ArizonaRanch

  New Ranch Truck by rdpecken on Jun.03, 2012, under Area We purchased a new truck for the Ranch in March. This was our first trip up with it. The truck is a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500, with 4×4 and a regular cab. It also has a towing package, but not much else. I’ll bet you didn’t know you could still get hand cranked windows, did you?? Anyway, this has the 5.7 Liter Hemi V8 to help pull loads up the hill.  Ranch Truck So the trip up over Memorial Day had us pulling our big trailer with the metal roof components loaded and the tools in the aluminum storage box for trailer , along with our normal supplies for 5 days or so. The mileage was a little disappointing, until I analyzed it when we got back in town. The truck has been averaging 15 – 1/2 mpg in town. That’s pretty respectable for a full size truck with a V8. After filling up in Mesa, we found that going up the hill to Chino Valley, pulling the full trailer resulted in about 14 – 1/2 mpg. OK, I understa...

  Installing Metal Roof on LittleHouse Porch by rdpecken on Jun.03, 2012, under porch Not many pictures this time, as I got a little lazy.  We went up to the Ranch over Memorial Day to install the structural steel on the porch roof. It only took a day and a half to do all the work, and the rest of the time we spent visiting/barbecuing with the neighbors.  The place where the roofers bought the panels no longer could get the exact same color, so this roof is a little darker than the house. I expect after a couple of years of fading from exposure, they will be closer. At any rate, you cannot see the roof from the ground, due to its low slope.  You have to go across the meadow to see it. Anyway, here is how it turned out.   Porch Metal Roof Panels Again, I would ask, “Why would anybody install asphalt shingles?” This roof goes on so easy, that it’s a little embarrassing that I took a day and a half to do it. Well, we did have some prep wor...