Spent a fair amount today…almost 500 on a 22 survival rifle and a folding table for my dutch oven. On Monday the president told a paramilitary group of white supremacists to “stand by,” presumably until he refuses to accept the results of the upcoming election. Seems like a good time to get a bug-out rabbit gun. I want the black one, but fucking everything is out of stock, so I’m getting camo for now.
I also volunteered to be a poll worker in the upcoming election. It’ll be the highest risk thing I’ve done since Covid began. Be a poll worker and buy a rifle. Get with the fucking times.
Van work’s been going well. Working on a folding mechanism for my cell-signal extender antenna. I don’t want to increase the height of the van beyond what was added by the maxxair fan, so I’m opting to have the antenna fold down when driving. Went to Home Despot yesterday evening and dicked around till I found something that seemed like it could work. Settled on some 90 degree cabinet hinges that kinda lock in both positions. I’m worried they’re gonna rust up being on the roof, but I’ve got some alternative ideas sketched out, and it won’t be hard to replace the mechanism if that proves necessary.
There’s open space on the roof of the van toward the back, on either side of the exhaust fan. I spent some time hanging out up there the last time I got high, and it was nice. I decided I’d like to have a couple of folding chair setups back there. I’m thinking a rectangle of 3/4 ply as the seat itself, braced beneath with more strips of 3/4, with a sheet of 1/2 ply as a back-rest, hinged so it lays flat on the seat when closed and opens up to an obtuse angle when you want to sit there. You’ll be sitting, facing off the back of the van. I can also put some smaller solar panels on the backs of the seats, so they’re exposed when the seats are locked closed. Two more 50W panels if they’ll fit, and 30W panels otherwise. They’ll be connected in series, and that block will get connected to the two existing blocks (of two 100W panels each) in parallel. So I’ll have 3 blocks all connected in parallel, each consisting of two 12V panels. Front, middle and rear blocks, with the rear panels smaller than the other two. Everything is on 10 AWG multi-strand copper wire, so I’ve got room for the extra amps.
460W – 500W of solar on the roof of a 144″ Sprinter, with an exhaust fan, some seating, and a cell-range extender. Not bad.
Think I’m gonna finish the roof now, then continue with the interior. With all the roof stuff done, the ceiling can go in. So, finish the roof (weboost antenna and my new idea for seating/extra solar), rough in electrical, insulate, and then interior walls/ceiling. Then the diesel heater, and after that I can start in on cabinetry and such.
It’s getting exciting again.
Got my first paycheck today from my new job, and it was nice since my salary is paid out over 9 months. Dropped 2300 on one of the van-build lines of credit. About 7k remains to be paid on the build. When that’s paid off, I’ll likely keep paying minimums on the van itself, while saving all I can. Won’t pay the van down aggressively till I’ve got my next job figured out. Might have to be unemployed for a while, looking for work.
Dropping 1k on good snow tires in two weeks (mid October). Goodyear Duratrac. I may well end up getting new all season tires too, come Spring. The ones on there are looking pretty beat, and I’d like to keep nice shoes on it.
I keep bitching about only making 50k when my buddies are all making 70k+, but I gotta remember that I only work 3/4ths of the year. That brings it up to a 67k/year rate, but I get more time. I don’t mind the idea of changing careers, but I might apply for some more teaching jobs too. It ain’t that bad.
