4x4 or 2 wheel drive UPDATE

[Kevin]

So, thank you all for your input a while back about if my wife should get a 2 wheel drive pick up or 4x4. Believe me we did talk a lot about that thread and I kept her updated on what everyone thought.

Well, let me take just a moment to brag about my wife. I am so very proud of her. I've always said she is the smartest person I know. She is an accountant, and just became Partner for PWC. It was her life's dream. Back in grade school she had a teacher who told her she better marry a smart guy because she won't amount to much. I'm not kidding, we still joke around about that teacher, who would have the nerve to say something like that to a kid. This was back in Bulgaria. So we moved to Boise in 1997 when she only spoke rough English and her first job was at McDonald's. Then on Friday she became Partner. Her boss bought her a pair of cowboy boots.

Then on Saturday she went out and bought this, well deserved to say the least:

it's the 2015 Kings Ranch edition with all the bells and whistles you could want. She wanted that moon roof. The first section opens but the rear passanger sunroof is fixed. Since her head is up in the sky right now, it might be big enough for her ego, but just barely.

Here's a picture of sweetie:

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Good for her. A good choice in trucks. Looks and sounds like she is living The American Dream. Ya might want to send a picture to the teacher trapped in Bulgaria.
Jim

 

[nekvermont]

Good looking truck, good looking family and a good looking dog. Congratulations to your wife and yourself. I think that dog wants to go for a ride. Yes, I'd be sending a picture to that teacher too.

 

[4kdave]

Great choice of truck, & she deserves all the bells & whistles

 

[jack]

Nice Truck ! I'd like to borrow it to haul rocks next weekend. :mrgreen:

OK ??? :lol:

 

[Kevin]

You have to wait your turn. I haven't even had a chance to drive it yet. I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait until she goes out of town.

And would you believe it, the tailgate has an automatic soft opening, but you have to manually close the darn thing. I thought about some gravel I want but I'm afraid of getting it jammed down between the gate and the truck bed.

Thanks Jim. I think you have a good idea about the picture. The last we heard that teacher was still working. I'm going to suggest that to Jiji.

 

[Jeepnik]

Congrats to the lady, she's done very well. As to the teacher, it amazes me that people like that get into teaching to begin with. I suspect they can't deal with adults so they find a job where they can intimidate kids.

 

[gramps]

Everybody has said what I would have said! Congratulations are definitely in order. Thank you for sharing that the American Dream is still alive and well! Kevin you have a great family!
gramps

 

[Jim Puke]

NOW...that is what I'am talking about....

 

[Kevin]

Thank you all. I'll definitely show her this thread.

 

[737tdi]

Let your sweetheart know I congratulate her on a great choice. Have always loved the King Ranch edition in both the light duty and super duty Fords. My F350 is only an XL because it gets worked. Let us know about the aluminum body, by the way I can put an aircraft quality skin patch on it if it gets a ding. :shock:. The button head rivets might be a bit ugly though...

Karl

 

[dougader]

You've got a beautiful family and that truck is really sharp looking.

I suppose we all know who didn't amount to much. Imagine a "teacher" saying something like that to anyone, especially a young student.

 

[protoolman]

Nice truck! I hope she enjoys the heck out of it.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Let your sweetheart know I congratulate her on a great choice. Have always loved the King Ranch edition in both the light duty and super duty Fords. My F350 is only an XL because it gets worked. Let us know about the aluminum body, by the way I can put an aircraft quality skin patch on it if it gets a ding. :shock:. The button head rivets might be a bit ugly though...

Karl

Man you don't know noten about this fixen alum stuff. Flush rivets, Bondo and a lot of primer works every time

 

[Mike J]

Yep, beautiful family, nice truck. I hope y'all enjoy it.

 

[exavid]

Looks great all it needs now is a sprayed in bedliner.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Congrats on everything. It's going to be a great summer I bet.

 

[737tdi]

Let your sweetheart know I congratulate her on a great choice. Have always loved the King Ranch edition in both the light duty and super duty Fords. My F350 is only an XL because it gets worked. Let us know about the aluminum body, by the way I can put an aircraft quality skin patch on it if it gets a ding. :shock:. The button head rivets might be a bit ugly though...

Karl

Man you don't know noten about this fixen alum stuff. Flush rivets, Bondo and a lot of primer works every time

:lol: :lol: I kind of doubt that there are any stringers or frames to do much of any kind of repair. If you look at the current Boeing SRM, flush repairs are almost all completely illegal. This is why some of our aircraft look like they have scabs all over them. They work but they sure look fugly.

Karl

 

[Kevin]

Yes to the bed liner. We negotiated that as part of the deal. And the front windows will be tinted too. That happens Tuesday.

As far as this summer... one of the wife's bosses said enjoy the weekend, go celebrate..."but get your arse to work Monday morning bright and early." She has a lot of work ahead of her. Lots, but manageable I should say.

We are going down to Port Aransas sometime this summer.

 

[Kevin]

Karl,
Why do you say flush repairs are illegal? Wouldn't flush repairs make better aerodynamics?

In the movie the Aviator, DeCaprio wanted all the rivets in the one chrome plane to be flush and smooth. The one he crashed in the beet field.

I sort of think a car with rivets down the side might look sort of cool. If it were done nice that is.

 

[737tdi]

Looks great all it needs now is a sprayed in bedliner.

I agree, but it sure is hard getting in the back of a truck and grinding all of that beautiful paint off. I do the same to farm equipment and did my truck. It's hard taking that wire wheel to her. I used herculiner and it came out very nice, even did the bed caps.

Karl

 

[737tdi]

Karl,
Why do you say flush repairs are illegal? Wouldn't flush repairs make better aerodynamics?

In the movie the Aviator, DeCaprio wanted all the rivets in the one chrome plane to be flush and smooth. The one he crashed in the beet field.

I sort of think a car with rivets down the side might look sort of cool. If it were done nice that is.

Kevin: It is strictly due to the strength of the repair. Using countersunk rivets in repairs anymore is almost unheard of due to the material loss making the countersink. I guess look at it like this, a standard rivet size for skin attachment is 3/32" with a drill size of 21. A rule is you can not put a standard rivet in a previous/existing hole. The hole must be oversized and an oversized rivet installed (i.e. 3/16). With that size hole the required counter sink removes much more material so the fastener is flush. This creates a thinner fastening area around the head of the fastener. Remember the skin is the same thickness. Boeing has basically determined that for primary structural repairs this is not acceptable.


I am not a sheetmetal guy (I am an engines, flight controls and wiring guy) so this is just a brief explanation. Here is a pic. of what is called the "Aloha" mod.. It shows what most current repairs look like. See the two long doublers along the skin laps?

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Southwest-Airlines/Boeing-737-3K2/2295365/L/&sid=1b56e3d5f9196c0e85cdd061bc8cc3ea



Karl

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Karl,
Why do you say flush repairs are illegal? Wouldn't flush repairs make better aerodynamics?

In the movie the Aviator, DeCaprio wanted all the rivets in the one chrome plane to be flush and smooth. The one he crashed in the beet field.

I sort of think a car with rivets down the side might look sort of cool. If it were done nice that is.

The plane was the Hughes H-1 racer. The first plane to use counter sunk/flush rivets and skins butted together. The original is in the Air & Space Museum. There was an outstanding replica built that was used in the movie. Unfortunately it crashed in Yellowstone due to a prop problem and killed the owner while on it's way back from Oshkosh.
Manufactures still use flush rivets in aircraft construction.
The replica

The Original

Streamlining was a paramount design criterion resulting in "one of the cleanest and most elegant aircraft designs ever built." Many groundbreaking technologies were developed during the construction process, including individually machined flush rivets that left the aluminum skin of the aircraft completely smooth.

The H-1 had two sets of wings, The wings Hughes used to break the land plane speed record were of a low aspect ratio and shorter than those with which it is now fitted. The wings now fitted on the aircraft span 31 feet, 9 inches. have a moderate-aspect ratio, and were used when Howard Hughes broke the transcontinental speed record in the H-i on January 19, 1937. Hughes departed Los Angeles before dawn and arrived at Newark Airport, outside New York City, 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds later. His average speed over the 2,490-mile course was 332 mph, and this nonstop flight was truly an outstanding accomplishment.