Moving to the Farm

[Tororider]

Hope you can find everything in the morning. It's raining pretty hard here, but not too windy. Nice bench. I can always use more shoe and boot storage. When you are piling up 13 wides, like I do, it doesn't take many to make a dozen. Larro

Everything was still here the next day. Thanks.

I also have size 13s, although not wides. But with five kids there is never enough storage.

 

[Tororider]

Still thinking about the best way to make a storm shelter. Excavate and use ICFs, bury a shipping container, other? Open to suggestions. Without a basement we don't have anywhere to retreat to when tornados are in the area.

 

[Larro Darro]

My cousin turned a shipping container into a shed. I think he picked it up for a couple thousand dollars. It being steel, would be my first choice. But run the numbers and see what comes out the cheapest. You can pour concrete in whatever size you decided on, while a container is a standard size. They sell fiberglass shelters here that you can bury, but they are 2-4 thousand dollars, and are not that big. With 7 people, you would need more room.

Larro

 

[Tororider]

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving. .

 

[Larro Darro]

And to you too. Family, friends, food and football.

Larro

 

[Tororider]

Big bummer on the homestead.

A Blessed Thanksgiving That Ends in Homestead Tradgedy | homesteaddad

 

[Larro Darro]

Sorry about your ram. Years ago when we kept sheep, there was a young ram my Daddy had tamed up. He always took him corn whenever he was in their pasture. But one day he rammed Daddy square in the chest, knocking him for a loop. Rams got that name for a reason. Having livestock in a neighborhood is a challenge. We have very few neighbors, but our cows have ate the gardens of the few we have. They were country people and took it in stride. People not used to livestock might have started shooting them. I would think about putting a padlock on that chain. If he had rammed a little kid you might be looking at much more damage than the loss of the animal.

Larro

 

[aczlan]

I think I may have mentioned it before, but we have an E350 van for our family. It is the 12 passenger model as when we bought it the 15 passenger wouldn't fit in the garage. The front end has always been what I will call a little "loose". The tires seem as though it takes very little to get them out of balance. As such, the front end vibrates a lot, even with frequent rotations.

We had the 15 passenger version for years (a 1993 and then a 1999 ex-hotel van with the 7.3L Diesel).
Dad swore by Michelin's for the front (they were the only ones that would consistently stay balanced) and I am told that switching to Bilstein shocks will greatly improve the ride as will a set of airbags inside the front springs.
As for the steering, we took it into shop that specialized in trucks, they went through the front end and found some worn parts that had been missed previously. That significantly improved the steering.

Aaron Z

 

[Tororider]

Sorry about your ram. Years ago when we kept sheep, there was a young ram my Daddy had tamed up. He always took him corn whenever he was in their pasture. But one day he rammed Daddy square in the chest, knocking him for a loop. Rams got that name for a reason. Having livestock in a neighborhood is a challenge. We have very few neighbors, but our cows have ate the gardens of the few we have. They were country people and took it in stride. People not used to livestock might have started shooting them. I would think about putting a padlock on that chain. If he had rammed a little kid you might be looking at much more damage than the loss of the animal. Larro

Already working on a padlock and chain. As much for the animals' security I think. I am very thankful no one got hurt.

 

[Tororider]

We had the 15 passenger version for years (a 1993 and then a 1999 ex-hotel van with the 7.3L Diesel). Dad swore by Michelin's for the front (they were the only ones that would consistently stay balanced) and I am told that switching to Bilstein shocks will greatly improve the ride as will a set of airbags inside the front springs. As for the steering, we took it into shop that specialized in trucks, they went through the front end and found some worn parts that had been missed previously. That significantly improved the steering. Aaron Z

Thanks. I'll check into that.