New Solar & other toys to play with

What would a good vacation be without new toys to test out and play with?!!  Yes, I kept my UPS man plenty busy in the couple of weeks before I headed out.  The biggest purchase was my solar system!

Actually, this pic is a combination of solar items—the panels are the new purchases, the little black gizmo at the corner of my lawn mat is the solar recharger for my LED rope lights that I’ve had a few years now. They put out quite a few hours of light at night and are great when boondocking!


Now, back to those new solar panels…  It took a few years to finally decide that I needed them (ultimately, yes, I’d prefer to keep my quiet little spot in the wilderness quiet and keep my loud and smelly generator use to a minimum).  The next decision was to determine mounting.  I had read a very intriguing post by Jim over at Imperfect Destiny last year that really made a portable system look quite appealing, so for now, I’m following his ideas and will keep them portable.   This decision worked out great for my Imp Lake campsite above (where my RV was mostly in shade all day)!
I initially ordered a pair of 100 watt Grape Solar panels from Costco (just like the ones AM Solar sells).  Perfectly fine panels, but at nearly 18 lbs each, they just felt a bit too heavy and big for me to realistically carry in and out of the View.  So more internet searching revealed these 60 watt panels with built-in tilt bars—less than 13 lbs each and a bit smaller too.

While it takes 2 of these panels to equal 1 of the Grapes, I still felt the smaller/lighter handling of each panel would be worth it for me in the long run (I stow these bungeed together in the View’s overhead bunk area). 
The panels use standard MC4 solar connectors with 2 joiners to run them in parallel.

For the inside part of the system, I got a Morningstar Sunsaver MPPT controller and a RM1 remote meter from Northern Arizona Solar.  

The meter is a bit confusing (as the documentation doesn’t fully match what appears on the read-outs), and the battery monitor portion does not seem nearly as robust as the Tri-metric meter that Jim and many others use.  But for now, it’s an improvement over my previous bare-bones voltmeter, and seems to be showing a pretty good display of amp hours being sent to the battery bank by the solar panels, so it will do fine for now.

I wasn’t using much power when I was at Imp Lake (didn’t need to run the furnace, and the days were long and sunny), so the 120 watts of solar were easily able to recharge my batteries each day.  But I plan to buy 2 more of these panels before any winter snowbird boondocking (so I’ll have a total of 240 watts).   My idea right now is to conventionally mount 2 of them on the roof, and then leave 2 of them portable to tilt and point where ever needed.  But if I get tired of carrying the portable panels in and out, I can always decide to add them to the roof as well.
Last winter, I noticed my 1-year-old Sam’s Club 6v golf cart batteries not holding a charge as well as they did originally (I must have let them get too low a few times), so I decided to move up to AGM batteries to no longer worry about refilling water in the batteries.  Lifeline batteries are the most highly-regarded (and most expensive), but I decided to try these $160 6 volt Duracells first to see if they might last longer than my Sam’s Club batteries.  So far, so good on this trip!


Now on for my two new favorite additions--
I posted last year about using 2 self-inflating camp mattresses to make the View’s jackknife sofa bed more comfortable and even.  They did a fine job, but could sometimes be a bit too firm and not contour to my body the way a real mattress would (I sleep on my sides).  The camp mattresses also weighed 6 lbs each and were pretty bulky to stow when not in use.  I happened to run across this new interesting backpacker’s mat a few weeks ago and couldn’t wait to try it out!

It’s a Big Agnes Clearview Air Pad and deflates down into a tiny stuffsack about the size of a small coffee can and weighs just over 1 pound.  At first, I wasn’t too sure about it.  The clear rubbery plastic didn’t look that sturdy and it’s not self-inflating (you can use a 12v air pump or simply blow into the open screw valve to inflate it).  But after one night…wow!  This little pad is THE BOMB!  Just the right amount of cushiony air, and the slender long air chambers very nicely “give” to your body’s shape for a good night’s sleep.  The texture is slightly rubbery so the pad doesn’t move around as much as the previous mats either.  Topping it off with my 2” memory foam squares (cut so they fit into 4 pillowcases and can top the bed at night or sofa during the day),  and combined with my Travasak sheets/comforter, made for the most comfortable nights sleep I’ve ever had in the View!
My final new toy to play with on this trip was an updated Verizon 4G Mifi 4620 cellular modem.  The previous “1st generation” 4G Mifi got lots of complaints from users saying it constantly needed to be rebooted and was never keeping a connection reliably (especially when going from 3G to 4G signals).  Well, this new 2nd generation Mifi performed flawlessly!  No reboots, no flakey connections and never a need to hook up my external Wilson antenna to improve signal strength.  I’ve been a very happy camper working with this new Mifi on the road!

Boondocking Tip – Getting a quick water refill

All RVs come with different tank sizes and filling capabilities.  For my 2008 View, it’s Fresh Water, Black, and Gray tanks are all about equally sized.  What this means in real-world use (when I’m the only one using them) is that my Black tank can go well over a week between dumps, my Gray tank up to about week, but my Fresh Water tank is usuually needing re-filling after 4 or 5 days.  If I’m camping without hook-ups (i.e. “boondocking”), that either means I must limit my stay to 4 days, or figure out how to get more fresh water into my tank during my stay.

Some trailers and RVs have a Gravity Fill water inlet allowing one to fill a water jug, and then just pour the water into the Gravity Fill spout to refill the tank.  My model Winnebago View does not have one of these…so what to do?  Well, fortunately, Winnebago did include a winterizing tube and valve.  Then, the smart folks on the View-Navion Yahoo Groups site offered the creative solution.

If your RV happens to have the same kind of setup, this can work for your boondocking water refills as well.  Here’s the step-by-step of how to do it:

1. Get a jug or two for carrying your fresh water. I bought this 7 gallon one at Wal-Mart, but just about anything with a wide-mouth fill should work fine.

 

2. Locate your Winterizer fill hose and valve. For my 2008 model H View, mine is located beneath the floor of my rear exterior storage compartment. The winterizing hose is the clear tube running parallel to the left of the blue swimming noodle (I use that to minimize vibration/noise of the water lines when the water pump is running).

3. Remove the cap from the end of the winterizing hose.

4. Place the winterizing hose into your water jug (ideally so that the hose inlet rests on the bottom of the jug).

5. Turn your winterizing bypass valve on (so that it now accepts water from the inlet hose rather than the main water fill line).

6. Now go to your water fill lever (mine is located in my external utilities compartment) and flip the lever from “Normal” to “Tank Fill”. If your water pump is turned off, flip the Water Pump switch “On”. You’ll immediately hear the pump start filling water from the jug. I usually go back to monitor the inlet hose and jug while it is pumping to ensure that all water is “sucked in” from the jug.

7. When finished, turn the Water Pump off.  If your tank needs more water, simply go refill the jug, place the inlet hose in it again and turn the Water Pump back on. Once the tank is filled, set the Water valve back to “Normal”, turn the winterizer bypass valve “Off” and re-cap/re-stow the winterizer hose….you’re done!

Imp Lake–now even better!

After stopping for a night at a commercial campground in Eagle River to dump tanks and refill water, Millie and I headed north 30 miles into the central U.P. to my all-time favorite campground, Imp Lake, discovered during my 2010 trip up north.
Arriving on an early Friday morning, I thought I might have a good chance of getting one of the prime lakefront sites at this no-reservation USFS campground.   My 2010 site (site 19) was occupied, but as luck would have it, the bigger (and even better) site right next to it was available, site 20!  This one had a nice shady spot for the View, a nice big grassy lawn for Millie, and pretty pine trees framing a gorgeous view of the lake.  I promptly pulled out my lawn chair and enjoyed the sunny day!


One of my dear T@B camping friends, Judi, had given me a cute camping flag over the winter, and this site seemed just perfect for it’s saying “Just another day in paradise”!  Thanks again Judi!


I originally only planned to stay at Imp Lake for the weekend, as I remembered the last time here, cell coverage was faint to non-existent.  Well, not so this time-- I now got a strong Verizon 3G signal!  So, I extended my stay an extra 2 nights.
I thought about driving around the U.P. to tour some of the area waterfalls,or going over to nearby Sylvania Wilderness Area to paddle their lakes, but in the end, I just couldn’t seem to leave my wonderful spot! 
Millie went swimming and I went paddling every day.  One evening, I unwisely decided to let Millie swim before going paddling—what a mess that made in the boat!  Another night, the water was as still and smooth as mirrored glass—to top it off, the loons were out fishing and calling as well.

The Imp Lake Trail was just as delightful a hike as it had been in 2010.  Lots of interesting mushrooms and lichen to photograph.  I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to do the trail the next day after the afternoon thunderstorms had gone through…well, at least, I thought the last of them had gone through!!!
I wore my quick-dry cargo pants and waterproof windbreaker jacket, so at least I wasn’t totally unprepared.  But, the quick little bursts of rain from the afternoon were nothing like the monsoon that now opened up on us!  All I could do was find a spot on the trail that looked the most densely-covered, and just wait it out.  Poor Millie was soaked and miserable!  But the rains did make for some excellent photos afterwards!  Here are a few things we found in the forest--


The rest of the time was spend just simply lounging.  Millie spent most of her time sleeping out in the cool green grass


While I spent hours just looking and listening to the lake—ah, sweet Imp Lake!

Revisiting my first RV campsite

I first visited lovely little Cunard Lake in August of 2004.  It’s a small, rustic campground that’s part of the Northern Highland American Legion (NHAL) State Forest near Minocqua in north central Wisconsin.  The picture above was taken from my lakeside campsite during that trip, and I was hooked on RVing from then on!
That first trip was quite a learning experience, though!  Here was my fancy, schmancy setup:

After a wonderful (but very cold and wet) tent camping trip up into northern Ontario earlier that summer, I decided that I was ready to spend the “big bucks” on my first RV, a Starcraft pop-up tent trailer.  I firmly believed, at the time, that it would be all the RV I’d ever need, and really had to convince myself that this “tent on wheels” (which also happened to have a toilet/shower, furnace, and kitchen) was worth nearly $9000 more than my humble REI tent.

I was pretty sure I had remembered all the dealer had taught me about how to “pop-up” the trailer, and I proudly hitched it to my SUV all by myself and headed towards Wisconsin.  With no campsite reserved, I wisely determined that the NHAL area would be my best (and only) bet for weekend camping since it’s the only area in Wisconsin with a few hundred “first come first served” sites across various lakeside campgrounds in the region.
I arrived at Cunard Lake and saw that all lake view campsites were taken except for one, so I took it!  It was an awkward and rather unlevel site, but I figured I had “levelers” on my camper, so that wouldn’t be a problem….
So, I got to cranking…and cranking!  Once the rear “levelers” had nearly lifted the wheels off the ground, I realized “oh, these aren’t really levelers—these are just stabilizers not meant to hold the weight of the camper’s axel and wheels!”  Rookie RVing mistake # 1.   Forturnately, I only managed to bend up the door frame a little bit (and nothing worse).



After I finally managed to get the camper all set up, the rest of the weekend was glorious.  I remember falling asleep to the sound of loons calling on the lake, and the paddling was wonderful on this no-motor lake.
Fast-forward 9 years.  The View had spent all summer in my driveway untouched as I’ve been busy working and planning a big home remodeling project.  It was a hot HOT summer in Chicago and I was ready for a get-away.  But where?  I didn’t have enough time to do the really big Canadian trips on my bucket list (the Maritimes or the Canadian Rockies).  So, I decided to re-visit my favorite Northwoods and Great Lakes campsites instead!
I arrived to Cunard Lake this time, with my much more capable View, and amusing myself that I ever thought a $9000 pop-up camper was “all the RV I’d ever need”….ha!  Just as before, all the lake view sites were taken except for one…THE exact same one I’d had before!  Fortunately, I’ve learned a thing or two about leveling an RV since then, so I was able to make the odd-shaped, un-level site work (so glad to have a short motorhome that I could easily position for a perfect lake view!).


I had excellent Verizon 3G coverage from my site and just LOVED my new “office with a view” layout—I can’t believe how much more comfortable and functional the View has become now that I’ve removed the dinette table and put in the swivel-rocking office chair.  So comfy to prop my feet up on one of the dinette benches, gaze out the window, and compute away…and get paid for it!


This was Millie’s first trip to Cunard Lake, and with one word (“swimming”?), she quickly found the path down to the lake.


Millie has a favorite toy that we use for swimming, and her routine is to always try and snatch it away whenever I go to pick it up…she usually succeeds!  Here’s a little video of her afternoon fun--

Millie Swims Cunard Lake

After Millie got to do her fun activity, I got to do mine—paddling!  The lake was peaceful with lots of lily pads.  Saw a few small frogs on this morning paddle, but the loons were apparently over at the next lake looking for their breakfast.

On our final evening, the skies were clear so I thought I’d try some star trail photography.  I set my cable release to take a 30 second exposure every minute for about 3 hours. 


Still learning how to process these correctly, and I honestly think I like just one of the single exposures better, but it was fun new thing to try out!