Vannin' Community and Forums Forums General Discussion General Discussion What Did You do To your Van Today?

it appears I BROKE the Astro today. . . . grrrr ! So now to decide what to do with it.

In the last 8 days,
I repainted my fiberglass roof

I added 68 more watts of thin film solar to my roof, almost making 200 total

I ran 20 feet of 8awg and 20 feet of 10 awg cabling to the solar charge controller from the panels

I relocated the solar charge controller closer to the batteries.

I re wired, re routed re organized and ran some new wiring all in my electrical cabinet to accommodate the numerous electrical upgrades installed in the last 4.5 years.

Today I flipped on my solar circuit breaker around noon. This is what my battery monitor indicated.


It went as high as 12.4 amps when the thin high clouds parted.

Makes for happy batteries, and ice cold beer cooled by the sun.

Mmmmmmm Beer.

Gurgle gurgle

Mmmmm.....solar!
I'd like to do solar but I've got to wait till we can travel and live in a van enough to make it cost effective. Right now, except for overnights and sleep stops, we just stay at campgrounds or truckins that have power/water.
After retirement we plan to travel and boondock/dry camp some to save $$$$$. I understand it's something people should try first before jumping in.

Nothing to exciting here. But I'm taking a 200 mile trip up to Rhode Island tomorrow. The forecast is for rain, So I installed a new set of windshield wipers.
WooHoo

That solar power does sound interesting,something to look into down the road,I like that idea solar powered COLD BEER!
Had to clear snow off the van this morning.

Finally found a name for the van. Pita Ford the C.U.N.T mobile.

Made new fuel lines, put em on, started it,gave it some gas and held the rpms for a while. No leaks now! (crimp on clamps are a PITA to remove!)

Or research quite a bit. I've spent the last 8 months cramming as much information as I could into my brain about van dwelling. I have a feeling I'll enjoy it quite a bit.

Drove it for a couple hours, then began the polishing for the car show tomorrow.