Newbie needs sage advice!

[DLTooley]

I love sleeping in my truck!

Just starting out simple and checking out what others are doing on the paths you want to roam is the best way to figure out what you want. There are also events focused on helping folks set up their rigs called Van Builds. Typically these are winter time in Arizona, as is Pirate Camp.

Even if you decide to go the fully built out route the camping/glamping stuff will make for good backup stuff.

Arizona is a good place to buy a used vehicle due the large numbers of older folks, especially private party.

And remember where you park can be much more valuable than where you park. The space outside your rig may be the most important.

Getting solar a power setup with solar is probably the hardest thing you want to do early.

 

[LargeMarge]

...committing...full time...debating going the van route, or the pickup truck plus trailer route. For a van, any recommendations? All advice more than welcome!

.
a)
Any decision is temporary.
As you grow and evolve, your vehicle needs change.
.
b)
Our suggestions:
* acquire a likely candidate
* toss in some car-camping gear
* go have fun.
.
c)
Our introduction with plenty of portraits, plus our reasons for our decisions:
https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/expeditionvehicle-build.44908/#post-576110.
d)
Reading my edited version [above] of your post, I realize my Very Significant Other and I are heinously guilty of...
..."committing 'full-time'".

 

[LargeMarge]

...a raging case of vegetarianism...

.
I remember hearing about a vegantarianist a few decades ago.
Small world!

 

[LargeMarge]

... extremely good fuel economy...enclosed porch once he set up which took all of about 20 minutes.

.
a)
We rarely travel more than a hundred miles a month.
Fuel is a very minor part of our budget.
.
b)
We engineered our ExpeditionVehicle with a rear entry.
We have a permanent porch with a permanent roof:
Advantages:
* zero set-up time
* acts as a mud-room
* acts as our shower and galley, keeping humidity and odors outside
* elevated view platform for enjoying a steak... and hopefully, not annoying too many nearby vegantarianists.

 

[Overland One]

^^^Be sure to check out her side bar to older posts where she started out. If you are skilled or skilled and poor then building out your own van or cargo trailer works better and cheaper but if not this is probably as good as it gets.

Great point, when you build everything yourself, maintaining/troubleshooting/replacing items is a lot easier. I simplified my solar by getting a Bluetti AC200p (2000 watts and 2000 watt hours.) Everything I need is in it already, the controller, inverter, Lithium batteries, BMS, every type of ac and dc plug I will ever need and the best part is, it is portable or removable so changing the layout of my van it easy as I can move my plugs where ever I want them. I built a dc distribution box that plugs into the Bluetti that also has two 2 amp usb charging ports and 3 dc power outlets. I can plug my laptop, pc, and fridge into this box. I also have a shore power plug that goes to an ac power strip. It is a standalone from the Bluetti but, I can plug my generator in to it and and the Bluetti and charge it if I need to. My long winded point is that I built and assembled this simple system so if something stops working, I can fix it. (Or replace it) Also, it was cheaper than buying all the separate components that are capable of handling 700 watts of solar.

 

[WayOutWest]

For the van route, a major decision for you will be whether it's important to you to be able to stand up in your rig. If you want to stand up, then depending upon your height you'd need a medium roof or a high roof van. If standing up inside is not vital to you, you have more options. ForestyForest, the vanlifer who has a popular YouTube channel, is a very good example of the low roof van option. He's very skilled at DIY, amazingly so -- not only with his van conversion but with fixing mechanical issues on his van, building a wood cabin in the backcountry, and much more. He has a small wood stove in his van which I think is just ideal for those in colder climates.

Either type of van can be found used, and price depends upon how used, but less than $40k for sure. My recommendation based on my own bias is to get a medium or high roof cargo van, either a Ford Transit, Sprinter or ProMaster, and then plan a conversion. I feel the Ford Transit is the best choice -- Mercedes Sprinters can be hard to locate service facilities for. ProMaster may be fine too but I was counseled in favor of the Ford Transit.

I've watched several videos showing stellar van conversions done by people who claim they had barely any prior experience with doing carpentry or building things. I suspect they got help, but still, I think one can do more than one might imagine by getting some guidance. If you want to avoid spending a lot of money paying someone else to do your conversion, I suggest watching videos and perhaps read some books and do it yourself. You can go simple, there are a whole range of build styles from no-build builds to very high tech and highly engineered. Everything in between.

 

[frodo2222]

Great point, when you build everything yourself, maintaining/troubleshooting/replacing items is a lot easier. I simplified my solar by getting a Bluetti AC200p (2000 watts and 2000 watt hours.) Everything I need is in it already, the controller, inverter, Lithium batteries, BMS, every type of ac and dc plug I will ever need and the best part is, it is portable or removable so changing the layout of my van it easy as I can move my plugs where ever I want them. I built a dc distribution box that plugs into the Bluetti that also has two 2 amp usb charging ports and 3 dc power outlets. I can plug my laptop, pc, and fridge into this box. I also have a shore power plug that goes to an ac power strip. It is a standalone from the Bluetti but, I can plug my generator in to it and and the Bluetti and charge it if I need to. My long winded point is that I built and assembled this simple system so if something stops working, I can fix it. (Or replace it) Also, it was cheaper than buying all the separate components that are capable of handling 700 watts of solar.

coming from the other side on the coin separate parts means one can replace what breaks rather then the whole thing, I just installed a 280 watt panel for a lady in a minivan cost of the panel $80, good controller Epever $129 with monitor $180 high frequency inverter $200 and a 100 amp lithium battery $299 total cost$800...Bluetti for half the amps hours or solar capacity $700-1100 and it's all in one AND it doesn't include the solar panels..checked the one you got and it is$1695 on Amazon to get the same watts for under $1100 and be able to replace what goes wrong..Priceless IMHO

 

[Overland One]

coming from the other side on the coin separate parts means one can replace what breaks rather then the whole thing, I just installed a 280 watt panel for a lady in a minivan cost of the panel $80, good controller Epever $129 with monitor $180 high frequency inverter $200 and a 100 amp lithium battery $299 total cost$800...Bluetti for half the amps hours or solar capacity $700-1100 and it's all in one AND it doesn't include the solar panels

My Bluetti AC200P has 166 amp hours and can handle 2000 watts continuous and will take 700 watts of solar input. (My solar is 720 watts plus a separate 100 watt panel for my two other smaller power stations. I added everything up that I would need and it came really close to $2,000 so I decided to go with the AC200P. Also I can double the amp hours by adding one of their stand alone batteries but to be honest, that battery costs more than I paid for the AC200P. I got it on a special sale with a coupon and only paid $1,250 for it. (New not refurbished) I had been looking at them for a while and weighing the exact point you made about basically having all my eggs in one basket. But, I am pretty decent with electronics and if something goes bad and it is out of warranty, hopefully I can purchase the bad component or its equivalent, and repair it. I will have most of my electronics tools with me except, I am selling my 2 oscilloscopes as they take up too much room. The Bluetti has a 2 year warranty and that helps. I also like the fact that should I get a different van one day, I can easily move the Bluetti to the new van and just transfer the solar panels and my DC distribution box and shore power plug. With the money I saved over the systems I priced, I was able to buy a 2000 watt hour (1700 continuous) gas generator too which I am sure I will need once in a while to juice up the Bluetti on a cloudy day or when camped in tree cover. To each his/her own. Hopefully, I made the right choice for me, time will tell, others can choose what meets their needs. Safe travels. PS It is very nice of you to install that lady's system. I think it is great when I see people that have special knowledge or skills/tools helping others that don't.

 

[frodo2222]

My Bluetti AC200P has 166 amp hours and can handle 2000 watts continuous and will take 700 watts of solar input. (My solar is 720 watts plus a separate 100 watt panel for my two other smaller power stations. I added everything up that I would need and it came really close to $2,000 so I decided to go with the AC200P. Also I can double the amp hours by adding one of their stand alone batteries but to be honest, that battery costs more than I paid for the AC200P. I got it on a special sale with a coupon and only paid $1,250 for it. (New not refurbished) I had been looking at them for a while and weighing the exact point you made about basically having all my eggs in one basket. But, I am pretty decent with electronics and if something goes bad and it is out of warranty, hopefully I can purchase the bad component or its equivalent, and repair it. I will have most of my electronics tools with me except, I am selling my 2 oscilloscopes as they take up too much room. The Bluetti has a 2 year warranty and that helps. I also like the fact that should I get a different van one day, I can easily move the Bluetti to the new van and just transfer the solar panels and my DC distribution box and shore power plug. With the money I saved over the systems I priced, I was able to buy a 2000 watt hour (1700 continuous) gas generator too which I am sure I will need once in a while to juice up the Bluetti on a cloudy day or when camped in tree cover. To each his/her own. Hopefully, I made the right choice for me, time will tell, others can choose what meets their needs. Safe travels. PS It is very nice of you to install that lady's system. I think it is great when I see people that have special knowledge or skills/tools helping others that don't.

Absolutely..if I had the skills you have to fix those electronics I'd maybe go for it or a Growatt but sadly I do not..I have 2 low frequency inverters that something went on them and cannot fix them...granted they were given to me for free so cant really complain...I have 2 rigs and In the little one I am using my old inverter a 12 volt Aims 2500 which is totally overkill but since I had it......the one thing I did notice on the lady's bluetti is that once it is full One has to unplug and replug it in for it to start charging again

 

[Overland One]

Well, there is still a risk for me certainly but I watched many reviews of this device by folks like Will Prowse, Bob Well, Hobotech, etc and they put this model through its paces and they all say it is a very good unit and has an excellent reputation. Of course, having said that, ANYTHING mechanical or electrical/electronic can fail at any time for various reasons and it is quite possible something in the unit might fail that I can not fix or find the parts to fix. I know I am rolling the dice a bit here but, if you think about it, heading out to be on the road in a 25 year old van has its share of risks too. I bought Will Prowse's book on solar and I learned a lot and, I have also been binge watching van videos for the past 6 months or longer looking at what other people are doing for solar as well as their general builds. As I said, time will tell if I made the correct decision, ha ha. Also, I am no electronics expert. Electronics has been one of my hobbies for many years and I know a little bit about a lot of things and devices, usually enough to get into trouble.

 

[jacqueg]

Just a caution - Bluetti and their competitor Ecoflow do make really appealing units. IME, though, their customer service is not great, as in, good luck getting them to respond to your questions/messages. I bought the units I tried from Home Depot, so returning them was easy. Wound up with a Jackery instead. But I am not really good at trouble-shooting electronics.

 

[frodo2222]

Well, there is still a risk for me certainly but I watched many reviews of this device by folks like Will Prowse, Bob Well, Hobotech, etc and they put this model through its paces and they all say it is a very good unit and has an excellent reputation. Of course, having said that, ANYTHING mechanical or electrical/electronic can fail at any time for various reasons and it is quite possible something in the unit might fail that I can not fix or find the parts to fix. I know I am rolling the dice a bit here but, if you think about it, heading out to be on the road in a 25 year old van has its share of risks too. I bought Will Prowse's book on solar and I learned a lot and, I have also been binge watching van videos for the past 6 months or longer looking at what other people are doing for solar as well as their general builds. As I said, time will tell if I made the correct decision, ha ha. Also, I am no electronics expert. Electronics has been one of my hobbies for many years and I know a little bit about a lot of things and devices, usually enough to get into trouble.

Sounds like you know a fair amount for sure, I've watched all those guys but Nate Yarbrough with all the part lists etc was the best for my lowly level of electrical knowledge or lack there of.. But yea it is all a crapshoot for sure that's why I drive a 1993 Dodge truck with the Cummins..NO electrical components things at all

 

[afblangley]

Add me to the camp that chooses the simplicity, portability, and compactness of the power station. DIY electrical systems don't come with a warranty. EcoFlow has a 5 year warranty on their LiFePO4 stations and the large Bluetti stations come with a 4 year warranty. I believe these companies will honor their commitments, but time will tell...

The real game changer may be that Amazon offers 3 or 4 year warranties from Asurion. This means we can take a gamble on a cheap Chinese power station that sells for 40 cents per Wh, a price that would be hard to match DIY.

For illustrative purpose only (not a recommendation):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5WHJDN...olid=2YHSJKAX396WM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Overland One]

Just a caution - Bluetti and their competitor Ecoflow do make really appealing units. IME experience, though, their customer service is not great, as in, good luck getting them to respond to your questions/messages. I bought the units I tried from Home Depot, so returning them was easy. Wound up with a Jackery instead. But I am not really good at trouble-shooting electronics.

Thanks. I have heard both good reports and bad reports on their customer service with the more recent ones being pretty good. I looked at the jackery units but, the issue I had, at least with all the models I checked out, was that they use the older battery technology of lithium ion which are only rated for about 350 charge/life cycles while the Bluetti uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) which are rated for 3,500 charge/life cycles which figures to be about a 10 year life span. Maybe Jackery has updated their battery chemistry since I last checked them out about 6 months ago or so? I also have a much smaller Bluetti EB3A and a Rockpals 300 watt power station. The little Bluetti also uses Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry (3,500 charge cycles) while my Rockpals uses the older technology lithium ion. (350 charge cycles) To me that is quite a difference in life expectancy which in my mind makes the Bluetti, and other brands using LiFePO4 chemistry, a much better deal. (I bought my Rockpals a couple of years ago and did not know about this difference until after I bought it) Excellent idea buying from Home Depot. I bought all my Ryobi cordless tools and batteries from their website and, they used Fed-X shipping and had better pricing than Amazon on the model tools I wanted. I also agree their customer service has been excellent the few times I have used it.

 

[Overland One]

Add me to the camp that chooses the simplicity, portability, and compactness of the power station. DIY electrical systems don't come with a warranty. EcoFlow has a 5 year warranty on their LiFePO4 stations and the large Bluetti stations come with a 4 year warranty. I believe these companies will honor their commitments, but time will tell...

The real game changer may be that Amazon offers 3 or 4 year warranties from Asurion. This means we can take a gamble on a cheap Chinese power station that sells for 40 cents per Wh, a price that would be hard to match DIY.

For illustrative purpose only (not a recommendation):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5WHJDN...olid=2YHSJKAX396WM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I agree totally with the warranty benefits of the Bluetti or Ecoflow power stations. That is important. I just looked at the link for the cheap power station and no where in there did I see them state which battery chemistry they are using, so I suspect that means it is lithium ion, which is lighter than LiFePO4. (They do mention their unit is lighter than competing brands) Most brands I have seen using LiFePO4 are proud of that feature and mention it several times in their listings. So, when comparing to Ecoflow or Bluetti people should factor in the lifespan difference of 2-3 years vs 10 years. That is still a low price for that amount of storage as I paid almost that much for my Rockpals 300 watt unit a couple of years ago, and it is only 280 watt hours compared to the 1021 WH of the Powsurge unit and will have similar lifespans. That does compare very well against the cost of the DIY electrical systems. Safe travels.

 

[jacqueg]

Thanks. I have heard both good reports and bad reports on their customer service with the more recent ones being pretty good. I looked at the jackery units but, the issue I had, at least with all the models I checked out, was that they use the older battery technology of lithium ion which are only rated for about 350 charge/life cycles while the Bluetti uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) which are rated for 3,500 charge/life cycles which figures to be about a 10 year life span. Maybe Jackery has updated their battery chemistry since I last checked them out about 6 months ago or so? I also have a much smaller Bluetti EB3A and a Rockpals 300 watt power station. The little Bluetti also uses Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry (3,500 charge cycles) while my Rockpals uses the older technology lithium ion. (350 charge cycles) To me that is quite a difference in life expectancy which in my mind makes the Bluetti, and other brands using LiFePO4 chemistry, a much better deal. (I bought my Rockpals a couple of years ago and did not know about this difference until after I bought it) Excellent idea buying from Home Depot. I bought all my Ryobi cordless tools and batteries from their website and, they used Fed-X shipping and had better pricing than Amazon on the model tools I wanted. I also agree their customer service has been excellent the few times I have used it.

I'm with you on the life span issue - I have one 200ah LiFePo Renogy as a house battery.

Since my power station is an auxiliary power source and not my main source, I thought the Jackery tradeoff was an OK one to make. The technology and the prices on the portable power stations is improving by leaps and bounds, so by the time I need to replace the Jackery, Bluetti and Ecoflow will have improved their customer service, and there will be some new hot brand that will be catching everyone's eyes!

I really LOVE being able to return something I've purchased directly, without having to go through some involved process that includes shipping. As much as I'd rather not use them, I find myself often buying from big box stores for exactly this reason.

 

[frodo2222]

Thanks. I have heard both good reports and bad reports on their customer service with the more recent ones being pretty good. I looked at the jackery units but, the issue I had, at least with all the models I checked out, was that they use the older battery technology of lithium ion which are only rated for about 350 charge/life cycles while the Bluetti uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) which are rated for 3,500 charge/life cycles which figures to be about a 10 year life span. Maybe Jackery has updated their battery chemistry since I last checked them out about 6 months ago or so? I also have a much smaller Bluetti EB3A and a Rockpals 300 watt power station. The little Bluetti also uses Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry (3,500 charge cycles) while my Rockpals uses the older technology lithium ion. (350 charge cycles) To me that is quite a difference in life expectancy which in my mind makes the Bluetti, and other brands using LiFePO4 chemistry, a much better deal. (I bought my Rockpals a couple of years ago and did not know about this difference until after I bought it) Excellent idea buying from Home Depot. I bought all my Ryobi cordless tools and batteries from their website and, they used Fed-X shipping and had better pricing than Amazon on the model tools I wanted. I also agree their customer service has been excellent the few times I have used it.

Another HUGE thing on the LifePO4 is that they are safer then the Ion from what I understand
ones as far as fires go

 

[Overland One]

Another HUGE thing on the LifePO4 is that they are safer then the Ion from what I understand
ones as far as fires go

Yes, that is my understanding as well and that is a great point. We all would like to avoid fires as much as possible.

 

[Overland One]

I'm with you on the life span issue - I have one 200ah LiFePo Renogy as a house battery.

Since my power station is an auxiliary power source and not my main source, I thought the Jackery tradeoff was an OK one to make. The technology and the prices on the portable power stations is improving by leaps and bounds, so by the time I need to replace the Jackery, Bluetti and Ecoflow will have improved their customer service, and there will be some new hot brand that will be catching everyone's eyes!

I really LOVE being able to return something I've purchased directly, without having to go through some involved process that includes shipping. As much as I'd rather not use them, I find myself often buying from big box stores for exactly this reason.

The AC200P and the box it came in weighed 80 pounds. Can you imagine how much that would cost me to ship back to Bluetti? Had I bought it at Home Depot (I had no idea they even sold these) I am pretty sure I would have paid more than I did but, just like you said, IF the time comes for any warranty issues or returns, your way is 1,000% better. OK, I just checked on Home Depot's website and they have it listed for $1,559 which is about $300 more than I paid but still not a bad price for these from what I have seen, that is a lower price than most places are selling it for. Thanks, I learn something new every day and I will remember this in case I need anything else from Bluetti. I agree that as the technology advances and the companies mature a bit more in this industry, customer service and prices will improve just as you predict.

 

[frodo2222]

The AC200P and the box it came in weighed 80 pounds. Can you imagine how much that would cost me to ship back to Bluetti? Had I bought it at Home Depot (I had no idea they even sold these) I am pretty sure I would have paid more than I did but, just like you said, IF the time comes for any warranty issues or returns, your way is 1,000% better. OK, I just checked on Home Depot's website and they have it listed for $1,559 which is about $300 more than I paid but still not a bad price for these from what I have seen, that is a lower price than most places are selling it for. Thanks, I learn something new every day and I will remember this in case I need anything else from Bluetti. I agree that as the technology advances and the companies mature a bit more in this industry, customer service and prices will improve just as you predict.

This exact point is WHY I always check to see WHO pays for return shipping n faulty equipment..I bought a lithium battery for $299 and it showed t had 3.8 volts I sent a message to the seller on Amazon who paid for returns and he said, just keep it and I will send you another.OK great..the second comes around and it also shows 3.6 volts..He says I'll refund you the money and just keep those 2 non working ones since he had to pay shipping back..ok I say..Once I got my money back I slice the plastic box open and what had happened on one was when they put the 4 brics together one of the BMS wires got caught in the 4 and got cut..I soldered it back together and voila 12.8 volts the other the same kind of thing but it did not cut the wire it had actually pulled the plug from the BMS half way off..I pushed it back in and Again Voila 12.8 volts...since the seller was so nice I informed him of the issue in the putting together of the batteries..He was glad to find out why and I was VERY HAPPY to get 2 100 amps lithiums batteries for free! Moral of the story..find sellers that offer to pay for shipping back on their faulty equipment