My 15.75 x 30 Jemez Cabin

[MountainDon]

I've been playing with some video from the past weekend hauling trash trees and deadfall from our little forest.

[glenn-k]

Good driving, Don.  You can still miss the pylons.

[MountainDon]

I do it much slower with the Cherokee than the old racer. Mind you the trailer on behind makes it more interesting.

[glenn-k]

It's actually easier with an 18 wheeler and 45' reefer.  To start with you wouldn't go there -- and you can keep the back end in your mirrors.

A little trailer can hide back there especially if you have to back up  with small mirrors. :-/

[MountainDon]

Backing that trailer up the way it was originally built (25+ yrs ago) became more difficult with the lift on the Cherokee and the big spare on the swing out tire carrier. I knew there was a trailer back there but could hardly see it. Sometimes not at all.

However, I extended the tongue a couple feet or so, enough so I can easily swing open the tire carrier. That placed the trailer far enough back to where I can actually see it in the  standard mirrors. I find it easier to back it now although I had to relearn how much and when to cut the front wheels. It also seems to ride better.

BTW, the tongue is also extendable another 18" to allow hauling of longer materials on top of the steel box, and still maintain sufficient weight on the hitch.

The Cherokee lift also necessitated a special dropped hitch that I made. I'll take a picture and toss it in the Hot Rod Corner.

[MountainDon]

Yesterday I put together a quick and dirty solar panel experiment up in the mountains. The intent is to maintain the battery charge while absent. Eventually, when the cabin is built, there will be a proper solar PV setup, 500 watts min., shade free, MPPT controller, good batteries   ...

What I really need to do is replace the batteries.   They self discharge a bit quicker than they used to.    Worn out... abused.  

I bought two 15 watt Amorphous Silicone solar panels and a small charge controller. The location is somewhat shaded with shadows that move as the earth turns. A-Si panels are supposed to be more tolerant of shading. We'll see.

Unfortunately I left my test equipment at home so I couldn't measure the actual output watts or amps. All I had was a digital voltmeter. It did indicate that power was being made; depending on the sunlight I had reading of 13.09 to 13.65 volts at the batteries with the panels connected. With panels disconnected the batteries under no load read 12.5 volts. I also broke my hydrometer   so I have no real idea what the state of charge is/was.  :-/  More info after next weekend... going back up Thursday AM.



Other than that it was a great weekend, sunny & warm(ish) daytime, 40 overnight.

We cut some more trash trees, about 36, and picked up more deadfall near the far end of the property. We hauled most of it off to the burn pile. The burn pile is getting rather large. We kept anything bigger than 4 inches.

[glenn-k]

Did you have a regulator or diode to prevent backflow?  Seems you mentioned you were going to put one on.

They say it is not as bad as once thought.  They can cook batteries if no regulator though.

[MountainDon]

Back flow is prevented!  

The El-Cheapo charge controller is a very basic old pre-PWM, transistor type. I did verify there was no power flow when it was dark, no back flow either.

[glenn kangiser]

Cool on the regulator.  I needed to see if I was recognized as something besides guest also.

[MountainDon]

My computer says you are The Troglodyte.      with new Avatar!

[glenn kangiser]

So what do you think of it.  am I prettier now?

[MountainDon]

I'm not going to use the word pretty.

What's that you're stuffing in your mouth?

[glenn kangiser]

A computer Keyboard.   

[MountainDon]

Maybe I have to update my Avatar. Get a Jeep or something in there. 

[glenn kangiser]

I don't know -- I tried it as referenced above but was making certain members of the forum uneasy -- I think they didn't trust my new image, so had to go back to being myself.

[MountainDon]

I bought another chain saw today. A used Poulan 38 cc. w/ 16" bar to keep in the Cherokee. It came with a case and a couple tools. It runs, but needs a new O-ring for the gas filler. I'm going to give it a new chain and spark plug, clean the air filter. This way I'll always have a saw in the Jeep without having to make a conscious effort to remember to pack it when leaving the mountains. Twice out of the past 5 trips I've needed a saw. Once I had it the other I didn't. Luckily that time it was possible to easily drag it out of the way with a chain.

On my way to being a "collector" like desdawg.   

[glenn kangiser]

Good idea.  I have to outfit all of my equipment with tools etc. because I am not at all successful with trying to remember which ones I need to take for different jobs,  nor do I have time to try.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Maybe I have to update my Avatar. Get a Jeep or something in there. 

Now, Don, just because Glenn jumps off a cliff, does that mean you're going to do it too?

Is it possible to import your avatar from Yahoo?  I don't know how that stuff works, really.  I just created a Yahoo avatar so that when I was chatting online with friends in India, they'd have something to look at while they tried to decipher my English.

[MountainDon]

As long as you can copy the image somehow, you can use it here.
One way that should work to copy it is to right click on the image when it's on your screen. Then select "save image as" (Firefox), "save picture as" (MS Internet Explorer), and save the imagesomeplace like the desktop. Then you upload that Avatar image to a Photobucket account. Next when you're signed in to CountryPlans Forum, go to your profile section. On the left under "Modify Profile', select "Forum Profile Information". On that page you will see the selection list for avatars builtin to the forum, as well as where to set up your own. You either enter the photobucket http: address or upload the image here. I've not yet verified that the upload works. But I know the photobucket route works.

[MountainDon]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! Shiver!!!!!!!!!!!!!



You'd love it Glenn.    26 most of the day with 100% humidity.

It snowed last night. We got up early and headed for the mountains. Roads not bad until 7550 feet, then it bacame snow packed. Easy enough drive up the forest road; there had been a couple vehicles up (or down) already. The last 2 miles we broke trail through 4 to 5 inches of new snow. Easy for the Cherokee. 

It started snowing again just after we got there.

The solar panels had kept the old batteries up pretty good. Applying a temperature correction they were at about 80% charge and these oldies haven't been much better than that for some time. That's after a couple days of cloudy weather and the snow. I'm leaving them there over winter to see what happens. New ones in spring.

We cut up and stacked more of the pushed over trees from the road work. Because the forecast was calling for more snow overnight, up to 12 inches, we decided it was wiser to head home rather than take our chances with the snowfall.  A couple winters ago a 12 inch forecast turned into 4 feet! 

We do want and need a snowmobile, but we don't like the prices on new ones. Used are not common around home. And I'd like two of them.

[glenn kangiser]

Sorry, Don.  I think I'll pass.

Cold here tonight too.  Down to 54.

[MountainDon]

Six traps were set and left in the RV last weekend. 2 traps had frozen victims. The rest were not touched. I can't figure where they get in,  but I thought they might. 

[glenn kangiser]

Those little RV'ers can get through the tiniest cracks.  Maybe fridge vents - steering - shifter boots? I dunno

[ScottA]

Looks like a great spot Don. Makes me miss the mountains.

Scott

[MountainDon]

We went up for the day.

#1 I wanted to see what the weather had done; forecast was for 1 to 2 feet of snow. Well, it was too warm and it rained instead. I think most or all of the old snow melted, but the was a little bit of snow Sat night/early Sun morning.

#2 We wanted to haul more of the slash down to the burn pile. That's gonna be some bonfire if/when we get enough snow to make it safe.

There must have been some good winds though. We came upon 4 downed trees across the road on the way up. This was the biggest. It still smelled nice and pitchy while I was cutting it up. Make someone some good firewood.



I gave my new used Poulan a little workout. That was a timely purchase!  (It's a carry along in the Jeep full time now; the Husky can stay put where it's still got a lot of work to do.)



That brown spot up the road is a low spot; there were a few inches of water in it.