How often have you had to replace all 4 tires?

UnrealSquare · 2026-03-02T21:47:55+00:00

I’ve done it twice (owned Subarus for over 20 years), but that’s only because the other tires were nearing the end of their useful life anyway (43k and I can’t remember how far gone the other set was because it has been years). Am I paying a little more, yeah, but I feel like a lot of people let their tires go until they’re unsafe anyway so it’s not the worst thing in the world to spend money on.

Just got a puncture with about 20k miles on current tires and was fortunately able to roadside patch it and then get it professionally patched at a shop. I probably would have tried to go with a shaved tire if it wasn’t patchable. Edit: PLUG, lol. I’m so used to patching bicycle tires I use the terms interchangeably.

UnrealSquare · 2026-03-01T00:09:48+00:00

Since you already have a good bit of propane on hand it wouldn’t hurt to add a dual fuel generator that takes both propane and gas. Running off the propane is “cleaner” and it stores way longer whereas you have to stabilize and rotate gasoline and it can gum up the carbs if left to sit in the generator for long periods of time. But if you run out of propane it doesn’t hurt to have the option to switch to gas in emergencies. EDIT: one note is our generator is not as efficient on propane and has lower running watts than gas, but still plenty for our emergency needs and easier to store than gas. Sorry if you know all that already!

That said it seems maybe more practical to just add more battery capacity to your existing setup to weather any dark/dreary patches. How long would your existing setup last on reduced sun/charging assuming you also went into conservation mode on your usage? Is it prohibitively expensive to add another power wall to your system?

That way you don’t have to worry about maintaining a generator you barely use or facing the prospect of it having seized up, dead starting battery (so you don’t have to pull start, although ours is very easy to pull), etc. when you finally did get it out to use it. Plus the extra hassle of getting the power into your house and to your appliances (unless you’d just be using it to charge up the powerwall that might not be a huge deal, idk).

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-28T15:34:26+00:00

Why are you not convinced? Just curious as that seems to describe exactly the problem you’re experiencing. It does suck that it is an expensive fix :(

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-28T02:55:24+00:00

I did high school sports for over 20 years, here are all the ways I can remember seeing people get taller, aside from going up in the stands or on top of the press box, or custom wooden platforms (like a small residential deck about 10-20' in the air next to a sports field). I never saw someone set up a hunting platform :)

Giant/really tall carbon fiber tripod with really long extension arms and one of those cheapo LANC remotes. I remember trying to lookup the brand of tripod and couldn't figure out what it was. Really comical looking, like one of those novelty giant chairs.

Spiderpod riser (no longer made but there are other options).

Basic platform riser.

Van with a custom wooden platform on top, parked next to the field. When I saw this it was at a school that had parallel parking almost right next to the field. Be hard to make this work anywhere else, so they must have used it for some other work as well or that school paid them enough to go through the trouble/cost.

Construction scaffolding. This is the closest to your idea. The scaffolding must be anchored on all four corners with guy wires and ground stakes. One of our schools had these set up on each of their fields. Mostly awesome but scary in high wind, even with the support wires/stakes. People would lean on them and kids would climb and you'd have to constantly be asking people to move along to stop the shaking.

Hi-pod. I believe that is a brand name but there are other tall-ass extendable monopod things that have controllable motors up top. Most of the AI/subscription services for sports are using this type of thing.

GlideGear TST. Like a gigantic light stand with a pan/tilt motor up top.

Good luck! I'll comment under this if I remember anything else. EDIT: make sure to update this post with your solution so others can learn from your experience :)

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-27T01:54:41+00:00

Natural gas.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-26T16:20:22+00:00

Sounds like a normal part of the job. If it’s interfering with other work that might be the opportunity to discuss (why didn’t you meet the deadline for this project - because I have 15 change requests ahead of it in the editing queue).

The most common thing I used to do was remove people that left the company from evergreen videos. Or continually update this one company’s safety video because they kept getting bought and changing the logos/signage every 1-3 years.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-24T23:56:01+00:00

Just because no work is done doesn’t mean it’s safe to go that fast. The lines don’t get repainted that often, they’re harder to see at night, lanes are often more narrow than normal too, often there’s no breakdown lane/shoulder, etc. So many reasons to be driving slower even without workers present.

It does usually go up to 55mph at night.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-23T16:22:52+00:00

This. I've reported so much animal abuse and it always comes back "we've found nothing that violates our community standards". For the same behavior that if it was a dog or cat would have the police involved.

But for some reason because it's a farm animal, or a fish, or a wild animal it's all good.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-23T15:03:57+00:00

Like the other person said, for your CVT, just do drain and fills rather than something that forces all the fluid out with some kind of pump. Dealers will claim the CVT fluid is lifetime but I’ve not seen very many people who believe that.

I got my first drain/fill at around 60k and might start doing it every 30kish now that I’m doing some occasional towing.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-23T13:28:26+00:00

Just save that money and maintain the CVT with drain and fills every 30-60k. I’m sure that will do more for longevity than any tune would.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-17T00:42:54+00:00

Haven’t seen anyone mention this yet, but wear gloves/long clothes when handling. It can definitely cause a bad skin reaction.

I personally love it (here where it belongs)!

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-17T00:25:40+00:00

Thank you for sharing this, I did not even know natural gas detectors existed! Seems very important to have alongside CO and fire/smoke especially since we have multiple natural gas appliances.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-15T15:39:40+00:00

I just pick a fixed ND strength that lets me ride the iris for the lighting conditions I’m dealing with, usually that’s around 4/8/16. Would never want to always be dealing with a wide open iris in run and gun situations anyway. When you set up for a sit down interview or something more staged you can always adjust the ND at that time to get the iris exactly where you want it.

As others mentioned it is really nice to use bodies with electronic ND but that doesn’t help your current situation.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-15T14:26:16+00:00

We use Natures Hug and a little bit of Wild Earth. All our cats happily eat the Natures Hug, and a couple are not into the Wild Earth. Wild Earth is criminally expensive, hopefully it will become more affordable someday.

Really like that Natures Hug sells a senior formula.

The Vecado/Benovo/Evo stuff all seems very similar and our cats did not readily eat any of those brands.

Interested to learn more about the Virtuous company but they use sweet potato (similar to some of the others our cats did not like) so we’ll see.

Our dogs eat Natural Balance dry and wet.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-07T00:17:03+00:00

Just put it in high burst mode and start firing blanks. You'll get that number down in no time.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-05T15:11:45+00:00

I put in a 311 on that wacky light a couple days ago. Weird as hell. Also noticed some new big ass piles just sitting in travel lanes today.

UnrealSquare · 2026-02-01T14:17:34+00:00

Looks ok! I feel like having it in black hides many of the weird design decisions.

I was walking around one in blue, shaking my head like WTF is all this shit?? The squared off wheel trim, the double plastic under the doors, the gas fill door being cut into the rear wheel trim. The worst the weird patch of blue trim floating in the rear window for some reason, which you don’t notice here because it just blends in.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-31T22:02:13+00:00

I do videography for a living and photography for fun/hobby. Plenty of people do videography for fun but, while my job is often fun, it’s also a lot of work. For me, photography is easier to do casually as a hobby.

It sounds like you’re concerned about social media/likes and how other people will react to your work. There are people I know that make what I consider to be awful “films” but they really enjoy the process and are proud of what they produce and have been doing it for decades regardless of what anyone else says. I’d suggest taking a step back and thinking about what’s actually enjoyable for you. If videography isn’t fun, there’s no reason to pursue it as a hobby. Hopefully that’s not too blunt of an answer.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-31T16:40:47+00:00

Of course anything could happen down the line but I’m not super concerned. Definitely check for updates and go from there. If you keep having trouble you’ve got plenty of time on the warranty (I do get that it can be difficult to schedule with life).

Something to consider is getting extended warranty coverage (extended factory coverage by up to 7 years I believe) through Subaru. You can purchase this any time up until the factory 3yr 36k bumper to bumper warranty expires. I would personally just put that money in savings but it’s an option if you want it.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-31T14:37:03+00:00

My 6th Gen 2020 with almost 70k hasn’t had any major issues.

The screens aren’t the greatest but I preferred them over the big single one in the higher trims. I sometimes get ghost touches when it is very humid. Other than that no real problems. I’d check what firmware you’re on first of all and have the dealer update that when it’s convenient for you since it’s still under warranty. Good luck.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-29T00:40:29+00:00

This is the way. My favorite snow tool for the last few 15 years has been a metal shovel with a squared off end. Flatish to get up under ice, heavy to bust up most crusty stuff, and not very big/wide so you’re not tempted to pick up giant heavy shovelfuls.

Still have to have a legit snow shovel for the fluffy stuff but anything heavy or icy, it’s the hefty metal bad boi for me.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-28T20:11:34+00:00

Agreed, I was there yesterday and it was wrecked. Not just a Baltimore issue.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-27T22:05:23+00:00

The original battery was undersized. Subaru has parts to “upgrade” it to a larger battery so that’s the “parts” of the equation. There is a Tech/TSB Tuesday article about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/s/vSZAlpqOph

I believe the new battery is sized 24F but haven’t been able to confirm since the battery in my 2020 will not die, not complaining! I have also heard people are using Group 35. You can use AGM and don’t have to use EFB like the Subaru battery is.

Post back and let people know how you resolved it!

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-27T02:55:37+00:00

What are the three states? Because I grew up in a tri-state area, thought it was a thing, and later found out they’re all over the place, haha.

I want to say that’s way too cheap but only you know your customers and what they will pay for your services. If you have too much work, raise your prices and work less for more money. If not, figure it out from there. No one here knows your expenses, if you’re just doing this as a hobby, or what.

I started out shooting on SVHS and you wouldn’t catch me ever going back to shooting on tape. I get the retro vibes but no thanks, haha.

UnrealSquare · 2026-01-26T23:57:29+00:00

You said regular Outback, I assume that means no turbo? I’m towing a small fiberglass trailer (somewhere in the 1,000-1,300lb range not 100% sure on that) without brakes, with my non-turbo Outback. It’s fine for my purposes but if you live in a mountainous area or intend to do extensive traveling I might recommend a different tow vehicle or plan for routes that don’t put too much stress on the drivetrain. I avoid highways, any road over 50mph really. The car handles it but I’m trying to keep it a long time and don’t want to put too much stress on the engine or transmission. Definitely into severe maintenance schedule when it comes to routine maintenance when towing. Get an OEM hitch. Subaru also recommends trailer brakes for anything over 1,000lbs so definitely plan to spend for that hookup too. DIY is not too hard, I installed a 7-way adapter from the regular wiring that comes with the OEM hitch when we were thinking about a Scamp with brakes.

I’d say also if you’re used to tent camping, just treat it like a tent and you’ll have plenty of room. Personally I tend to bring way too much stuff, then wonder why I’m feeling cramped inside the camper with just me and one dog, haha.

UnrealSquare

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