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  1. Martinjmpr

    The ubiquitous Baofeng UV-5r: First impressions

    I know that here on ExPo we like to brag about the expensive "name brand" gear we use but I'll bet I'm not the only licensed Ham here with one of these cheap little Baofeng radios. After spending a few years turning up my nose at these "cheap Chinese radios" my curiousity finally got the best...
  2. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Well, we've moved and I'm happy now! Plenty of space and I'm even thinking I'll rig up a hoist so I can remove the topper by myself. Of course, that's not TODAY. Today the garage is filled with boxes I have to unpack and crap I have to put away or get rid of. But it's a start! EDITED...
  3. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Even better, there's a push broom in the garage that works great.
  4. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    BTW for those who were saying "just park the truck outside" here is a photo from this morning that explains why I'm so insistent on parking the truck in the garage:
  5. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    I think this is a hangover from the crazy market of 2020 - 2022 where houses were selling literally within hours of being listed and bidding wars were driving prices up to $50k above asking price. People then were just so happy to get a house they didn't look twice at things like an old roof...
  6. Martinjmpr

    Ford ESP non-horror story....

    This is like saying is if I pay my car insurance and then never get into an accident I wasted my money ;) And who's to say what happens in the next 3 years. Have you ever had a transmission fail in the middle of Utah? Wanna guess what that costs?
  7. Martinjmpr

    Ford ESP non-horror story....

    I know we all love us a good rage-bait horror story but I thought I'd buck the trend here and post my first experience using my Ford ESP Extended Service Plan. I bought my 2018 F-150 used with about 18,000 miles on it. I violated the "conventional wisdom" of the internet knowitalls by buying...
  8. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    So this whole issue is officially moot now. We terminated the contract on the house with the shorter garage because the house needed a new roof (to the tune of $21,000) and the sellers refused to pay for it, so we walked away. We just went under contract on a house in a different part of...
  9. Martinjmpr

    Break n Fix's Armada Mid Offroader Build

    I'm going to have to start following this thread. We recently bought a new house and haven't moved in yet but the garage may be too short for my F-150 to fit. Based on that I'm considering moving to a shorter vehicle and honestly I prefer an SUV body style to a pickup truck anyway. Biggest...
  10. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Biggest issue I'm seeing on the used market is that so many of them are black. Living in a desert I refuse to own a black vehicle. I have the same issue with the Tahoe/Suburban. Why do so many people like black as a vehicle color? It's awful!
  11. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    I also just browsed the Nissan Armada. Very interesting...looks like it has the chops (380 - 400 hp and 8600 tow capacity) to pull a trailer and would definitely fit in the garage. I've heard mixed things (OK negative things) about Nissan's quality reputation ("the Japanese Chrysler") but I...
  12. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Realistically, between spending $10 - $15k on building or extending the garage, it would make more sense for me to either continue to park the truck outside (not great but I could do it), remove the rear bumper of the truck to try and cut a couple of inches off the overall length, or simply go...
  13. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    My guess is that it would be prohibitively expensive. The issue is that the garage backs up to one of the bedrooms so I can't expand backwards without doing some serious interior work (moving walls backwards.) Expanding forwards might be a possibility but I would imagine that even that would...
  14. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Well, it looks like the sellers agreed to all of our most important terms so the move is back on. I'll be figuring out how to put my truck into that small garage, but the good news is that I'll have a nice wide bay to do it in. Closing is set for two weeks from Friday. We won't be moving in...
  15. Martinjmpr

    eBay Impulse Purchase 98 Chevy Tahoe

    I think your biggest weakness is going to be the notoriously crappy 4L60 transmission. I killed two of them on my Suburban. I don't know if the GMT400 t-case is different from the GMT800 I had. If it's the same, the cool thing is that the actuator motor can be replaced without dropping the...
  16. Martinjmpr

    After 8 years in a full size, moving back to a mid-size - Recommendations?

    Well, it's starting to look like it may be a non-issue. We did the inspection last week and found some major issues with the house - notably the roof which was 17 years old and badly damaged (our inspector even said "I've never seen a roof this old in this area. Usually they get hail damaged...
  17. Martinjmpr

    3rd Gen Tacoma for towing - manual vs. automatic?

    Yes, I'm starting to come around a bit on the Ranger. The requirement for premium gas is an annoying additional expense, and the tiny fuel tank is infuriating but otherwise the Ranger seems to be a good platform. It's frustrating to me that half ton trucks have become so enormous. Why...
  18. Martinjmpr

    3rd Gen Tacoma for towing - manual vs. automatic?

    Just came across this which I think gives a good illustration of the challenges of trying to tow even a smaller trailer with a MT Tacoma: Although the trailer he has is bigger than the one we have now, it's within the ballpark of the trailer we'd like to move up to. I was particularly...
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