New member here, slight pre-flight jitters

[Bemoc]

Hi all, I am probably typical story-wise, I am an adventurous woman with many interests, in my very late 50s, retired, and very attracted to van dwelling and other nomadic lifestyles. I have been watching this movement for a few years now, started planning and bought a 2000 Chevy Express 3500 extended in May, then slowly bought things to do this all. I have gutted the van - it was a passenger version - and am working on framing right now, stumped though by the electrical/solar. I am sure I can do it if I can focus long enough to watch some of these how-to videos enough times, lol, as they seem to put me in a trance. Aside from seeing all of the things in America I want to see, and satisfying my many curiosities about the natural world, I am hoping to build a kind of community for myself, make some like-minded friends. My plan is to take flight in my Chevy by February, or as soon as I recover from hip surgery happening January 5, 2021. I am nervous now about the actual doing of this, even where to go at first, but I believe I can learn all of it here on this forum. Thank you very much for this precious resource.

 

[nature lover]

I think if we were all honest with you every one of us had some anxious moments before we jumped in. There were different things for each of us some living friends or relatives. Some without many resources wondering what’s gonna happen on the road. Some afraid of meeting strangers some who think they’re going to be alone. But there’s so many positives that those fears do eventually disappear maybe not totally but they sure get smaller.

My biggest fear van billing was the electrical also. I watched all the videos and still didn’t have the confidence so I got some help. Another thing that made it easier for me as I kept it simple. KISS. My lighting are all rechargeable AAA‘s LED and not connected by wiring. The major thing I have wired to the batteries with the solar is my refrigerator and I really want an exhaust fan eventually. One thing I found about the how to videos is that if you watch them from many different sources you may find there’s many different ways of doing things and that can cause confusion. Good luck and by the way thanking someone for this information here that’s Mr. Wells we are all here because of him in someway or another.

 

[Sofisintown]

stumped by the electrical/solar. I am sure I can do it if I can focus long enough to watch some of these how-to videos enough times, lol, as they seem to put me in a trance.

Hi Bemoc, and welcome to the forum.
Here is a link for a video on solar for beginners.
It will show you in simple terms how to put it together.
It will not put you in trance, you might even enjoy it.
https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse/search?query=solar for beginner

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum 

I have a couple sites below that may be of help to you.  They are all free and designed to make going on the road as a Nomad more safe, comfortable, and convenient.

When I started doing this there was no internet, no "movement", no contact with others who could share insights.  Just some "hippies" but they chose the VW Vans or VW Campers.(in hand painted psychedelic color schemes) As I was in a solid red Ford Van.....I was the "freak" back then.  I traveled 
clean, dressed decent like I was going to class at some college, (I was out job hunting and seeing the country) and the LEO's (law enforcement officers) didn't quite know what to make of me.  I had a bumper sticker on the back from an Art School (for my parking lot rights)  and another old bumper sticker of Dad's that read AOPA....I'd rather be flying. 

But that's how I rolled back then.   And you'll be getting a taste of this for yourself too pretty soon.
It was the purpose of creating those sites,  to help others get a quicker start and good first experience.

All the best  

 

[Boutdun]

My hip surgery was 2 years ago, if you do physical therapy as they suggest (3 times/week for the first 2-3 weeks) then after 4-5 weeks you should be able to leave. Try to avoid knee replacement, that is an entirely different story.

 

[maki2]

Watching videos on electrical can make you feel overwhelmed. One approach to untangling these things is to break the parts of the electrical system down then focus on learning one single aspect of it at a time. Try a visual approach thinking of it as a jig saw puzzle to put together where you work on one area of the puzzle at a time. Before you make any major purchases you need to solve the jigsaw puzzle. Before you go into remote areas where getting supplies is more difficult you will want to order the smaller components of the puzzle plus any tools for doing that work.

For the solar panels get an over view by figuring out what space you have for panels on your roof. Map it out include dimension between things such as roof vents. That gives you the maximum limit in terms of area where panels can fit. Then look at your needs for electrical and see how that aligns. Many of the solar companies have online calculators to help you with the math regarding your power needs, versus total wattage of panels. Then you can take a look at panel sizes and their wattage ratings. That is the puzzle section that mounts onto your roof. You will then have to connect those pieces with wiring that will go thru the roof into your van. Connecting the panels together is a puzzle within that puzzle section. Each part of this overall visual puzzle will have a subset of wiring components that belongs to it. Once you have your basic puzzle solved you go back and work on those subsets of electrical components. Then watch those videos that show how to hook up the panels to the wires. One lesson on one section at a time allows for better focus and understanding.

The controller is its own puzzle piece. The size of controller you need is determined by those panels you chose to put up on the roof. You need to figure out where to place it and that piece of the puzzle is its own based on factors such as where the wires from the roof have to enter the van, where your battery bank is, where windows in your van are, what other interior things must be in an area. It might be easy to figure out or it might be more complex, that depends on your interior design. Wires go into the controller from the roof and wires go out of the controller to your battery. Plus of course you have to be able to secure it into position.

Battery size is determined by how much solar you have coming in plus of course it might be limited by the size of the location you want to put the battery(s) in. It is a part of the puzzle that can't be solved without input from the van itself for a place to locate it and from the power you are putting into it as well as the power you want to take out of it over a given period of time.

Then you will have a puzzle section that is the power distribution area with wiring to it coming in from the battery and going out to the various plugins and perhaps some direct wired 12v appliances, lights with switches, maybe an inverter with 110v outlets connected to it. The complexity of that section is variable and very much individual for each person depending on what they use in the way of electrical devices. For instance I don't need a big inverter but I do need a lot of outlets. I work as I travel, I use a lot of rechargeable lights, plus charging for phone, table, laptop, portable radio, vinyl cutting machine, recharging batteries for small power tools, etc. I don't of course use everything all at once and I spread out the recharging over the course of the prime hours of sunlight. So I don't need a huge panel array or a super sized battery bank.

 

[crofter]

...the actual doing of this, even where to go at first, but I believe I can learn all of it here on this forum....

Welcome to the forum, Bemoc!

Sounds like you have your rig already, you could start out camping in your driveway. You would be close by your digs to retrieve the things you forgot, and it gives you an idea about how much privacy you need and how you want to design your build. 

I watched a lot of build videos while I was designing, and did a low budget build that is comfortable and servicible. Nothing fancy.

If you want more systems and conveniences, you may want to get technical help for those aspects, or you can study, design, and DIY with no prior experience. When you pay for technical help you benefit from all their experience. Enjoy your build!
-crofter

 

[Bemoc]

Thank you all for the warm, supportive and informative welcome. See, I just knew I'd love you folks! I think I may have caught a lucky break on the solar - a Craigslist guy has a complete used 445 watt system with all the needed gear, quality stuff, and the best part is that all that tech is already nailed to a board, so I just have to know where to stick that board! I think it will be about $500 - $600 for the entire setup, minus batteries, but I have two already. Heh, they don't match at all, and I have found that they should. Also, I will end up with two Thunderbolt (?) 45 watt solar kits systems, that I don't even want to try to figure out, so if anyone needs 90 watts.... these are never used, in the box. I can post all of my mismatched leftover stuff in the Trade/Buy/Sell section, but as a preview here I am open to giving it away if a person needs it out there. I buy all my stuff at dirt cheap at auction, won't be out much. I have a copious collection of leftover stuff, from cookware to vents; 12 v recessed lights, Sirius radio setups... much more too...wow, I am fortunate and hope to share. My solar-denial over the last two years has just been a benefit, gear-wise... Like, I have three backup cam systems, two extra nice black leather captain's chairs (got four for FREE), and a bunch more - in fact, if you need something just ask me, I am likely to have it. Maybe also HOWA can use the gear, I will ask. Lmao, and sorry to post in the wrong place. I have just kept buying when a real bargain crosses my computer screen, hoping that if I got enough stuff, eventually it would all match up - but it doesn't. Anyway, thank you everyone!