Pursuing A Fresher Course

Our life has gotten a lot simpler over the course of the past year.

Getting to the point of a lot simpler has been a heck of a process. It hasn’t been an easy one but it has certainly been worth it. It takes a lot of work to go from what was to what is, especially when what is follows a direction that is so contrary toward the ideals of what was. It has also taken time … a good bit of time … to get all the proverbial ducks swimming in a straight row.

The only major thing that is running interference with our quest for simplicity, at this point in our adventure, is finishing up the remaining weeks of employment at the far side of the county. The long commute is winding down in a hurry. Spinning the hamster wheel is very soon to be a thing of the past where we are concerned.

We will, once the commute is behind us, retire into what we call the perpetual camper lifestyle.

The lifestyle suits us. It may not be the preferred cup of tea for everyone but it suits us like finely tailored clothes.

The 12’ X 24’ tarp makes a great awning for Fred.

I pondered for a while on the best way to attach the tarp. The idea that kept sticking in my head was to use eye-screws on the driver’s side as attachment points. We tried it but didn’t like it. The easiest, and best, way we discovered was to simply stake the tarp to the ground on the driver’s side and pull it over the top. I stake the tarp a few feet out from the van. That allows for ventilation, makes for privacy, and keeps the sun off the side windows.

The awning poles are made from 2” Schedule 40 PVC pipe. 

The center pole is 7’ tall. The two side poles are 6’ tall. The coupler is glued only onto the bottom half so the poles come apart for storage when traveling. I drilled the top caps and inserted and nutted stainless steel carriage bolts to make the pins. The caps are glued on. I thought about saving a few nickels and leave off the bottom caps but decided the few nickels would be nickels well spent. The bottom caps keep dirt from getting clogged in the bottoms then making its way into the van.

The last thing to setting up, and the first thing to taking down, is to attach the tie-down ropes to the front and back bumpers. The tarp can’t flap on top of the van when the wind blows. The added contour to the tarp assists in water running off when it rains.

Our solar generator is a 100 Watt package deal that we got from Renogy.

The solar thing isn’t complicated unless you are trying to understand the ins and outs of the technology. Nor is it expensive. Not in comparison to the cost of solar in the early days.

I think there are two primary issues regarding a solar set-up for a van.

The first is to determine just how much of the sun’s free power you need. 

Our need is simple and easily supplied by the solar set-up we’ve chosen. The 100 Watt panel converts sunlight to 12 Volt current then feeds it through the charge controller to the 122 Amp Hour deep cycle marine battery.

The second is the power inverter. 

Modified Sine Wave or Pure Sine Wave? 

Modified inverters are quite inexpensive. Pure costs significantly more. Our need involves powering sensitive electronic devices. Considering the devastating effect that Modified Sine Wave can have on sensitive electronic devices, it made good sense to go ahead and spend the bucks for a Pure Sine Wave inverter. What we have is a 400 Watt inverter that supplies more than enough clean AC current to meet our need.

We had a real treat last week.

Dan and Brenda spent a few days with us.

We crossed paths with Dan and Brenda on Facebook. The crossing was one of those events where a life-long relationship budded. It was great to finally be able to spend some quality face-to-face time with them and we look forward to meeting up with them again out there on the road somewhere once we pull the trigger and take the big leap.