Category: Campervan

  • It was supposed to be simple

    It was supposed to be simple

    I have three USB-power devices stuck to my dash or windshield – a Garmin nav, an old phone I use as an OBD-II dashboard, and a dash cam. We also sometimes need to charge our cell phones while driving. Three plus two = five USB power cords hanging off two lighter sockets, both down by…

  • Observations on Driving in Italy

    “In Italy, all the drivers are experts. The rest are dead” When I first started driving in Italy (30 years ago) I was advised that the Italians drove by a strict set of rules, but those rules were not necessarily the same as the ones posted on signage or printed in drivers’ handbooks. For example…

  • Electrical Redesign – More Battery

    Electrical Redesign – More Battery

    As of the last revision of my camper’s electrical system, I had two battery banks with the ability to charge both and switch between them as needed. Under normal use, the AGM battery bank would barely last one night, and only if it were fully charged late in the afternoon. To balance the utilization between…

  • IoT – Dumb Camper gets Smart(er)

    IoT – Dumb Camper gets Smart(er)

    I’ve made progress on the information screen that I want to incorporate into the camper. As hinted at in the message bus post, I’m using a 7″ Nextion display and an ESP32 to create a touch screen interface into the temperature and electrical data that I’ve been gathering on the camper and uploading to the…

  • Swamp Tour II – Summary

    We got back to Minnesota (and cold weather) last week. Smooth trip, no issues. Spent quite a few nights in Louisiana State Parks, hit a handful of wildlife refuges, and visited family in Houston. We covered the same general area as “Swamp Tour I“, but skewed towards the east just a bit. This trip started…