Electricity in the Van: The Basics

[user 37446]

Hmmph. Have to retype the whole reply due to user error...  :s

Anyway, as I was saying... one of the problems with this type of endeavor is that you are inviting a lot of "feedback" by starting to get technical. The more general you are, the less criticism but also the less helpful your information is. While saying "hook up your battery safely" won't allow for much criticism for the method, it doesn't tell your reader anything. If you state that a person should use X type of wire at Y gauge with Z type of fitting and soldered or heat taped or whatever then you invite arguments over the correct wire gauge, wire type, fitting composition, method of crimping, solder or not, heat shrink or not, fusible link or not etc... See the problem?

How are you differentiating your E-book (I presume that's what it is) from the others out there? Is this simply another general guideline or are you wanting to be able to provide some step-by-step instructions, or somewhere in between?  
For examples of more general guides/sites, there's these found through this site: http://www.doityourselfrv.com/author/curtis-carper/

For a very detailed book on RV electricals, one of the "references" has been: http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm
parts 1 and 2, which are so technical that you would lose many readers. Somewhere in between is likely where you want to be.

Keep your disclaimers right up front (like you have about you aren't an electrician) and say that this is "one example or one type" of a way to do things.

 

[lenny flank]

Anyway, as I was saying... one of the problems with this type of endeavor is that you are inviting a lot of "feedback" by starting to get technical. The more general you are, the less criticism but also the less helpful your information is.

I do understand the frustration that the technical folks probably have. But this is not a technical manual. All I am aiming for is to give new or wanna-be van-dwellers a good idea of what the various options are for electrical systems in the van, the basics of how they work, and what their relative advantages/disadvantages are.  The book manuscript is 275 pages, and there are only 7 pages of "electrical stuff". It is not a step by step guide to how to wire a van, nor do I want it to be--nor would I attempt such a thing, since I am not an electrician. So, while I appreciate all the technical advice, it's really not needed--that's not what the book or the chapter is about. I guess I should have been more clear about that.   
As for what differentiates the book from others, I'll post my back-cover blurb:
"In May of 2015, Lenny Flank left his St Petersburg FL apartment for the last time, climbed into a four-year-old cargo van that had been outfitted with a sleeping bag bed, a homemade sink, a homemade toilet, and a solar panel for electricity, and set out to live on the road. This book is a chronicle of some of his adventures living and traveling around the country. It is part travelogue, describing the history of some of the interesting and unusual places he has been to and people he has met, and part how-to guide, for anyone who gets the travel bug and wants to follow their inner hippie, take to the road, and live the nomadic lifestyle of the van dweller."

PS--it will be available both as an ebook and as a print book.

 

[user 37446]

Ok then, that allows for the "generalism" vs. "technicalism" to be put to rest, hopefully.  As with anything, hindsight...

If you have 275 pages, what are the other chapters?  Then we can slice and dice, I mean "offer constructive advice"...

 

[lenny flank]

If you have 275 pages, what are the other chapters?  Then we can slice and dice, I mean "offer constructive advice"...

None of the other stuff is as technical.  My Table of Contents:

Preface: “Not All Who Wander, Are Lost”         7

Introduction: Why Live in a Van?          9
       
Tampa Bay FL          17
Winter the Dolphin          17
A Gravestone         19

Albuquerque NM          21
The Nuclear Engineer        21
      
Selecting a Van           27

Savannah GA          33
Fort Pulaski          33

Bozeman MT          37
Dinosaur Central        37  

Bureaucracy          43

Socorro NM          51
The Very Large Array Telescope          51

Lehigh Valley PA          57
A Pennsylvania Ghost Story          57

The Logistics of Staying at a Walmart          61

Pittsburgh PA          69
Lunch at the Conflict Kitchen          69
Ruffians!          71

Las Vegas NV          75
Yes, I Lost at Vegas...          75
Tap, Tap, Tap—It’s the Cops          80

Internet, Cellphone, and Staying in Touch          83

Columbus OH          87
The B-52 Pilot          87

Hollywood CA          91
The Background Actor          91

Electricity          97

Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville NC          105
The Duke University Lemur Center          105

Dayton OH          111
The Flying Saucers and Hangar 18          111

My Bathroom          115

San Antonio TX          121
Remember the Alamo...          121

Nashville TN          139
A Falcon Rescues Himself          139
Rain, Rain, Go Away...          142

Laundry          145

Titusville FL          149
An Atlas V Launch          149

Oklahoma City OK         153
The Washita Battlefield        153
Tap, Tap, Tap—It’s The Security Guard          157

Entertainment          161

Alamogordo NM          163
Trinity Test Site          163

Orlando FL          169
Walt Jesus World: The Holy Land Experience          169

Cooking          175

Oshkosh WI          181
The Aircraft Restorer          181     

Dallas TX          185
Dealey Plaza: The Mother of All Conspiracy Theories          185

Keeping Warm and Cool          191

Bradenton FL          199
The Migrant Farm Worker          199

Tucson AZ        203
Titan II Missile Silo          203

Getting Around          209

Asheville NC          213
The Biltmore Estate          213

Winslow AZ          217
Meteor Crater          217

The Park Rangers          221

Topeka KS          225
Brown v Board of Education          225

Greenville SC          233
Wings          233

My Fellow Travelers          237

Philadelphia PA          243
The Liberty Bell          243

New York NY          249
America’s First Zoo          249

Indianapolis IN          255
The Indy 500          255

What’s It All Cost?          259

Andersonville GA          263
Andersonville Prison Camp         263

Kansas City MO          269
Last Voyage of the Arabia          269

Conclusion: My Journey Continues          275

 

[lenny flank]

What I want to accomplish with the book is two things: Inspire people to follow me into the nomadic lifestyle, and give them a good idea of the different ways they can do that.

 

[user 37446]

ok, I get it now - it's chronicling your journey along with helpful advice, as opposed to "this is the way to do it...".  Now that puts things in better perspective. By stating that it is your opinion and this worked for you, it takes the discussion out of the realm of a "how to".  Great! 

If you'd like to post any of the sections on van selection, bureaucracy,  cooking, laundry, bathing, communication/internet and overall cost, I'd be happy to read over and make (polite) suggestions (as opposed to throwing rocks).  It's your work and as long as something is not absolutely unsafe then it's your choice on how it is written.

I think it's a great idea and would like to read more of it. (Hint, hint)  

 

[XFILE36]

I hope I am not the fly in the ointment, but some of us learn in different ways.  Some of us need videos with hands-on demonstrations.  Some of us have ADD or other issues and reading about doing something can be extremely confusing.  Could you make a Youtube video?  TY

 

[lenny flank]

I have already posted the "Bureaucracy" section here:  https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Bureaucracy-The-bBasics

and the Logistics of Staying in A Walmart section here: https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-The-Logistics-of-Living-in-A-Walmart

I'd appreciate any input.  


The book will be going to the printer in a few weeks, and will be available in late June or early July.

 

[lenny flank]

I hope I am not the fly in the ointment, but some of us learn in different ways.  Some of us need videos with hands-on demonstrations.  Some of us have ADD or other issues and reading about doing something can be extremely confusing.  Could you make a Youtube video?  TY

Sorry, I'm a book publisher, not a film director.  

 

[user 37446]

Sorry, I'm a book publisher, not a film director.  

Already are plenty of vids online about vandwelling, so many so that you have to sort out the good and the questionable. The only way to differentiate is to have read up about the topics and watched most them so you can quickly determine if what the person is saying makes any sense. 

For example, a couple of years ago when I was just a lurker, I watched a YouTube video with some guy in a cargo van talk about his rv battery setup. What he had done was take some 14 or 16 gauge automotive wire, twist it onto the battery posts under the terminal connection, and string it back under the van.  Then he brought it up through the door seal of the back doors. Next he tied it onto the house battery (marine Walmart) the same way. No fuses, no solenoid, nothing.  Did it "work"? Well he thought so. Was it particularly efficient or safe? Highly questionable... Will it keep the battery in good health as far as state of charge (SOC) goes?  Not likely...

He disappeared off of YouTube about a year later.  Point being, if all you had seen was his video and copied his setup, you'd have thought boy this is easy, what's all  the fuss about?... And then later when your battery died a very premature death, you'd be wondering what happened.

 

[highdesertranger]

exactly ^. often times newbies take bad or incomplete advice and run with it. I have seen some really bad advice offered by people on the internet. sometimes the bad advice is not intentional, but some people don't know the difference. Lenny this is not pointed at you I am just saying you and I need to be careful. highdesertranger

 

[lenny flank]

exactly ^.  often times newbies take bad or incomplete advice and run with it.  I have seen some really bad advice offered by people on the internet.  sometimes the bad advice is not intentional,  but some people don't know the difference.  Lenny this is not pointed at you I am just saying you and I need to be careful.  highdesertranger

I let the pros do it. I suggest others do the same.