Even though the rain is continuing this week in the Pacific Northwest, dripping with sarcasm, we have begun the de-winterizing process for our 1975 GMC Eleganza 2. Even though our water tank is inside the rv (not directly exposed to the outdoors) we are still careful to drain the tank before winter arrives so we don’t risk broken pipes. We had to add to our check off list to be sure to close the drain under the sink, we’ve forgotten two years in a row and that panic feeling when you hear water draining on the ground when you turn the water on for that first time hits from your toes to your belly! Once we remembered to close that drain we had lovely running water and the tankless hot water system we installed last year is working great too.
We spent a week testing the lithium battery system with various amperage draws, with the solar attached and without. With the SMART BMS phone app we turned things on one at a time and this time wrote the findings down instead of relying on our memories. This will help me sleep when we are dry camping/boondocking, not having my eyelids fly open each time the refrigerator runs during the night wondering if it’s draining the battery! Without the solar our battery system gives us 310 usable amp hours and though this is where my head starts to spin and the riddle How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood pulses through my brain, with the amperage draws written down I can understand.
Even if we were exploring in the snow – which we would never plan on – having the generator is a great back up so our refrigerator can run indefinitely. Our amperage testing found the fridge runs 7.4 amps, the water pump runs 7 and the living room tv runs 2.4. The four ceiling led lights in the living area draw 1.6 and the Maxxfan draws 1.3. We checked everything one by one and were happy with the changes we’ve made to improve the ability to live with a very small electric impact.
While it sometimes seems we spend a lot of time in the driveway making tweaks here and there and starting and shifting each weekend to keep everything in top running order, the countdown to his retirement is now less then 500 days. Our plans may have changed from fulltime rv-ing but we are looking forward to the freedom to travel when, and for as long, as we desire. The open road is calling us.
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Our New Neighborhood 2023 