Your 10 Favorite Boondocking Accessories?

[7.3diesel]

List the top 10 boondocking accessories & addons -in your opinion- and why.

[vsheetz]

600/800 watts of solar power installed a couple years ago. Quiet, efficient, etc.

[bobandshaz]

Fresh water travel with 5 dogs
Grey water tank larger.
2 more batteries
Solar charger
Auto windshield cleaner
Extra fridge/freezer

[7.3diesel]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

600/800 watts of solar power installed a couple years ago. Quiet, efficient, etc.

COOL! What setup do you have? Brands (panels, batteries, controllers, etc.)? Are you happy with it? If you had to do it again what would you do different, if anything?
Thanks!

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by 7.3diesel

COOL! What setup do you have? Brands (panels, batteries, controllers, etc.)? Are you happy with it? If you had to do it again what would you do different, if anything?
Thanks!

Here are details

[simonsrf]

New motorhome with larger capacity holding tanks, 8K generator, residential refrigerator and freezer.
1600 watts of solar panels/controllers/battery monitors
1200 amps lithium-ion batteries.
56 LED lights
LED night lights/flashlights
Rechargeable AAA & AA batteries
45 gallon fresh water bladder with pump
Auxiliary propane heater plumbed with quick disconnect.
The obvious reason why for all of the above is to stay out longer. Our setup allows us to stay easily for 20 days without needing anything. We usually stay 14.

[Smitty77]

>From X's 2 8D AGM Deka changed over to X's 4 L16 Lifelines for 800AH. (Came close to going the Lithium route, but decided to hold off until next replacement cycle!

>1200W Sharp/Panasonic High Efficiency 48V Solar Panels with Classic 150 controler.

>Grey to Black tank auxiliary pump adds about 25-25 more Grey capacity.

>Stubbed out LP quick disconnect with shut off valve inside the coach, for propane Heat Buddy.

>Bus Kote for added heat reflection for the Southwest.


And my favorite. HiFi upgrades - Got Tubes!?

Best to all, and neat thread to pick up tips from for future opportunities to modify the rig!!
Smitty

[LEMO]

1. solar Panels and extra batteries.
2. 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter.
3. Portable Water Tank W/12 volt pump.
4. Waste Water Tank (aka Blue boy).
5. Extend a Stay propane adapter to connect aux tank.
6. LED Lights.
7. Of course the Gen Set, when needed (Gen Turi mounted to reduce exhaust smell).
8. Solar charging flashlights.
Bet there are other items floating around the MH, I have forgotten about.

Leaving in 2 weeks going South, will be off the Grid for 5 months!

PS: Don't forget DW, Cold Beer and Good Friends!

[sknight]

My list is pretty short.

4X 6V golf cart batteries, series parallel through a two way switch so I can split to either pair if I wish.

1250W inverter.

6gal water tote, 5gal bucket and I use the antifreeze system to draw the water in and pump it into the fresh tank.

Honda EX4500 genset. Quiet, fairly fuel efficient. Not light, not small. I need to work on that part somehow.

Three Streamlight The Seige lanterns. They're simply one of the best camping lanterns made.

Wants for next time.

Solar panels. I need to figure out my actual consumption so I can make sure to match my solar output plus about 30% or so.

More water totes. Walking back and forth to the water source several times sucked.

Aux propane tank. I went through one tank this past week, next year I'm going for two weeks so I at least need another regular tank.

[SkiSmuggs]

Captain Morgan, Coke Zero, Jack Daniels, Diet Ginger Ale.

[Reed Cundiff]

Simonsurf, Smitty 77, LEMO

This is the most information I have found yet on folks that actually have installed LFP on their rigs. Should communicate on this.

We seem to have gone the same direction with LED, solar and LFP (installed or planned). Should like to hear more of your experiences with solar and LFP. There has been very little written so far by users. Most of the folks on the solar fora are dismissive of LFP. The costs are definitely going down.

The one thing that we have installed that is not mentioned by anyone above is 12V receptacles (aka cigarette lighter type outlets). They are easily installed at any 12 V light outlet and we have eight in main cabin and two in the main bay. We use them to charge batteries for cameras/cell phones and the like. They also provide power for 12 V fans (0.1 amp) which can really make the difference on warm days. May install a few more for flood lamps at rear end of rig.

We also carry a lot of BBC (PBS) Mystery Theater DVDs (Morse, Lewis, Poirot, Rumple etc). We're 74 and if we watch them on year, why they are fresh and new a year later. As a friend noted with BBC Mysteries, "you never know who is the guilty party to the end, and then you are not quite sure why!"

Our rig is a 34’ 5th wheel with 1.4 kW of solar (six 235 W/30 V panels set in two series of 3 and then paralleled to MPPT-45 at 90 V), 9+ kW-hr of LFP (180 aH at 48V or 720 aH at 12 V), then to 4.0 kW PSW inverter. We do have space for another 700 W of solar and another 4.5 kW-hr of LFP. Would have to change battery bank from four 12 V nominal batteries in series for 48 V nominal to a set of six: parallel three sets of two in series for a 24 V nominal bank. Have discussed this with our son but things have worked extremely well so far.

There is no such thing as “excessive” solar or battery bank. We have boondocked in full shade in Olympic Peninsula and 4 days with 6”: or more of snow on panels without needing to use the 1 kW Honda. “Excessive” means you are getting sufficient power for lowered power requirements (inverter off when not being used and fridge is on propane) even in rain and cloud.

Lemo – where in the South are you headed. We finally got the Mexican Insurance to pay off the wrecked rig (west of Vera Cruz) from last year, and visited Mexican consulate in Denver on Wed and they will take care of cancelling the Temporary Import Licenses from the wrecked 5th wheel/pickup so we can return to Yucatan/Belize/Guatemala this winter.

Reed and Elaine

[7.3diesel]

Originally Posted by vsheetz

Here are details

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing! You just made my day!

[7.3diesel]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

>From X's 2 8D AGM Deka changed over to X's 4 L16 Lifelines for 800AH. (Came close to going the Lithium route, but decided to hold off until next replacement cycle!

Cool. Which lithiums are you looking at?
So far I'm looking at Balqon & Lithonics.

Originally Posted by Smitty77

>1200W Sharp/Panasonic High Efficiency 48V Solar Panels with Classic 150 controler.

What are your opinions on the new

flexible panels

?

Thanks in advance

[7.3diesel]

Originally Posted by LEMO

1. solar Panels and extra batteries.
2. 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter.

Any brand recommendations for panels and inverters?
Thanks in advance.