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

[Hopeless Sinner]

Hah, yeah, walking around to passenger side every time would get old. The wife and kid can deal that

LOL

[Trackhead]

Hah, yeah, walking around to passenger side every time would get old. The wife and kid can deal that

Hey man I built a deal with it

[steveski]

Interesting startup here in Central WA (Wenatchee) with a truckbed pop up camper.

https://www.lonepeakoverland.com/

No affiliation, just heard about it locally.

[Dantheman]

Hey man I built a deal with it

Don't get me wrong, while it is funny I was completely serious. Would have done it exactly the same way myself for just that reason.

[evdog]

Interesting startup here in Central WA (Wenatchee) with a truckbed pop up camper.

https://www.lonepeakoverland.com/

No affiliation, just heard about it locally.

Looks cool. Saw it recently and assumed they were out of socal, given the Alabama hills footage. Should know better... : )

It's interesting they have so many truck models on their list already. The company I bought my camper from has spent a lot of time developing fits for each truck model and variation, seems like each new one doesn't happen until they can get their hands on a truck in shop for measurements and test fitting. Maybe Lone Peak has a better formula. Another lower cost option is nice to have.

[Trackhead]

Got the 5.5kw diesel heater installed yesterday. I put it in the back, vented exhaust out back, combustion air adjacent. Installed the 15 liter fuel tank, cut open a new access so heater can be accessed/serviced from both inside/outside for ease. Fueling from outside. Need to now fabricate a bin door.

Pushed the camper outside this morning. 7 degrees outside. Ran heater at 5.5kw (max) to get temp to 65, then dropped it to 2kw (lowest setting is 1.6kw). Even without door seals and top/bottom seals it is holding 65 degrees. Heat coming out first vent exceeded the 120 F limitation of my cheap thermometer.

Ran ducting under right bench through all storage bins, battery compartment, and under sink, terminating in bathroom. Passive heat will keep all storage bins, battery, plumbing passively heated. No frozen pipes. Vent into shower will be used as drying area for wet ski coats, boots. Showers are not a waste of space in the winter for this reason.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Sweet, nice neighborhood too.

[riff]

I’ve got an electrical question that’s probably been asked already. I’ve got an old Bigfoot with two deep cycle lead acid batteries, brand new. I added battery heaters to them so I can get two or three days in single digit Fahrenheit temps; it would be nice to recharge them though, and as i understand it, idling the truck is a poor way to do it.
The question is, suitcase generator or solar bank?
The generator is easy to get, robust and useful for other things occasionally, but loud and bulky.
Solar is perhaps less robust for mainly winter use, and i don’t know much about what I’d need to adequately maintain the batteries.
I’m running a propane furnace and a handful of LED bulbs.
Thought?


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[altasnob]

I'm of the opinion that every camper vehicle should have solar permanently mounted to the roof. You can add a solar setup for less than $500 yourself. AGM and lead acid batteries like to always be fully charged and the best thing about solar is it is always charging (at least half the day). I don't see any reason not to have solar.

With that said, in winter, with low light and snow often covering the panels, you may find that solar, alone, does not satisfy your charging needs. So generator may be the easier, sure fire, way to get you through this winter. But I would definitely look into adding solar to your roof at some point as well.

[simple]

A Honda generator is neither loud nor bulky. While I have solar now back in the day that generator was great to have in the winter. Still have it just in case

[apex dave]

Exactly what Simple and Altanob said. I can't rely on solar in winter here in BC because hopefully it's snowing. Upgrade your charger system if it's not a smart charger already and go with a Honda generator if you can afford it. Regular 6 volt deep cycle probably take a 30 amp charge rate max. I have an EU 1000 (should have bought the 2000) and Progressive Dynamics 30 amp charger with Charge Wizard controller and have used that set up for 20 years.
https://www.progressivedyn.com/power-converters-2/

[Dantheman]

Spotted in Utardia. PA plates.

[climberevan]

I met the guy who built this one(Smiddy). He's been living in it for the past 10 years and chasing winter around New Zealand.

Inside was unfinished, but he had a few really cool ideas. The best one was the deck that lowered from the rear, exposing a big sliding glass door. The indoor sofa is removable, so he just puts it out here for lounging. The walls are metal studs with aluminum skin and eps between the studs. The roof curve provided a nice storage area above the living space. He had a bicycle and a motorcycle inside, along with a chest freezer (he's a big hunter and seems to mostly eat venison).

I noted a bunch of other similar rigs built on these forward cab chassis all over NZ. Our working hypothesis is that larger RVs are not available so people build their own. (We saw a shitload of vans and class C commercial RVs, but nothing big.)

[Backward_Banana]

Even if you clean off the roof, the sun is so low in the NW in the winter that your solar output is going to drop dramatically. I have 400W of solar serving 200 AH, and in the summer never have to think about power. In the winter, solar doesn't cut it, and I have to charge via other means.

If you're doing a lot of driving in your winter (which I think a lot of people in the NW are), a DC-to-DC charger from the alternator to the batteries should top you up pretty quickly. If you're staying parked somewhere for 4-5 days or more, generator is the way to go.

[Bobcat Sig]

Even if you clean off the roof, the sun is so low in the NW in the winter that your solar output is going to drop dramatically. I have 400W of solar serving 200 AH, and in the summer never have to think about power. In the winter, solar doesn't cut it, and I have to charge via other means.

If you're doing a lot of driving in your winter (which I think a lot of people in the NW are), a DC-to-DC charger from the alternator to the batteries should top you up pretty quickly. If you're staying parked somewhere for 4-5 days or more, generator is the way to go.

That's where I am. Besides, my wattage use in the summer is so low that I rarely need more than a fan for a few minutes when cooking or running the water pump.

My plan now is the tote my Honda EU2200i generator with a spare gallon of fuel. This shoudl help feed the power for drying gear and such after a day of skiing.

[Backward_Banana]

The only other thing that I have to add is that charging over 120V 15A is pretty slow. If I was buying a generator, I'd look to one with a 30A output, assuming you've got your setup wired for that. I guess that matters less if you're going to run the generator while using your appliances, but in an ideal world I'd run the generator for a few hours occasionally to top up the charge.

[Trackhead]

I’ve got an electrical question that’s probably been asked already. I’ve got an old Bigfoot with two deep cycle lead acid batteries, brand new. I added battery heaters to them so I can get two or three days in single digit Fahrenheit temps; it would be nice to recharge them though, and as i understand it, idling the truck is a poor way to do it.
The question is, suitcase generator or solar bank?
The generator is easy to get, robust and useful for other things occasionally, but loud and bulky.
Solar is perhaps less robust for mainly winter use, and i don’t know much about what I’d need to adequately maintain the batteries.
I’m running a propane furnace and a handful of LED bulbs.
Thought?


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I'm from the ghetto, and still run lead acid batteries and use a very quiet 2000w generator. I think it's great for winter use, it's economical, and gets the job done. Solar won't do shit in winter, great for summer. Sure, I could get 300 amp hours of lithium, but I'd rather spend the $$ on ski gear for my kid. I don't ever bring extra fuel for a weekend trip skiing, the tank in the generator is enough.

Someday when I'm rich and famous I'll have the fancy lithium stuff.

[jackattack]

Our Craiglist Honda 2000 and 200ah SLA has kept us storm chasing for weeks at a time no problem. In the summer I don’t even bring the generator for lights, propane fridge and fan.

Some people are spending more on li-ion battery systems than I spent on the camper.

[Bobcat Sig]

The only other thing that I have to add is that charging over 120V 15A is pretty slow. If I was buying a generator, I'd look to one with a 30A output, assuming you've got your setup wired for that. I guess that matters less if you're going to run the generator while using your appliances, but in an ideal world I'd run the generator for a few hours occasionally to top up the charge.

Slow or not; it's what I got. The camper is set up to take higher voltage through shore power, but the generator is what I have for motorcycle track days, so it will need to suffice.

Besides, the only appliance I use is the propane stove. The rest of the draw is for the lights and the heater fan. The generator is for high-load scenarios; running boot dryers and heaters for a few hours after skiing.

[Trackhead]

Some people are spending more on li-ion battery systems than I spent on the camper.

A massive li-ion battery bank would be more convenient than firing up my generator at night for an hour or two, but alas, the generator is pretty reliable!

[apex dave]

A generator with a 120 volt/30 amp output will not necessarily help charging your batteries any faster. Such a generator will probably be 3200 watts minimum, expensive and heavy, The recommended charging rate for a 2x6 volt, 220 amp hour total conventional lead acid system is between 20 and 40 amps at 12 volts. This charge rate requires only 500 watts or less so even my tiny EU1000 plus 30 amp smart charger system does the job with ease. Charging with more amps may harm you batteries. BTW I am not speaking of anything but conventional lead acid batteries and not AGM, lithium, etc.
Check out the key takeaways on this link
https://solarinfoworld.com/charging-...0damaging%20it.
This is also a very informative link
https://unsealed4x4.com.au/over-ampe...our-batteries/

[riff]

Excellent thoughts and info everyone, thanks! I’ll do some reading and probably be on the hunt for a generator soon.


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[byates1]

Pretty damn clever!

[DanoT]

Pretty damn clever!

Yes it is clever, but it takes a while to set up and once that is done it is no longer stealth.

[AirheadD8]

Seen in Flagstaff Az
Pretty cool project, I don’t know what the front looks like. Whoever’s working on it must like bucking rivets.