Transporting Large Tanks

Three years ago, I started building an off-grid home at Land between the Lakes in Dover, TN. Part of the construction is a Noresco 3,000 gallon potable water tank. It is big. The tank I bought is 107 inches high and 95 inches in diameter. There are only a few places in the USA that manufacture these and luckily one of them was only 371 miles away. I had the option to have NTO, the company I purchased the tank from, to have it shipped to me. The shipping cost was ridiculous. The tank cost me $1,156 and shipping would have been $895, almost as much as the cost of the tank.

Size

The first thing to consider is the size of the tank. I wanted a larger tank but 5,000 gallons is the largest you can transport on roads without permits as it larger than 5,000 gallons exceeds the width of the lane. 

Weight

These tanks do not weight a lot. The tank I purchased weighs around 400 pounds without water in it. Once it was filled up, it weighed in at 26,200 pounds as water is roughly 8.8 pounds per gallon. 

Trailer

Luckily, my neighbor has a trailer that was sufficient to haul the tank. He loaned me an 8' x 12' trailer. It was more than sufficient. 

Tie Downs

You can use the standard ratchet tie downs. I used four. It required two put together to get all the way over the tank while two straps held it down. These worked out just fine.

Loading

The manufacturer will load the tank on for you with a special forklift they have. The tank moves very easily as one person can push it around. One thing that scared me when it was being loaded was when the forklift driver pushed the tank over on its side. The tank is so sturdy that it will not be damaged as this is done. There will be a few scratch marks at most. 

Here is a pic of it after it was loaded and I was getting ready to head back to LBL:

You may be wondering about me using a Jeep Wrangler to transport such a huge tank. Although it is big, it is lightweight and no problem for the Jeep to pull. 

Driving

When I first started driving, I was very cautious about pulling such a big load. It ended up being a straightforward transport. The Jeep is a 6 cylinder, so power wasn't an issue. I was concerned about Mont Eagle and the sharp winds that can occur there and I had no problems going up and coming down. 

I had to make one stop for gasoline and took a picture of the entire trailer, Jeep, and tank. This shows just how big the tank really is. 

Unloading

Unloading was easier than I had anticipated. No doubt it was scary, but it was not a huge task as I thought it would be. The worst part was pushing it off of the trailer so it would land on the bottom. I backed the trailer up between two trees and then tied ropes from each tree to both sides of the tank on the trailer. This allowed us to push the tank over the side of the trailer without the risk of it rolling down the hill. It was scary doing this, but the tank landed on its bottom. The next thing was moving the tank onto the concrete pad I had built for it. We ended up using 2x4s which we pushed the tank onto so that it would easily goto onto the concrete pad. Once it was on the pad, moving it around was no problem. 

This is the tank in its final resting place.

Conclusion

It was not nearly as difficult to transport as I thought. I was apprehensive of the sheer size of the tank coupled with its relatively lightweight. I thought it might blow around on the road, but it did not. With a little planning and strategy, you should not have much trouble doing this yourself. Before buying a large tank, make sure you ask for the design specs so you know if you can transport it and what you will need. 

Dental Work in Tijuana

It is no doubt costly to have major dental work done here in the USA. Dental insurance is insufficient, typically covering $1,000 to $1,500 per calendar year. Also, it only includes crown replacements once every so many years. I needed eight crowns, 7 root canals, and two implants, and the cost was more than $10,000 here in America. Luckily, my mom lived in Baja, Mexico, for several years, and I had a lot of knowledge of the culture there.

Having been to Baja Mexico so many times, I learned about the dentists in Tijuana. I think it is common knowledge in those states that border Mexico, but for the rest of the USA, it seems to be alien that Americans go down to Mexico for discounted dental work. A lot of people seem to believe that dentists down there are inferior, which is entirely false. Some maybe, but the ones I have gone to have been excellent! They use modern dental equipment, just like American dentists use.

I first went to Sam Dental in Tijuana back in 2010. My front teeth required being crowned as they were stained pretty bad. The dentist did a fantastic job on my teeth. Eight years later, my front crowns were still good, except for one in which the tooth crushed while eating. The dentist had warned me that the tooth was dwarf-sized, and it was possible that it may not last. I broke it in 2014.

Since my first visit, I have gone to American dentists, and they have wanted to do a lot more work on my teeth, and I put it off until 2019, at which point I went back. I wanted a full bite upfront as I had just broken two more teeth. The original dentist did not do dental implants, so I went to Samaritan Dental. The dentist there decided to extend my bite down and crown all of my upper teeth for a complete restoration. I ended up with three implants and a bridge across the front. The total cost of the bridge and crowning all the teeth in the back was $9800. It took two trips. The first was to pull the roots of the teeth that broke off and install the implants.

The second trip eight months later was to crown all of the upper teeth and install the bridge. The second trip took a week. They took impressions and made the teeth that week for the procedure that Friday. The following day was a followup. I must say that I am so pleased. This is a picture after completion in December 2019. My teeth have not looked this good in many years.

Insurance and Finances

One thing many people don't realize is that if you have a significant other living with you, both you and the significant other can cover each other with the +1 coverage through their employers. This doesn't mean you must also have +1 coverage for healthcare too. The way it works is the dentist files under one plan, and whatever that plan does not cover, the other insurance plan picks up. It is well worth having. As far as coverage in Mexico, you will have to pay upfront and then file for reimbursement through your dental plan. You can pay with your credit/debit card, but there will be a surcharge. If you pay with cash, they will give you a 5% discount. I have had Delta Dental, Cigna, and now Sunlife. Delta and Cigna will both reimburse you. Sun Life is the first dental insurance company I have had that will not, which is very surprising. Paraphrasing what Delta Dental told me, going to Mexico for major dental work saves both you and Delta money. So for now, only one of my two policies cover dental work done down there. It is still drastically cheaper on me, and I do have to have Sunlife file even though they don't cover it, so Cigna knows how much to reimburse me.

Another thing I learned was that medical travel is eligible for reimbursement. You can set aside money in an FSA account for travel to San Diego and withdraw that money after you use it. The same goes for dental procedures. That money can also be set aside in an FSA. I have not tried to file against an HSA, but I assume that can be done too.

Update: I am now back on Delta Dental, and they reimburse for work done in Mexico. I also was able to use my HSA card at the Dental Office to help pay for the procedure.

Getting there

You're probably wondering how you get to the dental office in Tijuana. It is straightforward. If you are going to San Diego/Tijuana for dental work only, I suggest staying in a cheaper motel in Chula Vista, CA. The reason for this is the convenience of getting to the border. I stay at the motels on E Street just because the Trolley is walking distance, and there are plenty of restaurants. The San Diego Trolley goes to the San Ysidro US border. Trolley passes are $5 a day that you can get right at the station. It is about a 20-minute ride from E Street to the border. Once you get to the border and get off the trolley, you will walk on across the border. This is the path you take on the left side over by McDonald's.

Since I used to come out to Ensenada regularly, the border has changed dramatically. You must now go through customs when entering Mexico. There is no visa fee to go down. It's usually a quick process with the typical questions asked by border agents. This is the border entry point into Mexico.

Once you get through customs, you then walk out and down to the end of the walkway where there are a lot of taxis, and your dental shuttle vehicle will pick you up. This is a video after I got out of customs and the walk to the shuttle pickup location.

I am going to step back a little and tell you there is a cheap way to get to Chula Vista from the airport. There are actually a couple of ways. You can take the rental car shuttle to the rental car facility and then walk over one block to the train station, or you can take the shuttle from the airport to the trolley station. Here is more info on the second option. Once on the green line Trolley, you will make it to the end where you will switch to the blue line. You get off the Trolley and walk around the building to where the blue line intersects. The blue line will take you to E Street and/or San Ysidro.

Medication

Prescription medication is a touchy one. The dentist cannot give you a narcotic prescription and legally come back into the USA. If you require that extensive work, then you are better off staying in Tijuana so they can prescribe the medication and take it there. I have been lucky that every dental procedure is done on me was painless after the anesthesia wore off. I also am fortunate that the law firm I work at provides Teladoc in the event I do start having pain and need some medication.

Safety

This is always a big concern I hear from a lot of people. I can tell you that as many times as I have been to Baja California, I have never felt unsafe there one time, whether I was driving or walking around. It does help if you can speak some Spanish as it shows the people there that you are trying to blend with their culture and not expecting them to speak English.

I suggest walking across the border. One thing I will tell you is that if you travel across the border, or internationally a fair amount, get Global Entry. It dramatically speeds up the process of crossing back into the USA.

My Journey Through High IQ Societies and What They Have Done for Me

When I was 6 years old, I took my first IQ test. At the time, I scored 126. Since then, I have taken many IQ tests and scored a maximum of 138. Although I scored above average growing up, I lived with epilepsy until early adulthood, which made the front stage over intelligence.

My second IQ test was when I was 13, and I scored a 132, which is good enough for entrance into Mensa. Three years later, my mom got in touch with the Bowling Green Mensa chapter and asked about me joining. She was trying to get me into activities other than staying at home and programming all of the time. They obliged and said for me to attend the next meeting. I went and was not impressed with the local chapter. For one, they met at Mr. Gatti's pizza in the children's playroom. Second, most of them were stuck up. I never went back to another meeting and dropped, wanting to join that organization.

It would be another 16 years until the thought reoccurred to me about my IQ. It was at this point that I decided to take the International High IQ Society's entrance exam. I passed and joined my first high IQ society. 

It was quite an adventure when I joined. I learned really fast that you need to have very thick skin to survive. It was much like the local Mensa society I had attended the one time. Luckily, I am the type that it takes a LOT to make me mad, and what many people would become infuriated over, I laugh at. First off, there is the issue of emotions being misconstrued in posts by the reader when the author could have completely different feelings behind the post. We see that on Facebook too. That was the case quite often in a discussion I and many others would have there. Second, many people seem to believe that high IQ societies are a think tank of ideas. Sure there are many ideas, but not to the magnitude that is often perceived by the general public. It is more of an elite society where people discuss many of the same topics discussed in other parts of the internet, but with a higher degree of thought, except when it comes to politics. There is also only so much to talk about. It is not like there are new and exciting intellectual topics every day, or even every week. Once those topics have been discussed, what more is there to really discuss when it comes to "intellectual topics"? That is when topics go to politics and the latest news, just like everywhere else on the internet. As far as participation, it was exciting upfront, but after a couple of years, like most things, the excitement wore off. Unlike back in the early 2000s, when these groups were pretty new on the internet, and these communities were very active with new and exciting topics, it is not so much today, and I see new members coming in that are very disappointed. They are expecting lots of discussions, whereas the members that have been there are tired of. The new users get very few responses and then just leave. Sadly, new members can't be segmented off into their own area to experience what we did. That is not possible on Facebook, and Facebook is where most of the participation now takes place. The old forums are no longer very active. 

For the next 5 years, I posted on and off at IHIQS. Facebook came along and diverted much of mine and a lot of other members' attention off of that society. I then joined my next high IQ society and didn't really participate much. It was later in 2013 that I took another entrance exam for another society, Mysterium, and joined it. I have participated in some, but not very much. I have also joined a couple of other societies but have not engaged much. 

It was just the entrance to a society that inspired me to achieve much more in my life than I had ever perceived myself as being capable of. Before joining, I never thought of myself as an over-achiever. There had been a few times that I had thought outside the box, but it was far and few instances. I had been cycling for a few years by this time and was very good at it. Competitive Sports, combined with the physical shape the personal trainer helped me get to, along with now belonging to a high IQ society, made my ego and arrogance rage. It was several years until I was able to get a grasp on it and control this to truly benefit myself.

It was at this point that I really began to excel in my career and life. I started thinking outside the box to come up with new ideas. The memberships to these societies gave me that boost of confidence that I needed to excel. It opened up an entirely new avenue of thought for me. As far as them really guiding or directly helping me, no, they have not done that, though they have encouraged and supported me.

I have met a fair number from IHIQS in person as I travel a lot and post my destinations on Facebook, asking if anyone wants to meetup. I have thoroughly enjoyed the company. We had a meet in New York City in 2010, and it was great.

The general public often puts members of these societies on a pedestal with the expectation of perfection. It is commonly held against you if you make mistakes. A common statement is, "How could you do that belonging to high IQ societies?" Another thing that I have heard people talk about is how some people with extreme IQs achieve nothing in life, such as William James Sidis. From my own observations and experiences, these people have a perception of society that most people never discern. Most people live in bliss throughout their lives and rarely use critical thinking skills on such topics as religion, existence, life, politics, and such. That is why brilliant people sometimes no longer want to use their intelligence to contribute to society. That is a big difference I have noted between the general public and people with high IQs. I have even said that people of average intelligence are sometimes luckier than the gifted because their existence is bliss. They often don't critically think through many of the critical topics, as mentioned above, that gifted people do, accepting what society presents to them. It leaves them with a feeling of completeness because they know no better. 

In conclusion, I have to say that it has been well worth joining high IQ societies. I am just glad I had a very thick skin and was able to make it past those parts to set me in motion to becoming the person I am today. It has changed everything about me. 

Disaster on Mount Massive

In 2012, I had set my goal set to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. I started training at Beaman Park in Nashville, TN, which had very steep inclines that made it a great place to train at. I also trained in the Smoky Mountains in preparation. To make sure I was definitely ready, I decided to fly out to Colorado to make sure I was ready for the high altitudes.

Having never climbed in Colorado before, I called out there in February to see when a good time might be to come to climb. The rangers told me the roads to the trailhead were still completely covered in snow and were impassable by vehicle. They said to wait until late April. I went ahead and got my flight scheduled for the last Friday of April. Yes, I know I did not give myself much time to acclimate as Leadville is already 10,200 feet.

I got into Leadville that Friday night and then took off for the trailhead Saturday morning. When I arrived at the trailhead, two other cars were there. I met three other people, another guy and a couple, to go up the mountain with at around 6:30 am. Unbeknownst to us, we would be the only ones on that mountain the entire day. It was about 23 degrees out with gusts of wind up to 50 mph making the windchill 4 degrees. That had little effect on us, as we were all dressed appropriately.

We started out at the Mount Massive parking area on Half Moon Creek Road.

We continued up the Colorado trail. I have to say that the Colorado trail was, in my opinion, the hardest part of the climb up. After about maybe 1500 feet up, we ran into about 4 feet of snow. We would easily post hole without snowshoes. You can see all of the post holes we did.

When we got to the Mount Massive trail, which you turn to the left on from the Colorado Trail, there were patches of snow all over the place. The trail markers were buried, which was our first mistake. We continued up the mountain and got past the treeline. As we continued on, it started to snow. We got to 13,800 and finally had to turn back. When we headed back down the mountain and back to the treeline, we no longer saw the footsteps that we were depending on. We spread out in a straight line quite a distance across so that everyone could find our way back to each other. No one saw anything that looked familiar. We decided to continue down and still saw nothing familiar. Finally, after about three more hours of spreading out and searching, I heard water to the right side. I assumed it was the water flowing into Willow Creek that you cross on the Colorado Trail on the way up to the Mount Massive trail. I told them that if we followed the creek, we should find the crossing at the Colorado Trail. We all decided to go down that creek. To get to the creek, there is a very steep descent you have to go down to the water for probably about 60 feet. It is one of those that you are on all fours or you will roll down. Just before going down, I got this pic. It was the last picture I got before my iPhone died from the cold weather. The iPhone is horrific in cold weather conditions below 40 degrees.

We got down the hill to the creek. The woman in our group was already freaking out and crying. I tried reassuring her that anywhere water flows, you should be able to find civilization. The conditions of the creek were pretty bad. It is all grown up around it and there was ice and snow. Sometimes we would post hole and sometimes we would go right through the snow and into the creek. Other times where there was ground, it would be so saturated from melting snow that you would immediately sink into the ground. Following the creek is a very slow process. We followed the creek for quite a distance and never found the Colorado Trail crossing. By this time, the woman was really freaking out. She was wanting me to hit my SPOT GPS SOS button to get help. I tried to tell her that if we continued, we would be fine. The husband talked to her and finally calmed her down. I continued to tell her that we were all fine and that I had extra supplies with me, including shelter and fire, if we needed to stay the night. The other guy was cool in following me. We continued and she ended up slipping and spraining her ankle.

By this time, I ended up calling Sawatch Backcountry in Leadville to ask for help on directions. They are your best bet in the area for help. They know the area better than the forest rangers do. She said that we were on the right track and that we should be coming out at a trailhead near the hatchery, but would have a very long walk back to the cars. It was while I was talking to her that my iPhone completely died. At this point, I was feeling very confident and so were the others, except for the woman who we were now trying to help down with a sprained ankle. We continued on until the creek began curving around and around in S formations. We decided to take a long break. We all just laid down on the ground and took a short nap. We were exhausted. It was unknown to us that the next curve was the beginning of civilization. We got up about an hour later and took off again. There it was. A four-wheeler trail was in front of us. We followed it for a while and found the trailhead at the fish hatchery. We were all exhausted and made a huge error. We continued on down from the trailhead, instead of turning right to take us the right to the road. We followed the barbed wire fence and finally came out on a farm that was private property. We followed his dirt driveway to Halfmoon Creek. Out of shock, we were almost near County Road 11, which was a LONG way from the trailhead where our cars were parked, roughly 7 miles. We decided with her sprained ankle, the husband and wife would stay behind while the other guy and I walked back to the vehicles. We left most of our supplies with them and began walking back. I don't know how long it took, but it seemed like we would never make it back. We finally got there a few hours later and drove back to get the other couple.

What did I learn from this?

1. If there are snowy conditions like this, take surveyor flags or tape to mark your way up
2. Take a GPS with you.
3. Bring extra external batteries for your phone.
4. Of course, have the survival gear just in case you can't get off that day.
5. Take a GPS satellite transmitter. If you are out of cell range, you could be screwed.