I think I'm about to start an ER van life (SUV life?) - checklist question

[ocean view]

My DH bought these items recently for his car camping adventures:

SUV Awning: KingCamp Awning Sun Shelter SUV Tent Auto Canopy Portable Camper Trailer Tent Roof Top Car Shelter for Beach, SUV, MPV, Hatchback, Minivan, Sedan, Camping, Outdoor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4CQLY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_GWPWRQGVWY8X8M958QNQ

Rechargeable battery powered clip on fan:
OPOLAR Rechargeable Battery Operated Clip on Fan 5000mAh, Upgraded Quieter & Stronger Wind USB Desk Fan, Strong Hold Personal Portable Fan for Stroller, Golf Cart, Treadmill, Beach, Camping tent https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QR2BJVC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_47YRS2C1K1ACA72ZW032

LED camping lantern for use inside the car. It’s surprisingly small.
LED Camping Lantern Rechargeable, 280LM, 3 Light Modes, 3000mAh Power Bank, Waterproof, Perfect Mini Flashlight with Magnetic Base for Hurricane Emergency, Outdoor, Hiking, Home and Car by LE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AW7Q1EO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NB3VER6A0JVXWBYSXF48

He also bought reflectix to fill the windows for privacy and so he’s not waking a dawn every day.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Taking a shower wherever I go is considered essential gear.
We always take pair of wooden grates and a jug with perforated cap. Fill the jug with warm water and go...... when finished, step over to the dry grate to towel off and dress.
Now on to happy hour.

 

[tenant13]

My DH bought these items recently for his car camping adventures:

SUV Awning: KingCamp Awning Sun Shelter SUV Tent Auto Canopy Portable Camper Trailer Tent Roof Top Car Shelter for Beach, SUV, MPV, Hatchback, Minivan, Sedan, Camping, Outdoor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4CQLY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_GWPWRQGVWY8X8M958QNQ

Rechargeable battery powered clip on fan:
OPOLAR Rechargeable Battery Operated Clip on Fan 5000mAh, Upgraded Quieter & Stronger Wind USB Desk Fan, Strong Hold Personal Portable Fan for Stroller, Golf Cart, Treadmill, Beach, Camping tent https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QR2BJVC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_47YRS2C1K1ACA72ZW032

LED camping lantern for use inside the car. It’s surprisingly small.
LED Camping Lantern Rechargeable, 280LM, 3 Light Modes, 3000mAh Power Bank, Waterproof, Perfect Mini Flashlight with Magnetic Base for Hurricane Emergency, Outdoor, Hiking, Home and Car by LE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AW7Q1EO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NB3VER6A0JVXWBYSXF48

He also bought reflectix to fill the windows for privacy and so he’s not waking a dawn every day.

I looked the Awning and while it seems really cool once set up, I probably would throw a fit trying to put that up lol - there's a lot of steps.

 

[teetee]

Avoid using those solid state thermoelectric 12v coolers/chillers. They are on all the time and can consume more energy than the proper camping fridge. People think those coolers only cool things and they don't have a motor comoressor so they should use less energy. It is the opposite. A proper fridge can lower the temperature below freezing and can mean less chance to get food poisoning.

 

[tenant13]

Taking a shower wherever I go is considered essential gear.
We always take pair of wooden grates and a jug with perforated cap. Fill the jug with warm water and go...... when finished, step over to the dry grate to towel off and dress.
Now on to happy hour.

I found this It seems like what you're more or less describing.

 

[tenant13]

Avoid using those solid state thermoelectric 12v coolers/chillers. They are on all the time and can consume more energy than the proper camping fridge. People think those coolers only cool things and they don't have a motor comoressor so they should use less energy. It is the opposite. A proper fridge can lower the temperature below freezing and can mean less chance to get food poisoning.

That's what I suspected. I may be fine with a small cooler and a sealed icepack so I don't deal with draining it. Maybe something like this? I don't think I need a bigger one and this looks simple and solid.

 

[teetee]

That's what I suspected. I may be fine with a small cooler and a sealed icepack so I don't deal with draining it. Maybe something like this? I don't think I need a bigger one and this looks simple and solid.

Too many complaints about the early retirement for the straps and handle. Cheap material may not destroy its functionality but can certainly reduce it's portability.
Perhaps look into Yeti or Coleman brands and see which model has no complaints other than user errors.

 

[Boho]

A van with steel walls inside won't protect you from lightening and needs to have the walls upholstered.

Well, according to https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths "Don't lean on doors during a thunderstorm." So maybe you're safe inside with bare steel walls if you don't touch them. This still leaves me wondering how much safer upholstered walls and doors are if you're touching one when the car is struck. I still want upholstery in my fantasy van.

 

[JRon]

this? Wouldn't it drain the battery when I'm not driving?

We bought something very similar for road trips and love it. We cool it down in the house before we leave and it barely runs while driving. We leave it plugged in for short stops with no issue and at night take it into the hotel. If stop for a few hours we unplug it and it keeps the temp really well until we start up and plug it in again.

 

[NW-Bound]

Taking a shower wherever I go is considered essential gear.
We always take pair of wooden grates and a jug with perforated cap. Fill the jug with warm water and go...... when finished, step over to the dry grate to towel off and dress.
Now on to happy hour.

Surely the above works, but one wonders if that is a 1-gal jug or a 2 or 5-gal one. Makes a world of difference.


Finally, is something else missing? Like a modesty curtain?

 

[Sunset]

I cut cardboard to fit the windows of my van.
I found even though the windows are tinted and there are built in privacy shades, the early morning sun was too bright, along with other car headlights if I was sleeping in a parking lot.
Cardboard worked well, cut it to just jam in place, and they all stack against each other without taking up too much room.
I used a black cloth hanging off a bungee cord stretched across the van inside about where the front seats end, so no need to block off front windows.

 

[NW-Bound]

... As to coolers: you think Yeti is good enough or should I try something like this? Wouldn't it drain the battery when I'm not driving?

That Alpicool is a true fridge/freezer with a 12V compressor, and not the cheaper cooler type with a thermoelectric Peltier device.

In recent years, Chinese makers have flooded the market with inexpensive portable fridges with a 12V compressor pumping real freon. I have been thinking about getting one for my motorhome to supplement its propane-burning absorption fridge. I would pay more to get the largest one in this breed, around 60L (2 cu.ft.)

About power consumption, one reviewer claimed he clocked this small 20L unit at 200Wh/day when the ambient temperature is in the 70s. This is not bad, but I would not risk it running down the starting battery. I would run it off a separate utility battery, which gets recharged from the alternator when the car is driven.

PS. You can use a portable power station like the Goal Zero Yeti 500x to run this fridge, and also to provide power for other electronic devices. The Yeti 500x has an internal lithium battery, which costs more than a lead-acid battery but stores more power and has a longer life.

See: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085KRMCCY/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Surely the above works, but one wonders if that is a 1-gal jug or a 2 or 5-gal one. Makes a world of difference.


Finally, is something else missing? Like a modesty curtain?

A single gallon is enough for us to get a decent shower, any more would be too heavy to lift over your head. The trick is to save most of the water for the rinse and size the cap holes to get the right flow.

If a person needs more, a unit like the one tenant linked would be the better setup.
When traveling in minimalist mode, we are usually camping in the wild - no curtain necessary. In less developed campgrounds like Chisos Basin @ Big Bend, Organ Pipe NM, Guadalupe Mountains NP, Berlin/Ichthyosaur SP etc...we use an insty-shade and tarp configuration for privacy and all weather function. Also, most formal campgrounds have grey water rules so we bring a shallow basin to house one of the grates to capture run off.

 

[Fermion]

PS. You can use a portable power station like the Goal Zero Yeti 500x to run this fridge, and also to provide power for other electronic devices. The Yeti 500x has an internal lithium battery, which costs more than a lead-acid battery but stores more power and has a longer life.

See: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085KRMCCY/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Yes on the Yeti, but I would say get a 1000. Our Yeti 1000 is now 4 years old and still holding a great charge after hundreds of cycles. It can even power a shop vac! Costco used to sometimes have them for $800, which isn't much more than that 500x. They also sometimes have the 3000 for a good deal...last year they had it for I think $2400 with 200 watts of matching solar, which was a super good deal.

Edit: looking now though, maybe Costco doesn't carry it anymore. They are so fickle with product.

 

[folivier]

For a shower you can take a regular 1 gallon garden sprayer, take the long nozzle off, add a longer hose if you want, then heat some water, wet down, soap down, rinse off. Simple, cheap and easy solution.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Yes on the Yeti, but I would say get a 1000. Our Yeti 1000 is now 4 years old and still holding a great charge after hundreds of cycles. It can even power a shop vac! Costco used to sometimes have them for $800, which isn't much more than that 500x. They also sometimes have the 3000 for a good deal...last year they had it for I think $2400 with 200 watts of matching solar, which was a super good deal.

Edit: looking now though, maybe Costco doesn't carry it anymore. They are so fickle with product.

It would be easy enough to make your own.

This 80AH LiFePO4 battery with built in BMS and included charger is comparable to the Yeti 1000, just add an inverter sized to the need.


https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-Phos...b29c92&pd_rd_wg=HV2UH&pd_rd_i=B08LD7PP8N&th=1

 

[newlyold]

Consider your bucket list of things to do, places to visit, and do the most strenuous first--while you have the energy. Of course, this assumes that the rest of the world gets on board with defeating the pandemic by getting everyone vaccinated, and everyone wearing masks that cover their nose. But once travel is safer / allowed for tourism, knock out those toughest goals first.

A friend who's ten years older than me set a goal of climbing the world's 50 highest mountains by the time she reached aged 50--and she DID IT!

She leveraged her work skills to allow her to retire early, comfortably, and let her employer know she was open to filling their specialty needs if they wanted to occasionally reach out to her. Her employer's a multi-national electronics conglomerate, and the next thing I new was getting mail from her via New Zealand--she was working in Antarctica at McMurdo Station for the local summer, doing her former employer's tasks happily in a fun new place.

She retired again after a few months there, with wonderful pictures of penguins and other sea life. But a couple of years later her employer called her up again, asking her to please come back to work for them. She said "What do you have in places I've not yet been?" They said "Well, you've been to Antarctica, but you never made it to the South Pole. We need an H.R. person there who can do accounting. Would you like to try it?" And of course, she said "Of COURSE!" What followed was new friends and many more pictures and stories.

Eventually she wrote a book about her world travels, and I'm happy to say she dedicated a page just to me, with a single sentence quote from an e-mail I'd sent to her in admiration.

Be like her. Find your biggest dreams and make them happen first. Save the little dreams that are close to home for when you don't get around as easily. For now, do what your health allows. Surf that wave, hike that canyon or mountain, learn Korean and take cooking classes IN KOREA. Spend a week or a month in Tromso Norway and photograph the Aurora Borealis taking place right overhead in the winter months, or explore the area 7x24 while the sun never sets in the summer.

Dum vivimus vivamus!

 

[pb4uski]

Dunno if they do this anymore, but when we were campling we used ice blocks rather than ice cubes and the ice blocks seems to last a lot longer than ice cubes.

 

[Fermion]

It would be easy enough to make your own.

I mean yes you can make your own but I think it will be a folly like back when people were making their own solar panels from bare cells to save money. Not worth it imo when you can buy a compact, tested complete unit with warranty for not much more.

Remember the inverter in a yeti 1000 is pure sine, 1500 watt continuous, 3000 watt surge. This is not a $50 inverter.

 

[NW-Bound]

It would be easy enough to make your own.

This 80AH LiFePO4 battery with built in BMS and included charger is comparable to the Yeti 1000, just add an inverter sized to the need.

https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-Phos...b29c92&pd_rd_wg=HV2UH&pd_rd_i=B08LD7PP8N&th=1

There ya go!

For the electronics to go with a LiFePO4 12V battery, may I suggest the PIP1012LV-MS from MPP Solar in Taiwan. It incorporates 1) a 1-kW pure sine wave inverter, 2) a 40A MPPT solar charger that can accept solar panels with output voltage up to 102V, and 3) an AC charger of 20A.

Price is $385 including shipping from Taiwan. I currently have 4 larger inverters of 2.4 kW each from this company. There are a few things I do not like about them, but for the money they work great for my off-grid home solar system. MPP Solar is a very popular brand used by many off-grid solar system builders in Australia. I learned about this brand from a DIY forum.

And by the way, my home solar system has a DIY 34 kWh lithium battery. For the motorhome, I have 3 Lithionics LiFePO4 batteries of 12V 100Ah each.

 

[Fermion]

Careful. I noticed that battery you linked is not rated for very high discharge. I think it might even be a 50 amp BMS which means you are not going to power a 1000 watt inverter, much less a 1500 watt inverter like the Goal Zero Yeti has.

With a 50 amp continuous discharge maximum, you *might* be able to power a 400 watt inverter after accounting for losses.

Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to "roll you own", and this is coming from a EE who likes to experiment.

 

[spncity]

We built an RV (from scratch!)

So as not to hijack - please look for my comment on your Finally finished our homebuilt RV! thread. Thx.

 

[spncity]

Our kiddo went on a 3+ month trip around the country sleeping in the car and tent. By going to or being in a park, free campground, or attraction, one could find an outlet and cook oatmeal for breakfast or other things for dinner in a hotpot.

Example - search Amazon for: Electric Hot Pot, Mini Ramen Cooker, Noodles Pot

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Careful. I noticed that battery you linked is not rated for very high discharge. I think it might even be a 50 amp BMS which means you are not going to power a 1000 watt inverter, much less a 1500 watt inverter like the Goal Zero Yeti has.

With a 50 amp continuous discharge maximum, you *might* be able to power a 400 watt inverter after accounting for losses.

Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to "roll you own", and this is coming from a EE who likes to experiment.

This thread was talking about modest power needs - electronics, 12v fridge, fan etc.., so the battery I linked should be fine.
I just matched the amp hour equivalent to the Yeti 1000 - You are right, not a perfect match.

If a person needs more watts @ 120v, then they could step up to the 100AH model with the BMS delivering 100amps for about $80 more.
I have a very similar model to that one paired to this 1500W inverter (link).
I have tested it to 1000W continuous with no problems.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SWHS5FN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

 

[tenant13]

Consider your bucket list of things to do, places to visit, and do the most strenuous first--while you have the energy. Of course, this assumes that the rest of the world gets on board with defeating the pandemic by getting everyone vaccinated, and everyone wearing masks that cover their nose. But once travel is safer / allowed for tourism, knock out those toughest goals first.

A friend who's ten years older than me set a goal of climbing the world's 50 highest mountains by the time she reached aged 50--and she DID IT!

She leveraged her work skills to allow her to retire early, comfortably, and let her employer know she was open to filling their specialty needs if they wanted to occasionally reach out to her. Her employer's a multi-national electronics conglomerate, and the next thing I new was getting mail from her via New Zealand--she was working in Antarctica at McMurdo Station for the local summer, doing her former employer's tasks happily in a fun new place.

She retired again after a few months there, with wonderful pictures of penguins and other sea life. But a couple of years later her employer called her up again, asking her to please come back to work for them. She said "What do you have in places I've not yet been?" They said "Well, you've been to Antarctica, but you never made it to the South Pole. We need an H.R. person there who can do accounting. Would you like to try it?" And of course, she said "Of COURSE!" What followed was new friends and many more pictures and stories.

Eventually she wrote a book about her world travels, and I'm happy to say she dedicated a page just to me, with a single sentence quote from an e-mail I'd sent to her in admiration.

Be like her. Find your biggest dreams and make them happen first. Save the little dreams that are close to home for when you don't get around as easily. For now, do what your health allows. Surf that wave, hike that canyon or mountain, learn Korean and take cooking classes IN KOREA. Spend a week or a month in Tromso Norway and photograph the Aurora Borealis taking place right overhead in the winter months, or explore the area 7x24 while the sun never sets in the summer.

Dum vivimus vivamus!

Definite yes to all of that - in spirit. I'm not as ambitious as your friend when it comes to my bucket list. While she decided to climb the tallest mountains of the world I'm just looking for the tallest rollercoasters

I couldn't agree more about the most strenuous things being done first. I was going to go through my non-US travel checklist first and leave the road trip for later but the world is still not open enough for vagabonding so it is what it is. I'll try to make the best of the situation.