Any Fulltime RV 'ers

[MissKitty47]

How do you handle vapemail, getting supplies, keep those batteries charged, while rolling? I've found a great B & M that became a friend, so he's got a physical copy of my cc and will mail out to anywhere for us. Provided we know where we will be on a certain date!

Our first year out I sadly discovered that while your house lights will run off battery from your coach, the plug ins don't. Nothing like being in the middle of nowhere, with nothing working! Now we have two mvp 2's, and a ton of cheap ole"3 speed" ego type sticks I got for $5 on a quantity discount. I also found a double car charger for the truck for emergency charging...gotta keep the cell phone charged, too.

Anyone else a gypsy at heart with "hitch itch?"


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[neonscreamer]

We've been tossing around the idea of going on full-time tour too...
Usually, if we're headed out in the "bus", we charge while rolling. That way we're good when we stop. At worst we idle for a bit, but not too much.

A good inverter is helpful at times too.

Sent through osmosis

 

[johnnyhobo118]

Well, I have been living in/out of my van for about 6 months, although I do stay at friends' houses for extended periods sometimes. So really it started more from being poor than being super adventurous, lol. But honestly, I really enjoy the freedom. I haven't travelled much yet; I've been barely scraping by as it is, but I plan on it once I get some stuff together a little more.

As for electronics, I use something like this. (cant find the exact one)
Targus APV11US1 Car/Auto 12V to AC Outlet 100w... in stock at OWC
Can charge my cell phone and laptop off the van's battery. and when my e cig finally arrives from FT, It will charge that too.

 

[neonscreamer]

That's a decent inverter for small electronics. Personally, I always go with a minimum 1500w. Does great with small stuff, and can handle small microwaves without breaking a sweat. But idling is pretty much a requirement when running anything larger than a laptop charger. Otherwise your battery is dead in minutes.

But it's better than nothing when there's no external power available.

Sent through osmosis

 

[johnnyhobo118]

That's a decent inverter for small electronics. Personally, I always go with a minimum 1500w. Does great with small stuff, and can handle small microwaves without breaking a sweat. But idling is pretty much a requirement when running anything larger than a laptop charger. Otherwise your battery is dead in minutes.

But it's better than nothing when there's no external power available.

Sent through osmosis

You probably know more about this stuff than me, honestly. I use it to charge my laptop sometimes, and it works, but not when I can avoid it (I can avoid it a lot)
I haven't had problems of killing my battery yet.

 

[neonscreamer]

You probably won't have that problem with the 100-150w range.

Killing your battery with a microwave is easy though.



Sent through osmosis

 

[Coelli]

Our first year out I sadly discovered that while your house lights will run off battery from your coach, the plug ins don't. Nothing like being in the middle of nowhere, with nothing working!

We don't full-time but we have a 1976 GMC Motorhome (and I run a small community for them). That's the classic 6-wheeled motorhome that Hot Wheels still puts out a version of every year - the 10,000 Pound Hot Rod with Plumbing.

If you're going to be boondocking a lot, maybe you should look into adding to your house battery bank and getting some solar panels - the cost on solar has gone way down. It's an investment, but if you're full-timing it's especially worth it. That combined with an inverter should put you in great shape.

I have dreams of full-timing but we have 2 kids, 3+1 dogs (one's a foster), 3 cats, and a guinea pig. So even if I could convince the other half, it's not going to happen any time soon. And while some people full-time in the GMC Motorhomes, they are pretty small for it.