Zulu

31 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

Climate change is a way for 'so called climate scientists' to rake in Federal grants.

We all knew you would eventually get here, but are surprised it took so long.

And now this . . .

Read all about it

I’m assuming that you have a Dometic or Norcold fridge.
 

Short-term fixes (maybe) . . .

If possible, shade the fridge side of your RV.

Put some dry ice in the lower part of your fridge.

Longer-term fixes . . .

Install a fan inside your fridge.

Install a fan on the TOP of your fridge compartment so the it pulls air UP and out of the compartment. Then make a path for air to be pulled from INSIDE into your fridge compartment and BLOCK the existing outside air vent.

Install a adjustable thermistor.

Install a residential fridge,

In keeping with the spirit of this thread . . . Elvis is Alive and Well in Memphis.

50 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

I’m on my way home from Rolling Retreats with the new rig.  I am currently in Bakersfield, CA standing in line at the DMV to get it registered (it was a convenient location on the way home).

Ah, a CA DMV, my 2nd favorite place.

7 hours ago, dewilso said:

So, do you use the Starlink App or something else to determine your speed ? There is a big difference in the App & Ookla most of the time.

A recent Starlink speed test using several testers (3-test average. All tests done with 10 minutes of each other). . .

19.4 Mbps (speedof.me)
66.9 Mbps (Ookla)
73.3 Mbps (Starlink app test)
28.0 Mbps (FCC tester)

Take your pick.

2 hours ago, Second Chance said:

I read this on the Starlink web site yesterday... makes it no better than our current VZW unlimited (grandfathered) mobile hotspot in terms of service - and the hotspot is easier to set up.

Starlink RV now makes my portable HughesNet Gen 5 look good.

27 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

I wonder what the slower speeds are. I find that as the cloud cover increases our speed goes down, in fact, to nothing when we are having heavy rain. Yet with this slow down we have full functionality on all our connected devices, even the TV doesn't even clock, until it goes to zero.

The following is from MIRC's Starlink for RVs video . . .

SPEED

AVAILABILITY

Much of Midwest and South are "Waitlist" (aka decreased speed) areas.

Something like this?

1 hour ago, Chad Heiser said:

In the past, parallel had a big advantage over series in the RV world because PWM solar controllers were limited on the voltage they could handle and older panels without bypass diodes could be severely negatively affected by shading a single panel (or part of one) in a series string.  In today’s world of MPPT solar controllers, the higher voltage a series string of panels can provide can be advantageous.

Interesting. My 1st solar install was series/parallel, my 2nd install was parallel, and my soon-to-be 3rd install will be series.

All things being equal (PV panels, charge controllers, etc), my 1st series/parallel install always seemed to yield superior results over the parallel one. Hopefully, the series install will be the best. We'll see.

I'm curious for those of you with solar setups . . . are you using Series or Parallel panel wiring? Why?

FYI - OP here. I ended up just asking the vendor.

Can someone steer me to such a chart. I'm interested in stranded copper rated at 105 C.

1 hour ago, oldjohnt said:

 . . . since current adds when using panels IN PARALLEL,,,,, The current will be greater from the PARALLEL combination of multiple panels !!!!!!!! IM CONFIDENT THATS CORRECT.

Yep. And some controller manufacturers supply online calculators to help you figure out how to wire PV panels, like this one from MidNite Solar. Keep in mind it's designed with MidNite's controllers.

42 minutes ago, Kirk W said:At the point in life I am it is doubtful that I will move to solar but I am looking at it partly because I have a son who is an RVer and another one starting to look. 

Though I’m several years younger than you, I’m still getting up there. Nevertheless, I’m doing my 4th (and most likely last) RV solar install . . . and this last install is probably the most important.

We’ll be making our last cross country trip next year. Long trips are wearing and expensive for us, so we’re back to doing shorter trips like when we stared RVing.

Anyway, we live in CA and want to camp on ocean campgrounds with hookups. These are verrrrrrrrrrrry difficult to book (see Bots Booking Campsites). Even with years of booking experience, I’m usually left with a handful of basic (no hookups) sites available.

Enter solar.

With a roof full of solar panels we now have many more site options.

13 hours ago, Chad Heiser said:

My preference for batteries is Battle Born . . . They should have a major announcement coming later this year, which I am not at liberty to share at this time that may make them more desirable to some. 

Mmmm . . . I'm thinking lower price.

Anyway . . . my 1st RV was Trojans, 2nd RV AGMs, 3rd RV back to Trojans. 

Love to do Lithium but still too pricey at the moment. However, I'm still researching lithiums and found William Prowse's YouTube Videos very informative, especially his battery "tear downs"  . . .

Budget Battery Showdown

Battery Born Tear Down

3 hours ago, MizzMarzBar said:

Age is nothing but a state of mind that we can choose.

I keep telling that to my knees, but they’re not buying it.

Anyway, ask your doctor’s opinion. He/she will be objective as none of us here are.

At the very least, it’ll be good to get a checkup before you hit the road.

And then there’s the monthly price increase starting in May — from current $99 to $110.

4 hours ago, packnrat said:

but what do i know. i am just a 62 year old truck driver.

I'm 72. I think the first step is realizing that you don't know. So good on you . . . keep reading.

4 hours ago, packnrat said:

ftl is not possible due to a law of physics . . .

Theoretically, it is possible via the Alcubierre Drive (ie warp drive). However, your spaceship wouldn't move, but the space around it would as fast as you wanted it to move.

4 hours ago, GlennWest said:

What crimper you use. Those ribs aren't on mine. 

Hex crimper

1 hour ago, Chad Heiser said:

There have been some failures with the Multiplus II push in AC connections posted on line.  Every one I have seen can be explained by improper installation by the DIY installer.  Follow the instructions and install the connections properly and you will have no issues.

I’ve started using ferrules which go a long way to making wiring more secure.

1 hour ago, Chad Heiser said:

There is no need to add an additional breaker.  There is no need for an AC shutoff switch either.  If you want to add one it won’t hurt, but there is no need for one.  I have seen some people add a bypass switch so the inverter can be cut out of the system in case it fails.  Personally for the very unlikely event of a complete inverter failure, I would simply remove the AC in and AC out wiring from the inverter and wire nut those lines together temporarily until the inverter was repaired.

I want a quick way to shut off the AC In to the inverter.

I’m still going with dual 50A breakers instead of a simple AC cut off as I’ve seen too many suspect pedestal breakers.

1 hour ago, GlennWest said:

Does that unit use the push in connectors? Seen that on some newer units and seen failures also. 

Yep. Were the failures you saw on Victrons?

Victron MultiPlus II AC-IN fusing/circuit breaker

I've started wiring my RV for its eventual solar upgrade. As part of this process, I have to disconnect the AC panel input from the Transfer switch, and then run this Transfer switch output about 12 feet to my Victron MultiPlus II inverter. (They'll also be a similar AC run back into the AC panel.)

I was going to install a AC disconnect switch on the Transfer switch output going into the Victron inverter, but found this in the Victron MultiPlus II manual for the inverter's AC-In:

The AC input must be protected by a fuse or magnetic circuit breaker rated at 50A or less, and cable cross-section must be sized accordingly. (BOLD text by Victron)

This seems like a much better solution than an AC disconnect switch.

13 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Apparently "fully insulted" meant 3/4" of insulation all the way around.

Well, if it was actually "fully insulted", then I can see why you got a raw deal.

In the current market, $20k isn't much at all for either an RV or a park model.

However, I don't recommend a park model in AZ or anywhere.  We lived in one in Lake Havasu, AZ for several years, but only spend 2 summers in it as AZ heat is incredible -- even with our new 2 1/2 ton AC unit. Nevertheless, we bought cheap and sold it in the "COVID boom" and made a killing.

But even if you do get a park model for $20k, you'll be chained to the campground it's in. It's also likely your monthly rental will increase each year. Plus, you can't get a home loan on a park model.

Instead, you might want to look at mobile home parks. We investigated about 200 CA parks. We ended up in a resident-owned mobile home park where we were able to get bank financing on our unit.