It’s been a little over a year since we built and installed our DIY LiFePO4 pack into our Sprinter van. We built a 280Ah LiFePO4 12.8 volt pack using new, grade A prismatic cells I bought from AliExpress. Using a 4S Daly BMS and an active cell balancer, our pack Read more…
We haven’t drilled a new hole in our van since we first built it out in California back in 2018. That changed this week when we drilled 5 teeny holes and one large hole for a snorkel. Why a snorkel? Well, the assumption is that snorkels are for river crossings Read more…
Portable solar is an essential way to add more capacity to your camper’s existing solar system. It’s also a great introduction to clean, unlimited electrical power. Portable solar can be very expensive but it doesn’t have to be. For less than half the price of commercial systems, I can show Read more…
During our travels in North America, we always escaped the cold moist weather by heading to the desert so mold was never an issue. That’s not easy to do in Europe so we installed some anti-condensation mats that should help mold from growing under our mattress. With a dehumidifier and Read more…
When you break it down to the simplest forms, there are basically 2 main components to a solar system not counting the battery. The solar panel and the solar charge controller. While many of you understand the job of a solar panel is to convert sunlight into electricity, not as Read more…
When we built out our van back in 2018, we decided to stick with two six-volt AGM deep cycle batteries. We knew all of the benefits of switching to lithium but the main reason was that they were still very expensive. At the time, there weren’t as many factory-built packs Read more…
Air suspensions are a popular aftermarket upgrade for trucks and vans that carry heavy loads. Whether it is a work vehicle or a camper, it can help smooth out the ride as well as prevent sagging in the rear end. But how do they affect the structural integrity of these Read more…
After using our Dometic CFX3 75DZ fridge for a year, we wanted to give you some feedback of how we liked it. Dan and I both share our likes and dislikes as we travel the world with our in our self-built van. We cover the dual zone model, new compressor Read more…
Portable solar generators have become a huge and very competitive industry in the last few years. It wasn’t that long ago the only way to get an electrical system built in your camper was to spend days and weeks learning about watts, amps, ohms or hire someone who knows to Read more…
We have always tried to keep our systems in our campers as simple as reasonable so it can be easily maintained and repaired as necessary. It is especially important as we have been traveling in our camper van internationally over the last several years. We also need our systems to Read more…