New member trying to figure out how to use this forum.

[Cecilia]

Greetings. I am Cecilia from South East Texas. I am on the shy side, so be patient with me as I slowly wade into the van life forum. I am trying to learn how to post my profile or should I just write my story here? Everyone has a reason for joining a forum like this and I have enjoyed redoing the post. I am here to learn about doing a build out. and hopefully find someone who has expertise in using an invertor and battery configuration.

I look forward to hearing from you and enjoying your post.

 

[JDub]

Welcome! You'll find plenty of help in those categories here. Some very experienced and talented folks hang out here who are happy to share their knowledge to help out newbies. Just be specific and provide plenty of details when posting a question instead of just a vague request. It really helps define what you're looking for instead of having to play "20 Questions" first.
Good luck to you and safe travels!

Cheers.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome Cecilia! Post each question in the section where it fits the best. Please feel free to ask about anything that is puzzling you. Someone will be sure to have the answers that you need!

 

[LeftTown]

Hi Cecilia,

I'm an old forum junkie and a new nomad. I find it easy to retain information from people who are relatable and difficult to shut up when I find a friend.

That's both good and bad. I'd advise you to stay strictly on topic with any output at first so we can get to know you, but.....

...feel free to read us like a book. We wouldn't be putting our stories and our information out there if we didn't want to share it, like a message in a bottle waiting for someone just like you.

But do remember that this is a public space and not everybody is who they say they are and you should be fine.

Keep firm boundaries with money, your private info (driver's licence name, ssn, main phone number, main email, etc.) and you're probably better off here than you would be on Facebook.

You need a PayPal account the first time you pay for a subscription, but after that credit card alone is fine.

If you're poor, we don't care. We want you anyway.

If you want to thank a particular poster for helping you out more than you want a $3.99 latte, l'm not going to judge you: there's a button to tap and a box to check for that too.

We've got your back.

Welcome home.

 

[Cecilia]

WOW!!! I did not expect to receive the kind of welcome to the forum I received. My original post was a test to see if this thing was real or not. I feel like I have found some friends. I have been a close follower of Bob Wells for many years and recently found Van Living Forum.

I wish I could say I was ready to hit the road and do some serious traveling, but I still have a JOB Actually i am a small business owner and not ready to retire yet. During all of 2021, I was dealing with cancer. I was so sich, I couldn't hardly get around. I thought I was going to be forced into early retirement, but by God's grace I recovered and went back to work. My goal is to get my rig fixed up so we can do some part-time traveling/camping when I can take time off.

I have a 2008 Freightliner step van with a 6.7 Cummins diesel. I use it in my business. Sometimes I need to stay on the road overnight. I want to use part of he truck as a sleeping space while overnighting at a truck stop or rest area. so I won't have to pay for a hotel. The truck has two large starting batteries. I had a 3000 watt invertor installed hoping it would provide me enough power to run a roof top AC and some small appliances. I learned later that I need house batteries to power the invertor. I need help figuring out what type and size batteries I would need. My main concern is enough power to run the AC. The truck has no AC at all.

Thanks for the help and support.

 

[Malamute]

I run a window AC unit from a small Honda generator in my 4runner. The gen is in a cargo box on the back of the 4runner. It will run about 6 hours (1 gal of gas) on eco mode with a 5000 btu AC unit that I put in the side window. Your rooftop unit may draw more power, and it may need a hard start capacitor to help kick it over and use less power on startup on the compressor. They cost about $12 last i bought one. It may extend your batteries charge, and if your batteries wont run the AC long enough, it helps a gen to be able to run on the eco mode and save fuel.

Good to hear you recovered from your cancer. I had a little leukemia rodeo a few years ago. Yee-haw. Go chemo!

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the Van Live Forum

Let me invite you to check out the two links below in the signature line. (in green) The first is to set up a simple build so you can begin to get out there in decent weather with little expense, and build effort.

The second is to use once you are out there. (edjautoservices) This site can make things much more safe, comfortable, and convenient. You can use the trip planning links to literally travel and see the road as you would from your rig......from your computer at home.

A lot of new people have come here and used these free resources I've set up in these two sites. I only wish I had had them when I started Van travel several decades ago. My profile states some of this and "my story link" in Van Conversion explains all of that. I hope you can benefit from this.

When I was on the road in my first Van I traveled to Texarkana to visit some family members.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Cecilia welcome. And I'm glad you got past the f-ing cancer and I'm also glad you found us.

Sorry to say it's not going to be practical to try to cool the interior of any normal sized stepvan on batteries and inverters (powering an A/C unit) anywhere in the southern US. You will need something more substantial and effective to cool that much volume of what is probably un-insulated space.

You really have two options: a commercial APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) or a DIY APU (generator and window or roof A/C unit) similar to the expeditors and pilot cars you have seen in the truck stops and rest areas.

The advantage to either solution is that your A/C can operate as you drive down the road. The disadvantage to either is of course, cost, installation, operating expenses, and maintenance.

But if you are using this stepvan for work, most of these expenses can be deducted or amortized/depreciated on your quarterly federal tax returns and sometimes you can find a business loan or state or federal credit to make it all happen.

If you have a seperate diesel tank to operate the genset or APU you can avoid paying road taxes on that fuel, and if all records are kept properly, if the APU or genset pulls from the main fuel tank, and if you install an hour meter on the unit you can still get a credit for the road taxes for cabin climate control.

This is not a step-by-step A-to-Z instruction manual, just a head's up, be aware and do your homework.

Feel free to start a new thread about these topics in Conversions or any other sub-forum you feel appropriate.

Again, welcome and good luck!