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Ewan McColl - The Moving on Song

If you really want to understand mobile windpower, you have to research windpower on sailing yachts. They have been at that game for decades. Solar has it's place on cruising yachts, but deck space is at a premium, so there usually isn't room for large solar panels. Fortunately, sailboats...

I don't want to suggest that anyone should be bathing with soap, biodegradable or otherwise, in or near any body of water. However, I think there are some misconceptions about the nature of the problem. The big problem is the release of detergents containing phosphates into a body of water...

Desert_Sailing, it sounds like you want your friend to be able to retrieve and store your van in case you are incapacitated. I am not an attorney, but it sounds like what you want is a limited power of attorney naming your friend as your agent for this contingency. Here's a link to the...

OP: I would consider the replacement value of the van. If it would cost more to replace the vehicle and the build out than to repair it, then it's worth fixing. Remember to consider your time. That has value, too.

You have already gotten some good advice here. But, I feel compelled to chime in here, if only because I spent a lot of time in Southern Oregon, as a youngster and up until I was 30. The weather on the east slope of the Cascades and all points west is going to be the best it will be all year...

There are a slew of articles that describe how relying on turn-by-turn navigation instructions make it difficult to learn a new route and may actually harm spatial awareness and memory. Here's one for example...

At 7.1, the Ridgecrest quake was significant, but here's the one you need to worry about. https://www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/Cascadia-Subduction-Zone.aspx 9+ and potential for coastal inundation from Mendocino into BC. Emergency preparedness officials with the State of Oregon think...

I grew up in California and still travel there frequently. I have crossed the state border many times. Sometimes with a travel trailer, many more times with camping gear in the car. Often times the at inspection stations are closed, but usually open in summer. I have never had my vehicle...

In Alaska where I live, the InReach products that Spiff mentions are popular. So are SPOT brand devices. But, for a simple to use emergency locator device, I don't think you can beat a personal location beacon (PLB), like one of these from ACR. https://www.acrartex.com/t/categories/outdoor...

I have zero experience with this. But, here's a video from a guy who seems to know a thing or two about vehicle recoveries. He demonstrates several methods for extricating your vehicle from the sand, including burying a spare tire. That looks like a last resort to me.

I spent a brief stint working at an RV parts & repair shop in the 1980's. I was told that Mobile Traveler motor homes were built with steel framing and foam core wall panels. I was also told that the build quality was higher than average. I never worked on one that I recall, so I can't verify...

This won't let you open the door from the inside and it's pretty expensive, but looks like it's rugged enough. Wilco Offroad Hitchgate https://www.wilcooffroad.com/shop/hitchgate-tire-carrier-ford/

"Too many theories." Three years off-grid in a cabin in Southeast Alaska. Three years living aboard a sailboat, heating with a Dickinson Bering cookstove, same locale. One winter in a truck camper in southern Wyoming (is 15 degrees in WY different than 15 degrees in AK?) Twenty-five years in...

Here's a handy calculator for the OP to play with while considering options. https://www.chromalox.com/resources-and-support/calculators/comfort-heater

Webasto and Espar are big names in marine diesel heaters. The heaters they offer for boats are the same heaters they sell to the trucking industry. That's another reason in my mind to consider Refleks or Dickinson. No moving parts, if you use gravity to feed the heater. I can't imagine...

I live in the warm part of Alaska, but I've been to Anchorage a few times in the winter and I once spent a winter living in a truck camper in Wyoming. So, I'll offer a couple of thoughts I think relevant. Your first concern is going to be reliable heat. Regardless how much insulation you...

I have always washed cast iron pans by hand with dishwashing liquid and I have no trouble keeping them well seasoned. However, I season a pan well before first use. But, I never put cast iron in a dishwasher. I also avoid cooking high acid foods like tomatoes in cast iron. Seems to take the...

I'm not certain, but it seems likely. I've never seen a max frontal area spec before and was surprised to see it in the towing specs. I can't see why they would rate that otherwise.

IIRC, the JKU is rated for towing a trailer with no more than 32 square feet of frontal area. A 6 foot tall trailer at 5 feet wide might be OK if you don't hang a lot of other gear like roof racks on the trailer and tow vehicle. But, I would be concerned about it being a slug in a head wind. You...