Full Timing in a Rubicon 2100

[Vagabond Gypsy]

.. and Pumpkin Pie!

Hi Jim ...

It looks like your 2100 is shaping up nicely for you! ... and nice bike too! I'm curious ... do you find your fork bag scuffs your front fender? I took mine off when I replaced the fender. My road bars also have a tendency to hit when I bottom out the forks. I need to put a heavier oil in them!

That pie looked really good! You must have the hang of the convection oven ... I'll get there ... eventually!

Travel Well!

 

[okiejim]

Hey, It's been awhile since I was last on here. Life has been very busy lately and I have been working alot of hours. I started installing a solar system to the TH. I have the Charge Contoller installed and power from the batteries but the panels have not been mounted yet. I am still debating on a location for them on the roof. I also got a vent cover for the main vent so I can keep it opened even if it starts to rain. I hope to have that done today. Need that vent, it gets real hot in here and the summer has not hit yet. I was thinking of doing the fantastic vent upgrade, but opted for the cover due to the cost, the cover was only $22 on amazon vs. $150 for an upgrade with a rain detector.

 

[Vagabond Gypsy]

Vent Covers

Yes! I put vent covers over both of mine so they could be open during rain also. I also purchased a pull chain switch to operate the bathroom fan, but haven't installed it yet. At least I'll be able to adjust the chain so I can reach it! The vent can stay open (now that it's covered) unless I'm using heat or A/C, which is rarely.

 

[okiejim]

OK I will also get another one soon for the bathroom. Question are you able to turn the fan off in the living room manually or is it wired like mine where it comes on when the vent is opened past a certain point, the on/off switch does nothing.

 

[Vagabond Gypsy]

Living Room Fan

Hi Jim ...

I have two switches for the living room fan on the wall. I need to turn on the on/off to raise the cover. The fan goes on automatically when the cover is raised, but I can leave the cover up and turn the fan off by turning the on/off switch back to off.

The raise/lower switch is in the central position when I turn the fan off.

There are other controls located on the fan itself. One looks like a hand crank to raise the cover, and is also labeled as a means to switch between auto and manual.

In another corner is what appears to be a fan speed dial, and a fuse

(I put pictures in my albums on this site. I don't know if they'll come through on this post or not. Go to my profile and look at my albums if not).

I haven't touched the switches on the fan at all, since I can't reach them even when standing on my step stool!

Hope this helps!

 

[okiejim]

Time to catch up again. As you can tell I'm not a super email person. I rewired my fan switch so I can now turn the fan off with the vent open what a big difference. Save some battery power. I also strung up some vinyl coated wire rope to turn my ramp into a porch. Man does that make a big difference. It seems like I have alot more room now. I can sit on it in the afternoon tipping a brew and relax. I will post pictures as soon as I can of the porch. I don't think I would put a bunch of folks on it at one time but for just me it works great. Hey Gypsy what have you been up to? Your web pages has not changed much? I hope you are doing fine. It is gettng warmer out now and I need to start thinking of a generator for the A/C. Can;t afford a Honda but I have seen this dometic lw3000 that is within my price range. I'll let you know if I get it. My fork seals started leaking again. Just got the new seals so tear down begins. Glad I have the truck to get around with. This is why I like a trailer vs. Class A.

 

[Vagabond Gypsy]

Boondocking

Hi Jim ...

I was looking at doing the same for a back porch! What did you use to anchor the cables and at what locations?

May has been a busy month for me and I'm not quite sure when I'll have the chance to catch up my writing. For the most part I've been "checking in" on Facebook (Debbi Halstead).

The first two weeks of the month involved putting EmaGene and TowTow into storage and riding Rosie from Wildwood FL to Central LA and back. Hwy 90 was washed out with storms the day before I left so I took I-10 across, then came back US 98 through Panama City and along the coast. Beautiful ride!

When I got back to Wildwood I found out that when I put "the girls" into storage, I took the weight of the camper off the ball of the truck, but left everything else hooked up. WRONG! The camper battery was just about dead, too dead to start the generator. Emagene's battery was also dead! So at midnight, I just crawled in bed and waited to get a jump start in the morning. I pulled into a site long enough to plug in and charge TowTow's battery, and let EmaGene run long enough to charge hers. Note to self: Make sure to disconnect the light cable from the truck when parking for more than a couple days!

Onward to North Carolina for the Bikers For Bikers Foundation 4th Annual Music Fest/Rally. Great time, poor attendance! Boondocking at Shakori Hills, then on to Walmart in Matamoras PA, using the generator only as much as absolutely necessary. Did a little riding around the Delaware Water Gap (loved the Jersey side!) and other local sites (Grey Towers is an awesome estate!). Then up to Bethel Woods in White Lake NY for Mysteryland ... and our parents thought we were off the wall at Woodstock!

I made the mistake of forgetting to turn my heat off the second day and the blower fan must have depleted the battery because the next morning I didn't have enough battery power to start the generator! (Cable was disconnected from the truck). Interesting point - when the battery is dead, the refrigerator doesn't run (propane mode). I didn't have that problem with my '89 Dolphin, but that had a clicker to light the fridge and an actual pilot that stayed lit for when it cycled. TowTow has electronic ignition, not pilots ... no battery, no ignition! Sometimes "safer" is not "better"!

At least EmaGene started. With my Dolphin (Class C), running the truck charged the house battery, since TowTow drained EmaGene's battery when I left them connected, I wondered if maybe EmaGene would charge TowTow's battery when they were connected while we were driving ... so when I got to my brother's (40 miles from Bethel Woods) the first thing I did was try to start the generator. It fired right up! (Though now I can't remember if I had disconnected the cable or if it was still attached ... ). Relief. At least now I know if I am really out in the boondocks and the battery gets too low I have a way to get the generator to run and get things charged up again!

You are going to love having those solar panels as an alternate charging system!

Figured since there was a big learning curve here for me, I'd share the details and maybe it will help others as well. I definitely had a few moments of "What do I do now?" panic.

Travel Well & Enjoy!

 

[Nana & Poppy]

I am also wondering how you made the connection for the garage door porch conversion.....we have a 2900 and that is something that I would love to have DH do!

 

[okiejim]

Here you go. I am not a professional nor do I acccept any responsibility for breaking your warranty if you have one. This is only what I did to my home and I like it. I used 4" stainless steel eye bolts on the ramp side. I drilled the holes for the eye bolts 20" from the inside edge of the ramp. I was hoping to hit some sort of cross member but I did not. So the aluminum rail is all the is holding the bolts. I would not put much weight on the outer edge of the ramp. I plan on just placing my chair near the hinged side to sit, tip and view the outside. Maybe put the BBQ on the edge to grill some steak. Any way I hope the pics help. I used 3/8" vinyl coated steel rope. The clips I forget the name of them but they are found in the big box stores by the cable. I bought everything at HD but the eye bolts I got at Lowes. I will be happy to supply more info if you need.

 

[Nana & Poppy]

thank you

 

[okiejim]

Solar Panels installed

Well finally got the panels up. Still need to do some cable management and Dicor sealing but I am getting a good amount of power from these two 100watt panels. The charge controller is a TS-45 Tristar and the little black box is my Raspberry PI computer that is monitoring the power system and has a web server function so I can what the stats thought out the day. It has its own wifi capability that is why the little antenna. I can monitor the system from inside without going to the storage area to see whats up.

 

[Vagabond Gypsy]

Added Desk

Very nice solar system you have going, Jim! I'll be keeping that in mind as an option.

I've added a small desk. By angling it in front of the window next to the door and moving the chair in front of the fireplace, I now have a place for my computer and files, while still being able to sit in front of the fireplace and watch a movie.

There are pictures in "My Albums"

The only drawback is that this desk is about an inch shorter than the fireplace is wide. It had been my intent to turn it so it sat over the fireplace during transit. I either need to find a slightly larger desk, or rearrange the way I put everything when I move. I'll be figuring that out soon enough!

 

[okiejim]

Hey Gypsy,

I like that table. It looks very handy. I use a tablet most of the time for I really don't need a table. It looks very homey in your TH.

 

[okiejim]

Just ordered two more 100 watt solar panels. That will get me to 400 watts. The 200 just did not charge my batteries fast enough. I had some troubles on the rainy days and not getting enough re-charge to support my needs. Next will be to put in Leds but for now the solar was more important. I also got a used Dometic LW3000 plus genny to power the microwave or a/c when boondocked.

 

[okiejim]

Solar panels came in yesterday. Just ordered 10 led bulbs. The list just keeps growing but I am getting closer. My new genny worked fine running the air conditioning. I'm going to have to do some further testing to see what I can run with the air on. I don't think I can do much more than the ac though, it would be nice to be able to use the microwave and ac at the same time but I think I would need a bigger genny. For the most part the solar add should give me enough during the day. Maybe two more batteries are in the future we will see.

 

[okiejim]

Hey Gypsy where are you? I hope you are doing OK. winter is coming and trying to get everything done. Got the other two panels mounted, now I need to fabricate some tilt capabilities for winter. Also installed the 1000 watt inverter, and all of the leds. I am looking at a fireplace and two more batteries for the winter. My little raspberry pi is working great logging and displaying my solar power system.

 

[MTK1946]

I:-apl you for full timing in that size of a RV. You have your act together. :-tup

 

[okiejim]

DesertRat,
It is small but for me and my bike it is just right. Easy to keep clean and in bad weather I just polish the bike and do maintenance. I need a bigger micro though that is the hardest part trying to make small meals do to the capacity of the microwave. I just have to watch the power requirements. Thank for the hail. Happy Trails.

 

[Vagabond Gypsy]

CenLA

Hi Jim!

I am currently in Central Louisiana, near my daughter. It's been a summer! Rosie (Sportster) had a dead short just after arriving here; then bent a valve in Illinois on the way to Ohio; then broke her belt within 200 miles of getting back here ... all during the month of August! We did ride up Mt. Washington before leaving the north east though! :-tup

I just began working at Renegade H-D in Alexandria and will be looking for a camping spot closer than where I am. 75 miles round trip is fine while it's nice enough to ride Rosie in, but when it gets cold enough to have to drive EmaGene (GMC 2500 HD) the gas will be killer! I'm kind of blue about not having the free time to ride, but money was reaching a point of critical, so I'm building a nest egg for the next adventure!

Your solar panels are looking sweet! If I had that kind of talent I wouldn't have searched for a unit with a generator!

I'm glad you stay in touch! One of these days I'll get my stuff online. Just been too busy to really even look at the pictures and video I've taken!

 

[okiejim]

Gyspy,
Wow sounds like a lot goin' on. I am glad you are still around I was wondering if you were OK. I hope you find a place closer to work. Commutes are just a pain. I have not been able to ride much lately. All the upgrades on the TH have been taking my time away. I'm going to try to move my battery monitor and mount it next to the door so I can see it from the garage it's in the bedroom right now. I hope I can fish some wire through walls. Then add some code to my power monitor system to see the trimetric data as well as the solar cell data. I should receive my new slinky Monday I hope it helps ease the dumping. Got the Thetford smart drain system. I'll let you know how it works out.