Before turning in last night I set Ernie’s furnaces (LP) to 65°F, turned on the water heater (120VAC) and made sure the radiant heater (12VDC) in the wet bay was switched on. I checked conditions this morning and temps were perfect — 62°F up front, 65°F in back and 58°F down in the basement.
Not bad for an overnight low in the mid-20s. It’ll be colder tonight.
The propane gauge still shows a “full” tank (which means something more than two-thirds). Electrical draws were within the range I’d expect — 7A from our 30A shore power (it goes higher when water heater and fridge call for juice) and 25A on the 12VDC side (powering the wet-bay heater and floating the house batteries to replace what that uses).
A hundred more 12VDC fuses live in a basement compartment.
Every time I think about this stuff I’m reminded that it all was foreign to me a couple of years ago. It’s not difficult, and I came to The RV Life (when we bought the Bumper Bunker) with some general knowledge.
More important, I realized how important it is that I understand the systems — any RVer who doesn’t is begging for problems — and I took the time to learn about them.
It still amazes me to see how many (otherwise smart) people lack a basic understanding of what does what in their RV. Most often it’s simple ignorance of the difference between 12 volts and 120 volts or DC and AC. Sometimes it’s failing to acknowledge that certain devices simultaneously use more than one source of power.
Take the furnaces. The burners require propane in order to produce heat but the blowers and control circuits also need adequate 12VDC. That comes from house batteries which have a finite capacity, and they’ll run flat unless they’re charged by shore power, the onboard generator or solar.
Ditto the fridge and water heater. When operating on 120VAC their circuitry also draws 12VDC. Even when using the propane option, they still need that low-voltage electric power.
I’m still learning, of course. I’ll never forget that Missouri morning last May when we awoke to a cold bus and dead house batteries — and when I tried to start the generator I discovered that its ignition system requires the house batteries to have a certain minimum voltage (which they didn’t).
If you think you want to get into RVing — even if it’s only a weekend thing and not full-timing — I hope you’ll commit to learning your travel trailer or motorhome. Like I said, it’s not hard, but you do have to be interested. You need to be curious about how stuff works. And you’ll have a far better glamping experience if you apply some discipline to the mechanical necessities.
Surfing through Facebook early this morning I saw someone in the Buffalo River group raving about their hiking shoes, a brand I’d never heard of. Good shoes are hard (for me) to find so, intrigued, I went to the company’s website.
Damn — I didn’t think it was possible to cram that much virtue-signaling bullshit onto a single screen. Shuddering, I quickly closed the tab and moved on.
Marketing to leftist sensibilities is common these days, of course. I’m not the slightest bit interested in supporting that, and I’ve jettisoned products I like when their advertising or corporate policy goes woke. It’s why, for example, I no longer buy Levis and choose RC Cola whenever it’s available.
I prefer to go where I’m wanted.
I don’t shave much or often (obviously), but at one point I signed up for Harry’s, the subscription blade-and-razor thing. Then the company’s messaging went full-Bernie and I canceled. Last I checked, I still have enough blades to last me a while longer.
This week I found out about Jeremy’s Razors. Watch the video.
Take. My. Money.
I don’t do groupthink-style boycotts — they’re almost always stupid and rarely work, just another form of virtue signaling. I do, however, look for companies that appear to share my values. And I appreciate a certain irreverent sense of humor.
Black Rifle Coffee Company, e.g.
Jeremy Boreing is doing what needs to be done — he’s creating an alternative, laying the foundation for a “parallel economy” I’ve been talking about for years. He won’t make much from my shaggy face, certainly, but he’ll be getting what little money I do spend on razors.
I ordered “The Founder’s Kit” today. Business must be good — it won’t ship ’til mid-June.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
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