On another note, I know we had talked a bit about the newer diesels a few weeks back. I remember Todd mentioning the 6.7 he drives at work. Well, just my .02, but we have a 2015 that is used for pulling the big 6-horse slant load. I had to take a couple to the vet yesterday about 2 hours away in Weatherford where the specialist is located. man, talk about ride, smoothness, and POWER!! I would never have payments again, but if I had $50k to drop on a good truck, this would be my pick. The ride alone is heads above the other ranch truck we have, which is a 2014 GMC 3500 Duramax. that thing rides like absolute crap. My OBS actually rides a little better. But, BUT....the 6.7 is just amazing. Now, mine would be deleted the day I got it home, warranty or not, but this one is just nice. It only has the vinyl floors and cloth seats and my boss still paid $55k cash! Anyways, just some Thursday morning talk.

 

Is it an XL or XLT? They used to let you order XLT trucks with carpet delete but I didn't think they did that anymore.

 

Chris, it's the XLT. It has power everything and the nice audio system, but the seats and floor are work truck style. And sorry, its a 2014, not 2015. Maybe that's why?

 

I had heard they stopped offering that when they introduced the 6.7. Glad to hear that's still an option.

Of course the price tag is still hard to swallow.

 

Bill, what I would do if it were me would be to start liquidating some of your other "projects" to free up the funds you need to get your shop started. In fact that is what I am doing to free up some capital for my truck projects now. I am selling everything I can do without and stashing the money away to buy parts. I know you hate to sell stuff you could maybe use later, but parts trucks come and go. You want to keep your truck how it is. I don't see going back three steps on that as a great way to move ahead.

Another thing you could do would be to buy some inexpensive "fixer uppers" and peddle them. It's tax time and a lot of people are looking for a vehicle that they can buy with $2-3k of their tax return money. There are lots more selling stuff that needs some work to have money to pay their taxes, so if you have a little seed money, this is a good time of the year to flip a few and make some cash on your investment. I work with a guy that does 2 or 3 of these every year. He buys them before Christmas when everybody is looking for cash, fixes them up, and then sells them around tax time for a profit. Just food for thought. Heck, with the parts trucks you have you could probably put together a running truck and unload it to make most of what you need to get the shop built. I know you don't want to let some of those goodies go, but you can't have your cake and eat it too...

I have a policy against selling guns and tools unless I am doing it to replace them with something better. With what you're doing, I would consider your truck a tool. That's just my rationale, and at the end of the day you have to do what you can live with, but that's the way I look at it.

 

Hey everyone!

Crazy busy semester again. Not all course related, but project related and job hunting/networking related!

I've had some phone interviews, in-person interviews, and some on-site interviews/plant tours! Pretty excited and I am leaving every option open... I may wind up in Colorado...or North Carolina!! Which would be cool and a change of scenery from this flat land.

Anyway, this coming week is spring break and I will be heading to Florida with my Aero design team for competition. If anyone of ya are in the Tampa or Lakewood FL area hit me up!
Here's a clip from its maiden voyage not too long ago! Designed and built by the 6 of us!
Posting the actual video didn't work so here's the link
http://vid1089.photobucket.com/album...ps2lo6pb9q.mp4

 

What's up Alex!?

That plane is HUGE! I love it.

Good to see you stop by.

And yeah, I wish I was in FL right now. 10* again this morning.

 

Hey Alex! Glad to see ya drop by once every couple millennia lol!


Heres another option Bill, and I know people are gonna disagree lol. My approach would be sell the truck like it is. Theres enough city boys out there who think diesels are the sheat and will blow daddys money to get one. You might even come out ahead on this option. Drive one of your 300s til the shops built, then start ReBillding another 7.3


But not everyone goes through vehicles like me lol

 

Hi Alex. Cool project. JP that is a very creative idea. Don't do it Bill.

 

Henry Ford quote:
"If you need a machine and don’t buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don’t have it."

 

OK, so I guess I'll leave my truck like it is and figure out something else. I took a picture of my shop building and put it on Craigslist this morning. Maybe I will get something on that. And, just keep saving I guess. I have down sized the plans for the new shop to make it as doable as possible this summer and still be worth doing, and making it so I can add on when it is possible. I'll figure something out I guess. Anybody know anybody that would be interested in a 25'x30' Steel Master arch building? LOL!

 

That's not a bad idea either, Bill. Just do what you can afford now and then add on to it as you need / can.

Just a thought, but could you add on to the one you have now and make it deeper? I suppose it still wouldn't be big enough to have more than one door in the end, but I'm pretty sure you could just add on to the end and keep pushing it out. Maybe not ideal, but I think it would work.

 

The way I have it planned is to use the slab this building is on to cost the cost off concrete in half. My building now would be hard to add on to and make it like I need it. That's why the plan was to build around and over this one and take it down inside the new building and bring it out. I have looked every possible way to build anything and figured out the most cost efficient way to do it, so that's pretty much how it's gonna have to be done to even think about doing it.

 

I think his biggest issue is how it is arranged on the terrain. He needs to go sideways.the property and elevation don't work. .. And IRS wva. .you are always on a hill:-)

 

Yep, that's part of it too.....and where it it sits at an angle to the property line, I am sort of limited there too. I have a good plan on what to build and how to build it. I have all the block and trusses, and enough money saved for the concrete, just need money now for some framing material, insulation, metal roofing, and one 10'x10' door. I will use the 8'x10' on my shop now for one bay, I have a 7'x9' standard size door to use on the one small bay, but I need at least a 10'x10' door for the third bay.