“[solar powered A/C is] not a lost cause.. we just seem to be at that frustrating cusp where it's technically possible with current technology, just not easy or cheap.” – thatswhatsup¹⁾

Running AC on [an inverter] is rich man's game – HaldorEE²⁾

“Think of the batteries as a bucket of electricity. It's possible to pour water from multiple sources into a bucket at the same time, and also to do that while water is leaking out of the bucket.” – MarkSF³⁾

“Three stage chargers are easier on your batteries, charge them faster, fuller and help you use less water.“ – handybob⁴⁾

“it behooves you to know how to keep the [AGM] princess supermodel working as hard as a thick ankled farmgirl.” – SternWake⁵⁾

“I don't think any battery is going to out cycle a 6v flooded golf cart battery. These are simply the most tolerant of the type of usage typically seen in this lifestyle.” – SternWake⁶⁾

“While AGMs are considered a no maintenance battery if they were a person… they would be considered high maintenance… and only with a surplus of everything they want could they be kept happy.” – SternWake⁷⁾

”[LiFePO4] batteries do not need to get back to 100% SOC, ever“ – MaineSail⁸⁾

“Generally, gel and AGM batteries have about 20% less capacity, cost about two times more, and have a shorter cycle life than comparable flooded lead acid batteries.” – Trojan⁹⁾

“Manufacturer recommendations are blanket recommendations basically to minimize warranty returns, not an optimized recommendation for a specific usage recharge regimen.” – SternWake¹⁰⁾

“Watching how many amps a charging battery is accepting at absorption voltage, is very indicative of state of charge, the less the amps the more charged.” – sternwake¹¹⁾

“As long as… you cycle the battery daily, you could set float voltage to [Vabs] too without worry. Only when you stop cycling the battery do you need to return float voltage to more regular 13.2v levels.” – sternwake¹²⁾

> Charging lead acid batteries is not something that you decide to do, or start or stop. The old statement, “I need to idle the engine for a few minutes to “top off” the batteries.” is a prescription for turning expensive batteries into paper weights. You want a system that puts the batteries on charge automatically, every time there is even a single ray of sun or that your engine is running – DiploStrat¹³⁾

The bottom line is that current simply flows where it is needed, batteries will take what they need when batteries are combined, and the voltage becomes equal among the new combined bank. Unless your charger, alternator or solar/wind system is pumping out an incorrect voltage for you bank you will not over charge using an ACR. - mainesail¹⁴⁾

Bulk charging requires current. Absorption requires relatively high voltage and time at that voltage. - secessus

“It's so weird, isn't it? We buy the bills of goods society tells us, we work hard, we save, pay our taxes, be good solid citizens; but as we age we look around ourselves and wonder why we did it, to what end. ” - Queen¹⁵⁾

“Intentionally reducing consumption is confusing and subversive…” – John61CT¹⁶⁾

….the solar oven is a very good mimic of a crock pot slow cooker - Bob Wells¹⁷⁾

A microwave oven is rated for 'cooking power', which is always less than the UL rating of wattage on the label. - tx2sturgis¹⁸⁾

Home is where your dog is. – Jora¹⁹⁾

There is a famous saying that “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. A vanlife corallary is ”few vanlife dreams survive first contact with math“ -secessus²⁰⁾

I need to remember to stay on topic. It's like laying sod, “green side up, green side up…” – dusty98²¹⁾

“The best way to save anything is to not to waste what you have already.” - jimindenver²²⁾

There is little doubt in my mind that it is possible to live the RV life on the income that you propose. On the other hand, the real question should be, “Can we live the fulltime RV life on $X/year.” Almost as important is the question, if we do choose to do this, will we be able to enjoy our life while doing so? - Kirk W²³⁾

“I'd be leaving planning mode behind and get into doing mode ASAP” - rvpopeye²⁴⁾

We have a lot of people here who get all excited, move into a van, then quit after just a couple months. The fact that they get disillusioned means they were “illusioned” to begin with. So don't be “illusioned”. – lennyflank²⁵⁾

Step 1 in any design is to really understand your use.– jracca²⁶⁾

Vanlife is just camping/glamping perpetually. – tatertom²⁷⁾

In general, people should FIRST aim for a realistic goal, achieve it,then systematically improve on it, while accepting that 100% perfection/efficiency does not Occur In Nature. – Kaylee²⁸⁾

“One can only put so much inverter on so much battery… A lot of people will put a 2KW inverter, or larger, on a single 12v battery, but this can be compared to a 5 second drag car, which uses 5 gallons of gas to run the 1/4 mile, but then only having a 2 gallon gas tank.” – SternWake²⁹⁾

“Inverters are excellent battery depleters.” – sternwake³⁰⁾

“What really helps both methods is the clothes I choose to begin with. They're almost exclusively campwear, beach wear, sports wear, that sort of thing. My work outfits are dark, plain-colored board shorts or swim trunks with the webbing cut out, and long-sleeve black ”DriWorks” shirts. My “going out” clothes are just decent looking performance garments meant for camping/hiking/outdoorsy stuff, and a couple decent polos. The only cotton stuff I have anymore are socks, underbritches, and a couple denim jeans that I try not to wear.“ – tatertom³¹⁾

If your everyday life, work, hobbies, etc, are fun then moving from an apartment to a van will continue the fun. If your life sucks, relocating won't fix it. In a van you still have to get groceries, shave, brush your teeth and all the other stuff you do every day. The difference is that you fit into 50 square feet instead of 500 and save some on rent. – TreborEnglish³²⁾

That's a lot of money though to throw at something you're having a hard time fully understanding. – elonfutz³³⁾

“Downsizing daily.” – Roberta Garrett³⁴⁾

”…trying to take the comfort level you had in a house into your mobile life [is] tough to do for a boondocker.“ – akrvbob³⁵⁾

“Pack as if you're going out for only a week during the summer. Then add what you'd need if you were going out for only a week in winter. That should pretty much cover everything.” MrNoodly³⁶⁾

“Take what you can't buy when you need it…leave the rest.” – uncledon³⁷⁾

“I can't be prepared for everything I can possibly imagine, so I prepare for things that are most likely to happen.” – MrNoodly³⁸⁾

“That little bed there pays for itself, a cooler, and a coleman stove on the first night. You just built yourself a significant pay raise. Congrats!” – Putts³⁹⁾

You have to be ruthless. Follow the wisdom of the backpacker: “Bring what you need, and need what you bring”. – lenny flank⁴⁰⁾

The less you 'need' the easier your van life will be. - mcchairmaster⁴¹⁾

”…slow may be better in the end, because the most important time is the thinking time, and that's best not rushed.“ – MsNomer⁴²⁾

“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.” - Seneca

“Check amps drawn over 24 hours, much more important when boondocking than purchase price.” – John62CT⁴³⁾

Part of managing to lower food costs [without refrigeration] comes by figuring out how to plan meals so that you use up a container or fresh food before it has a chance to go bad. – Almost There⁴⁴⁾

…I urban-camp almost exclusively, so I can let the supermarkets store all my groceries and just go pick up what I need as I use it – lenny flank⁴⁵⁾

“The most important thing is to be careful, esp when you’re alone… If you can’t recognize danger when you see it, this is not the life for you.” – TrainChaser⁴⁶⁾

“I realized these were all the snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, our actual night, the hell of it” — Jack Kerouac, On the Road

”…most people think that to have “RV” type shore power you need those special 30/50 amp plugs. I have a 115v plug. The male end of an extension cord (heavy gauge) that I have cable tied to the inside of my receiver hitch so it’s hidden.” – Captain_Dapper⁴⁷⁾

“The short answer is almost anything is possible…. The longer answer is it better to stay with what is “generally done” unless you have very special needs and are into experimentation/DIY electronics.” – BB⁴⁸⁾

“Any Solar is better than no solar, but having too much solar is difficult. The best solar systems are those which can keep the batteries the happiest. Happy batteries are those which are recharged quickly after depletion.” – SternWake⁴⁹⁾

I'm not sure people always grasp the concept of “minimum” either; they tend to think it means “all that you really need” when it fact it means “the least you can get away with provided everything else goes right”. After all, the sun does not shine brightly every day. – Cariboocoot⁵⁰⁾

“I'd say 500 watts is the minimum for the [Pacific Northwest] in winter and you would be better off with [750 watts] if you can get it on the roof.” akrvbob⁵¹⁾

“The difference in bright sunlight between the least efficient and the most is little. What a panel does in cloudy conditions can make or break your system.” – jimindenver⁵²⁾

“…the person draining their batteries to the 50% range regularly would do much better with a 2 watts to 1Ah ratio, or even 3 to 1.” – SternWake⁵³⁾

“The advantage of “too much solar” is rainy day support. Most people use generators for that, but if your sun hours stack up, oversized arrays also works. – zoneblue⁵⁴⁾

“With a isolator you would run the truck early to get a fair amount of the bulk charging done and let the solar finish it off the rest of the day.” – jimindenver⁵⁵⁾

“If you want to see lots more amps coming out of the [charge controller], put on a 5-10A load and drop the battery to 50% depleted in the middle of a sunny day.” – John61CT⁵⁶⁾

“It is cheaper and easier to use less power than it is to make more power.” – highdesertranger⁵⁷⁾

The Shunted battery monitors are great, when they are wired up properly, set up properly, and rezeroed occassionally. The person who can do this well, can also make an accurate guess as to state of charge, if they are regularly looking at just a voltmeter and an ammeter. – sternwake⁵⁸⁾

A [ shore power ] charger is a stiff source with unlimited energy and time. Your solar is a very soft source of unknown power and only a few hours to get the job done. - sunking⁵⁹⁾

It's not enoung just to have a panel up there, you have to have enough to push the battery around. – jimindenver⁶⁰⁾

“So when your feeling lonely, sit back and eat a cookie and just imagine someone making you feel bad for eating that cookie and making you feel guilty, nag nag nag. Then smile and realize that you dont have to ask anyone or get anyones permission to do whatever you want. Enjoy your cookie!!!” – Durango Dave⁶¹⁾

“Don't do anything that attracts attention to either yourself or your vehicle. People cannot object to your presence if they do not notice that you are there.” – lennyflank⁶²⁾

“Heat people, not places.”⁶³⁾

“Fear of propane will be expensive.” – Sternwake⁶⁴⁾

“You will know the true value of your time when you look back and see how much of it you have wasted.” jimindenver⁶⁵⁾

“You can ALWAYS make more money, you can NEVER make more time.” akrvbob⁶⁶⁾

“I am always surprised to see some people demanding the time of others and meeting a most obliging response. Both sides have in view the reason for which the time is asked and neither regards the time itself — as if nothing there is being asked for and nothing given.” - Seneca

“How late it is to begin really to live just when life must end! How stupid to forget our mortality, and put off sensible plans to our fiftieth and sixtieth years, aiming to begin life from a point at which few have arrived!” - Seneca

“the man who … organizes every day as though it were his last, neither longs for nor fears the next day… Nothing can be taken from this life, and you can only add to it” - Seneca

“If you are towing and don't know the area, drop the trailer and look around.” jimindenver⁶⁷⁾

“GET THERE in 2wd and GET BACK with 4wd if needed” -

“By far the best bang for your buck is a 12 volt air compressor and air down your tires. Just airing down your tires to 10 pounds will get you unstuck an amazing amount of times. It should be number one on your list for taking your van in rough country.” – akrvbob⁶⁸⁾

“walk it before you drive it” - desert bruce⁶⁹⁾

I turn off the traction control for steep hills or loose gravel to allow some tire spin without being hindered or slowed by the traction control kicking in, as momentum is better to maintain than 100% traction. – brownbear⁷⁰⁾

In the end, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you are in any way unsure of the way ahead, stop the car and walk the route to determine grade, clearances, and firmness. – USExplorer⁷¹⁾

“You can live three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without air.” – anonymous

“If you have water you have 1000 problems. If you don't have water you have 1 problem.” – anonymous

”…you really appreciate every drop of water if you have to schlep it.“ – gcal⁷²⁾