Recent content by bandaidqueen

It's often possible to get 5 gallon food grade buckets for free from a grocery store's bakery. I work in a bakery and we used to give them away to anyone who asked. I have a couple of them that I plan to put cushioned tops on to use as seats as well as storage.

We've had a TON of cases in my office. I would guess over a third of the company got it? A handful were VERY sick and had to be hospitalized - yes including healthy younger people with no pre-existing conditions. Somehow I have managed not to get it. My sister got it, and she works from home and...

Wow what a cool photo Dianne!!! Hope you have lots of fun on your journeys. This forum is an amazing resource if you have any questions or need help with all things nomad! I'm not even a nomad, I just live in a van because I'm poor, and WISH I was a nomad. But I have two jobs that are stationary...

I don't have much experience with batteries, but I have heard that the lithium batteries can be damaged easily, so be very careful if you're making a big investment! It would really stink to put a huge portion of your budget into a battery and accidentally fry it. I know Bob recommends cheaper...

I take a self-defense class and I LOVE it. I'm very fortunate to have found an instructor who focuses on simple techniques that rely on physics and body mechanics to be effective; we also "stress drill" regularly. Years of JKD, Muay Thai, Kali, Wing Chun, none of them helped me as much as even...

I took this idea from someone else on the forum - vent UNDERNEATH the license plate. It's soft plastic underneath the license plate, I just took a drill and made a ton of holes, then re-attached the license plate with only the top screws. I put the bottom screws under the license plate to keep...

But seriously, anyone had success with any types of live plants in the van? I've thought of putting a little rooftop garden, something small, some herbs perhaps. I don't have windows so inside probably won't work for me, unless it's a hanging plant in the cab.

In my version, the air that goes over the cooling pads (the swamp cooler section) would ideally never come into contact with the air that is being cooled inside the van. Other designs take the air that exits the swamp cooler and put it through the radiator, but I'm trying to dehumidify the air...

Jonyjoe303 - please let me know how it works out over time! And any tips you have along the way. Also what kind of climate are you in - humid or dry? (I have read that the indirect swampcoolers actually don't perform as well in dry climates, but there's so little information about them it's hard...

Just saw jonyjoe303's pictures on my other thread, looks great!!! Hope I can get mine working as well.

Here's pictures of the one I made, which is not working properly: <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="" title="Frankencooler Back"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50247161843_91b8ac3109_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Frankencooler Back"></a> This is the back side of the cooler...

I know this is a really old thread, but has anyone else had success with the INDIRECT style swamp cooler? I've gotten reports that they work great in humid climates, so I built one, but it doesn't seem to work just quite yet. I'm sure I've done something wrong in my build - maybe the second fan...

:-) :-) Thanks everyone! I ordered a NOCO Genius charger to charge them for now - I'm a city dweller and I have a full-time office job, so I can find an outlet somewhere and a long extension cord (probably at work). The indirect swamp cooler is the only thing I'll wire to my batteries at the...

Thank you desert_sailing! It's going to be a while before I can put any solar on, but I do want to do that in the future. I'll be charging these bad boys with the alternator for a while, either with a solenoid, or smart isolator, or DC to DC charger which seems to be the best option to not put...

I am being gifted two 12v deep-cycle batteries this weekend (I think one is 100 a/h and the other is 60 or so?). I need to know the minimum I need to be able to use and charge these batteries. I've been using a small Jackery "Portable Power Station" as they call it, I bring it inside to work and...