if you need this much watts, do this

[Bluedogz]

This is important for deciding what you need. Why those places? Every state west of where you live has millions of acres of public land you can camp on, and you can find nice weather all year by moving around.

IMO, it's best to start minimal. If you like to motorcycle trip, then it seems that would be very minimal, plus a lot of weather exposure. Having a more luxurious experience in a van would be very easy!

Will you be full time or just taking trips? What part of the country, and what time of year? What sort of rig do you have in mind?

Why those places? I managed a trucking company for years and that's what I'm familiar with. Now, my intro thread talked about a marathon road trip I hope to repeat AND my "retirement" plan is to spend 6 months or so of each year somewhere cooler, and the other 6 somewhere warmer, if you follow.

Yeah, the bike trips were minimal. Those were days. We cheated and hoteled a lot, though. And I agree that a van-camp experience will not be quite as minimal as that.

I envision full-timing, though practically I know it'll take a bit to work up to that. I have years to ramp up into this. I think the best rig for this job will be a DIY minivan conversion, because 1) I'm handy enough to do it and keep it functioning 100%, 2) it'll give me the freedom/flexibility to build it out over time, 3) I won't have to deal with a trailer or other rig when I stop at places I want to be.

All my questions about electrical are focused on building the knowledge to build my van correctly when I spend the effort. I saw a setup on YouTube that I really liked but the guy is an electrical engineer! So, baby steps.

 

[rruff]

Now, my intro thread talked about a marathon road trip I hope to repeat AND my "retirement" plan is to spend 6 months or so of each year somewhere cooler, and the other 6 somewhere warmer, if you follow.

I just saw your intro thread and replied. I'd never get a minivan for vagabonding, but it would work for people who don't venture offroad.

So are you planning on 2 different homes, or just traveling with the seasons in your rig?

Getting back to the electrical question, it doesn't sound like you are going to have enough room for a lot of unnecessary junk. A vent with fan is a good idea, maybe a fridge, laptop, maybe internet and a couple led lights? That's about it for electrical. The fridge would be the biggest energy load, ~300Wh per day but will vary a lot depending on temperature.

 

[Bluedogz]

I just saw your intro thread and replied. I'd never get a minivan for vagabonding, but it would work for people who don't venture offroad.

So are you planning on 2 different homes, or just traveling with the seasons in your rig?

Getting back to the electrical question, it doesn't sound like you are going to have enough room for a lot of unnecessary junk. A vent with fan is a good idea, maybe a fridge, laptop, maybe internet and a couple led lights? That's about it for electrical. The fridge would be the biggest energy load, ~300Wh per day but will vary a lot depending on temperature.

I don't anticipate "off-roading" very much. A gravel track is about as rough as I anticipate.

And no 2 homes for me (thanks for thinking I have that kind of scratch.) Traveling with the seasons.

 

[Walt]

I'm actually looking forward to working with nothing but a single gas burner and a 10" skillet. Oh yeah, and a kettle. Even a microwave is of debatable necessity. The fridge or freezer is a key element, I think.

This leads me to ask how is the most efficient way to use a fridge/freezer??

Just put it around 40° and leave it?

Freeze a bunch of gel cubes and then turn it off?

Run it as a fridge during the day only? Then turn it off at night?

 

[frodo2222]

I know... it's been asked before... but I don't know even the keywords to search by.

It seems all of the conversations about electrical needs stop at "if you need this much watts, do this." Without really talking about specifically how to calculate those needs.

So, as I plan my kitchen, I'm facing questions like "Do I even need a microwave/air fryer/coffeemaker?" Powering each will be a key factor in those decisions. Nevermind A/C/Maxxair etc.

I'm trying to get to how much wattage I need, and THEN I can have a productive conversation about solar vs. generator vs. campfire, or even which microwave is which.

Looking at your post the best thing you can do is get some education and I found the best place to do that was at the explorist and putting the link if he'll come through I didn't know anything about solar or not design solar systems and install them on RVs and cabins and whatnot so you might look at that it's great because you can look at what is wired to what is the connector to how much power do I need for this and then how to do it