Life goes on - Winter 2023

Now i understand why real trucks aren’t more popular in Sweden…


It’s not the fuel consumption…

It’s the trouble one normal sized guy can’t reach to scrape of the ice on windshield in the winter… :crazy_face: :wink:

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First, I never thought I would hear you refer to yourself as normal. :slight_smile:

Second, you have a bit of work to do to get a gasifier flare running up in front of the windshield. :slight_smile:

Third And no sarcasm unlike the first two, I didn’t know they let normal folks have trucks that big in western europe unless it was a commercial vehicle.

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Hi Sean, haha, i never consider myself as normal, normal guy’s drive boring cars, and goofing around at gym’s instead of chopping wood.
Im just 3/4 of an inch shorter than “normal” / average height though, nice to get the ice of the windshield of a truck this size, rubbing against the fenders, getting snow down the collar, and down the pants :cold_face: :smiley:

Second, there actually was woodgas-powered engine heaters during ww2 :smiley: :wink:

Third: this truck is on the limit to register as a light truck in Sweden, he probably breaking the law just by putting some grocery bags on the bed :rofl:
Bigger truck, or more legal load, it must be registered as a “light heavy truck” (up to 7,5 ton)
Needs a big rig drivers license then.

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That is wild, here joe blow off the street can roll around full legal at 25,999lbs, even with air brakes

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Pretty funny, my old coworker Kenny just finally got his old International Harvester tagged last year. He was able to use a Vintage Tag to not need extra licensing to drive it. It’s just a fun time show truck for him.

This is the same guy with the Corvair powered Volkswagen Beetle.

Edit:

Here’s some smoother ride footage:

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On Sunday went to VT to visit one of our church outposts. Winter wonderland.

I need to get my trees tapped for syrup. Freaky warm this week but back into deep freeze next week.

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Thats not a real truck. GM, Ford, and Dodge stopped making those back in the 1980’s

Not entirely thier fault though, regulation and federal fuel milleage mandates along with trying to keep market pricing down all at the same time caused them make them lighter and forced electronic systems to be employed.

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i got 5 gallons of sap from one tap but we have no snow on the ground. It is supposed to get cold the next 3 weeks so I was a bit leary about doing more.

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Well, compared to it’s european cousin, it IS a real truck :wink:

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NIce!! I have an 89 S-10; that might a little truck but those things just go and go and go and Ive put waaaaay more stuff in that thing than Im supposed too. lol

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Those Isuzu and GM PUP/LUV/S10 bodies were just some of the most sturdy and balanced pickups.

My dad had made a flatbed for his Isuzu Diesel and used to haul 3 round bales in the back. His buddy and his 80s F150 could barely handle two before the front end would start dancing.

Edit: but this is the same man that pulled his boat with a Cosworth Vega. “Looked like a minnow being chased by a shark” Dad says.

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Some days ago i visited a big “excavator company” (they does power line work)
And saw this, could be of interest for someone?


This small chain-trencher (DitchWitch) has this “dirt-mowing” screw, i was told they get bent sometimes, and get replaced, i told them i want one when they going to replace one.
I believe if the spiral cut of, it could be pressed together and re-welded in place, with a better spacing for making a screw chipper. :slightly_smiling_face:


Here is leftovers from their supply of charcoal, (they use it to “soften up” frozen ground, to be able to dig for power line, and internet line repairs)
These bags has deteroriated from sun, the charcoal is all wet, and there was talk about to just dump it, it wasn’t worth the work to dry, and bag it again.
You could guess i offered to take care of it :smiley:
Well, have to wait and see, maybe they realizes how stupid it is to dump it/ give it away.

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Goran, now you won’t be able to argue that you don’t have enough fuel to get to the Czech Republic :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::grin:

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Hehe, i don’t know if that charcoal will follow me home yet. Probably not.
As for Euro-DOW, i really want to make it to Czech republic, it would be a real adventure :smiley:

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I wonder if it is one of those situations where they don’t want it, but need some upper management permission to be able to give it away… However, if it just jumped onto your truck on it’s own, they wouldn’t say anything.

Worst case scenario is it would make really good biochar after it is inoculated.

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Goran, how does this softening of the frozen ground work?

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I don’t know how they do it in sweden, so I won’t speak for Goran. But how I have seen it done. Is you basically build a fire on the ground and it warms up the soil underneath it.

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Hi Kristijan, simple as is: the charcoal is placed on the ground where digging should be done, often along a line, then put on fire with help of some diesel fuel, a worker cares for it with a rake and a showel.
Pretty effective actually, i guess it’s the natural heat down the ground doing the most, the heat of the burning charcoal must atleast 90% go off upwards, to air.
This is how it was done in older times, then it evolved in to low-pressure steam vessels, with heating hoses on the ground, a very fast way, the most modern is electrical heated “carpets” powered by a BIG diesel generator, was considered as eco-friendly until some 10 years ago :thinking:… so now it’s back to charcoal again :smiley:

I don’t really know how hard your winters are, but here if some weeks with freezing temperatures, and no insulating snow on the ground, the frozen layer, which we call: “tjäle” can reach, say 70centimetres deep, if clay-soil a excavator have a really hard time to break it, almost impossible, and do no good for the machine.

Ooops, become a history lesson again, sorry
And i forgot, a popular and effective way to speed up the charcoal process is to put oil drums cut in half over the burning charcoal, as covers.

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I would say that simple boiler producing low pressure steam, heated by wood/charcoal is most efficient and eco friendly.

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Kind of surprised that frost would be a problem in Sweden because of snow. Not this year, but snow normally starts in November when the ground has built up heat over the summer and fall and the snow stays until April. I have never had a problem pouring a footing in the dead of winter when I was building. If any frost got started before the snow came the ground temp would thaw it under the snow. Even this year with all the snow melted, the temps have been warm enough that the ground is frost free. So Far.

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