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I Bought A Firetruck

geckodesigns.kinja.com

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Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#131

Post by Retric »

sliverstorm wrote: post #128
Retric wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be surprised. 50 years ago it was a major issue, but now engines are powerful and small so all you need is a tow hitch and a small boat. EX: Toyota Corolla can tow 1500 lbs which is a fair sized load. Granted if, you want to pull a 22' boat that's another story. But, for lake fishing it's fine.

First, plenty of boats weight more than 1500lbs, especially if you include the trailer. Trailers always weight more than you think. For example, U-Haul's smallest utility trailer is 630lbs. Second, there are more issues than power. Towing 1500lbs behind a Corolla puts a lot of strain on the car that it wasn't particularly meant to handle on anything other than an occasional basis, especially with things like automati…

U-Haul's designing that to last though a beating and carry cargo for a boat you can go as low as a 125 lbs for the trailer. As a SUT-200-S will handle a 200LB boat and it's shipping wieght is 125 lb. http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-gear/boat-transpo...

Anyway, sure there are limits, but a nice 14 foot boat at 1,000lb plus 500lb for the trailer is still a decent boat IMO.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#132

Post by analog »

Jach wrote: post #105
JamisonM wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like living in a place where my kids can play in the front yard without non-stop surveillance. Every parent has had a kid run out of sight in the back yard, a store, or the mall. The idea that jerks like you say things like that every time something bad happens to someone's child really pisses me off.

I'll agree with you that "watch your kids 24/7" is unfeasible. But I did think of something that would get the same results in this case: teach your kids to respect the property of others. It always confused me that, for example, trampoline owners could get in trouble because local children, without the permission of the owner, came over to jump on it and fell off and broke a bone. The kids are at fault, and that ref…

To be fair a trampoline is pretty irresistible to a child. It's like leaving a big barrel of sweets unattended.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#133

Post by jodrellblank »

ja27 wrote: post #39

What a great thing this would be for someone that does kid's parties or activities. I have a firefighter friend that borrowed a reserve engine for a water-themed kid event we had. He had fun for 2 hours, spraying people 100' away with water. For a while, everywhere I walked, I had a constant stream of water hitting me on the top of my head.

Someone else has had that idea; I had a quick look on eBay UK, and found this party-limo-fire-engine business for sale:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fire-Engine-Limo-business-for-sale...

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#134

Post by jonknee »

fzzzy wrote: post #98
jonknee wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can take steps to reduce carbon emissions in cars (smaller car, drive more efficiently, etc), but you can't with planes other than not flying. Luckily, it's in the best interest of airlines to reduce emissions since that means less jet fuel and more profits.

Indeed, this is true. Thanks for this. The realization that it is also in the best interest of an airline to reduce emissions, especially as the price of oil increases, really helps make me feel better. Not flying doesn't really reduce emissions though... Those planes are going to fly whether or not you are on it.

> The realization that it is also in the best interest of an airline to reduce emissions, especially as the price of oil increases, really helps make me feel better.

The new Dreamliner jet is a good example of this (once they solve the battery problem and can fly the sucker...). It's massively more efficient than its predecessors (20% more efficient than the 767 according to Boeing). That's a huge jump.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#135

Post by newbie12 »

fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #106
newbie12 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be pissed to be his neighbor. The firetruck spews dirty exhaust, is unsafe if there are kids running around, and definitely is an eyesore. Even though there's no HOA he is probably running afoul of city or county zoning rules...you shouldn't be able to park large work trucks in residential neighborhoods.

>Even though there's no HOA he is probably running afoul of city or county zoning rules... Many days I can't find a good reason to appreciate living in the US. I'm glad that there are places to live where a guy can buy an old fire truck if it tickles his fancy. I'm also glad that there are ticky-tacky neighborhoods with HOA's in towns with strict zoning, so you and I won't have to be neighbors. I also can't think of…

These trucks are huge and have blind spots...there's a reason you need a commercial driver's license to operate them in most states.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#137

Post by zanny »

byroot wrote: post #73
sliverstorm wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no complicated fascination . It is simple. People like big cars because they are spacious, feel safer, provide a higher vantage point, and a host of other reasons. Your hatchback is perfectly fine around town, but it can't tow a boat, and most people don't like to have multiple cars. So, what winds up happening is people buy the most car they think they will need. It's totally overkill driving to work, and pl…

> With the possible exception of people living in old cities whose roads are just too small. It's more the rule than the exception. European car makers have a specific car category named "City cars", big enough to host 4 to 5 people but as small as possible to be easy to park etc. Driving, and worse parking, an american sized SUV in europe is very painful. This is why he don't understand. American cities are modern a…

It kind of depends where you live in the US. I live in a rural PA town where they have built highways over dirt roads and the main state route into town is a two lane country street that carries 18 wheelers every hour of the day and has a never ending backup.

Parking on main street, for example, is nigh impossible. Parts of it aren't wide enough for many cars to go past one another while the streetside parking is in use (and it always is, the town has no parking since... who needed parking in 1800?). And then there is a big state university in town, so you end up getting delivery trucks to the campus all the time and some drivers don't have the experience to know not to try taking an 18 wheeler down main street.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#138

Post by newbie12 »

fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #109
rdouble wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A ford explorer can stop on a dime. A fire truck cannot. A fire truck also has a blind spot equivalent to 3 ford explorers.

If the blind spot were really a child safety factor, then the sight of a UPS or FedEx truck would terrorize parents across the world. I'll also bet that his fire truck can stop better than you think, especially if he has left the ~500 gallon water tank empty.

As a kid I watched a UPS truck run down my dog on a quiet residential street.

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#139

Post by matwood »

Retric wrote: post #124
sliverstorm wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no complicated fascination . It is simple. People like big cars because they are spacious, feel safer, provide a higher vantage point, and a host of other reasons. Your hatchback is perfectly fine around town, but it can't tow a boat, and most people don't like to have multiple cars. So, what winds up happening is people buy the most car they think they will need. It's totally overkill driving to work, and pl…

You might be surprised. 50 years ago it was a major issue, but now engines are powerful and small so all you need is a tow hitch and a small boat. EX: Toyota Corolla can tow 1500 lbs which is a fair sized load. Granted if, you want to pull a 22' boat that's another story. But, for lake fishing it's fine.

Toyota Corolla can tow 1500 lbs which is a fair sized load.

While the engine can handle it, that's generally not the issue with towing anymore. Like you said, todays engines are powerful. It's the rest of the car that needs to be beefed up for towing. Particularly the transmission and breaks.

My 4-runner had plenty of power to tow my boat, but over time the wear and tear on the rest of the vehicle would destroy a perfectly good car. I now have a Tundra that is build to pull the load. FYI, my boat ready to fish plus trailer is ~7k pounds.

To the original poster wondering why people want such big cars. Personally I would love a smaller car, but I enjoy my boat more :)

Re: I Bought A Firetruck

#140

Post by newbie12 »

Jach wrote: post #105
JamisonM wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like living in a place where my kids can play in the front yard without non-stop surveillance. Every parent has had a kid run out of sight in the back yard, a store, or the mall. The idea that jerks like you say things like that every time something bad happens to someone's child really pisses me off.

I'll agree with you that "watch your kids 24/7" is unfeasible. But I did think of something that would get the same results in this case: teach your kids to respect the property of others. It always confused me that, for example, trampoline owners could get in trouble because local children, without the permission of the owner, came over to jump on it and fell off and broke a bone. The kids are at fault, and that ref…

This is long established common law. Just because it is your property, you cannot escape your obligation to mitigate obvious hazards, particularly where children are involved. So hanging a tree swing that is unsafe and snaps, injuring a child playing on it, still creates liability for you even though the child was trespassing.
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