n8sail

13 hours ago, alacrity said:

My intercooler hose split earlier this year too. Wondered what the noise was for a few days. Ford fixed it, just paid labor.

Yes, strange noise, I was really scared it was the turbo going...  which seemed unlikely, but still.  I read later that it is very important to change this as you can over-spool the turbo and actually cause serious damage to it if this hose breaks completely.

Ford puts a reinforcement 'net' over that section of hose, so you couldn't actually see the split.   Brought mine to the local Ford expert rather than dealer as the Rayong dealer is wildly expensive and slow.  He went to Ford, got the hose, and put it on for 900 baht, in about 30 minutes.   At Ford, I would never have been able to even see the problem, they won't let you into the garage area and it would easily have taken a few hours ????

Good luck with your transplant project.  Sounds like a lot of fun...   hopefully you have a garage with A/C to work in!  ????

The below company would have something to say about the reliability of modified Ford Rangers...   That's their biggest business here in Thailand.   I know the CEO, incredibly nice guy.  I love my 2016 4x4 XLT Manual Trans...   only 110km on the clock, but literally nothing other than oil and a faulty intercooler to throttle body pipe has ever gone into it.  Completely trouble-free vehicle otherwise thus far.

https://www.rmagroup.net/automotive/

"RMA Automotive, headquartered in Thailand, partners with OEMs, particularly those with production facilities in Thailand, where some 75% of the world’s one ton pickups are now built. RMA Automotive also has facilities in Australia, South Africa, Turkey, Myanmar and UAE. We are the first Ford Motor Company “Qualified Vehicle Modifier” (QVM) program participant in the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions."

Our pool is closed I believe until at least 30th April.   In Na Jomtien.

I bought a new Ford Ranger in end of 2016, 0% interest 48 months.   They required 25% downpayment for expat.   I didn't even have a 'house book', just passport/Visa and Work Permit.  Financed through TISCO bank which was the bank the dealership was using.  Girlfriend, who has a good job at a great company, co-signed for me.   I was surprised they gave me the loan as I get paid only the minimum in Thailand for a BOI visa (most of my salary is overseas) and the girlfriend had a hefty mortgage on a house AND a car loan as well on her salary which is even less than my BOI salary.  That may be different nowadays with COVID risks etc.

It is paid off now and it's in my name, took about a month for the 'Car Book' to arrive.

I did one back in November 2020 at Similans onboard The Phinisi.  It was fantastic.  I've done 2 livaboards there several years ago when it was crowded.   In November, at Richelieu Rock there were only 2 other boats, and they left within an hour, so we had the entire site to ourselves.   I can recommend this company highly, the boat and crew were great.  With COVID the price was reduced I think 30% then...  should be similar now.   Great time to go diving, and right now you have very good odds of Mantas and Whale Sharks!

The Junk | Liveaboard diving in Thailand

6 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Well, the app will probably improve over time is my guess.  In the meantime it serves an important, even vital function.  Instead of complaining about the faults of the app, we should appreciate the virtues of it.

 

If a Farang can not afford 450 THB per month for cell phone service (which would be considered dirt cheap by most people) , perhaps they should be more concerned with why they are trying to live long-term in a foreign country without proper finances than with finding fault with this app.

 

Whether you appreciate it or not, all of us Farangs are guests here in Thailand.  Perhaps we should acknowledge that and appreciate the fact that we are fortunate to be living in such a safe and hospitable place, in spite of the short-term current situation, instead of just finding faults.

I was referring to Thai people, not Farangs.  450 baht is more than daily minimum wage here.  If monthly mobile service was as much as I make in one day,  I would certainly be exploring other options!  ????  At the factory I work in there are quite a few Burmese and Cambodian laborers (They are all legal, have work permits; Immigration has actually come to check before).  Most of them don't have smart phones as they simply don't have enough money after sending most their paychecks back home to support their families.

Hopefully the app does get better.  But since I live and pay taxes here I don't think I'm in the wrong to gripe about how the money is spent, same as my home.

52 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Why would anyone use a service provider in Thailand that does not provide you with unlimited data package?  I use AIS and for around 450 THB per month I am provided with reliable unlimited 4G.  Good and cheap cell service is one of the biggest bargain in the Kingdom!

 

Maybe they can't afford 450 baht per month?  Or they don't need that much data?   Myriad of reasons...  I only have 16 gigs of data and full 4G speed per month, unlimited with slower speed.   I have only a couple times gone over the 16 gigs.   Serves me just fine.

Point of the post is that the app is sloppily written and uses much more battery power and data than normal apps.  My opinion is that if tax payers like me have to pay for an app that is required to be installed just to exist in Thailand's 5 'Red Zones', it should probably function as a normal app does and not be obtrusive to the user.

An update on the severity of the "Very Strict Measures" controlling movements between Rayong and Chonburi.

This morning, 09:30, drove from Na Jomtien to Map Ya district Rayong via Bang Chang expressway and Sukhumvit, nary a checkpoint or even police in sight.

Just now, arrived to condo in Na Jomtien from work in Rayong via 36 Road, Route 331 to Huay Yai Road, and on 7 extension...  All but about 5km of these roads are 4+ lane major roads, so not exactly sneaking around here....  Zero checkpoints.   There was one 'side of the road' checkpoint just to the west of where Route 3191 intersects 36 Road, which yesterday on my way home at similar time I believe was actually checking cars, but let everyone through soon after I got stuck in the traffic.   The BIB were milling about.  A car sped by me at 115+kph (90kph zone), none of them even looked up.

I turned on Morchana App for the 35 minute trip, it burned 2% of my phone battery (According to Android's App management utility)  Gmail, which I ran and used heavily all day, didn't use enough battery to register anything at all, just said 0%.    Brilliant app, Thailand!  Some users in Play Store comments complained that in 15 days the app burned through 15+ gigabytes of 4G data.   So not only do you need a smart phone to be 'legal' here, you better have yourself a very large data package to go with it!

6 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

You will absolutely need the forms.  As of 6am today, they are mandatory, and the queues of people lining up to get them validated is testament to that.

I'm told that it's required for one-off trips outside of the province.  If you must do it daily, my HR people tell me that a letter is enough.   Thousands, probably tens of thousands of vehicles a day make this commute to Rayong.  There is absolutely NO way they could issue enough of these forms every day.

BTW, Thai chana and MorChana are not the same thing.  Morchana always tracks you via GPS/Triangulated Cell signal/Wifi and also Bluetooth (All four methods of tracking the phone are asked for if you check the app permissions).  Thaichana, as I understand it, is only used to checking into and out of malls/shops etc.   Writing in your name/number is just as legal and sufficient.

Live in Na Jomtien, drive to Map Ya in Rayong (just north of Map Ta Phut) every day to work.   No checkpoint this morning either on 7 extension or Sukhumvit.

I think there was one yesterday on 36 road west-bound on my way home, waited in traffic for about 5 minutes, but then all the police moved off to the side of the road and let everyone through.   I was a little nervous as my work had not yet given me my letter saying I live in Chonburi but work in Rayong.

Will see what happens today.  I do not have the form filled out and signed by "authorities" linked to above.  I'm assured by my co-workers that a letter from the company will suffice.

Just installed Morchana today.  Holy <deleted> what a privacy invasion!!   1984 here we come...   :(

On 10/9/2020 at 4:35 PM, LennyW said:

It is approximately a 3 year project the next phase. 

It is planned to follow the railway tracks to Mapthaput.

...

Cheers for that LennyW!   So my theory is correct then...  We waited ~5 years for the first section, what's another 3 ????

I'll periodically drive by this area, it's on my way home each day.  If I see changes I'll update here.

Sorry to resurrect this if there is already another thread on this subject.  I searched and found none.   Long time reader, just registered.   Lived and worked in Rayong the past 7 years and just moved to a condo in Na Jomtien, so this topic is of great interest to me.  The new highway has changed my life.

At the southern terminus where the highway dumps out onto Sukhumvit, there is a very long, very expensive-looking overpass that continues on straight over Sukhumvit paralleling the railway tracks.  There are jersey barriers blocking it on the highway itself.  Has anyone heard any news of when this extension might be continued?  I asked an ex-girlfriend I'm still friendly with who is fairly connected in Map Ta Phut, and she hasn't heard anything.

I did some reconnaissance (off road) and found that the bridge just ends on a dirt ramp, so it has a ways to go before it can reach into Map Ta Phut, which I understand is the final goal of the project.   This would make my commute about 20 minutes instead of 30-40...   of course it was 1hr+ before, so I really can't complain at all  :D :D

Map showing where this is, and in up-close detail.  Red circle is approximate location of this photo: