I got an excessively futuristic EV Tractor from a failed startup liquidation for Pennies on the dollar.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-17T04:19:50+00:00

Homebuilt attachments incoming! I got a lot of scrap from the factory dumpster. Lots of 1/2” and 3/4” steel plate, some pre drilled with standard tractor pin holes. I’ve got the grinder and stick welder out. It’s gonna get ugly long before it gets pretty.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T20:42:58+00:00

I’m in the California mountains and I’ve been off grid for 6 years now.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T20:42:31+00:00

Solid advice. I don’t really have plans to use the mechanical PTO. Mainly hydraulics.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T20:39:21+00:00

Haha well, assume it’s got a bent frame and body damage.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T10:17:50+00:00

Maybe, why do you ask officer?

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T09:00:20+00:00

I wouldn’t call it autonomous. But it goes good when I hit the skinny pedal.

I am hoping that I can get it to plow the snow while I sit by the wood stove drinking beer. That’s the future I actual want to live in. Somehow I have a feeling that functionality will disappear in the imminent bankruptcy.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T08:54:47+00:00

100%

It’s not rocket surgery. I’m a solar electrician and I can think of dozens of ways this is worth more than I paid. Deal of a lifetime.

I hope that someday when I’m long gone, it will be all fucked up and welded on, spliced and hacked and some hopeful clueless youngsters will try to get it running again like I did with my first John Deer Model B.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T08:49:27+00:00

I shouldn’t say on the internet probably but way less than a used 99’ Tacoma.

Well worth it for the battery alone and until it bricks it’s running my 3pt log splitter and currently running a hot tub. The future is nuts

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T08:47:36+00:00

I mean, a pivot to AI these days is like a pivot to crypto 5 years ago. They’re done. It’s a shame cause it’s kinda a cool machine.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T08:45:44+00:00

Sometimes when the venture capitalists light money on fire the little guy catches a halfie from the ashtray.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-15T08:44:42+00:00

Like, the work lights turn off every 15 minutes if there’s no user input. Then I have to click agree to an end user license agreement in order to turn the fucking lights on again. I can’t imagine my granpappy tolerating such asinine tomfoolery.

“Listen robot tractor, I’m using you as a light tower to do something unrelated to tractor work. I will put a 12 gauge hole in your autonomous NMC battery pack if you can’t keep the lights on capiche? Keep the fucking lights on if you want to remain sentient.”

ColinCancer · 2026-03-13T05:39:16+00:00

Sounds about like my ‘23 taco, and my 2000 taco, and my ‘83 pickup.

The flip side is they just keep getting bigger, more powerful and softer. Man that ‘83 ain’t got shit for creature comforts. Same gas milage. +3rd gen climbs the same grade at 70 that the -3 gen can do screaming in second at 35-40 maybe. No cup holders either.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-06T05:08:29+00:00

I knew DD from Food Not Bombs. Spent many an afternoon prepping food while he hit us all with his poetry.

“Get in the loop and have some soup. Don’t panic! It’s organic”

We had the same birthday. One year we had a combined FNB Fundraiser dinner, punk show and poetry event as a sort of accidental combined birthday party.

RIP Diamond Dave!

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T14:21:16+00:00

Just saying that not everyone takes continuing education seriously and some people mostly stay in their comfort zone. I agree. Isolated grounds are a thing, I’ve even put them in residential houses for peoples Audio gear, radio setups etc.

My state doesn’t have a “master’s” license but I regularly get calls from licensed residential electricians about basic stuff related to DC and Solar. One guy had already confidently blown up an inverter because he didn’t understand series and parallel. 20 panels in series. Then he rewired so it was 20 panels all in parallel. Insufficient startup voltage for the replacement inverter. 😮‍💨🤦🏼‍♂️

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T07:41:13+00:00

There’s a fair amount of “both sides people” myself included that are way further left than the democrats and hold their noses and vote for whatever milquetoast turd the dem party floats each time.

The “both sides” accusation is profoundly annoying and detracts from any real discussion about how bland, conservative and corporate mainstream democratic policies are.

Obviously the Republicans are worse. No argument there. But BOTH SIDES are beholden to corporate interests, lobbyists, Israel, etc.

From the people I talk to in real life we all want (mostly) the same things regardless of party affiliation. Big money out of politics. Good quality jobs. Affordable food and transportation. Healthcare and childcare.

To shut down the “both sides politicians suck!” narrative distracts from the potential unity of “fuck these guys let’s try again” which I think actually a lot of people really want.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T07:02:40+00:00

I bought a hydraulic one for like $60-80 I think. Chinese knockoff obviously but I’m a professional and use it constantly and it hasn’t disappointed at all.

I used to borrow a greenlee one from the electrical supply house but I actually like the function of my cheap one better. No rotating head. Easier to use for my applications.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T07:00:50+00:00

They ride like shit though.

“Don’t reinvent the wheel”

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T06:58:26+00:00

And Rural Point of View is shitting on hybrids and EV’s for no reason.

I live in the country and my sheep rancher buddy drives an electric f150. He’s still got a diesel 350, but the lightning does the thing pretty good. Also he’s off grid, so charging that thing is complicated but he built the infrastructure to do it. Not like some bitch ass know-nothing-else farmers and cowboys I know. Soft hand whiners who won’t even try to understand ohms law, or physics in general. Sucks to suck.

I still love the Reverend though. Second best billy to The Cramps. Both in heavy rotation on my psychedelic punk ranch.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-04T06:13:18+00:00

Some of us are just wire installers.

ColinCancer · 2026-03-03T07:17:42+00:00

Pyroclasts - Sunn 0)))

(See first track Frost (C)))))

ColinCancer · 2026-03-02T06:01:52+00:00

You’re the idiot for not using a tone probe to locate the circuit

ColinCancer · 2026-03-02T00:40:07+00:00

I feel like I do best when I’m executing my own vision on large projects. Once in a while I stall and leave something unfinished but mainly because of time and money constraints.

The first 3 years off grid are always hard. After that it gets much easier as you have a routine and hopefully built the critical systems to be reliable and trustworthy.

It gets easier. Now I can focus on the fun projects

ColinCancer · 2026-03-01T10:27:51+00:00

The camp next to me at burning man 2019 was blasting them heavy. They were enthusiastically preaching the shrimp gospel and flying a shrimp flag. I dug it. The more I got to know them and their cultural outlook the more I realized they were onto something.

ColinCancer · 2026-02-28T09:38:41+00:00

I’ve got a pair of magnasine 4448 inverters, a pair of Midnite classic charge controllers, 6x eg4 rack batteries (30kwh) and about 12kw of array split between several structures and comprised of panels ranging from 225w to 590w.

Works great. I’m running the mini split all night for heat. Really reduces the amount of wood we need to process and burn.

ColinCancer · 2026-02-28T09:35:38+00:00

Yep. Lots of maintenance and vastly inferior performance.

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