Campervan: stage 1 complete

I just made a CRVL post about the camper hitting the first goal:  achieving functional campervan status.  It’s minimal and ugly but it works.   Could go out with it just like it is.     Might take the dogs camping this weekend;  depends on whether or not I get the bench built that will allow them to

Promaster low roof awesome for vandwellers

The Promaster high roof fares well compared to the competition.  It was my choice but I do see the charms in the the Transit high roof and (to a lesser extent) the NV high roof. But the Promaster low roof is a slam dunk for vandwellers who are buying a new low roof van.  Here’s

Article:

Caroline Winslow, 22, from Colorado, spent a summer turning her Ram Promaster into a cosy home, at a cost of around $7,000, which is the amount she received from her school as an off-campus living stipend. from this article   My first reaction to this photo was “you’re shading your panel!”  🙂

PM and Transit

A CRVL forum member PM’ed me some questions about both platforms they were test driving.  Here is my answer;  correct and critique where warranted: 

craigsist score: R10 for $15

I snagged 3 R10 (2″) Dow XPS (blue Styrofoam) 8ft x 4ft sheets off craiglists.  $15/ea instead of $40/ea.  They are dirty but unused: These are destined for the ceiling, which has 2″ distance between rib and roof.

anti-Promaster FUD

[ reliability | FIAT | front wheel drive | appearance ] Fear, uncertainty and doubt (often shortened to FUD) is a disinformation strategy used in sales, marketing, public relations, talk radio, politics, religious organizations, and propaganda. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information and a manifestation of the appeal to fear.  — wikipedia

good marketing demo, bad test

This video has always bugged me.  I would rather it be conducted by a 3rd party vs a vested player: It would be more informative to test them with traction control both on and off.   And include

Challenging conditions, Portland edition

Portland is in the worst insolation zone in the US, Zone 6 with 3.5 hours of full sun. Based on average high temp of 63.3F this would be Average       136A/day Winter         102A/day (-25%) Spring/Fall  170A (+25%) In winter all of the generated power can fit in the battery

solar install completed

Solar is installed on the camper.   Here are some measurements from the first morning

Article: Greg Gerber retires

Mr. Gerber was the author of the RV Industry Death Spiral editorials (pdf). After I published the highly-researched series of opinion pieces last summer that became known as the RV Industry Death Spiral, I kicked a hornet’s nest. More than a quarter million people have read that series to date and comments are still being made