There are some interesting puzzles about that fire. One, for instance is why no fire alarm went off, and two is what happened to the sprinkler system? Videos that I saw taken with a cell phone through the open door (while an employee was yelling for people to get out) showed lots of flame and smoke, but no alarms, and certainly no sprinkler action.

 

Maybe a disgruntled employee disabled both? Only time, and an investigation will tell.
I like the Ranger truck I have. It gets great gas mileage and has proven to be very reliable. It either has 170k miles, or 270k miles, I don't know, but in either case, it doesn't seem to be an issue. I was told it had the engine rebuilt, so at least not all the miles are on the engine. I bought a hitch ball and mount for it when I bought the truck and have never used it. I have not used the bed very much either. Only twice in 16 months. The base model Maverick has a payload of 1,500 pounds. More than my Ranger. The sticker on the door of the Ranger says it has a 1,000 payload. Of course, after I get in it, that goes down by 350 pounds. Still leaves 650 lbs of carrying capacity. And so far, I have not used it except for some lumber I thought I was going to make a scooter ramp with, and a wooden desk I brought home from Oregon. I am 64 years old and have never owned a brand-new vehicle. The Maverick may be the first. I have to wait until I get the $10k loan paid off first anyway, so it is not a big deal that I cannot order one now. Besides, with it being so popular, it will probably sell out for 2023 just as easily. When I am ready in 2024, maybe Ford will have gotten caught up on the buyer orders. I am looking at the base model for the above reasons of not using my current pickup truck bed that much. I would like the cruise control of the XLT model, but not sure I want to spend the extra $$$. The 250hp Eco boost engine sounds nice, but again, that is extra $$$. Maybe by 2024 I'll be in a better position to add those two options. Only time will tell. Black is my favorite color, but summers are brutal in Fresno, so I will go with the blue.

Jim

 

That Maverick pick up does look nice. If money were not the issue, the add-on packages look like a lot of fun. All wheel drive. Tow package. All sorts of nice goodies for extra money.

My only "hold back" would be that I have nowhere to park it. If I had parking, I would own more cars, motorcycles, and other toys. I would be Jay Leno. An aircraft hangar for collecting cars.

Over the past few years, I've had to trim down. Got rid of a couple of the older cars. They really had no fiscal value. They ran, but they weren't perfect. I finally decided that I was not spending the money to restore them, since restoration would take me down a financial rabbit hole. It just wasn't worth keeping cars with body damage, rust, severely worn interiors, and well aged moving mechanical components. Plus all of the really expensive things like chasing down electrical gremlins, and the reality of how expensive it is to just maintain. Once you get a price quote for thousands of dollars for a brake system - every part of the brake system from the master cylinder, down the brake lines, to the actual rotor and pads, with ABS sensors, fittings, lines.......plus labor..... well, let's say that the car runs, but it would be thousands to stop. Then what next, right? Another couple of thousand when the transmission and transfer case, drive shafts, gear boxes, and gears need to be refreshed? Do I even want to think about suspension components? Or the air conditioning? Even more expensive than rebuilding the engine, was rebuilding the sunroof/moonroof.

 

The fire suppression system is certainly a mystery.

From what little I know, sprinkler systems are heat activated. The very simple ones have a little glass vial with some sort of chemical. With heat, the glass breaks, and water starts raining down. Not every sprinkler head opens. Just where the heat is enough to burst open the little glass vial which is stopping the flow of water. So water will only rain down where there is a heat source. Not much can be done to tamper with that. Someone would have to depressurize and drain the sprinkler system, then plug the sprinkler head so that no water can come out after the glass vial breaks. Then maybe leave the sprinkler system dry and unpressurized. The sprinklers would work, even if the electronic alarm system was offline.

Most of the electronic alarms are just sensors for heat, smoke, and carbon dioxide detection, which will sound a local audible alarm, flash lights, and dial out 911. They typically have a battery back-up system for power outages, so someone can't cut the line like they do in the movies. There is a possibility that someone could simply turn a key and punch in a key pad code to turn it off. But even if that were the case, heat should have activated the sprinklers.

That fire had too much fuel. Lumber and chemicals, plus a lot of oxygen in a well ventilated, warehouse space. Imagine all those pressurized cans of spray paint, propane, bug spray, and whatever else, bursting like popcorn. Chemical can float on top of water and burn everything while the water is pooling on the floor. Water doesn't put out every fire, which is why firefighters also have foam. It took firefighters with high pressure hoses, over a day to suppress and contain the heat and flames. Let's assume that some of the sprinklers were activated out of sight of someone's cell phone camera. The sprinkler system would have been no match for that fire. Sometimes, the fire is just too hot, and spreading too fast, for a sprinkler to put it out. If sprinkler systems were as effective as we want them to be, then firefighters would never have to go into any building at all. Just stand outside, and let the sprinklers put the fire out. But that is never the case. Sprinkler systems rain down water, but firefighters still have to go in with lines, and put holes in the roof to spray water in.

 

I like quite a few of the different options for the Maverick, like the turbocharged engine, and AWD. However, on my fixed income, it will have to be a bare bones base XL. I re-priced it with only one option, the $40. tailgate lock, and my monthly payments went below $300 a month ($292) for 84 months. At my age, I don't really want to be paying on a vehicle for seven years, but I have no choice if I am going to mark off "Buy a brand-new vehicle" from my bucket list. Still, the Ranger and Stratus are fine, and if I do end up getting the Maverick, I will sell both to help with the down payment and make the monthly payments even lower.

Jim

 

I'm too far behind to catch up. I hope all is well with everyone!

Jim, Looking forward to seeing your new Maverick!

30° and snowing this morning. Looking out my front door.

 

Archer is getting his wasnuts today. It's going to be a rough couple of weeks without him being able to play with his brother.

 

For basic transportation, I could live with the Maverick XL package. The only thing that I would add, is the 110v 400w AC power. That could come in handy. I would also buy the full size spare tire. Although, you can always buy that later. A hitch receiver and trailer light harness could come much later - like when you need it.

I still have doubts about the 2.0 liter hybrid system. Hybrids have much higher maintenance when batteries and power generators need to be replaced. I'm sure that like all Fords, the 1st few years will have problems that they will have to fix. That 8 speed transmission could also be a problem. A low powered front wheel drive truck, with 8 gears, doesn't sound like something I would load up with 1,500 pounds. Or I could be wrong, and it's perfect for that.

My F-150 XL package was really bare bones. No AC. AM only radio. Roll up windows. The old, manual door locks that you push down the little rod. The lock/unlock button on the key fob does nothing to actually lock or unlock the doors. Vinyl seats. Plastic floor.

I added everything slowly, over time. And it was less expensive. Tonneau cover, trailer hitch receiver, transmission cooler, stereo, spray in bed liner, etc.

My Transit Connect is also the XL model. No frills. I installed extra power ports, a backup camera, and some auxiliary lights. A $12 Bluetooth device from Amazon gives me handsfree phone calls and MP3 music. I don't miss roof rack rails, leather seats, and the fancy stereo. I don't miss the body trim panels, pretty wheels, or exotic paint color options. I'm glad that I didn't get the panoramic skylight.

 

Wow Tim, that is a lot of snow!
Considering I put about 2k miles on my two vehicles (4k total) a year, I'm pretty sure I can live with the base model XL. I would love to add some features, like cruise control, and the 4 pin connector with hitch, but unless something changes financially between now and when I can buy it, I don't think it will happen. The bedliner options are cool but I can buy my own spray on bedliner, and the tonneau cover options are a bit much. I like the fiberglass cap, but they want over 3k for it. Who knows? Maybe when I get ready to buy, the 2025 models will be out and there will be a brand new unsold 2024 with the options I want for cheap to get it off their lot.

Jim

 

It looks like cruise control can be added with Forscan. Free software. Connect a computer, and turn it on.

With my F-150, I knew that some dealer options were way overpriced. I would rather buy those things later down the line, and add them myself. The hitch receiver was 4 bolts. Anyone could bolt it on. And I choked at paying over $1,000 for a tonneau cover. I'm pretty sure that you could find a camper shell for a lot less money. And Line-X & Rhino Liner franchisee shops will beat the dealer price for spray bed liner. As I recall, I got Line-X for less than the drop in plastic bedliner from the dealership.





Now you've got me looking at local dealership inventory. If I buy one of these trucks, it will be your fault.

 

Jim,

I'm now looking at the window stickers. Thinking in my mind, what I should really pay, when I go in there to haggle pricing. Wondering if I can get it for less from Costco.

That really is a low price to pay for a "hybrid". You get seating for 5, and a truck bed. Better than buying a Prius. And there's an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty on the hybrid related parts.

I better go have a few drinks. I'll get drunk. Then I'll forget all about a new hybrid pickup truck.

 

Now I'm watching youtube videos.......

 

I like his videos.

 

Happy Friday NorCal!

well, this morning I dumped 0.60” from my Rain Gauge for the last 36 hours. Of course that doesn’t count the rain that missed the gauge because of 30mph gusts of wind.

We are looking at 80-90% chance of rain for tomorrow up here too. Maybe I’ll cancel tomorrow’s event and just hide inside.

 

Our forecast says rain tomorrow.

Jim