SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION

  The last two weeks have been spent on an assortment of preparation tasks.  Effort continues on scraping, paint touch up, caulking and re-sealing.  Cleaning and waxing is taking place in small sections so that it somehow seems much less overwhelming.  One running board has been removed, rust repaired, repainted and re-installed.  The second one is undergoing the same process and we hope to have that re-installed next week.

  The big project completed this past week was the "successful" installation of the Solar Panel on the roof.  We are currently simulating "living off the grid" with the exception of morning coffee from our Keurig courtesy of the generator.  It's a daily must have:)  The Solar Panel installation took two days and was completed just as the overcast weather rolled in, however it is still creating enough energy to keep our house battery charged.

  Day one involved the mounting of the Solar Panel on the roof and running the wiring from the panel down through the refrigerator vent to the Charge Controller that was flush mounted in the wall just inside the entry door.  The space under the refrigerator was the perfect spot to use for this install.  

 

  Day two required some gathering of additional materials.  We made two trips to Home Depot, one to Lowes and stopped at two auto parts stores.  Now we were ready to finish the install. Work started back up in the late afternoon with installation of a conduit from the engine compartment along the chassis to the midsection of the RV and up through a newly drilled hole in the floor under the refrigerator. The two 6 gauge stranded wires were snaked through the conduit from the battery to the controller. A 30 amp in line fuse (optional) was installed on the positive side and the final tie to the Charge Controller was made. We had everything wrapped up by the time the sun was going down.
 

 
The next morning we woke up hoping to see an indication that the panel was doing its thing. We had a reading from the battery indicating voltage and percentage of charge, but no reading from the panel. Lunch break involved two calls to tech support and with the 'flip' of two wires we were in business!!! The days haven't been too sunny, but we are able to live on the 12-volt electrical system (that means no microwave, no hair dryer, no toaster oven) and it looks like we are maintaining a sufficient level of charge to our house battery. This brings us one step closer to traveling without having to depend on stopping at a traditional RV park with Water, Sewer & Electric hookups.

There are thoughts about more Solar Panels, a possible Wind Turbine and a larger battery bank that will support a 2000 to 3000 watt inverter to change 12 volt to 120 volt so that the everyday appliances we have in the RV can be used if need be without using the generator.  We have become very dependant on our Keurig and microwave for cooking and reheating things as well as the use of our toaster oven.  We still have our gas range and oven to use as well as a portable gas grill.

 
 Those things will probably have to wait for now because next month we have to bring the RV in for new tires, new shocks, tune up, brake check, oil change, new ignition switch, repair of broken bolt on one exhaust manifold and a few other things on my list.  Plus we can't forget to find time for family and fun before we pull out in November.


  In the evenings we are spending time reading about boondocking, full time RV travel, living off-grid, water conservation tips, and cooking ideas that don't require electricity. This next year will no doubt be an awesome experience and as long as there is a cup of coffee every morning we should be able to enjoy where the road leads us.
FP & RG  

INSTALLING A HITCH RECEIVER ON OUR JEEP LIBERTY

We decided to purchase a hitch receiver for the Jeep Liberty and install it ourselves to save about $100 or so in labor costs.  We wanted it so that we could install the bike rack on the Jeep if we want to venture off with the bikes in tow.  We will be traveling with the bike rack on the motorhome while the Jeep is in tow behind us, but we wanted flexibility to use it on the Jeep as well.  We found a good deal on the hitch online.  Lowest price, free shipping and no tax.  I love shopping on the internet!

So about a week later the hitch arrives at my Dad's house in Westbury and we are ready to go ahead with this simple install.  No Drilling!  It is suppose to bolt right up with the included bolts and attach to the factory welded nuts on the chassis.  So Rene and I get under the rear of the Jeep and hold the hitch up to the chassis as I try to thread the first bolt to the chassis.  NO GOOD!  NOT HAPPENING!  It turns out the bolts were not the correct size to fit the nuts on the chassis.  So I email the manufacturer's tech support about my issue and they responds that the bolts are the correct size as per their design specs.  Now to Plan B.  We decide to purchase smaller bolts at the local Home Depot and try it again next week. 

OK... it is the following week and we are back at my Dad's garage.  I crawl under the Jeep and check to see that the new bolts thread to the chassis nuts.  THEY FIT!  We both get under the Jeep again and hold the hitch up to the chassis as I thread the first bolt in.  Wow, this is going well!  Rene threads in her side and I finish my side. It looks like we are good to go!  WAIT!  NOT SO FAST!  The weight of the hitch starts to pull the new bolts right out of the nuts!  Apparently, after 7 years of being exposed to the elements, the threads in those nuts were so rusted that they just deteriorated with the weight of the hitch pulling down on them.  Now to Plan C.

Now we need to drill out all the nuts and tap new threads to fit the original bolts that were supplied with the hitch in the first place.  First we need to find a tap for a 12mm x 1.75 bolt.  We go to Home Depot.  Nope.  We go to Lowes.  Nope.  Rene goes to Ace Hardware.  Yes!  We also need a 13/32 drill bit which we do have.  I was able to drill and tap 5 of the 6 nuts.  The muffler pipe is blocking the last one.  We figure whenever we have the exhaust replaced we can ask the shop to do the last one.  We are not going to tow anything with the Jeep so it will be good enough to hold the bike rack.  So the last time that we got under the Jeep it all worked out well.  Lesson learned:  What sounds like a simple install is not always the case!  FP

 

RV Lettering

Here's a photo of the lettering on the rear of our RV! I thought long & hard to come up with the right wording to best describe our life together! This seems to say it all! FP

The Adventure is getting underway while we are still living at the beach...

The Frank and Rene story started in 2011 and this story is a very happy one :)  Rene has spent most of the Summer 2012 with Frank in Long Island, NY working as a host camper at the beach.  Work on the RV was started last winter with new flooring, upholstery updates and some 'homey' touches being added.  Rene sold her house and what few items remained have found a new home in the 29 foot Fleetwood Tioga Montara Class C Motorhome along with Frank and his items.  The season here is coming to an end so our LIST of preparation for an upcoming year of travel is underway.  So far there are three categories; Maintenance, Install and Auto Repairs (these will be done by the professionals).  Frank is confident we possess the know-how and mechanical skills to install items such as solar panels, Jeep tow hitch along with a long list of maintenance items to complete.  Rene is scouring all the items she can read on RV organization, budgeting, green RV Living and how to keep your travel costs down.  We will roll out in November with stops to see family in North Carolina and Illinois, then we will head south, west and eventually travel up along the Northwest before setting our sites for Alaska - Summer of 2013!  As Frank's logic goes "We might as well go to the furthest RV spot first".  Eventually we plan to visit every state and stop at any of the National Parks or National Monuments the state has to offer. Our practice trips have gone wonderful and we are confident this will be the first of many 'Endless Adventures in the USA'.