Zulu

Use Purogene instead of bleach. Less caustic and does as much if not more than bleach.

2 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

To use Texas State Parks as an example. You can book an entire two-week say, wait until 5 days before the start date and then cancel, paying only one nights camping fee or $10, whichever is less.  So for $10, you can lock up a site for months and then change your mind. Within that time, many folks who have been trying to book sites will have been blocked and  gone elsewhere, or given up. Some may keep trying hoping for a cancellation, but many can't string it along until the last minute . . .

 . . . and some may show up at the last minute and find a campsite.

Unless you have some actual data, this is just a SWAG.

On 2/28/2022 at 11:17 AM, Barbaraok said:

This is why we gave up on state parks.

You showed them!

On 2/28/2022 at 11:17 AM, Barbaraok said:

We could usually get a Sunday-Thursday night reservation of some sort a week or two out, but weekends, no.    

A "week or two" isn't enough. That's why you never booked a weekend.

We started camping in 2004 and found that to get weekends or "prime" state campground sites required booking the max amount of time in advance . . . and then I had to click on the BOOK NOW button continuously as others were doing the same thing.

On 2/28/2022 at 11:17 AM, Barbaraok said:

And the few times we did get the weekend, we would find there would be loads of empty sites as people just didn't show up. 

So? They paid for it. The park was paid.

You are not entitled to a camp site.

23 hours ago, Vladimir said:

In the end, the ONLY fair one is first-come, first-served....and you have to COME and show up.

FIFO ensures Locals get camp sites. State/national campgrounds are tuned into city parks.

BTW, the way to game the "you must show up" rule is to just park your boat/camper on site before the weekend, leave, and then come back for Sat/Sun.

Physical presence doesn't work either.

And if you're in the market for an M1 Mac, consider this M1, M1 Max/Pro, and M2 chip comparison before buying.

Try a mail & business center near you in Washington. That's what we used to use. Worked fine.

Starlink Premium = $2500 for equipment & $500/mon for service.

3 hours ago, Vladimir said:

I wonder how far south they are filling orders??

Survey says (from Starlink Wiki) . . .

When we visited Bryce in 2017, we stayed at Bryce Canyon Campgrounds on Highway 12.

Our favorite Zion campground is Watchman which is inside the park.

1 hour ago, Randyretired said:

I also fused at the bus bar to protect all of the wires on it instead of near the connected circuits. Specifically the charge controller. 

I've been thinking about doing the same after seeing some of Chad's schematics like this one below that I believe uses a Victron Lynx Distributor instead of conventional bus bars:

On 1/25/2022 at 2:43 PM, Randyretired said:

If that is your preferred way I don't believe it matters.  However it is done one connection is hot.  Either at the batteries, switch or fuse and caution is the needed.  On edit one could just remove the ground terminal at the battery.  With the switch first the switch isn't fuse protected and that is why many prefer the fuse first.  Switch failures are not a problem from my experience.

I'll go with the flow in this one. I think every schematic I've seen, including from Victron, shows the Class T fuse before the disconnect switch.

Also, after talking with a guy who used to do marine inverter installs, I updated my schematic and added an AC disconnect right before the inverter along with other changes people suggested.

Thanks folks!

3 minutes ago, Randyretired said:

I don't believe it matters.  In each case there is only a small amount of wire left connected to the circuit when the disconnect is opened.   Surely you could look to see if it is serviceable before connecting the fuse.

To replace the fuse you'll probably use a metal wrench to remove it from the holder. I'd rather not have one side of fuse holder hot.

6 hours ago, GlennWest said:

If you turn everything off that is connected to the fuse and discharge any capacitors, should be safe.

I don't think so. Here's my thinking . . .

1 hour ago, Chad Heiser said:

Looks good.  A couple of minor things.

1.  I would put the class T fuse right after the battery terminal, before the house battery disconnect.

I with you on the rest, but this one always puzzled me.

If you put the T-fuse right after the batteries and it blows, how could you safely replace it?

Tx again,

Tom

15 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

Are you talking about adding a hard drive to the Wally and being able to watch a recorded show while it records something else?

Satellite Guys

4th RV Solar Install here we come . . .

57 minutes ago, LindaH said:

Can the Wally (which, apparently, is the only receiver offered for an Outdoors account), be used with the Trav'ler? 

Yep, and when you do, it magically turns into a 2-tuner receiver.

1 hour ago, LindaH said:

We did, but it's been a few years ago.  Don't know if anything has changed since then.

We did that too. 2022 is the last year for the tax credit, and I’m all over it as the rate is 26%

Has anyone taken the Federal solar tax credit on their RV solar install?

First, 50 miles of mountain driving isn't the same as flat land driving. You want to be as close as possible to Yosemite or take the bus (YARTS).

I suggest using the west side mainly because there are three roads into the park -- 41 (Wagon Rd), 140 (El Portal Rd, and 120 (Big Oak Flat Rd). However, we used to work down the road on 395 in Bishop and my wife took hiking tours on the east side through Tioga Pass many times.

When we visited Yosemite in May 2019 we came in from the west side and stayed in Indian Flat Campground on Highway 140 near El Portal. Down the road in Mariposa, there's also the Mariposa Fairgrounds, but it's a first-come-first-served campground at $45/night. However, we live in Mariposa and it's seldom full. Just call ahead.

I think we drove into Yosemite once or twice during our stay as it was crowded even in early May. We ended up taking an 8-hour bus tour for about $100. Well worth it.

x2 & easier than I thought it might be.

Some satellite Internet background . . .

The Blue LED Years, Ku- and Ka-band Sats, EIRP or Dish Size Matters

KA-BAND SAT SYSTEMS (HUGHESNET GEN 5)

I bought a portable HughesNet Gen5 system in 2020 for about $1500 (.98m dish, tripod, modem, tools, DAPT aiming device). HughesNet Gen 5 data plans range from $40 (2 GB/mon) to $2000 (1 TB/mon). Note: These are Business HughesNet plans, not Residential plans. BTW, Residential HughesNet Gen 5 uses a much smaller .74m dish.

I think I used the 50 GB ($120/mon) data plan, but you can change it up or down every month if you want. Also, you can purchase extra GBs for $3 per GB.

My download speed range was between 5 to 20 Mbps, and averaged about 11 Mbps on an extended test. However, I had no problem streaming video and my HughesNet Gen 5 dish always got a signal.

HughesNet Gen 5 uses the Ka-band (or "spot beams") and is only available in the continental US. We tried using it in Banff National Park (a few hundred miles into Canada), but no dice.

Also, you commit to a 2-year contract. Plus, setting up a .98m (39.5") fiberglass dish can be daunting. However, there is a smaller .90m (35") lighter dish you can use and aiming it was easier than aiming a DISH TV portable because you're just trying to lock in 1 sat.

Finally, there are now automatic HughesNet Gen 5 dishes -- Montana Satellite Supply and Don Marr's website.

For a portable HughesNet Gen 5 system, try Houston Media Systems.

If you need sat service for Alaska and/or Mexico, then go with a Ku-band sat system.

KU-BAND SAT SYSTEMS (iDirect)

If you absolutely must have sat service in Canada and/or Mexico, then this is your guy.

Otherwise, IMHO buying a Ku-band sat system with an iDirect data plan is nuts. They are REALLY slow and REALLY REALLY expensive.

Compare iDirect Data Plans to HughesNet Gen 5 Data Plans -- also check the iDirect speeds and dish sizes required.

Finally, it seems the latest trend in sat systems is to hide prices and make you call so they can "qualify" you.

Try Montana Satellite instead.

About my "dirty" gas tank . . .

I know RV gens are supposed to stop when the RV's gas tank gets low. But how low?

On my former RV (a 2001 Newmar DP, Kirk), that was 1/4 tank. If the tank level dropped below that, my generator would stop.

Apparently, the generator on my current RV (a 2001 National RV Sea View), is set to stop at a much higher level -- maybe 3/4 full.

To test this, I filled my RV's gas tank and tried starting the generator in the gas station. The generator started and ran just fine. I left it running on the way home (about 10 miles away). However, on the way home we went down a steep hill and the generator stopped.

So it looks like someone ran a new fuel line from the generator to the gas tank, but didn't insert the line very far into the tank.

Well, at least it only took 3 generator fuel pump replacements.

1 hour ago, bruce t said:

Good sensible logic and capitalism . . .

Now that's an oxymoron.

In 2019 we came in from the east side and stayed at a KOA.