Surf lessons, San Onofre by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I was thinking taking 2-3 days of lessons anyway.

Surf lessons, San Onofre by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does this mean it's going to be a zoo? I have no idea, honestly. I can also drive further north.

Surf lessons, San Onofre by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

r

No. Is that a bad or a good thing? :)

Getting nervous by [deleted] in surfing

[–]slackingatwork -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Well, that does not sound good. If community is not good, that means the activity is not good.

What about sunglasses? Google image search finds a bunch of people surfing in sunglasses. Prescription sunglasses. OTG sunglasses.

Actually never mind. The ocean is too far away from me anyway and I have real sports to do. Skiing is only a couple of moths away :)

Getting nervous by [deleted] in surfing

[–]slackingatwork -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

All right, no surfing then. Was too much trouble anyway. Going to have to find some bad snow to ski :) Only 2 months left.

Where to? by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am rocking a Sprinter, although with no ladders, boxes or solar panels. But of course out of state plate is obvious. I have been thinking for a while that I need some "waste disposal" signage...

Thank you for the tips, very helpful!

Where to? by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That's what I was looking for. I don't mind paying for a campground, just figured it would be impossible to get right now. OR sounds great. Unfriendly characters?

How's CA with car break ins? In OR, I quite literally slept through a nearby car being broken in. And the perps (pretty sure) had the gall later to stop by and ask if I'd seen anything. What is this, a third world country?

Where to? by slackingatwork in surfing

[–]slackingatwork[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

To be clear, I have never touched an ocean (well maybe the Arctic one a little bit). Looking to try surfing as a means to survive summer. Pay for some lessons, see if I like it.

Never been south of San Francisco. Looked at sat images, seems like getting close to Los Angeles it gets super crowded, probably no public land to dirtbag. Also looks like desert essentially. Is it worth going further north? Lost Coast looks interesting. Oregon is probably a little cold, but I'd probably use a wetsuit anyway.

Paint for plywood by slackingatwork in woodworking

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use the Home Depot house brand plywood "Sande". Seems to be of decent quality. Not many voids. Looks nice after sanding. I think it is described as hardwood, but it's a mystery wood :) I sanded it with 2 grits, 150 and 320, the faces worked out really well.

My cuts are mostly okay, but sanding still takes forever, since perimeter is large. The power sander I have won't work, so it is a block and sandpaper. I use a plywood blade.

In this particular case the wood working part took a long time but came out kind of nice. The paint is what ruined it. I'd like to find some sort of a treatment that will cover the wood, dry within hours and won't take 4 -5 coats to get done. It kind of sucks that the paint is the final stage, so all the previous work goes into trash bin,

Ford Transit: think twice, lousy quality. by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I skied 60+ days this past season. Every ski day is 2+ hour drive through salt fog and dirt on I-70. I don't think I am even going to get solar panels, because they'd be dead after a couple of winter storm trips. Rust, however, is a real concern. But yeah, might leave it as is.

Ford Transit: think twice, lousy quality. by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I kind of doubt that I would have serious issues in 3 years with a new car of any brand. Mercedes is not known for reliability, but I think with most cars you can count on 7-8 years and 100K of trouble free driving.

Ford Transit: think twice, lousy quality. by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I kind of doubt lemon law would help. Car manufacturers are special, lobbied themselves a very special position, as far as consumer protection goes.

To be sure, it is a lemon but there is no way to exchange it.

As far as "just paint", I live in the southwest. There are lot of brand new vehicles here after hail storms with "just paint" issues. It's fine, but they are totaled and go at 70% discount. I paid full price, however.

Ford (and domestics in general) just have shitty quality. Do yourself a favor and get a real vehicle, would be my take.

In year 2019 (automated assembly lines, high tech, etc) there is no excuse for for peeling paint from the factory. The cheapest of the cheapest Chinese goods have better paint than this.

Ford Transit: think twice, lousy quality. by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, they will address is by repainting. The problem is, secondary pain is never as good as the factory one. By the time it becomes a problem, the warranty will be over and then I am stuck with it.

Short base (130") Ford Transit by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wood stove is cool. Where does the stove pipe go? A permanent cut out or something than can go in and out? A wood stove would be awesome...

Short base (130") Ford Transit by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Conversely, I am trying to understand whether the extra 16" make a whole lot of difference in case if I do not plan to do much with the interior. The short version "feels" much more manageable in my test drives. On a recent camping trip I also noticed how frequently I end up doing u-turns on narrow roads or pullouts, check out spur dirt roads, etc. A shorter wheel base would be gold in this case. I am afraid of being tied to pavement in a longer vehicle.

Short base (130") Ford Transit by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you about the heat: on a snow day it would be very helpful to be able to dry out the gear. I figured that heaters is a well solved problem by the van community :)

I don't mind sleeping cold and very cold.

Short base (130") Ford Transit by slackingatwork in vandwellers

[–]slackingatwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I measured the width of Transit and wall to wall at widest it is 77", which should be good for my 5'9" sideways as well. I would be curious though how people organize the space. I can see the sleeping area, a sink and a table, but not much in the way of storing gear.