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--- opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2020/06/19 09:37]
frater_secessus [wrong kind of battery]
+++ opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2020/06/24 12:43]
frater_secessus [relying on tilt]
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
   * etc
-The seller must have a title in hand, and it must be in their name.  Breaking this rule typically results in heartbreak.
+The seller must have a title in hand, and it must be in their name.  The van must receive a pre-sale inspection from an independent mechanic.  Breaking these rule typically results in heartbreak.
 ==== failure to find vans ====
@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 ===== power =====
+==== heating and cooling ====
 The biggest mistake beginners make with power is **thinking they will heat (or cool) things with power they generate off-grid**.  The usual suspects are:
@@ Line 124: / Line 127: @@
-**A van is not an apartment**, so stop thinking that way.  A productive approach is to **start from nothing** then decide what you need to make your vanlife workable. Prefer non-electric approaches to electric ones.  This goes hand-in-hand with the math below. **Wanting everything you had in a house or apartment** will cause disappointment, great expense, or both.
+==== thinking like an apartment-dweller ====
+**A van is not an apartment**, so stop thinking that way.  A productive approach is to **start from nothing** then decide what you need to make your vanlife workable. Prefer non-electric approaches to electric ones.  This goes hand-in-hand with the math below. **Wanting all the amenities you had in a house or apartment** will cause disappointment, great expense, or both.
 Power in the camper is misunderstood by some and hand-waved away by optimists.  It's mainly math with some extra reading required, so I get why it's not a fun topic.
+==== failure to consider all loads ====
+Posts that include "my needs are simple, all I need are lights and a fan" develop, after questioning, into "Yeah, forgot the laptop.  And phone.  And tablet.  And toaster.  And coffee maker."
+[[rv:build:cardboard|Living in a van mockup]], for example,  //forces// one to assess what one really needs.
@@ Line 133: / Line 147: @@
 There are dreams and fantasies, then there is **what will actually work on the road**.  The lights won't magically come back on in the middle of the night somewhere in Kansas just because you want them to.  There is no wishing a dead battery back to life when you need it.  Being honest with the math will help you avoid such issues.
+==== overbuilding the power system ====
@@ Line 237: / Line 255: @@
   * tilted panels take time to deploy, store, and interfere with your ability to leave a given location for safety or other reasons.
+==== failure to add alternator charging ====
+[[electrical:12v:alt_and_solar|Adding an isolator]] can be very cheap and //supercharges// solar configs;((this effect is strongest on systems with PWM controllers))  if run at the right time it [[opinion:frater_secessus:panelsizesforinsolation|can double or triple the effectiveness of solar]], meaning one can
+  - run more loads; and/or
+  - reduce the amount of panel; and/or
+  - use the excess capacity to extend [[electrical:solar:sizing#your_reserve_needs|autonomy]]

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