But first, I needed to go to the clinic, then federal building and, naturally, College Coffeehouse. At the RV, step one was to remove the fabric cover. Since the trailer is still surrounded by snow, I left the cover piled up on the roof until it gets pulled towards the front parking lot at the RV shop. Then I can drop it to the ground and stuff it into the back seat of the truck. Today, I wouldn't have been able to get the truck within 100 m of the trailer. The Ural wound through all of the parked rigs easily. I installed the batteries into the front compartment and switched on the DC to the RV and flipped the breakers for the charge controller. A quick check showed the batteries around 60% and the Timetric monitor indicated 15 amps of charge current from the solar panels. A quick check of the trailer showed no evidence of moisture or rodents. The shop will pull the trailer out of its slot tomorrow (Friday morning) and I'll pick it up around noon.
The video is just playing with the GoPro again. Leaving home around 7am heading east into the sun on Farmers Loop Road. It really is nice to see the snow pushed off to the side of the road.
I hate riding into the sunlight, but it does make a pretty scene.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't too bad though you may have noticed in the video all of the vehicles that don't have their headlights on. Some people just don't engage their brain and think about how invisible they are when the sun is right behind them. For that reason, I prefer to ride into the sun than have it at my back.
DeleteYay the RV comes out of hibernation! 400lbs of battery, bet you were close to gross weight limits! :)
ReplyDeleteIt didn't make it out today. The RV place was waiting for a loader to come and move the huge pile of snow that was in front of it.
DeleteWow, that is a lot of batteries. I bet the Ural handled a little different with that weight.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you will get the RV pulled out early next week. When do you think your snow will be done for good? Or have you had the last spring storm yet?
The weight of the batteries really shows the benefit of switching to LiFePO4 batteries instead of the flooded lead acid batteries. The same capacity would be around 50 lbs.
DeleteThe snow is disappearing pretty fast. Maybe by May...
Sadly it might be 8 times lighter but its probably 8 times more expensive to go LiFePO4?
DeleteIt kind of depends what is important. If you "need" the capacity but can't handle the weight, then the LiFePO4 option may make sense. There is a YouTube video which describes the installation of a Tesla battery pack in an RV. A lot more complex due to the temperature sensitivity,
Deletenice vid Richard.
ReplyDelete