Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[altasnob]

All types of batteries (lead acid, agm, and lithium) have only so many discharges available before they die. Lead acid and AGM like to be fully charged. Pulling the fuse for all the power draws (like the propane detector) will help prevent your battery discharging while sitting unplugged. But even an unplugged battery slowly discharges, which is bad for it (why auto stores periodically charge their for sale batteries). So to get the maximum life out of your AGM battery you will want it plugged in to shore power (smart charger) or install solar so that it sits parked fully charged and remains fully charged.

Unlike AGM and lead acid, lithium can sit half charged and not harm the battery.

[SchralphMacchio]

RVing has been a game changer with really young kids (1 and 3 last year)! Our local hill runs some lifts until 9 PM W-Sa as well, which helps a ton.

[Trackhead]

RVing has been a game changer with really young kids (1 and 3 last year)! Our local hill runs some lifts until 9 PM W-Sa as well, which helps a ton.

Sweet pic! Gotta love coming back to a warm dry place, especially with the intensity of handling a 1-3 yr olds.

[SchralphMacchio]

They loved getting out of the nuking winds and getting some hot chocolate after nearly 2 hours of this trailer!


Fuck me though, with the ski bike hanging on the rear handlebar and both kids plus water snacks and extra clothes, that Thule trailer was over 100 lbs, and the XC area wasn’t groomed since it stormed all day … not enough wax on waxless skis, rime mixed into the wind packed snow, breaking trail most of the day with glue snow clogging my fishscales. Friggin workout. But hey mom got to ski 3 hours without kids! And that was after I moseyed over solo at 8:57 AM to snag 2nd chair and rip untracked for 1.5 hours. RV life has its perks!

[powdork]

just throw some big tires on there
https://themodernmindfulmom.com/bosc...er-technology/

[simple]

Ok who is this person and what is the story.? Old 4*4 Schoolie towing a jeep with a bicycle on the back. Why are they here and not in Moab right now? Seen winning at life near Winter Park

[Trackhead]

Finished the bunk. Strong enough for my 90kg body, but really for my kid. Raises up during the day and will double as storage for bedding and other stuff. Diesel heater is almost too hot. When it is 25F and heater on low you really need to open the roof vent. I guess that's good for ventilation.

[SchralphMacchio]

What btu rating on the furnace? I’m guessing the blower on that heater is sized to handle way more ducting and air volume than your pop up!

[Trackhead]

What btu rating on the furnace? I’m guessing the blower on that heater is sized to handle way more ducting and air volume than your pop up!

6000-17,000btu or 1.6kw-5kw

[hutash]

We have an Expat gasoline fire heater in our Transit and it works like a gem. Lowest setting is 48°F but need to see if I can reset it lower just to keep internal water from freezing. I am loving it in winter, and it allows things to dry out really well.

[toastybroski]

Do any of you use a portable power bank? Seems to make more sense for me than getting an inverter and draining battery even more in the winter. There seems to be some LiFePo4 options.

If I am traveling at all for more than a day or two I need to be able to charge some laptops and phones. My outlets only work on shore and the only usb seems to be on the radio.

[Trackhead]

I thought about getting a 100ah portable lithium power bank. Self contained, compact, all the power options and it isn’t bolted into a vehicle so it’s useful elsewhere.

These look pretty reasonable.
https://www.anker.com/products/a1770...EaAkBJEALw_wcB

[altasnob]

Charging phones doesn't require an inverter. You could install a cheap 12 volt usb/dc cigarette outlet that is powered from your house AGM battery via 12 volt power.

https://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Lig.../dp/B07RHY97ZZ

Laptops require an inverter.

[altasnob]

I thought about getting a 100ah portable lithium power bank.

You're too smart to get a power bank. People like you should be building their own house lithium batteries from scratch. Power banks are for people who can't figure stuff like that out (it's dumified for the masses, and there is an upcharge baked in).

[toastybroski]

You're too smart to get a power bank. People like you should be building their own house lithium batteries from scratch. Power banks are for people who can't figure stuff like that out (it's dumified for the masses, and there is an upcharge baked in).

That describes me perfectly! That usb/dc port is pretty sweet. They have one that shows voltages which is one of my biggest pet peeves because I can't see what the battery percentage is roughly without unscrewing part of the floor and putting a multimeter on the battery.

[atom]

Voltage is a poor indicator of state of charge for lithium batteries.

[Trackhead]

You're too smart to get a power bank. People like you should be building their own house lithium batteries from scratch. Power banks are for people who can't figure stuff like that out (it's dumified for the masses, and there is an upcharge baked in).

But I'm tiiiiirrrreeeedddd of building shit! 7 months of intermittent 8-10 hour days of camper building is getting exhausting.

[toastybroski]

I am finding my electrical is pretty severely lacking in terms of convenience/usability. What are some good things I should install? I am thinking of installing a disconnect switch so I do not need to remove the floor and the negative cable each time. Also thinking about adding one of those renology battery monitors and some DC usb ports/car chargers. Anything else I am missing?

I have found it drains pretty fast while sitting with the sniffer and whatever else is pulling power (maybe radio)?

I definitely need a new converter as that buzzing is driving my crazy. Some solar would also be good but my driveway gets zero sun all winter. I am afraid to drill into the roof after dealing with another leaky camper.

[Trackhead]

3M 5200 marine adhesive when drilling in roof will mitigate water intrusion. We used it all the time in Alaska in marine environment. I coated bottom of leaky zodiac with it and it was bomber!

[byates1]

I got a bluetti 300w couple yrs ago. Don't use it a ton but is was affordable, and has done the job. I plug in an inverter to the dash for phone etc.

It has a trickle charge adapter I drive a ton so charge it when driving every couple months

[DanoT]

My 300watt Jackery came in handy in my non a/c apartment when we hit record high temps a couple of summers ago. I used it to power my 12volt swamp cooler. They have several models:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYne4nNbaTM

[altasnob]

I am finding my electrical is pretty severely lacking in terms of convenience/usability. What are some good things I should install? I am thinking of installing a disconnect switch so I do not need to remove the floor and the negative cable each time. Also thinking about adding one of those renology battery monitors and some DC usb ports/car chargers. Anything else I am missing?

I have found it drains pretty fast while sitting with the sniffer and whatever else is pulling power (maybe radio)?

I definitely need a new converter as that buzzing is driving my crazy. Some solar would also be good but my driveway gets zero sun all winter. I am afraid to drill into the roof after dealing with another leaky camper.

Do you leave your camper plugged into shore power when it sits in your driveway?

Victron makes the gold standard battery monitor, but if you want to go ghetto like me, this does the same thing for $41

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

For solar, people use 3M VHB Tape to install mounts without drilling. Just need one hole for the wires and you can put that under the solar panels themselves. Need cable glands and Dicor sealant. Solar is great for your DC powered cooler in the summer.

https://faroutride.com/solar-panels-installation/

[toastybroski]

Do you leave your camper plugged into shore power when it sits in your driveway?

Victron makes the gold standard battery monitor, but if you want to go ghetto like me, this does the same thing for $41

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

For solar, people use 3M VHB Tape to install mounts without drilling. Just need one hole for the wires and you can put that under the solar panels themselves. Solar is great for your DC powered cooler in the summer.

https://faroutride.com/solar-panels-installation/

I didn’t think you could do it with 3m. That’s crazy! I was going to run the wires in through the refrigerator exhaust.

[Lurch]

You're too smart to get a power bank. People like you should be building their own house lithium batteries from scratch. Power banks are for people who can't figure stuff like that out (it's dumified for the masses, and there is an upcharge baked in).

Power banks are way more versatile than a custom built in unit. I have a 2000 Wh/2000W output Bluetti power bank that I use for my RV, camping with scouts, run a compressor for paddle boards wherever I want, etc.

[BFD]

Finished the bunk. Strong enough for my 90kg body, but really for my kid. Raises up during the day and will double as storage for bedding and other stuff. Diesel heater is almost too hot. When it is 25F and heater on low you really need to open the roof vent. I guess that's good for ventilation.

looks like you used some type of hull lining material, nice finish. Photo reminded
of this.

enjoy your camper.