Category: Campervan
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Battery Monitoring – You can never have too much data
Edit: An up-to-date description of the vans technology. I’ve been monitoring battery status with a pair of Thornwave battery monitors. They work OK, but because they do not log data. I have to be within Bluetooth range to check the batteries. There is no history, so I have to guess what happened when I’m not…
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Re-insulating the fridge – chasing my tail
After running for a year with my modified refrigerator compartment venting and insulation, the Nova Kool compressor fridge is still barely keeping up on a hot day. I had to pull the fridge again anyway (to replace the insulation that I pulled when fixing the drip) so I figured I’d try to add a bit…
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Portable Solar
Make a note. Compressor refrigerators are nice, but they draw significant amounts of power. Ours is large, poorly vented and poorly insulated, so it sucks (power). We’d like to be able to stay away from electric campgrounds more often, but because the 200W of rooftop solar doesn’t keep up with the refrigerator, our battery capacity…
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Battery Monitoring with Thornwave
Last summer I added a 100 amp-hour lithium (LiFePo4) battery to the campervan, and last fall I switched out the OEM flooded lead acid batteries for a pair of absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries. In the current setup: The combination works OK under most conditions. In moderate weather, the AGM’s will run the fridge and…
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Campervan – Lagun Table Installation
The Coachmen Crossfit/Beyond 22C comes with a not-too-useful 12″ by 28″ dining table – not even big enough to hold a couple of plates. Apparently Coachmen thinks that people don’t eat in campervans. Or don’t eat off plates. The dining table doubles as a filler piece to fill in the foot of the bed when…
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Dodging Tumbleweeds
We spent a good part of Saturday dodging airborne tumbleweeds. Our trip from Palo Dura Canyon through the Oklahoma panhandle and southern Kansas put us in an area of strong southerly winds – 30mph with gusts to 40mph. The weather service issued Red Flag warnings for the area. We passed through Beaver, Oklahoma just ahead…
Michael Janke 