Trip Report (Long)

[DonF]

Cheryl and I have just returned home from the 2nd trip in our Escape. Our 1st was the trip from Chilliwack that began January 10, 2014; sixty-one days and 5,700 miles later we were home. Our 2nd trip lasted ninety-four days and covered 6,098 miles. Actually the trip was a month longer than we had planned; turns out we are really enjoying Escapin' in our tiny house on wheels!

The first part of our journey was through parts of Alabama, northern Florida, and Georgia before turning northeast to Elizabeth City, NC for Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family. Beautiful fall weather for the most part but also a few days of the coldest weather we saw while we were gone with lows in the mid 20's for a few days. The cold weather didn't last long and didn't create any problems with the Escape.

The next part of the journey was down the Atlantic coast with stops at Huntington Beach SP, Edisto Beach SP, and Hunting Island SP in South Carolina as well as Skidaway Island SP in Georgia.
My pre-trip "plans" were more or less blank after we left Skidaway Island just before Christmas. So, just because we could, we headed south and a couple of nights later we were at Flamingo Campground in Everglades NP. We ended up spending the next eight days in the Everglades and a total of 5 weeks in Florida.

Our last minute decision to go to south Florida without reservations at the busiest time of the year for camping led to some interesting choices for campsites after we left the Everglades. Too many times I heard, "campground full," "no space available," we're booked until March," or variations of that message. But we managed, met some great Floridians, and got some helpful tips on where to camp in Florida.



Sightings?
We were spotted by Exploring/Carolina at Huntington Beach State Park. What a surprise to check the Forum and see a photo of our Escape just after we had set up. Missed the chance to meet Bill but maybe next time. We also saw an Escape across the campground from us as we arrived at Highlands Hammock SP, David (Double D) came over to chat for a few minutes and it was great to meet him. That was all the sightings in a campground or on the highways but we had a tremendous amount of interest and questions about the Escape most every place we stopped. In one campground, we had 4 different people come up to ask about the Escape before we even got setup. I think we gave tours in every place we camped in Florida, including one in a Wal-mart parking lot.

How did things work?
Our furnace quit during the coldest part of our trip. The blower would run but the furnace would not ignite. I emailed ETI for advice to find out if there was something I could do to fix the problem. I was quite surprised to get a call from Reace on a Sunday morning with a few suggestions on things to try. Unfortunately, his suggestions didn't pan out so we worked out a stop at a repair shop near Augusta, GA. After two days there, we left with an operating furnace. But, two days later, the same problem was back. Consequently, we planned in another stop at a shop near Statesboro, GA and this time the correct sail switch was installed and we were back in business. No problems for the rest of the trip. The full cost of both services was covered under the furnace warranty.

We have the standard Dometic 4.3 cu. ft refrigerator that ETI was installing when our trailer was manufactured. At the coldest setting, the refrigerator generally maintained 40 +/- 3 degrees and the freezer 12 +/- 3 degrees. Temperatures were read from the upper shelf in the refrigerator door and the bottom of the freezer compartment. Of course, we were generally in areas with outside temperatures below 75 except for our time in the Everglades. At Flamingo we did have temperatures near 90 and the refrigerator temperature would get near 50 during the hottest part of the day. We never had a concern about food safety, didn't have to throw anything away, and certainly didn't become ill from eating any food that was in the refrigerator. We did have a problem with the refrigerator interior light, sometimes it worked, most of the time it didn't. Has anyone else experienced that problem?

Never would have thought we would use the air conditioner in the last week of December, but we did. It worked great and cooled down the trailer very quickly. Sure glad we had added that option.

We have the 95 watt solar panel that ETI was installing in the past. As I had expected, the 95 watt panel is adequate if the primary power use is lighting and occasional furnace or fan use, but it doesn't support the way we travel. We don't have a television, microwave, coffee pot, blender, or hair dryer to operate but we do carry two laptops that are used quite a bit. I collected more than enough data to know we couldn't go much more than two days before needing to be plugged in to recharge the batteries. Not sure of the solution yet but we will either need to make significant changes in our power use, or add additional solar capacity before we head to parts of the country where it's harder to find public campgrounds with electrical power.

I tow with a Honda Pilot and use the Anderson hitch. I am pleased with its performance, both in weight transfer and sway control. I did not see any additional wear on the hitch ball beyond what had occurred on our trip from ETI. I still heard an occasional squeaking or groaning noise on some tow days but it was minimal and didn't bother me near as much as it did on our initial trip; probably just me having a better idea of what to expect. I did bore an additional pin hole through the bar that fits into the receiver that moved the ball two-inches closer to the bumper. Kind of hard to quantify since it had been 7 months since I last towed, but moving the ball closer to the rear axle appeared to reduce the amount of up and down pitching that occurred.

Wow, this really got long (or maybe not so long if I look at it as 13 words for every day we were gone). We discovered we are travelers more than campers, staying at one location for at least 3 or 4 days and exploring the surrounding area before moving on. The Escape has made it possible to comfortably be on the road for weeks rather than days; we like that more than expected. We enjoyed the places we visited, the great people we met, and showing off our Escape every chance we had. It truly was a great trip for both of us. More long trips are in the planning stage for this year and early 2016; for sure the next time we go to Florida in the winter, I will make reservations!

Many photos and information about where we stopped can be found at the website listed below.

[KarenH]

A wonderful trip report...thank you. What do you use to map your trip and stops?

The sail switch seems to be a not uncommon problem with the furnaces as I had to have mine replaced, too.

[float5]

Wonderful photos, Cheryl! You two like the long hauls which is great. Thanks for the report.

[rbryan4]

Don and Cheryl, I have enjoyed viewing your website over the last several weeks, and your trip report was great too. Sounds to me like you've caught the Escapin' bug in a major way. Thanks again for the update!

[cpaharley2008]

Don,
I'm surprised your solar did not keep up with the laptop use. What battery do you have and what is the draw on the computers? With all the southern sun your batteries should be at 100% by noon every day. Is the refer on propane? sometimes if on auto select it will go to 12v vs manual selection for propane.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Don,
I'm surprised your solar did not keep up with the laptop use. What battery do you have and what is the draw on the computers? With all the southern sun your batteries should be at 100% by noon every day. Is the refer on propane? sometimes if on auto select it will go to 12v vs manual selection for propane.

I am also surprised. We have camped off grid for much longer with similar or greater electrical usage and the single panel solar never had any issues keeping the batteries fully charged.

[markvt]

Hi Don & Cheryl,
Thanks for sharing your trip report I really enjoy reading it and seeing your pictures. Reading your trip report truly makes me look forward to the days where my wife and I can have the same kind of adventure.

[Devil Dog]

Hi ,
That trip is on my Retirement list ... thing is we start from B.C. and return To B.C .
I figure about 120 days ( + - ) Still in the planning stages .
Nice trip review , with good info.


Thanks

[Mob2014]

Don, thanks for the trip report. We are traveling to Florida from Massachusetts in a few weeks and will be checking out some of the campgrounds you mentioned.

[fudge_brownie]

Nice report. Like others I think your next effort should be directed to finding and collecting data on your solar operation. You did not mention dual 6 volt batteries, inverter or LED lights in your report, I would be curious to hear if they are present. I would assume the laptops are charging via a 12 volt adapter? More information or perhaps starting a new thread on that topic might generate some ideas of things to try.

[LeonW]

Thanks much for the trip report. It is much appreciated. I also enjoy your web site.
Will be interested in your comments about the battery and power. Are you using an inverter to charge the laptops?
Leon

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by LeonW

Thanks much for the trip report. It is much appreciated. I also enjoy your web site.
Will be interested in your comments about the battery and power. Are you using an inverter to charge the laptops?
Leon

That could be part of the issue, covering 12v to 120v outlet to plug in a converter that converts 120v back to 12v for the computer, very inefficient and maybe the drain.

[Vermilye]

I'm not surprised by their amp hour usage. Depending on the laptop, they can have quite a draw. For example, my 17" MacBookPro when charging and, at the same time operating with the high speed video card, draws 9 amps at 12V (using a 12V power adapter). A couple of hours editing images can easily use the entire capacity of a roof mounted 95 watt panel on low angle sun winter days.

I have a TriMetric battery monitor, and it gives me a very accurate reading on the number of amp hours in & out of my 6V batteries. With the laptop, LED lighting, charging phone & camera batteries, powering a router & MiFi, and less than an hour of furnace running, I tend to use around 25 - 30 amp hours per day; 6 more if I use the inverter to make a pot of coffee. The 95 watt panel on a cloudy day will often put less than 10 amp hours back into the system. Even under ideal conditions, it is rare to be able to put back more than 25 - 30 amp hours.

I've mentioned this before, but it is worth pointing out again - the voltage measurement of your battery state of charge is not all that accurate (although more accurate at night when there is no voltage being produced by the solar panel). Both the LED panel built into the monitor panel & the GoPower battery per cent of charge reading will often show my battery fully charged when it is down by 30 amp hours or more. One way to tell that the batteries are not fully charged is to watch how fast even a small load drops the voltage reading from 100%, again, at night when the panel is not producing current.

With only the 95 watt panel I have had to watch my usage & limit what I used. This is why I added a 160 watt portable panel that I can add to the trailer when necessary.

[cpaharley2008]

But Jon, if you are using 30/day and putting back 20/day, that means a negative 10 draw down and with dual sixers your capacity is like 100 a/h, so you could go 10 days before hooking up, according to my 5th grade math??

[Vermilye]

Yes but I have dry camped for a month, and a string of cloudy days can produce less than 20 amp hours per day, and tend to be the days you use more electricity.

[cpaharley2008]

I understand, in your case water is the limiting factor. I'm just trying to determine why someone using computers with solar and dual sixers can not got more than 2 days. Even with stock #27 battery they should get 4 days!

[Ruthe]

Thanks for all that great info

[DonF]

Originally Posted by KarenH

A wonderful trip report...thank you. What do you use to map your trip and stops?

The sail switch seems to be a not uncommon problem with the furnaces as I had to have mine replaced, too.

Hi Karen,
If you're asking about the map included in the trip report, I used Google maps to create it and then the Microsoft snipping tool to capture a slice of the map created.
For trip planning both pre trip and during the trip, Google Maps gives me a general idea and then an iPad app, AllStays Camp & RV is used for the more detail planning. I've gotten to used to relying on the GPS in our car to take us to the right place - sometimes we get surprised

[DonF]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I'm not surprised by their amp hour usage. Depending on the laptop, they can have quite a draw. For example, my 17" MacBookPro when charging and, at the same time operating with the high speed video card, draws 9 amps at 12V (using a 12V power adapter). A couple of hours editing images can easily use the entire capacity of a roof mounted 95 watt panel on low angle sun winter days.

I have a TriMetric battery monitor, and it gives me a very accurate reading on the number of amp hours in & out of my 6V batteries. With the laptop, LED lighting, charging phone & camera batteries, powering a router & MiFi, and less than an hour of furnace running, I tend to use around 25 - 30 amp hours per day; 6 more if I use the inverter to make a pot of coffee. The 95 watt panel on a cloudy day will often put less than 10 amp hours back into the system. Even under ideal conditions, it is rare to be able to put back more than 25 - 30 amp hours.

I've mentioned this before, but it is worth pointing out again - the voltage measurement of your battery state of charge is not all that accurate (although more accurate at night when there is no voltage being produced by the solar panel). Both the LED panel built into the monitor panel & the GoPower battery per cent of charge reading will often show my battery fully charged when it is down by 30 amp hours or more. One way to tell that the batteries are not fully charged is to watch how fast even a small load drops the voltage reading from 100%, again, at night when the panel is not producing current.

With only the 95 watt panel I have had to watch my usage & limit what I used. This is why I added a 160 watt portable panel that I can add to the trailer when necessary.

Yes to what Jon is saying. The GoPower reading may not accurately reflect what is left in your battery. I've put more data as to why I came to the conclusion I did in another thread - Trip Report (Long) Solar information. Sorry for the rough formatting that makes it a little difficult to wade through.
Don

[Dave&Jane]

Originally Posted by DonF

We have the standard Dometic 4.3 cu. ft refrigerator that ETI was installing when our trailer was manufactured. . . . We did have a problem with the refrigerator interior light, sometimes it worked, most of the time it didn't. Has anyone else experienced that problem?

Don, your question about the fridge light prompted me to lake another look at my similar problem. FYI, I posted my observations in another forum:http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...html#post81221

-Dave