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RE: Camping 3 months with single 100Ah Lithium
Thanks for the comments folks:
Camper Jeff: 3 hours doesn't sound like very long with only a laptop plus other small draws and dual AGMs. I don't run my furnace at night. I just pile on the extra blankets, get up in the a.m. and turn on the furnace and get back in bed until the inside is warm. Although the mandatory middle of night bathroom visit is a bit nippy. :)
NamMedEvac 70: I never turned on my DC-DC charger powered by the truck alternator. Used solar only. Thanks for saving some of my photos. If you ever want any "full resolution" ones, just let me know.
Kayteg1 & pianotuna: I mentioned Lithium because that's what I have and is becoming very popular. One reason I switched from lead-acid is because I'm old and can't lift much anymore. )
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Ramblin' Ralph
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10/31/21 11:19am |
Tech Issues
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Camping 3 months with single 100Ah Lithium
This topic has been moved to another forum.
You can read it here: 30292774
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Ramblin' Ralph
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10/30/21 07:00pm |
Truck Campers
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Camping 3 months with single 100Ah Lithium
Before I started ramblin' this summer, I replaced my two lead acid batteries with a single 100 Ah lithium. I also added a second solar panel to go from 125w to 225w.
I was on the road almost five months, and three of those were dry camping every night. Usually at the end of the day my battery was down to around 90%. The next day it was quickly up to 100%. On Labor Day weekend I camped in a shady spot for four days. At the end of that my battery was down to a little less than 70%. It took a couple of days to get back to 100.
I don't have any high power devices on my camper. My furnace draws the most, at 4 to 5 amps. I only ran it for about 15 minutes in the morning, when needed. All my lights are LED. My fridge was running on propane the whole time. I installed a DC-DC converter before I left home, but never used it.
FYI, my setup is a single AmpereTime 100Ah 12v LiFePo4 ($540 last Jan when bought and $400 now, on Amazon), 225w of solar panels, Victron MPPT 75/15 solar controller and battery temperature/voltage sensor, and an eBay purchased battery monitor that records amp hours. Turned out the battery doesn't have low temperature charge protection, but the Victron solar controller takes care of that.
I'm very happy with my installation and doubt now that I'll ever need other than my solar charging. Now I don't have to remember to check battery water and strain my old body to lift a battery. :)
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Ramblin' Ralph
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10/30/21 07:00pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: RV Dump Station in/near Lone Pine
Tuttle GPS: 36.563667,-118.129267
Map link here
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Ramblin' Ralph
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10/07/21 11:45am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Roadside Assistance
I had AAA for a few years...till I found out the hard way that they don't go off-pavement at all. Even if it is a good dirt/gravel road they refuse to respond to those.
Yep, I found that out the hard way when stuck in sand boondocking in the CA Mohave Desert. Had to pay their normal tow service, which was about an hour away, $1200! :( Took him about 15 minutes to winch me out. I was a whopping 1/4 mile off a paved hwy on a very good dirt/sand road.
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Ramblin' Ralph
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07/24/21 05:51pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Lance lite 845
I bought my 2001 Lance 845 used 15 years ago and have put 135K+ miles on it. It's held up very good and I love it. Did have a problem with one of the tie down eyelets moving down. Took it to the factory and had that repaired. Probably a combo of poor maintenance before I bought it and after.
Currently on the road, so I checked the ceiling for AC wiring. There is a plate near the bathroom door that says that it is for AC wiring. Note: I don't have AC.
Good luck in your search.
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Ramblin' Ralph
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07/14/21 05:27pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Remove mini blinds in 2001 Lance?
Success! Without taking off the valence, I pushed and pulled on the correct parts of one bracket and the blinds came out!! Now I just hope I can get them back in after cleaning them. They are in the bathtub now. :)
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/miscPhotos/blinds3_s.jpeg
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Ramblin' Ralph
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05/30/21 12:50pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Remove mini blinds in 2001 Lance?
Thanks, sure looks like what I have! From seller pics looks like piece w/o holes is what rotates out to allow blind removal. From my pic looks like something (maybe valence) would block rotation. Will find out tomorrow. :)
Thanks again,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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05/29/21 07:42pm |
Truck Campers
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Remove mini blinds in 2001 Lance?
Need to clean the mini blinds on my 2001 Lance 845. Did it a long time ago, but don't remember how I got them out. I stuck a fiber optic camera up inside the valence and below is what it looks like. I'm not sure if the photo shows what's holding the blinds. Any tips would be appreciated. Would like to get blinds out w/o removing valance, if possible.
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/miscPhotos/blinds2.jpg
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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05/29/21 05:36pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: What did you do to your Camper Today?
Added a 100w panel to my existing 125w to help keep my new 100Ah lithium battery charged while ramblin' this summer.
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/MiscPhotos/NewSolar_s.jpeg
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Ramblin' Ralph
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05/08/21 09:44am |
Truck Campers
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RE: What did you do to your Camper Today?
Installed a variable speed control on my vent fan. Factory lowest switch setting was too fast.
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/miscPhotos/FanController_s.jpg
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Ramblin' Ralph
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05/06/21 09:38am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Find cross pieces under metal roof to mount solar panel?
Thanks for all the tips. My camper definitely has a wood frame. I'll surely try okan-star's method that correlates the inside trim to the horizontal hidden framing members. Very useful to know the framing width, also.
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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03/12/21 02:37pm |
Truck Campers
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Find cross pieces under metal roof to mount solar panel?
I'm going to have someone install a second solar panel on the top of my 2001 Lance 845 TC. I installed the first one (see pic 1), but I'm too old to crawl around on the roof now. Is there some device or technique that I could use to find the cross pieces under the aluminum roof to attach the panel securely? For the first panel I got a drawing (see pic 2) from Lance that shows the roof structure. It's been 15 years, but I think I used it to find the cross pieces by measurement. I'd like to confirm this by a device/technique rather than drill tiny test holes.
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/MiscPhotos/Camper%20002_s.jpg
https://hogtimemusic.com/nomad/MiscPhotos/CamperRoof_s.png
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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03/11/21 06:54pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: What do you guys use for communication in your truck camper?
I've been using a SPOT device for most of my 15 years of ramblin’. It's worked out very well, including a trip to Alaska in 2012. I just use it to tell my kids where I am, since I don't travel with an itinerary. SPOT really ticked me off, though, a few years ago when they started charging everyone the same price, which includes automatic tracking, like hikers use. I don't need it, but now I'm subsidizing the hikers. :( I think I'll look into the Zoleo, where I could create short messages on my smartphone. Also can put it on hold for the six or seven months I'm off the road. Another good find on RV.net. :)
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Ramblin' Ralph
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03/10/21 10:39am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken ladder - repair or replace?
Thanks for your comments. I agree that internal tubing would be the best fix. I also agree a new ladder is not that much. However, finding an exact replacement has not been easy. If I could find one, it would mean drilling no new holes and make the job much easier. I'll probably go with a new “universal” ladder and hope it's not too hard to modify and install for my application.
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/28/21 03:50pm |
Tech Issues
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Broken ladder - repair or replace?
Last summer I had an encounter with a tree and it won, resulting in a broken ladder on my truck camper. The attached pictures show the remaining part of the still attached bottom section and the broken off center section. The top section is also broken from the top of the center. I'm wondering if I could put the ladder back together successfully and not have to install a new one? That would save quite a bit of work to remove all the old caulking at the bottom and the above standoff and put on new.
I was thinking about either a sleeve to go over the ends of the two broken tubes or an insert that would go inside the two tubes. A sleeve on the outside might cause a problem at the standoff though, since the sleeve diameter would be bigger than the ladder and possibly affect the proper flat attachment to the top.
Do either of the above ideas seem workable?
Thanks, Ralph
https://www.hogtimemusic.com/nomad/MiscPhotos/LadderLower_s.jpeg
https://www.hogtimemusic.com/nomad/MiscPhotos/LadderMiddle_s.jpeg
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/27/21 07:49pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Bluetooth Extender?
Doc stickdog: Thanks for the Rx. I agree. :)
APT: I'm not sure about one way. Just got that impression from product info. Will look into it further.
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/19/21 09:43am |
Technology Corner
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Bluetooth Extender?
My camper is parked in my driveway, about 100 feet from my house. I have a solar controller with Bluetooth capability and an app on my smartphone that gives me all sorts of information on battery charging. I'd like to be able to check that information from my easy-chair versus walking ALL the way out to the camper. :) I see things called Bluetooth extenders/repeaters, but it looks like mostly they are for audio, which would be one way. Has anybody used one of these extenders or something similar for what I want to do?
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/18/21 01:03pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Connect small wires to auto battery post?
Many thanks for the ideas! I will look at them and decide which works out best.
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/14/21 09:18am |
Tech Issues
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Connect small wires to auto battery post?
I'm replacing my RV/marine battery, that has a wingnut terminal for small wires, with one that doesn't. So I'm looking for something that will connect to a large battery post (along with the battery cable) and give me a way to connect small wires under a wing nut. I don't want to replace the end of my battery cables to do this.
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ramblin' Ralph
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01/13/21 06:38pm |
Tech Issues
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