Recent content by amwbox

What to do in the meantime? Piles of research. Particularly 12 volt DC electrics. Batteries. Solar Panels. This will be the thing with the steepest learning curve that you will find yourself with the most questions about, and the thing requiring the most specialized knowledge. Maybe try it out...

Great setup, man. Serious bsns. :)

I have external USB hard drives for movie and TV storage. Would be SERIOUSLY expensive to have that many terabytes stored on flash.

I wouldn't, either. The invention of affordable solar and mobile internet is the only reason I've been able to find the mobile lifestyle survivable. No power, no connectivity, no happy.

For future reference, generators and alternators are very different things.

I'm in the PNW. It really depends on how much power your using, but I get by fine on solar alone. Honestly, doing the bulk charging with the alternator and keeping the bank topped up with solar is the best solution. Alternators are best at bulk charging, solar is better for fully charging the...

I would lose my mind.  I can't even hand the constriction of a mummy bag lol. Having to sleep in a coffin...yikes. Neat idea for those who could handle it.

... As I said. Sorry to wander off topic.

Really depends on the boat. There are quite a few heavily built smaller cruisers that were specifically designed and built for crossing oceans. I'd take one of these over a boat twice the size that wasn't built to same standards. Been sailing on the N Pacific since I was a kid. I'd not hesitate...

A 40 or 50 foot boat is NOT small. Much bigger than that and your getting into the realm of the mega yachts.  A guy in my marina sailed around the world on a 24 footer.  In any case, solar on a boat is MUCH harder to do, as solar panels don't much like the constant motion, the windage, the...

The conventional wisdom changes. Panels are getting more efficient, and far cheaper. AC is getting more efficient as well. Batteries are one of the most heavily researched techs going. Its only a matter of time. For a modest investment, people are already running AC off grid. But yes...its...

A canopy is very stealthy....after you've already climbed in and pulled the tailgate closed behind you. :D I traveled out of a Ford Ranger in exactly this way for nearly a year, including wintering over in Northern Idaho. Its tougher to do urban camping this way...you have to be very choosy...

Again...this sounds like a pretty special AC unit if you're starting a compressor without a surge...

Awesome results...but what model of AC unit are you using? 430 watts to me seems miraculously low. My little 5000 BTU window unit draws almost twice that after its been running a while...

My suggestion for the OP is to look into the MS Surface. Take it with you like a tablet/laptop when you need to...but when you get back to the van, you can simply stick it into a dock, where you have attached your monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc, and use it as though its a desktop. Plus, it's...