The principal type of refrigeration used in an RV is propane for off grid, and AC for campgrounds, and some use DC to keep it cool while traveling.
I have a propane and gas type fridge. My solar panels and batteries are working out so well that I occasionally use my inverter to run it off AC during sunny days when my batteries are fully charged.
I am confident that if I substituted an efficient compressor type fridge I could run it entirely off DC electric and save on propane. At present, it seems foolish to remove a good working refrigerator and replace it with an expensive one. At some point I may do this.
Another option for me is to add an Engle Freezer which runs off of a DC compressor. I want more freezer capacity, so this seems like the way to go in the short term. I have one locker that is a good size for small Engle. So I will probably buy one after all the other core issues are addressed on my camper.
At present I only have a few more things I want to add to the camper.
1) Repair my jacks--cheap part, but I'm not sure how to fix this yet.
2) Repair my hot water heater--circuit board due in on Monday.
3) Adding Air Conditioning for when I have a place to plug in.
4) Making a few minor wiring changes.
Future ideas to reduce propane needs:
5) Solar Hot Water Panel
6) Compresser Freezer
7) Compressor Fridge/Freezer replacement
8) Diesel heater with circulation fans for basement.
How I found an inexpensive Bigfoot M-30-C-10.3 Camper and upgraded it for off-grid boondocking.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Internet and TV Access while Traveling
Internet Access: The most important thing to me while traveling in Internet
access. I like to keep up with the news, watch some NetFlix, and I do a lot of web research into various topics like auto and boat restoration, and I do all my shopping online.
Cell Phone Based Internet: Probably the best way to get internet access while traveling is on your phone. I have an iPhone and unlimited data, but if I want to tether to my laptop or iPad, I'd have to pay another $30 per month for this. Nonsense! I could buy a data package for a MiFi for the same price. Or I could Jailbreak my phone--I'm not interesting in doing this either.
MiFi: So what I decided to do is buy a Verizon 4G MiFi that will accept an external marine antenna. I mounted a marine antenna on a marine type swivel base with an extension post to get it up when when needed, and leave it flipped down, out of the way, most of the time, where it will probably work great as it is much better than a tiny internal antenna. Then I'll swap in my iPhone SIM card into it when needed. I picked up a nano SIM to SIM adapter for the MiFi.
VOIP: I plan to experiment using Google Voice for phone calls, and Google Hangouts. If that works for me, then I won't need to swap the card back and forth so much.
Backup Phone: Another option is to buy a cheap flip phone and add another phone to my calling plan. That would only cost be $10 more a month. I like the idea of having a second phone, in case one breaks, I have another option.
If the combination of MiFi based Internet, and VOIP works out well, I may try and cut the cord with land based services like cable TV, POTS land line telephone, and cable based broadband internet.
Other Options:
Over The Air (OTA) TV: When I installed an aerial TV antenna and tested it out. It turns out I can get the major networks in HD TV along with a couple of other interesting channels, along with many junky and repeat channels that are uninteresting--Spanish, French, Korean, and Chinese, Black Entertainment, and Home Shopping--all of which would gladly delete. Aside from the many new channels I don't like, the only major difference is the main networks are now in High Definition.
RV TV: For TV in my camper I have been using my camper TiVo linked by WiFi to my house TiVo to transfer a few programs and movies, coupled with NetFlix. Given the low content quality of broadcast TV, I'm not sure I want a TV antenna. OTA, might be useful for the news, but I hate commercial so much that I doubt that I'd watch it without a DVR. I get news mostly through the Internet. One thing I learned was the OTA programming is duplicated, so you only need to be near or pointed towards one major city to get the principal networks. There is no need to put up a huge antenna on a camper. A small one will probably work fine, and rarely be used.
Satellite TV: I am considering satellite TV through Dish or Direct TV. Dish has the advantage of being able to switch it off when you are not using it. Direct TV allows you to stream recordings from your home DVR to a remote box via Internet link--so without an Internet link you have nothing. I'm leaning towards Dish, but by no means in a hurry to add this. I don't think I need it. I'm just as happy listening to music and reading for entertainment.
Satellite Internet: My research into this shows that it costs about $75 a month, and adding a second feed horn for TV is not that much more. These systems used cost about at much as an in-motion TV setup. I have little interest in in motion TV except that I could listen to music through it and listen to cable news networks. Satellite Internet is more interesting to me than satellite TV. I'd like to know how well it works for streaming NetFlix. These system take a few minutes to unfold and align themselves with a satellite and are a bit more work to get working. I am in no hurry to add this capability as I have yet to be anywhere my phone 4G does not work, if not on 4G, then on 3G. One possible exception might be in Canada. If Satellite Internet works in Canada, then I would strongly consider it.
Antenna Mounts: A popular way to get an antenna up high is to use a painters extension pole.
Cell Phone Based Internet: Probably the best way to get internet access while traveling is on your phone. I have an iPhone and unlimited data, but if I want to tether to my laptop or iPad, I'd have to pay another $30 per month for this. Nonsense! I could buy a data package for a MiFi for the same price. Or I could Jailbreak my phone--I'm not interesting in doing this either.
MiFi: So what I decided to do is buy a Verizon 4G MiFi that will accept an external marine antenna. I mounted a marine antenna on a marine type swivel base with an extension post to get it up when when needed, and leave it flipped down, out of the way, most of the time, where it will probably work great as it is much better than a tiny internal antenna. Then I'll swap in my iPhone SIM card into it when needed. I picked up a nano SIM to SIM adapter for the MiFi.
Cable to connect MiFi to Amp. Requires SMA to FME adapter as does the cable to connect the antenna. Shorter cables reduce signal losses which are quite high at these radio frequencies.
Wilson Amplifier
Stainless Marine Mount.
Antenna up.
Antenna is travel position.
Backup Phone: Another option is to buy a cheap flip phone and add another phone to my calling plan. That would only cost be $10 more a month. I like the idea of having a second phone, in case one breaks, I have another option.
If the combination of MiFi based Internet, and VOIP works out well, I may try and cut the cord with land based services like cable TV, POTS land line telephone, and cable based broadband internet.
Other Options:
Over The Air (OTA) TV: When I installed an aerial TV antenna and tested it out. It turns out I can get the major networks in HD TV along with a couple of other interesting channels, along with many junky and repeat channels that are uninteresting--Spanish, French, Korean, and Chinese, Black Entertainment, and Home Shopping--all of which would gladly delete. Aside from the many new channels I don't like, the only major difference is the main networks are now in High Definition.
RV TV: For TV in my camper I have been using my camper TiVo linked by WiFi to my house TiVo to transfer a few programs and movies, coupled with NetFlix. Given the low content quality of broadcast TV, I'm not sure I want a TV antenna. OTA, might be useful for the news, but I hate commercial so much that I doubt that I'd watch it without a DVR. I get news mostly through the Internet. One thing I learned was the OTA programming is duplicated, so you only need to be near or pointed towards one major city to get the principal networks. There is no need to put up a huge antenna on a camper. A small one will probably work fine, and rarely be used.
Satellite TV: I am considering satellite TV through Dish or Direct TV. Dish has the advantage of being able to switch it off when you are not using it. Direct TV allows you to stream recordings from your home DVR to a remote box via Internet link--so without an Internet link you have nothing. I'm leaning towards Dish, but by no means in a hurry to add this. I don't think I need it. I'm just as happy listening to music and reading for entertainment.
Satellite Internet: My research into this shows that it costs about $75 a month, and adding a second feed horn for TV is not that much more. These systems used cost about at much as an in-motion TV setup. I have little interest in in motion TV except that I could listen to music through it and listen to cable news networks. Satellite Internet is more interesting to me than satellite TV. I'd like to know how well it works for streaming NetFlix. These system take a few minutes to unfold and align themselves with a satellite and are a bit more work to get working. I am in no hurry to add this capability as I have yet to be anywhere my phone 4G does not work, if not on 4G, then on 3G. One possible exception might be in Canada. If Satellite Internet works in Canada, then I would strongly consider it.
Antenna Mounts: A popular way to get an antenna up high is to use a painters extension pole.
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