert. No idea how the Cruiser would have performed in the snow and ice.
 
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Why are manual locking hubs a plus?
An ancient LandCruiser I drove for work used to be a real pia compared to the new Tundra’s turn the dash-knob
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Why are manual locking hubs a plus?
An ancient LandCruiser I drove for work used to be a real pia compared to the new Tundra’s turn the dash-knob
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Convenience more than anything else I expect. My Ford 1-ton has a dashboard knob to lock the hubs. But if that system fails I can still lock them manually. I expect for that rare species of hard core back country 4WDriver the manual hubs are a simpler, more robust system, less prone to failing?
 
Long ago I had a Jeep with vaccuum actuated front hubs. They sometimes wouldn’t engage. Electrics usually do. Manuals it’s guaranteed if you turned the knob.

Some vehicles have manually actuated center diff locks. That’s nice for seeing if you can drag your sorry butt out of the ditch. (Toyota Land Cruiser, now discontinued in North America. Mom going to get groceries had no idea what all those buttons and levers were for.)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Why are manual locking hubs a plus?
An ancient LandCruiser I drove for work used to be a real pia compared to the new Tundra’s turn the dash-knob
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Well, the auto-locking hubs on most vehicles are vacuum-operated. Vacuum leaks can cause them not to lock, or to lock when you don't want them to. You flip the switch on the dash, but do you KNOW 4x4 is truly engaged? Plenty of guys see the 4x4 light up on the dash only to get stuck and find out they can't get the hubs to engage.

Manual hubs? Locked and loaded, good to go as long as the transfer case engages. It's just more dependable. Most of the time you know when you're going to need 4WD, so manually locking the hubs isn't much of an imposition.

There can also be some unique things that can be done with manual hubs like using 4-Low on the transfer case while only in RWD (leave front hubs unlocked) which has some uses for backing up heavy trailers and such.


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Thanks for posting the advantages of manual hubs, much appreciated.
Recently I drove on a post-storm day where there were many, many stretches of bare or wet, for miles -followed by a quarter mile of ice, over 80 miles...and another off-pavement trip where 10 times in 40 mi I used it to climb hills or soft dirt.
To get out of the truck each of those times would have been really aggravating, so maybe there is a place for the panel-controlled hubs (if, as noted, they are working!)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Thanks for posting the advantages of manual hubs, much appreciated.
Recently I drove on a post-storm day where there were many, many stretches of bare or wet, for miles -followed by a quarter mile of ice, over 80 miles...and another off-pavement trip where 10 times in 40 mi I used it to climb hills or soft dirt.
To get out of the truck each of those times would have been really aggravating, so maybe there is a place for the panel-controlled hubs (if, as noted, they are working!)
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Or an AWD ;)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Thanks for posting the advantages of manual hubs, much appreciated.
Recently I drove on a post-storm day where there were many, many stretches of bare or wet, for miles -followed by a quarter mile of ice, over 80 miles...and another off-pavement trip where 10 times in 40 mi I used it to climb hills or soft dirt.
To get out of the truck each of those times would have been really aggravating, so maybe there is a place for the panel-controlled hubs (if, as noted, they are working!)
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You don't have to get out of the truck each time. You lock them in when you know you are likely to encounter conditions where you will need 4WD. You remain in 2WD until you flip the switch on the dash (assuming electronic transfer case) to engage the transfer case into 4WD. You can leave the hubs locked in 24/7/365 if you want while in 2WD, it will just result in more parts rotating and likely slightly lower fuel mileage.

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