RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 9, 2024 15:06:09 GMT -5
The wife and I bought a new 21' toy hauler about 22 years ago and we learned some things....
We selected that length because that was the minimum needed to park our two ATV's inside. Once we reach our destination the ATV's come out and the space is quickly converted to living space. It's worked well for us in our rock hounding trips.
Lessons learned are: Keep an eye on the roof because they develop leaks easily and if they do the water will run down and damage things. Keep an eye out for dry rot inside the ceiling, floor and walls. Many trailers aren't properly sealed underneath and road water splashes up and contributes to deterioration.
The tires that come on almost all trailers are trash and if you tow it very much you might want to put on 10-ply truck tires for safety and durability. Most used trailers have tires full of checking and dry rot.
Make sure your truck is rated to tow a trailer of your choice. One of the most ridiculous and dangerous things I often see is some guy towing a 26' tandem axle trailer with a half-ton pickup. Consider buying a hitch mounted load stabilizer for safety unless you're going with a fifth wheel model.
Make sure the fridge works because the computer board in them is often toast. Plumbing lines should be carefully checked. Be aware that almost all plumbing systems parts in trailers are not compatible with residential parts which need to be bought at trailer supply places.
Time is the enemy of trailers because the materials used in their construction is not durable against years of weathering. Plastics get brittle with time and that's a huge issue with trailers. If possible, buy one that is not too old.
That's all I can think of for now.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 9, 2024 7:07:30 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 8, 2024 20:54:42 GMT -5
The last I saw it was located somewhere in the Georgia or maybe Florida area but it appears it's being moved to Arizona. I heard it was a big attraction to the area. Good for George Frandsen who owns the display and more power to him. His collection has a great variety of coprolites from many species and is a wonderful display. That being said, I know it's not the worlds largest collection and not even close. Back in 2017 when I helped the Hammers liquidate their rock shop and coprolite collection we sold 24 honest, weighed tons to just one investor who rented U-Haul trucks to haul it away. Others bought a fair amount also. I bought the rest and have added greatly to my investment by many field trips to find my own. It's significant to note that the coprolites in Poozeum are different than mine which are so highly agatized that most rock hounds would just assume they are some kind of strange agate nodules. Kind of like comparing apples and oranges.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 8, 2024 13:05:00 GMT -5
Beautiful, and I bet it will florescent very nicely.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 7, 2024 6:53:06 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 6, 2024 13:19:33 GMT -5
Never heard of it and I'm a little suspicious. The two traditional sources here in Utah became unaccessible years ago and it's getting harder to come by.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 5, 2024 16:41:47 GMT -5
Is this related to Petosky stone?
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 4, 2024 19:04:17 GMT -5
Your dad was a man who appreciated amazing things and I am glad it passed to good hands Yes, it's good the legacy continues and he's doing it right. It's good to have his expertise here on RTH.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 4, 2024 17:59:57 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 4, 2024 17:51:17 GMT -5
RWA3006. I’m skeptical. Are you serious? If you ARE serious, I’ll send some coprolite to her since she has planted some apple trees. Haha Pat, I'm sorry but I'm the biggest teller of tall tales you'll ever meet, and not only that if you were with me in person I tend to tell the most outlandish fibs with a perfectly straight face. I'm renowned for it in my local circle. Actually, most coprolites are high in phosphorus, and they used to mine them in Britain for fertilizer but the ones I have are mostly agate and wouldn't help. I hope you'll forgive me and blame RickB because he brings it out of me. Bad influence, and all that.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 4, 2024 13:30:33 GMT -5
It's a well known scientific fact that pillars of coprolite greatly enhance the blossoming of apple trees. Makes the apples taste better too.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 4, 2024 10:11:02 GMT -5
Yes, it is and I'm having a hard time choosing my fav. Thanks to all the participants for putting on a beautiful show. Makes me wish I had time to participate.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 3, 2024 19:38:36 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 3, 2024 10:50:10 GMT -5
I said Larva, however it's probably Pupa or a Cocoon stage from some worm creature that lives in mostly dead or dying trees. I have seen the giant white caterpillars that you see when you break up old dead trees. I do not really see any internal structure. There is a void in part of the wood from this same piece that seems to indicate there was some decay in the original tree and the critters were working on it when it was buried in whatever preserved it. That's as much speculation as this amateur entomologist cares to engage in! Beetle larvae tend to have heavily sclerotised heads, especially wood boring larvae, which you think would fossilise really well but I can't find anything online to support this. Maybe the head capsules don't preserve well in wood, or maybe it is a pupa or dung. Regardless, it's very cool. Snapshots of insect life preserved across time The zombie twins are nightmare fodder. Good observation. Many years ago I worked in a logging operation and a sawmill where I sawed a lot of lumber, mostly pine, spruce and fir. I observed endless bore holes in the logs from the larvae of what we called bark beetles. All the bore holes were filled with larvae dung and once in a while a live squirming larvae with a big powerful head and jaws. Even a stray adult beetle would make an occasional appearance. However, if I were to quantify the ratio of larvae, pupae, and dung found in the tunnels I would say that the dung would take up at least 99.99 percent of the whole. Statistically the probability of dung inside the burrow would be overwhelming based on my experience.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 2, 2024 23:37:24 GMT -5
I got the pleasure of meeting up with ronnsrockroundup. He gotta go through the pile and pick out some pieces. Now fingers crossed when he gets them home and washed up he gets some real beauties. If not, I let him in on some trade secrets of how to dispose of them 😂 Ronn. I’m super glad you got a chance to swing by. Honestly, it was a pleasure to meet you and your daughter and chat rocks with someone who loves rocks as much as myself. I’ll definitely be continuing to follow this thread on your travels. I already informed jasoninsd how cool of a guy you are. So hopefully you guys get to meet. His girl will never forget the rock safari with dad and their visit with you. Making good memories with family and friends is hard to beat.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 2, 2024 7:13:54 GMT -5
Yeah, that's the deal. My goal has also been to score one of these boxes from the guy with the funny hat. mirkee somehow you're not getting messages through your inbox. Please check with a moderator to see what's going on.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 1, 2024 22:16:30 GMT -5
The color and contrast are very attractive.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 1, 2024 22:02:01 GMT -5
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 1, 2024 21:59:00 GMT -5
Looks like obsidian to me.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,224
|
Post by RWA3006 on May 1, 2024 20:21:14 GMT -5
I can't see any undercutting on that. Sure looks good.
|
|