aplumma

A camera is your best friend take pictures before you go any deeper into the side panels. Note where the springs are before you undo internal screws. You can also down load the exploded diagrams from the website to see how they go back together. Art

A lot of the boats we run in the bayou have been designed to take a good hit and keep going. The z drive outboards are amazing going thru mud and stump fields with no damage. I run a jetdrive outboard on rocky rivers around here and skimming thru 4 inches of water and rapids are unnerving until you get used to it. Art

The best truck is the one you like. They all are good nowadays. My F150 replaced a titan easily and it has better tow capacity and mileage. Slightly used truck will be a good bet for you since you have such low mileage demands and it will save you the initial purchase price. I have a 2012 with 28,ooo miles on it and expect it to last quite a long time between good maintenance and it being a second truck for my business. As far as leasing it is a suckers bet you are paying out money and have no asset at the end of the lease. Most vehicles can go 50,ooo miles minimum before need a repair if you maintain them. Art

Very nice place you found Chris wish I was there. Thanks for sharing. Art

I have found that in some cases that peace of mind is worth the price. I have people who want one supply tube over another even after you explain that the less expensive one is just as good in the application that we are using them for. Once I tell them my conscience is clear and they get to use the one they want. Art

Dave there was scam that was popular 10 years or so ago where for 20 bucks the gas station would fill your tires with pure nitrogen like NASCAR and that it was going to prevent tires heating and rubber deterioration type failures. It was snake oil for sure. Here is a link to an expanded explanation http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19353980/ns/travel-travel_tips/t/dont-fall-nitrogen/ Art

If you use nitrogen you don't have to do this. Art

very nice thanks for taking the time to share it. Art

Thanks for the report and the videos Kevin lets hope the Fall brings good times for all. Art

Turbo spooling up and the smell of two stroke castor oil makes me happy. Add a little cordite from shooting guns and I deem it the perfect day. Art

When you fight this hard you will survive. The good news is lots of help is pouring in to help those that have lost so much. Art

Polar bears have to eat you it is a short season and every calorie counts. Art

If you are towing heavy loads a f150 set up with the tow package as well as a sway control bar and trailer brakes is more than up to the job. Hands down the 5.0 gets better gas mileage however the turbo series is boosting the truck at 14 psi will yield 3.5 plus 1.75 for a displacement of 5.25 in theory a 10 % loss is expected so it is roughly a 5.0 under boost. both are up to the job and with further tuning the 3.5 turbo in the raptor is rated at 450 H.p and 510 FT lb of torque. There is lots of room left in the turbo series using tuning and a few mechanical tweeks. One of the thing people forget is displacement at atmospheric pressure is easily overridden by increasing the inlet pressure and increasing fuel rate at the same time. With the computers now a days mapping the spark, fuel and o2 is easily done. The second benefit of a smaller cubic inch motor is it can spool up quicker because it has less friction and mass to accelerate. Turbo lag which is minimal due to the space age materials we use and advances in design are not the same concern as yesteryear. Art

.yes 14.7 liters per 100KM I have the full tow package 3.5 liter twin turbo 4x4 with the 3.72 gear set. It does not get good gas mileage but I use it to tow most of the time. The computer has for the most part learned heavy loads so it is leaning towards torque rather than economy. I do not under tow either motor or brake wise it is just to dangerous and it can get you killed. Art

F150 eco boost with tow package 16 mpg not towing combined city and hwy. Rated for 10000 lbs towed 5000 lb 8 hours no issues. towed 3500 lb 14 hr straight doing 70 mph average no issues. very happy with the 3.5 twin turbo as far as torque and h.p. Art

Thank you for the update. Please let us know when it is open again and we can post the information in the business announcement section. If anyone has further input feel free to P.M. the info. to me so for now I am going to lock this and we can revisit it in the future. Art

Glad you bearly escaped danger Lew. Enjoy your vacation and be safe. Art

I bought a diawa tatium reel making sure it was a current version and it was correct and new in box saving $40.00 US. i also bought a few lures and hooks but found them to be poorly made and the hooks cheap. If it is a brand name product your o.k. The penalty for making a mistake and trying to return it is a pain in the butt for sure. Art

Fishing habits dictate what equiptment you are comfortable fishing with. A quality rod and reel when you are casting all day makes sense. I have a collection of Spiel rods that were made differently than most rods. I wanted a 14 inch butt with a 1.25 inch cork that was ultra light and balanced with a 100 series reels. The guides had to be braid proof and the spine needed to be 100 % correct. For the time Spiel put in to each rod the price was a bargain and I treasure each one of them. I could not see putting a reel on that was less in performance and destroy the balance of this work of art. When I fish I have 4-6 rods rigged up with different baits and rarely have to cut off and retie during the day.Is the cost worth it for me the answer is yes since I did not take money from any other part of my life to buy them. If you haven't found a rod and reel combo that is effortless to use and feels like an extension of your hand then you will think that 800-1000 for a combo is to much. To date everyone who has used my equiptment have loved the feel of them and if it is in their budget have upgraded. Quality equiptment is something that until you know what your missing you will not miss it. Art

Sorry to say the Titan is a gas sucking pig. Fun to drive and well built but the mileage has been an issue in my 2005 and my buddies 2012. Keep your foot out of it and it will shift for economy after it realises you are not an aggressive driver. Keep on top of recalls and they stick to there warranty schedule way tighter than Ford does. I had a rear seal blow at 36,800 and they denied the claim. Even though they had a bulletin on it. Art

That's just the tip of the iceberg now we get into fractions when measuring .... so add 1 3/4 and 1 15/16 th of an inch and divide by two for center point. If metric did not sound so dramatic thematically we might have switch to it but the people Down South here do not want to say it is 0 degrees in any measurement style. I use the metric system for measurements but fahrenheit and mpg still are better understood down here.

My vote is for saltwater as well. If you are driving bring your muskie rod and casting spoons . You can cast from the beaches. Bring a medium heavy bass rod and red/white jigheads for the inlets and bays. Art

We tried metric for 2 weeks but it was to hard for us to figure out so we gave up..lol I know that we are never quoting imperial gallons. I did google it and made the conversion because it was to much math for me. Art

I haven't owned a Dodge since 2001 and it had the worst drivetrain of the big 5. I hope they have improved. I rechecked into Dodge Ram promaster in 2015 as well as Chevy, Nissan and Ford. The Dodge Ram was using a front wheel drive and a new motor from Fiat. The sheet metal work and fit and finish was substandard compared to the other 3 but it was on par with the price they cost. I test drove it and at 65 mph the sides flexed and made noise as well as the wind noise made it unpleasant to drive. The Nissan had a sold build but the fuel mileage was horrible. That said a fellow tradesman ran his for 150,000miles with only maintenance and a rear axle replacement. I decided on the Ford full size 250 Transit with a ecoboost gas engine. At 45000 miles it has had no repairs only maintenance and averages 14.7 per 100 kilometers combined with a full load of tools and material. The difference between them price wise was around 10,000.oo dollars that I am glad I spent because of the way it was built and the way Ford supports it. This is the second eco boost that I have 2012 f150 is doing well and so far I am still pleased with it. Not trying to talk you into a Ford just giving you feed back from another brand that is out there. Art

Dan the answer to your water is Carbon. It will filter and neutralize the ammonia and other by products. Bulk Carbon( 40 to 60 mesh) can be bought from plumbing supply houses cheaper than anywhere else and 50 lbs will be around $ 110.00 bucks. You will need around 1 lb per excursion. Pre rinse the carbon and put it in a pair of pantyhose with a knot and drop in the water. Temperature is the critical thing the cooler they are the slower they process food and oxygen. Art