Hey, from Portland Oregon.

[Kenny P]

Hey there, it's Kenny P. I'm in Portland, more specifically Troutdale Oregon. I bought a Astro van that was retired from a paint companies fleet. I insulated floor, ceiling and walls, then finished with vinyl flooring and carpeted panel boards on walls and ceiling. Also cut a door out of the metal partition and framed and insulated that.
Bed, counter-top, sink and roof vent/fan.
I came here because I'm planning on going full-time soon and I need to learn more about solar.
I'm into dual sport motorcycling (dirt bikes that are steel legal) and I have a motorcycle carrier on the back. I'm not only planning on going full time but i also want to take some long trips with my van and motorcycle.
Few things I'm worried about are theft (either solar or my motorcycle) and also worried about roof space.. not sure I have enough space up there for three or even two panels... hoping I can live on solar and not have to plug in.
Anyway. That's me.
Thanks.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forums    

You've arrived at a great place to gather up that information. 

When you get on the road,  you may find that you need less than you
originally thought.   And you may find some creative low bucks solutions
to how much Solar you may need.  So just keep reading and I'm sure you'll
be amazed.

 

[Wabbit]

Hi Kenny- traveling around with a bike sounds fun! The 100w panel I have(Renogy), I would be able to put 2 on the Windstar minivan we have. So I think you could get at least 200w on your roof, prob more. We live on 100w of solar with a 110ah battery. Lots of sun out west here, but with 2 tablets, 18650 bats for ecigs, sometimes 4 hours of laptop video watching, dumb phone and charging AA's for camera and game controller, we do fine. Best of luck to ya!

 

[Bud Smiley]

Welcome. Happy to see another dual sporter around.

For bike security, I'd make sure you have a locking hitch pin for your carrier and then use a good cable lock threaded through both wheels, the frame, and the carrier. Make it a hassle to steal. What type of bike are you riding?

What are you expecting to need lots of solar to power? If you aren't cooking or cooling with electricity, I think most people overestimate their needs.

 

[cyndi]

Kenny! Welcome to the CRVL forums! You've come to the right place to get help figuring your needs out.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Kenny P]

@bud smiley


I ride a wr250r. I've heard about the locking pin. I'll do that for sure. And I actually invested in a pewag chain (62 on the Rockwell hardness scale).. basically you can cut bolt crop it, even with the big 42" croppers. I also invested in a Abloy pl362 shrouded hardened steel padlock. They're made in finland (and only $325!!). You'd need a angle grinder to get through my set up.. but I'm still worried about leaving my bike on there full time.
I'm wanting lots of power because I'm a big DIY'er, especially into fixing up cars, and now vans. First of all I don't want to have to worry about running my batteries too low, and second, I'd like to be able to run some power tools every now a and then. Maybe that's absurd, I guess I'll s soon find out.

 

[Crow]

Welcome Kenny. Look for posts from a user named SternWake, he's posted a wealth of information on here about solar and batteries. There are others too with lots of experience.

I'm just starting out with a van too and trying to decide what to do about my motorcyle. I've got a VTX 1800 street bike that I've owned for years. I'm going to have to either sell it or buy an enclosed cargo trailer to haul it in. I'm thinking if I'm gonna haul it around with me, a dual purpose bike would be a lot easier to haul and a lot more fun in the mountains where I intend to spend most of my time. I rode dirt bikes when I was a kid in the 70's, like Yamaha Enduro models and Honda SL series (really more of a street bike with high pipes that they tried to pass off as dirt bikes). But I've been riding street bikes for so long I don't know anything about the dual sport bikes that people ride these days. Any recommendations on what I might want to look at? I just want something that I can just explore fire roads with and what not, I don't have to have anything real high performance or anything, just want something reliable and easy for a guy with a bit of a bum shoulder to load and unload.

 

[Bud Smiley]

Crow, I'd point you towards an older dual sport like a 90s DR350, XT225, or XR250. Those are simple, reliable, air-cooled and tons of fun on trails. You can find good ones for anywhere between $1-2k (and cheaper if you know how to clean a carb). If you're spending more money, I think the choice is between a WR250R (such as Kenny has) or a KTM EXC (450, 525, 530, or 500).

Kenny, I think you should heavily consider an enclosed cargo trailer for the bike. It'll also give you much more space for your tools. I've found that travelling with a bike and a good assortment of tools takes up most of the space and doesn't leave much room for creature comforts. It's fine for a trip but not something I'd care for full-time.

 

[Crow]

Thanks Bud, I will search those on Craigslist and see what I can find.

 

[dr_nelson]

Hey welcome!! Looks like your rig is pretty much ready!
I'd probably install a backup camera to tell how many freaks are trying to steal your bike.

I had a KTM Duke back in the old days, but gave up as I got tired of watching out for cars that wouldn't see me.

 

[ArtW]

I had an XL 600 a few decades ago, loved that bike, thinking of getting out of my 600 Silverwing in favor of a dual sport, but I do highways sometimes, and that's hard on a small dual sport
Looking at the WR vs the XT, how much diference ?

 

[Kenny P]

I do highways sometimes, and that's hard on a small dual sport
Looking at the WR vs the XT, how much diference ?

It definitely isn't as comfortable on the highway. I can do 60-65 mph completely comfortable.
Once I hit 70+ it gets a little wobbly, but there are other factors involved like the weight of the rider and how much gear your have strapped on or not, so it might be different for someone else.
I've hit 90 mph on my wr250r with dirt tires on. That's about top speed. Plus I don't have any desire to exceed the speed limit, only once in a while.
So yeah, long trips are hard on a dual sport but that's a fair trade-off in my opinion, my bike is 300 lbs wet, I can still do single track off-road trails with it. Plus, when taking long trips, I try to hit as many backroads (forest service logging roads, dirt farm roads) as possible.
I've never ridden a big highway cruiser so I couldn't tell you my opinion on that, but I can imagine you're stuck to the pavement 100% of the time.
And as far as the Yamaha XT200 goes (I imagine that's what you were referring to?), I got my motorcycle endorsement on that bike. It's lower to the ground, not as much power, and will probably top out around 70 mph. Really not good at all for highway riding, unless you stick to 55 mph roads.
If you want the all-in-one bike, get a wr250r, or a Honda crf250l.
You can get a Kawasaki kl250 Super Sherpa or a Yamaha xt200 for around $2,000 used (and they are similar bikes as far as size and power goes).
You can get a wr250r or crf250l for around $4,000-5,000.
I found my wr250r on Craigslist. Had only 1800 miles and he was asking $4,000, I talked him down to $3,250, it helped that he just had a baby and needed the money.

I'm no expert but I've done a lot of research on the dual sport thing so if you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to help.