Just a quick camp out...

dstreight · 10-18-2020, 07:19 PM

Just an impromptu camp out last night not too far from home and almost in the middle-of-nowhere Nevada to take advantage of nearly smoke-free air(!) and clear, warm weather for night sky viewing on this new moon phase with Mars at its closest to Earth until 2035!. Succeeded on all fronts.

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 07:15 AM

Off-grind camping in our custom modded 15A last week while fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra last week (February 2021). Never get enough!

MyronL · 02-23-2021, 08:19 AM

Great stuff, dstreight. We were just talking about doing a break-out trip the other day and await all the Nevada maps and tourist flyers triple A can send us. If it works out, hopefully gone for an extended drive-about to farthest corners of the Silver State, in a couple months or less, if the stars align. Any location highlights, off grid recommendations, etc., muchly appreciated.

Really like that black and white photo.

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 08:24 AM

Hi Myron, thank you for your compliments! PM me and I can help you with areas we particularly enjoy camping/hiking/hanging out in wild Nevada. If you are self-contained/self-sufficient energy wise, there are over a million miles of gravel/dirt/non-paved "roads" in Nevada. I've covered about 175,000 of them the past 15+ years and feel like I haven't put a dent in what's out here.

Vermilye · 02-23-2021, 08:33 AM

You are making me jealous. I'm still scraping snow off the cover on my trailer every couple of days.

MyronL · 02-23-2021, 08:50 AM

Around here the snow is gone in a couple days. I want to photograph the snow capped Nevada mountains.

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 08:57 AM

Have a very good buddy in Tijeras. Are you near there? I'm way overdue for a NM trip!

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 09:21 AM

Of interest maybe to solar converts: I recently upped to 800w total roof mounted solar atop our 15A with double stacked 200w Rich Solar mono panels at each end with the upper panels mounted via stainless steel drawer slides.

The little fly fishing trip last week was the first shake down cruise/test and they worked out great. Normally 400w is enough sun power during high angle summer sun but not enough during the shoulder months to keep our all electric appliances and 6500w/400A LiFePO4 battery happy when camping for more than a couple days w/o moving.

And have a Merlin foldable 170w with another coming...to augment if/when needed and/or if roof top is shaded.

Solar is a commitment for sure!

UncleTim · 02-23-2021, 11:24 AM

The solar setup looks amazing. 800 watts?

You can start selling electricity to fellow campers. That's crazy.

Going camping soon. I will file a report when I get home from the slots (canyons, not machines).

Nice setup!

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleTim

The solar setup looks amazing. 800 watts?

You can start selling electricity to fellow campers. That's crazy.

Going camping soon. I will file a report when I get home from the slots (canyons, not machines).

Nice setup!

Like all things solar, the current/wattage output is theoretical lab result BS rating; far from real world.

Imagine if the car mfgs overstated MPG by 50%.

MyronL · 02-23-2021, 03:18 PM

That is pretty bloody amazing! Never seen anything like it. You did the install? Bolted, I assume?

Doable. We are in Edgewood, about 25 miles east of Tijeras on I-40.

TahoeJoe · 02-23-2021, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dstreight

Of interest maybe to solar converts: I recently upped to 800w total roof mounted solar atop our 15A with double stacked 200w Rich Solar mono panels at each end with the upper panels mounted via stainless steel drawer slides.

The little fly fishing trip last week was the first shake down cruise/test and they worked out great. Normally 400w is enough sun power during high angle summer sun but not enough during the shoulder months to keep our all electric appliances and 6500w/400A LiFePO4 battery happy when camping for more than a couple days w/o moving.

And have a Merlin foldable 170w with another coming...to augment if/when needed and/or if roof top is shaded.

Solar is a commitment for sure!

That drawer slide setup is awesome...did you make that yourself?

I'm with you on the draw of wild NV...since the covid RV boom, campsites here in Tahoe are nuts, so I will be venturing into the NV wilderness more and more!

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyronL

That is pretty bloody amazing! Never seen anything like it. You did the install? Bolted, I assume?

Doable. We are in Edgewood, about 25 miles east of Tijeras on I-40.

Yes, I did all the work myself. Well with the exception of shearing and braking of the SS sheet metal that holds the panels and slides which was done by a good friend in the shop he manages.

The SS panels are bolted to 80/20 extruded aluminum channels that are held to the fiberglass roof with VHB tape with 3M sealant applied around the perimeter of the interface of the anodized 80/20 and the fiberglass roof to prevent water intrusion to the VHB tape: Standard practice.

dstreight · 02-23-2021, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

That drawer slide setup is awesome...did you make that yourself?

I'm with you on the draw of wild NV...since the covid RV boom, campsites here in Tahoe are nuts, so I will be venturing into the NV wilderness more and more!

Thank you. Yes, per above, I did all the work, outside of the shearing and brake work for the SS side panels.

UncleTim · 02-24-2021, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dstreight

Imagine if the car mfgs overstated MPG by 50%.

They have a word for that, I looked it up.

Detroit!

Just kidding.

rubicon327 · 02-24-2021, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dstreight

Off-grind camping in our custom modded 15A last week while fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra last week (February 2021). Never get enough!

Dan: Looks wonderful. Hope you can post some pictures of your fish to this older thread I started. It needs a boost.
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...pics-9619.html

dstreight · 02-24-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Dan: Looks wonderful. Hope you can post some pictures of your fish to this older thread I started. It needs a boost.
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...pics-9619.html

Will do and thanks as I wasn't aware of that thread!

dstreight · 02-24-2021, 11:07 AM

This was from October 2019 and our first test of our newly acquired 2014 Escape 15A ripping across the Blackrock Playa at 80mph. It did just super. And now with the custom 60-Series LandCruiser leaf springs and soon to be added Bilstein shocks it will handle most things off-road with aplomb.

https://youtu.be/mMnr8GzBSy8

MyronL · 02-24-2021, 05:57 PM

Dan my search for VHB tape has come up with many variants. The 3M 4622 acrylic foam tape claims to be heavy duty, "suitable as a replacement for bolts", sticks to metal and glass. Is that the one you used?

rubicon327 · 02-24-2021, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyronL

Dan my search for VHB tape has come up with many variants. The 3M 4622 acrylic foam tape claims to be heavy duty, "suitable as a replacement for bolts", sticks to metal and glass. Is that the one you used?

Myron: For what it’s worth AM Solar uses 4950 on their solar panel mounting feet.

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