I can sense this sort of electricity. It’s in the air. 

Oh wait a minute some of it is traveling by ground. And most of it will be here within a week or two. 

After analyzing the battery situation on MOBI (08 Winnebago View), I decided to change things a bit. 

While boondocking at Standing Indian last week I learned that the little solenoid that enables the house batteries to be charged while driving was failing. Uh, I learned the hard way.  Yep! It turns out that this is a known issue on these units. New one is on the way. 

Unfortunately the fellow I purchased MOBI from had just put two brand new house batteries in it which were not deep cycle. They pretty much died out there in the forest. While I would prefer a couple of golf cart batteries, the “new” batteries had a bit of warranty left so I opted to upgrade them to deep cycle marine batteries. Yes, I know! They aren’t the best choice but they were the only way to cash in on the warranty at Walmart. In a year or so, I’ll upgrade to golf cart batteries. 

All this got me to thinking. Yikes!! Me? Think??  I really prefer to go places that are more or less “off the grid”. And I don’t want to regularly run the generator simply to charge the house batteries. I googled “personal nuclear reactors” and didn’t find the first link to a personal reactor. Um. . . . I did find some pretty scary stuff though :(. Since I can’t find a nuclear reactor that will easily fit in MOBI, I opted for the next best thing. Solar power.

Let me start by saying that flat roof space is prime real estate on MOBI. You see, it has this awesome GPS controlled, motorized satellite TV dish up there. It’ll stay on target while regardless of where you are, even while driving. Unfortunately I haven’t any use for it. It takes up quite a bit of space but at this point I feel it really adds to the resale value. Of course by the time I decide to sell, I’m sure it will be obsolete. The only open flat area is at the back right next to the built in ladder. I want that area to climb up to and shoot pictures from. So, I am getting a “suitcase” solar panel. It folds and closes up so it can be stored away. It should have no problem keeping the house batteries charged while I’m out in the middle of nowhere.  

Next is a Trik-L-Start. It allows the engine battery to be charged at the same time the house batteries are, anytime it is plugged in or if the generator is running or soon, when the solar panel is generating electricity.  You’d think Winnebago would have made sure the engine start battery would be charged whenever the house batteries were being charged, wouldn’t you? Ha!

Finally, I installed a BatteryMinder. This is a “smart” trickle charger that will keep the batteries in good condition while MOBI is sitting in the driveway, not being used. The “factory” charger will over charge the batteries if left plugged in over a period of time. 

So, over the next couple weeks I’ll make these modifications and upgrades and MOBI should be considerably more energy independent. 

Well, I guess that’s all for this electrifying update. 

Cheers.