Recovery Rope

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This is a BubbaRope Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope. 7/8” x 20’, breaking strength 28,600 pounds. I don’t plan to get in the kind of deep shit where you need one of theses but no self-respecting Land Rover owner would be without one. Mr. Wolf recommended the BubbaRope and it’s pretty impressive. There seems to be a difference between a “snatch strap” and tow rope but I’m still too new to the game to appreciate the difference.

Growing up in southeast Missouri it was not uncommon to see one vehicle towing another down the highway with a big old chain between them. (Can you say shrapnel?) But I found damned few photos of that so drivers have moved on to better solutions.

With space at a premium, I’ll probably keep this hanging on the wall of the garage and toss it in the back of the truck when I expect to be off-road. Along with a couple of Gator-Jaw shackles.

Mr. Wolf badge

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Everybody hates those badges car dealers bolt on to new cars. But nobody removes them. Except me and Mr. Wolf.

The folks that did the initial restoration on my truck stuck a couple of these on and I would have left them if they hadn’t been so sloppy with the restoration. I can’t, in good conscience, promote these guys. Mr. Wolf, on the other hand, has been my salvation so I had a little custom badge made. You can see the one we’re replacing in this photo.

Fire extinguisher for your vehicle

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As The Great Truck Project draws to a close it’s time to think about what sort of tools and equipment gets to ride along (see previous post). I recently asked Mr. Wolf about fire extinguishers:

Dry chemical makes a huge mess. “Huge mess” actually doesn’t do it justice. If you discharge a dry chemical extinguisher inside a vehicle, it is a disaster. You will never get the grit and sticky junk out of the nooks and crannies. Worse yet, most (all?) dry chemical compositions are corrosive, so when it gets into the dashboard electrical bits, it ruins things. Not immediately, but over time. Is it better than just watching it burn? Sure. But most times undoing the damage done by the extinguisher takes more effort than repairing the damage done by the fire. Oh, also the powder that comes out is sort of sandy, I don’t know if it has silica in it or what, but if you spray the engine bay with it and the engine inhales the powder, major engine damage will follow.

So that leaves us with Halotron (the replacement for Halon 1211) and CO2. Both have risks (Halotron discharged in the cabin of a vehicle will suffocate you, CO2 will give you frostbite if you point it at yourself. Both scenarios seem avoidable…) CO2 is a bit cheaper to refill, and does a great job, so that’s the direction I would head.

The breadth and depth of Mr. Wolf’s knowledge continues to amaze.

Antigravity XP-10 Microstart

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The Land Rover is nearly done. I know this because everything has been fixed and checked. Twice. Now it’s time to think about what goes in the truck besides me and the dogs. Things like jack, tools, tow rope, extra fuel container, etc. This is something of a challenge because the Series III is a small truck with space at a premium. When I asked Mr. Wolf if I really needed jumper cables, he suggested the Antigravity XP-10 Microstart as an alternative. I think the AAA tow truck guy had one of these but I’ve never used one. And I’ve always hated using cables.

This gizmo is about the size of a hardcover book (12x10x3) and weighs just 3.5 pounds. According to their website and a bunch of videos (almost 5,000 on YouTube), this thing will jump-start an 8 liter diesel truck (not to mention your iPhone). The built in overcharge and over-discharge protection helps avoid harming your battery.

Why does it take so long to recover from pneumonia?

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This article appeared on the Washington Post website in January of this year. It’s far and away the best (most useful) thing I’ve read about pneumonia. Couple of excerpts:

One reason is that the detritus from an infection of the lung is hard to clear. Antibiotics kill the bacteria, but all the weaponry your body produced to fight the bacteria — mucus, essentially, or sputum, as it’s called once you cough it up — is left behind. […] Cough is a primary way to clear the gunk. That’s why doctors advise pneumonia patients not to take cough suppressants. You want to get that stuff out.

The energy drain (your body fighting the infection) burns calories and proteins. When illness dampens appetite, that can exacerbate fatigue and weakness. He advises: “Eat good protein and take plenty of calories.”

The flu has been wicked bad this year. Neither Barb nor I have gotten it (so far). We both got flu shots. But my recollection of the flu was you felt like hell for a week (or two) and that was it. I’m here to tell you the aftereffects of pneumonia can drag on for months.

Go Ahead, Millennials, Destroy Us

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From an op-ed piece by Tim Kreider in the NYT:

(Young people) “remember everything, and forgive nothing.”

“…they will have a thousand times more energy for that fight than you and a bottomless reservoir of moral rage that you burned out long ago.”

“I for one can’t wait till we’re gone. I just wish I could live to see the world without us.”

I hope he’s right but have my doubts. I remember how quickly my sixties era passion faded as I aged. I’m still waiting to see a million young people in the streets again.

Roxor

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“The resemblance between the new Roxor and the classic Jeep is no accident, mind. Indeed, the company began its automotive work seven decades ago, with a license to build Willys vehicles for sale in Asia. […] Unfortunately for those swayed by the Roxor’s pleasingly-retro looks – and its $15.5k starting price – you shouldn’t expect to see it on public roads. That’s because it’s not actually road-legal: instead, it’s intended to compete in the Side x Side category (“a small 2- to 6-person four-wheel drive off-road vehicle”) and be put to work on ranches and other off-road situations.” [Slashgear]