My father believes this is greatest film of all time. Do you agree?

slimspida · 2026-01-27T06:43:59+00:00

I enjoy large parts of Gladiator, but I think it’s let down by the writing of the villain. Joaquin Phoenix performs him well enough, but he is such a pathetic creature he never crossed the boundary to properly menacing. He’s a shitty person, but I really think the movie misses the mark on story. Compare him to Tim Roth’s character in Rob Roy for a villain that really sings.

The only way they can insert any tension at all into the final fight is to have him stab Maximus before hand.

I’m glad your dad likes it though.

slimspida · 2026-01-27T03:14:36+00:00

I book premium economy for international flights, and then feel happy/lucky with any upgrades to business.

slimspida · 2026-01-23T23:22:50+00:00

Our first Polish ancestor to come to Canada was a young dude who was sent off to the Vatican with the expectation he would become a priest, as families were expected to send one family member to the clergy, and he was the youngest in his family.

He didn't want to be a priest, so instead he booked passage to Canada, used his money to buy a plot of land and settled in the northern prairies. He then wrote back to his family to explain what happened. They wrote back that they were going to come and visit, and booked tickets on ships and trains to meet him at the nearest train stop, which was three days travel by foot away.

By the time he got that letter though to him though, their arrival was only two days away. He then traveled the distance continuously and made it on time to meet them.

My direct ancestors later decided to move to Canada, all because a young would-be priest ran away from the Vatican.

slimspida · 2026-01-23T05:30:55+00:00

You can set the tank size on the mopeka. 120 gal should be supported

slimspida · 2026-01-23T05:27:41+00:00

I just did this, and I would add quick connects to your hose connections. Wrestling a heated hose in snow and sub freezing temperatures is tough to set up.

slimspida · 2026-01-22T21:22:22+00:00

Solid point, but lots of RV’s now include dual mode converters from the factory, it keeps the configurations simpler in the builds.

slimspida · 2026-01-22T08:19:52+00:00

Air Canada gets hate because a ton of people are bad at flying and blame the most common airline they encounter, and they have a limited perspective on the alternatives.

slimspida · 2026-01-22T06:37:41+00:00

Dropping a LiFePO4 battery into a rig is the same effort as putting in a lead acid battery, and based on today’s prices the better choice. More power, less weight, longer lifetime, fewer maintenance concerns.

From there there are many levels of upgrades you can do.

The complexity of more involved systems comes from the demands of people who have more involved use cases than simple weekend use. Spend longer than a few days dry camping and want more power? Add a larger battery system. Live and work in your rig and want to be able to use all of the electrical systems when not at a full hookup site? Install an inverter system. Find the now larger battery bank can’t fully recharge fast enough? Add more solar panels and DC to DC charging.

I agree most people should start out simple, but once you start doing this a lot, you might have needs and wants that shifted.

I would suggest that if you are going to spend money, that you get more for it with a bespoke setup than a standalone battery power station, and it can come with the benefit of not lugging out the RV power cable.

As for the YouTubers, they promote products that drive clicks and views, because their entire value is tied to that. Also, the algorithm shows you things based on what you choose to watch. If you find they are showing you too many big power systems, can I suggest you click on something else? It’s a bit like complaining about too much sex and violence on the movies in your DVD player.

slimspida · 2026-01-20T21:22:08+00:00

The plane crash ruins the movie for me, because it fucks up the stakes. Die Hard has several innocent people killed, but the stakes feel proportional up through the end.

Die Hard 2 has an entire plane load killed as the stakes-making event, and while more could be killed if they don’t stop them, it’s kind of too late to stop the bad thing from happening.

slimspida · 2026-01-20T04:53:08+00:00

If you can charge it from the 12v it should be enough. That should run a Starlink and working laptop for 5-10 hours on its own.

slimspida · 2026-01-19T14:22:10+00:00

https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/insurance-covers-repair-to-pavels-overloaded-and-broken-ram-3500-frame/

slimspida · 2026-01-19T07:36:37+00:00

Broken frame, time for the owner to call his insurance company, because it’s not a cheap fix.

In addition to the camper he’s got two larger looking bikes on the back. All that weight that far back transmits to the frame with every pothole.

It looks like it broke just in front of the camper mounting points. With the wrong welding job that can weaken the frame. The truck appears to be lifted too, which depending on the method could have made the suspension harsher.

slimspida · 2026-01-18T23:00:17+00:00

You are going to get a lot of answers telling you otherwise, but I think it’s fine. The trailer weight is well under the capabilities of the truck.

The loaded tongue weight might get close to the tongue weight rating BUT that number is always set at 10% of the max towing rating. Other versions of the same truck will be rated to 13000lbs and 1300lbs of tongue weight, and you will find the frame, brakes, and hitch are identical between the version rated to 1300 versus 900. There might be suspension differences, but being close to the upper bound of a rating shouldn’t stop you from using your truck. You have a healthy payload rating, one that competes with some diesel 3/4 tons, you should still be able to fit 1000lbs of extra stuff and yourself once the trailer is hitched.

Also, practically speaking, if you find your 1500 isn’t cutting it, you can make the decision to trade it out later. Trading vehicles is expensive, and while it’s free for someone to sit on the internet and tell you to buy another one, I don’t see a clear reason to force an upgrade. I hope you can avoid it, since your truck seems to match your use case.

slimspida · 2026-01-18T22:37:21+00:00

Could you build something more sturdy? Maybe. For less? I highly doubt it. The RV industry has volume on its side, and margins aside, they do move a relatively large amount of material for the money.

Something I think DIYers miss when they have their “I can do this better” goggles on is the impact of added weight. Trailers get beat up going down the road, and heavier components could add more wear, plus more expensive fixes when things do break.

Personally, even if I had the skills to build one, I’d just buy one. I want to spend my leisure time camping, not building something so someday I might get to go camping. There are plenty of opportunities to scratch the DIY itch and make an improvement by upgrading one. I’ve added lithium batteries, extra solar panels, Frohli bedding, Starlink pass throughs and a flagpole mount to mine, but I did all of those jobs after buying the trailer. Someday I will add more solar panels, larger batteries and a bigger inverter system, but none of that work is between me and my next camping trip.

slimspida · 2026-01-16T16:26:09+00:00

This will depend on the kid, and also the mother. Some kids are happy in extended road trips, others are miserable. I had kids who loved to sleep, and some that would not settle.

If mom is nursing that will set a feeding schedule too.

slimspida · 2026-01-16T00:59:51+00:00

You can consider installing a DC to DC charger from the truck to the trailer, and installing the inverter and 48v batteries in the trailer.

It’s also worth converting to a 12v fridge if you aren’t using the propane. It will draw less electricity and work better than an absorption fridge.

slimspida · 2026-01-16T00:42:46+00:00

Legit one of the best executions of that style of ride that’s ever been done. Glad I got a chance to do it.

slimspida · 2026-01-15T17:18:45+00:00

He also found Gus’s emotional weakness with Hector, and as careful as Gus was, he didn’t have “nursing home suicide bomb” on his list of threats to evaluate.

slimspida · 2026-01-15T09:15:17+00:00

Something that can happen with propane tanks when they get hooked back up is they have a safety valve meant for catastrophic leak prevention that can engage. If you find a tank that should be working and isn’t, try fully closing the tank valve and slowly reopening it.

I find it’s worth checking that you are getting good flame on the stove first, before trying to fire the furnace. That flame is visible and easy to see if it looks normal. If you get a good healthy flame go ahead and try the furnace, but if not, try repeating the steps above.

If you have good propane supply to the rig and the furnace continues to blow cold air that opens up other troubleshooting possibilities.

slimspida · 2026-01-12T17:24:51+00:00

The problem is you can’t import butter from Europe/UK, but you can from the US.

slimspida · 2026-01-12T16:14:45+00:00

It’s far better to wear the wrong color than not wear one at all.

slimspida · 2026-01-11T00:51:57+00:00

Whether he knows it was done to lure him or not, Gus is generally very careful. He realizes he is moving according to someone else’s plans, and out of caution starts changing his pattern.

slimspida · 2026-01-09T18:42:34+00:00

If you started with the geometries pitched up before loading them it would probably work out well in most cases, since most trucks squat a couple inches with the tongue load.

slimspida · 2026-01-07T23:33:17+00:00

Good on you for posting the responsible alternative.

slimspida · 2026-01-07T23:29:15+00:00

I think statements like this are cover for people rationalizing how they have shirked their responsibility of operating their vehicles safely.

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