For 10 years our travel trailer’s 280 Watt solar system served us well. We never had a dead battery, even when camping for 30 days in the same spot. Since retirement our camping habits have changed and it was time for some upgrades. This article will look into the options of upgrading (adding on) an existing solar system, along with some of the sand traps and water hazards of the upgrade path. Continue reading Our RV Solar System Upgrade
In Part One and Two of this series we discussed how to measure how much energy is used daily, how to determine needed power storage (what size battery bank), and how to size the solar array.
This post (Part 3) will take a look at all the components and conditions that impact how much solar power will actually be generated. This is the final step to see how the previous calculations will really work for a real world RV solar systems. First we need to define some terms.
This second part of the series will delve into larger solar systems for an RV.
Part One (simple solar systems) covered:
We’ll follow the same methodology to size and design a larger solar array.
This isn’t a review. It is just a first impression.
As I shared yesterday in my 20+ year review of the Camco Awning Hold Down Kit, I have been happy with the product. However, there are two things I don’t like about it:
The Camco Awning Anchor Kit solves both of these problems.
We have used the Camco Awning Hold Down Strap Kit for over 20 years. The majority of our trips are in deserts, and deserts usually means wind is fairly common. Wind wreaks havoc on RV awnings. Our Camco Hold Down Kit has saved our awnings many times!
Continue reading Camco Awning Hold Down Strap Kit: 20+ Year Review
Our travel trailer is almost 10 years old and the Tank Monitor has been a constant struggle. This system is the typical unit found on most RVs these days. First, it isn’t very accurate. Secondly, the sensors in the gray and black water tanks often become contaminated, requiring cleaning and flushing. Lastly, we don’t have a way to monitor our LPG (propane) levels.
In this post I will share installation tips, advantages and disadvantage of the Mopeka Tank Sensors.
In my post on securing our propane tanks, I mentioned I needed to improve our exterior storage compartment door security. There were two problems that needed to be addressed.
We’ve owned this fan for 19 years. It is reliable and durable as I mentioned back in 2017, which was a 14 year review.
But there has been one nagging inconvenience with it ever since we bought our 2014 Milan Travel Trailer. It isn’t a problem with the Endless Breeze. It’s a problem with our bedroom.
In this post I share how I fixed that inconvenience.
Continue reading Endless Breeze 12 Volt Fan: Wall Mount Modification
We’ve had this hitch for 8 years now and still love it. In this post I’ll share a few tips and one small upgrade.
Back in August we arrived at our campsite in the Sierra Nevada late in the afternoon. Compared to what we are used to, the temperature was much cooler. We set up, cooked dinner and sat around with a bottle of wine to consume.
Shortly after we got into bed, Joyce asked, “Did you open the roof vent?”
“No”
“Well, I can see lots of stars through the vent opening. You should probably close the vent since it is going to be close to freezing tonight.”
I got up to close the vent and noticed the vent lid was missing. Not a good thing, since we would be here for two weeks and afternoon thunder showers are the norm.