Update for "Waylon"

Waylon is coming in up on 40000 miles. My not so trusty steed hasn't let me down, just likes to complain. We took the wagon (camp trailer) on the trail across the state. Had to get the whip out on I-70. Waylon has the ability to pull, just got to rev him out to get over the San Rafael Swell.

When we got home the transmission was acting up. I unplugged the battery for a few minutes and now things are right again.

At 30k miles I re-shoe'd him. The BF Goodrich KM2's did very well. Road manners were decent, tires were quiet and off road was impressive. KM2's weren't available so the new Shoes are Nitto mud tires. They are a 10 ply tire which means higher load rating and ability to run over 70 psi. Waylon's pressure light had been stuck in the on position because the tires weren't rated at a high enough pressure, problem solved with the right tire. Road manners are a little worse than the KM2s (noise and vibration), but they are impressive off road. With 10k miles I haven't noticed any irregular wear. We will see if they make it to 30k. Overall Waylon serves the purpose, just wish there was more room, no speed limiter, and that I could drive with the lights out...

Finally done with the Fence

I showed you what 450 feet of fence looks like on a trailer, this is what it looks like on 2/3 acre. I got tired of dragging this project on and took 4 days off from work to get it done.

As you can see, I started tilling up the lot. When I get another couple of hours the tilling will be done and then we can take a break from the yard project. This fall sometime I need to get a trencher and run the pipe for the irrigation water. We will get some trees from the nursery when they go on sale and try to get the lot looking more like a yard next year.

I was planning on being off for 9 days but got sidetracked by work and ended up in Cedar City for a week. After the holiday weekend I will be out in the garage to finish the Blazer. On the 6th there is a mudbog here in town and I want to enter the blazer. I will probably need to work on it at night to get it finished.

Da Bears

Yes, there are bears in Utah.

This is a pic from Jim's trail camera. Without measuring I would guess that his guy is as tall as me.

If the trend from last year continues into this year, I expect to have alot of bear complaints/sightings. My favorite phone complaints are of the "I saw a bear in the woods" variety. My response "did it chase you? eat your picnic? eat your dog? stick it's tounge out at you? etc.." Which is usually followed by "no, he just ran away" after which I congratulate them for seeing a bear in the woods and surviving.

The bears in this area are pursued/hunted by hounds for two months in the spring, pursued by hounds 2 months in the summer, and hunted on a limited basis in the fall. Whenever they see a person the PTSD kicks in and they usually run away. If your camp is filthy with food and trash everywhere, they will come by for a snack, there is no maybe because of the bear density. They will come by if they smell food. I have heard estimates on the La Sal's of between 150 and 300 bears. On the Blues I would estimate that the numbers are similar.

Some un-official advice:

Keep your camp clean.

Don't leave garbage around your camp.

Don't feed/lure the bears in.

Don't sleep with your food/ put food in bear proof containers (like your car).

Don't play tag with the sleeping bears, they don't like it.

Don't think that your .22 cal. 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 APC pistol is going to stop the bear from eating you. All you are going to do is provide the bear with a full stomach before he dies.

2011 Ford F250 vs 2006 Dodge 2500

I figured that I should start writing reviews about some of the equipment that I use. Last fall I got a new truck (the Blue Oval "Waylon") and I think that I have spent enough time and miles to compare the two. I have blocked out the emblems and other identifying features to ensure that it is clear that my opinion is not official and does not represent my employer's.


First the Billy Goat ("willie"): 345hp Hemi V-8, 4 speed automatic transmission, 4wd, quad cab 3/4 ton. When I got "willie" in 2009 he had 40000 miles.

For the most part he ran well. I had 33" tall firestone mud terrain tires and overall I was satisfied with the truck. The tie rod did come apart while I was driving and nearly caused me to lose control.

One of the biggest dowsides was that the bed was not long enough to carry a 2008 Honda Rancher ATV. Initially the bed was about 2" too short. After some hard use the headboard bent and the 4 wheeler fit. I did knock out a couple of rear windows because the front of the ATV was too close to the window.

Willie had a ton of torque. It seemed that he was quicker than the other 2500 trucks and his top speed was governed at 117mph, he was capable of this speed even with the wheeler riding in back.

There was enough space in the back seat to carry all of my equipment efficiently. Willie offroaded well and with the right tires would go most anywhere, but the limited slip rearend didn't offer enough traction at times and speed was necessary to get through some tough spots.

Willie had over 100k miles when I turned him in and was definately showing his age.
P.S. be carefule when you buy surplus trucks, they might have been driven by me!

"Waylon" is a 2011 Blue Oval F-250 extended cab, 4wd, 390+ hp V-8, 6 speed automatic 3/4 ton . Initially Wayon had some problems that included the transmission, and the traction control system, the computer and the battery. After a few trips to the dealer and 25k miles, the problems seem to be worked out.

I immediately set out and replaced the 31" street tires with some 33" BF Goodrich KM2 mud tires. The suspension components are built very well. Even with some of the places that I go I don't expect any premature failures.

The ATV fits well in the bed with a couple of inches to spare. My dad had some metal left over and he constructed a headache rack that protects the rear window from incidental ATV contact. The rack works very well.

Waylon has a lot of horsepower, but not as much low end torque. Off the line he just doesn't have the pep. The other downside is that his governer kicks in at 97mph. Acceleration is very brisk from 40 through 97 but it hits the governor and loses its hp advantage.

There is no room in the back seat. I have some new equipment and along with the cage there is no possibility of having any passengers besides the front passenger seat and the special seat. Consequently the special seat is reserved for my favoritest friends. Waylon does have an electric locker. The advantage off-road is amazing and I have yet been denied on any road/trail.

I can't get the dealer to eliminate the governor, turn off the running lights or reset the tire pressure sensor from 80psi to 40psi. If I could get these things fixed my only complaint would be the lack of interior space.

We had a tractor come by last Saturday. With all of the excitement of a small town, we had spectators, lots of em', then for the whole week we had gawkers, lots of em'. Today we went out and got rid of some of the rocks. Some neighbors and friends that came over for popcicles were put to work.

These are the rocks that were removed and piled. It is hard to get an idea on how many rocks this is by the pictures, but it was two longbed pickup trailers full. There are still more but the future garden area was hit pretty hard and after adding topsoil the garden should be ready.

We ordered two 18 wheelers of dirt, arranged for a local tractor operator to come by and smooth it out, and arranged for someone to come and drill holes with his auger to place the posts. Hopefully all this will be done this week and by next weekend I can have the posts in place and ready for the final installation. We will see.

Work and than more work.....

Easter Jeep Safari went off with very few problems. Other than a couple of minor violations it seemed that the party sceen has found a different location to spend Easter.

Easter Sunday was spent first in Church (now 9:00!) than for a 4 hour "jaunt" to Fillmore to see a puppy, a very expensive puppy. We managed to spend a little time with close family before making another 1.5 hour drive to Orem to spend the night at my parents house.

The above picture is what happens when you buy 450' of chainlink, (42) top posts, (36) line posts, (13) corner posts, (56) 80lb bags of concrete, (3) walk gates, (1) 10 foot drive gate, some other doohickies and doodads used in construction of a chainlink fence, then toss on a big flatbed trailer, throw on a wheelbarrow to get the job done than drive 240 miles back home. That was a long day. No room on the trailer for the mancave lumber, maybe next time.

Note the nearly completed Blazer sitting idle in the background.

I contacted a local tractor owner and hope to have the lot plowed and ready next weekend for the contruction of the silver woven kid trap.

After getting done with my ?days off? I went back to work and headed into Hammond Canyon for an overnight surveying trip.

I am not a cowboy, the horses know it. For some reason horses see me and develop an attitude. Maybe it's the prospect of packing around a 250lb Ogre, maybe it's because my feet drag on the ground, whatever the reason, horses don't like me. We spent two days laying down the survey marks for an old homestead. Hammond canyon is full of archeology and consequently more work for me.

Progress on the Blazer

Today I got the ignition wired, the guages wired, the light swich ready, just have a couple of things to button up like the winshield wipers and my new stereo; and the wiring will be done. I am trying to get the Blazer out soon so that I can focus on more important things like the man cave and airplanes.

I am trying to get my chores done, or create more chores depending on how you look at it. The tractor is coming soon to plow the lot hopefully this weekend I will be getting a couple loads of dirt on so that I can get to work on installing the fence.

Spring is on in San Juan County. Half of the county is out looking for antlers, the other half are hunting either turkeys or Bears, some of the multi-talented ones manage to look for antlers while hunting bears and turkeys.

Amy is getting excited about the new dog she is getting next month. Another girl in the house, as if I wasn't outnumbered as it was. She wants me to name the dog but I am sure she will carry the veto vote if she doesn't approve of one eyed bart, bevis, or any other fun name.