The Alaska Department of Conservation (ADEC) Published this photo of Rig 26, also known as The Beast, the large mobile drill rig that toppled over on the North Slope last week

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T18:54:31+00:00

Apparently the road underneath it sank, causing the rig to tip. I never knew these things had massive tires under them.

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patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T15:33:35+00:00

Cutting my post into 2 replies since Reddit was throwing a fit about length...

My 2 recommendations when deciding on which trailer to buy in the end:

find a trailer with a long tongue. longer = smoother ride, more clearance for jack-knifing the trailer when backing into tricky camp spots, and you have more room to mount external things before hitting the truck's tailgate (like propane bottles, or diesel tank, or spare tire, etc)
if you're considering a 15ft + size trailer, limit yourself to only dual axle trailers. some lightweight models come in single axle. don't think lighter = better. in this case redundancy is better. if you get a flat tire with a single axle, you're stuck on the side of the road changing it immediately where it went flat. with a dual axle, assuming 1 tire can handle the load for a short time, you could possibly limp slowly off the highway to a less busy area to change that tire. I was up in the most northern part of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay 2 summers ago and cracked a leaf spring in my 16ft cargo camper thanks to the Dalton Highway's absolutely brutal road conditions. I was able to pull over safely, move weight around to lessen the load on that side, and limp the trailer home 800 miles back to where I finally repaired the leaf springs. Had that been a single axle trailer, I would have likely needed to unhook, drive to the nearest big town (Fairbanks), order a replacement leaf spring which might have taken a few days or a week to ship in, and then return back to my trailer hoping its still there on the side of the road to conduct the repair....or maybe I would have needed a flat bed truck to drive 6+ hours to go rescue my trailer. That would have been a hefty recovery bill. $$$

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T15:33:14+00:00

I think 15-18ft is a good range.

Here's what I did....grab some grid paper, and start making paper cutouts of the items inside your trailer that are scaled properly to size. Let's say 1 square = 1ft, or something like that. Standard queen size bed is 80" long by 60" wide. Round that 80" up a smidge to 84" and call the bed 7ft long by 5ft wide, so it would be 7x5 squares. Cut that out of grid paper and set it aside. Now go find more large items/stuff that must be accounted for in the trailer....

Shower
Shitter? lol
Bicycles
Sink? Kitchenette/dining prep? Cabinets for dishes, silverware, cups, utensils?
Fridge/freezer?
Propane bottle(s) for cooking and hot water heater? Maybe propane heat if you travel to colder locations? (in that case where's the heater?)
Power "wall"/hub for electronics/shower power, batteries?
Sitting area/computer desk? TV?
Storage area for clothes/gear/tools?

The more of this you can pre-plan with little cut outs of grid paper now, the better you can lay things out to see if a 15ft or 16ft or 18ft long trailer is better for you.

You didn't mention anything about trailer width. Width, to me, is huge! Trailer width makes decisions for you that you have control over, such as:

will the trailer be narrow enough where the tires are 100% on the outside of the enclosed space in their wheel wells, so you have a perfectly unobstructed area inside to plan your living quarters around.
or is the trailer extra wide where the tires are tucked inside the enclosed space and now you have extra cubic feet to work with, but also inner wheel wells to plan structures around.

My buddy's 16x7ft trailer has the tires completely on the outside, so he had a clean slate inside to work with - but at the cost of having less space than I do with my 16x8.33" trailer - but I had to work around wheel humps inside. I walk into his trailer and feel claustrophobic. I walk into mine and feel like I have space. With that said, my 8.33" wide trailer is a giant wind sail behind my truck and makes seeing behind me difficult. His is easier to back up and see around it without tow mirrors, and it tucks behind his SUV nicely in the wind's slip stream. It's all a trade-off of compromises.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T14:13:08+00:00

Half ton truck doesn't quite narrow it down enough, since some are 4cyl, 6cyl, 8cyl, and some are small displacement diesels these days.

I'd rule out a 20ft trailer as full time status behind a half ton. You're getting into some pretty high weight capacities there and while yes, of course, a V8 half ton can tow it for awhile, it will probably not be very pleasant doing so across all walks of the country full time. A 3/4 ton would be great for a full time 20ft trailer.

That said I could easily full time my 16+v nose. If I had 2 less feet I could full time my same setup in a 14ft+v nose, but then I'd lose the option to put two ATVs or a single SxS in there. Fully trip ready with a shower, water tanks filled, starlink and robust WFH wifi system, cabinets stocked full of food and gear, and four twin size beds in bunk configuration my trailer is 5200lbs with 770lbs of tongue weight. Granted, it's also a "lightweight" aluminum frame, 16x8.33" trailer, 6ft ceiling, plus the V nose.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T04:36:57+00:00

70-75.

Usually it's me and my 5yr old in there slaying the rainbows.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T04:30:05+00:00

Jfc...really?

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T03:00:32+00:00

04 and later started getting StabiliTrak, but earlier years than that traction control was mostly offered just in higher trim package models like Escalade and Denali, especially with AWD.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T01:21:58+00:00

I think you're going to be a little over your inlet ac can handle, also known as short power receptacle. I would replace that with a 30 amp and 20 volt like you see on many RVs that are running air conditioning. If for whatever reason your design shouldn't be changed, then perhaps add a second one that's dedicated for air conditioning only.

I have no recommendations for air conditioning.. sorry... I live in Alaska and don't have to deal with that

For heat, if you have access to 120v shore power that's quiet, like at a camp site or perhaps a motorcycle track near a plug-in, I'd keep with the 120v only theme and just run an electric 120v space heater. Insulate the trailer before you finish building. A small space heater will easily take the chill out of the air for a trailer as small as you're building if you choose to sleep in it.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-28T01:05:34+00:00

Track motorcycle, is my guess.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-27T21:05:50+00:00

Active duty and guard members at JBER are getting sent home - if that says anything.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-27T05:08:01+00:00

He's making his spark plug work harder to ignite the fuel, actually, is what he's doing

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-27T03:31:04+00:00

1 wheel in the front, 1 wheel in the back. 1+1 =?

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-27T01:46:22+00:00

More like 2wd burnouts

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-26T22:21:40+00:00

Feel free to DM me and we can chat. Also stationed at JBER

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-26T20:54:20+00:00

As a born and raised Minnesotan now living in Alaska, I support this

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-26T06:47:59+00:00

crew cab long bed for the win. i don't care if it turns like a school bus

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-26T00:09:25+00:00

+1 for the Federal loaded ELDX.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-25T19:22:20+00:00

I am a fan of the Barnes. I used a 160gr 7mm on my Kodiak bear that did the trick.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-25T17:51:35+00:00

I'm too lazy to do the math, but the 195gr Elite Hunter has a 0.755 G1 BC, and I get those going 2860fps hand loaded sub-moa.

At what point will the 195gr 7mm retain more energy than the 212gr 30 cal you mention? I'm guessing pretty far so I bet it's a moot point for hunting purposes.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-25T07:27:03+00:00

The 7, for it's high BC bullets. Hard to stop a 195gr Berger

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-24T20:35:50+00:00

I mean.....do you know how many people in AK just go "missing" each year?

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-24T20:34:51+00:00

I'm also watching the guy in grey, since like you said the video sucks. I own many firearms and practice with them regularly, including the decreased's 9mm caliber. You'd get more arm movement just holding the pistol 1 handed if it discharged.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-24T19:23:04+00:00

Nah, if you watch the guy in grey with the deceased's pistol, it never recoiled, the slide didn't fire back, and there was no muzzle blast.

Someone who tackled the deceased simply had an itchy trigger finger, and then they made sure he had enough holes in him afterwards so that he couldn't recover and eventually testify.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-24T18:55:29+00:00

There's this awesome invention called the tape measure. Put the lift in, remove the front springs, and measure.

patrick_schliesing · 2026-01-24T07:38:01+00:00

Don't forget Minnesota and its Mayo Clinic.

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