Remember drum corps? Remember WGI? Remember movies? Remember bar trivia? It’s been a long time, but I think we’re getting back to normal.
However we’re not completely out of the weeds yet. I talked to a friend who works in an rural school district. He was the first person I knew personally to get vaccinated. But when I talked to him last week, he said the school published the percent of school teachers & staff that had been vaccinated. It was a paltry 44%. Clearly people are making a choice to not get vaccinated. 😠
Did they not just live through what is hopefully the worst year of their life? Do they want to live like this forever? Some think the vaccine is just sugar water. If it is, it’s the strongest sugar water I’ve ever had b/c it kicked my ass. Others think Bill Gates put microchips in it
I.JUST.CAN’T. Rant over, let’s get back to baseball ⚾
It was a sad realization, but the the last date night Jessi and I had was to a Twins game in September of 2019. She bought us tickets in the upper deck on the first base side, between home and first. If you’ve ever been to Target Field, the upper deck has an open view of the field and flexible seating for people in wheelchairs, etc. You can go up to the upper-upper deck, Or go down to the lower-upper deck and sit in the few rows that are in front of the limestone deck walls. We were in that lower section of the upper deck, in front of one of the limestone walls.
Sitting there was exciting because several foul balls came up to our deck and bounced off the limestone walls in the adjacent sections. Keep alive and be sure to watch the game. 😳
It was a tight game, by the 3rd inning it was tied at 3. Sano came up to bat. He hit a foul ball that was careening toward our section. I watched it the whole time. As the ball grew in my vision I could tell that it was slowly listing to my right. I thought, “I’ll just lean over to the left and let the ball hit the limestone behind us.”
Then the guy sitting directly in front of me stood up, reached out, and snagged the ball out of the air with one hand, no glove. WOW that was close! My adrenaline was pumping. The man who caught the ball was middle-aged, attending the game with his dad. His dad remarked to us that he played catcher in high school. Holy crap, what a grab. I was so taken aback that I missed Sano’s homer to the upper-upper deck:
May 2021
We got 4 tickets to the Twins game on May 15th, 2021. Taking the whole family isn’t a date, but it would still be fun. With the mask mandate recently lifted for outdoor gatherings, it would maybe seem like real life. I still wore mine getting to my seats and buying food (even though I’m fully vaccinated) – mostly out of respect for everyone working the food stands.
By the 5th inning, we were down 4 to 1 against the Oakland A’s. It wasn’t looking good. I even thought about leaving the game early 🤔 Sano would prove his mettle again… In the bottom of the 8th he helped the Twins rally, scoring a three-run homer to make it 4 runs total – putting the Twins ahead 5 to 4. The team stayed calm in the 9th to hold onto the lead and win the game.
My daughter was excited that Minnesota won. They played music and shot off some fireworks. I tell you it felt like real life. 😍
In 2019 my wife and I went to a Discovery Dinner at the local nature center. It was a presentation about electric vehicles. The presenter, Jukka Kukkonen, was an automotive engineer by trade. He switched his focus to hybrid and electric vehicles as he knew clean energy would be the way of the future. We left the dinner with one major point in our head:
If you’re going to buy a hybrid vehicle, make sure it is a plug-in hybrid.
At that time we had a Toyota Highlander Hybrid (not a plug-in). It was fantastically reliable with over 250,000 miles on the clock. Never had to replace the batteries. No major engine or drivetrain issues. Consistently 20-27MPG – not a stunner, but much better than most other SUVs of that era. Every time we drove that car over 200,000 miles it felt like a gift.
For our next vehicle, had set our sights on the Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid. I always wanted to go straight to minivan ownership when we became parents. I understood a van’s utility and could look past the soccer mom image, she couldn’t.
After Jessi got a new job in 2020, it was time. We shopped for used Pacificas as the new ones are upwards of $40k. We wound up getting a deal on a 2017 model that had 120k miles on it – am I concerned? Nope, and I’ll explain why…
Joining the neighborhood Minivan crew
PHEV Awesomeness
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) are the best of the two worlds we currently live in. You plug it in and get up to 30 miles of driving all-electric. You really don’t need a level 2 (240 volt) charger, as the 30 mile range will recharge in 12 hours overnight with the included 120 volt charger.
When you run out of battery, the gas motor kicks in and the two work in concert to get better mileage than a gas motor alone can’t. There’s no range anxiety, but you can still plug in at the mall or the grocery store (usually for free) to extend your electric range.
In the first 6 months we had the Pacifica, we put on 5,000 miles: 3,000 electric and 2,000 gas. If the previous owner had the same experience, that means out of 120k miles, the gas motor was only responsible for 48k of them. 120k miles doesn’t sound too scary then, eh? Worst case scenario the gas motor worked 2/3 of the time so it effectively has 80k miles.
The bottom line is the Pacifica is an excellent hybrid. Even when the battery reads 0%, it’s not fully depleted. There’s always some reserve to operate in a traditional gas-electric hybrid mode. And when it’s in that mode it uses electric drive way more than our Highlander did.
These are just some of my thoughts on what you can expect as a first time PHEV owner, and some of the quirks of the Pacifica. One thing I want to note is that when the car is in electric mode you hear everything. Tire tread, road grooves, the steering rack – if it makes noise, you’ll hear it b/c there’s no engine noise to cover it up. 😀
Climate Controls
In our 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the sure way to get the gas engine running is to turn on the heater. When I’d do oil changes on the HiHy in the summer, rather than following the ridiculously complex “force the internal combustion engine to run” procedure, I’d just turn on the heat.
Pacifica Hybrid in Freezing Weather
The Pacifica is similar, but not as bad. One thing is for sure, the internal combustion (IC) engine is going to run from a cold start on cold days. When it’s freezing (below 32°F) the IC engine will run until the coolant temp is 130°F – even if the climate controls are off. This is because the battery coolant, which also acts as a battery warmer in cold weather, is connected to the engine coolant. My suggestion is to run the heater during this time because the IC engine is going to run regardless.
After 130°F if the climate controls are off it will switch to all-electric. Maximum battery power delivery will be limited – lithium batteries can’t sustain high amp draw without severe voltage drop when they’re cold. So if you stomp on the accelerator, the IC engine will kick back on.
If you keep the heater on, the IC engine will continue to run and heat the coolant up to 165°F. It will switch to all electric drive once it’s above 165°F, and then run the IC again when coolant goes below 150°F. On a cold day (0°F) at highway speeds with the heater on, this will mean about 1-2 miles with the IC engine on and then 2-4 miles with the IC engine off. Mostly because the wind chill is very effective at lowering the coolant temp.
I may try putting some cardboard in the grille like Minnesotan’s used to back in the day. 📦
Touchscreen & Software
The center console touchscreen is capacitive, so if you want to operate it in winter, you’ll need to be wearing touchscreen compatible gloves.
I had an issue with navigation system. I don’t actually use the built-in nav, I use my phone. But the problem revealed itself through the compass. I noticed it was wrong a lot of time, sometimes showing the opposite direction I was traveling.
When it was happening, I switched to the navigation map and it showed an icon of the van in the metro area, but it was not on the road I was on. It was sort of “floating” over the map, through fields and neighborhoods. It wasn’t just a compass issue, it was a GPS issue.
I updated the software and that took care of the issue. BTW, plan for 30-45 minutes for the software upgrade. If it’s cold out when you perform the update, bring a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate. ☕
Battery Life & Electric Range
Even with the number of miles on the clock – estimating that the battery pack and motor have traveled 72k miles, it still has good range. In warm weather (without the electric heater running) it will get 25-30 miles. You should probably cut those numbers in half if you’re running the electric heater w/o assistance from the gas engine.🔋
Best Minivan Ever?
I never thought I’d own a Chrysler. But I think they did a great job and other owners I’ve talked to say the company put a little more care into this vehicle than their normal offerings. We’d be more likely to go with a Toyota, but the Sienna hybrid came out in 2020, and not as a plugin (see above). The 2021 Sienna Hybrid is a plug-in with EV range, but at $40k+ I’d have to wait for someone else to buy it and sell it to me later 😂 Perfectly happy with the decision we made.
Bicycle tire tubes are the most prolific piece of trash that is generated by the bicycling industry. Luckily it’s nowhere near the poundage of old car tire waste out there. Still because it’s the thing most often replaced on a bike, people have found several clever ways to use punctured tubes instead of putting them in the landfill.
I like to keep one in my bike trunk bag for carrying things. I use the tube as a shoulder belt to strap things to my back. I’ve used them to carry a shovel, a pole saw, and most recently: snowshoes.
I used one in January to go snowshoeing at my local nature center:
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
00:57:56
hours
00:13:30
hours
0.43
mi.
31:07
min/mile
12:46
min/mile
27.23
ft.
29
kcal
Went to Innsbruck Nature Center… Honestly didn't need snowshoes – the trail was already hard-packed from hikers. Was good to venture off of the trail however.
Tested out my SCX24 RC Crawler 😎
Rigging With Bike Tubes
Fastening one end of any object is simple, go around the object(s) and loop the tube back through itself to to create a cow hitch.
You can only create a cow hitch on one end. On the other end I use a cheap carabiner (that I also keep in my trunk bag) as a link to fasten it similarly.
Then I sling it over my shoulder and head on my way. I keep a couple different sized punctured bike tubes in the garage. You’ll find that some are too loose and others are too tight, depending on what you’re trying to carry. Experiment with sizes and then put the most versatile one in your trunk bag for ad-hoc trips.
My only complaint about this trunk bag is the Made in China tag. Not because of the country of origin, but because of its placement. From day one of owning this bag, it was perfectly in the way of the zipper. You can see that mine has been “run over” by the zipper a number of times.
Despite the stupid tag, this thing has several useful compartments. Mesh zippered pockets on the sides where I keep sunscreen, lip balm, zip ties, and rain covers for shoes.
There’s a mesh pocket and elastic cords on the top for anything you want to have quick access to – or if you want to strap something down that is bigger than the bag.
Inside it’s one big compartment, but on the lid there’s another pocket inside. I keep a set of repair tools with a patch kit, and a couple maps of the local trail system.
It securely locks into place with the trademark Topeak QuickTrack system, so I never worry about it flying off.
Case Study: RC Trunk
I write about radio control (RC) related stuff over at MeatballRacing.com and recently I found a YouTube channel called Berm Peak that also shares my enthusiasm for both bicycles and RC.
In this video he reviews a different Topeak trunk bag that has fold-out panniers.
He put in a 1:24-scale crawler, which is a perfect fit for these bags. Similarly, I put in my Jeep, the controller, some sunglasses and headed to the local nature center to do some crawling.
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
01:13:37
hours
00:10:20
hours
1.04
mi.
6.04
mph
8.72
mph
61.35
ft.
118
kcal
Put the studded tires on and rode to a trail nearby for some snowshoeing
When when I got there, I switched to snowshoes for a hike.
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
00:57:56
hours
00:13:30
hours
0.43
mi.
31:07
min/mile
12:46
min/mile
27.23
ft.
29
kcal
Went to Innsbruck Nature Center… Honestly didn't need snowshoes – the trail was already hard-packed from hikers. Was good to venture off of the trail however.
Tested out my SCX24 RC Crawler 😎
I can’t fit the showshoes in the trunk bag, but I have a carrying solution for those I’ll share later.
I hiked to a good spot and played in the snow.
The trunk bag is indeed super versatile – I feel like every year I come up with another useful way to use it.
