I have a feeling their van is going to be fancier than an $1800 18 year old campervan built out of pallets I had lying around and cushions stuffed with old clothes. But, I watch the fancy people sometimes too.
Most of these builds end up with some solar. And it would be interesting, fun, though probably not a great business opportunity for me. Iād be much more likely to get involved in something like this:
ie installing it on a poor personās van.
ā Iāve been watching that video a bit and they seem very cool.
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Looks great and so much nicer having something you made.
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Back in the 90s when I worked at a thrift store I grabbed all fabric I could that was funky patterned or corduroy, etc and sewed glass piece pouches with my grandmaās sewing machine and sold them on Phish tour. I was actually pretty shy then so my buddy did most of the yelling/selling tbh. #sewingbadge
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If you cut that bedspread into jeans you could have made like 10k in 2018-19. Maybe still. It looks really nice.
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Check out Hobotechās videos on Youtube. Heās got an interesting method of attaching solar panels via 3M VHB(?) tape. Iām probably going to ty the method on my Outback which Iāve rigged for overland excursions.
I have seen his videos and I think Iāve seen that. Seems scary to me on the one hand and on the other hand Iām not really afraid of putting holes in the roof.
Your outback has a roof rack doesnāt it?
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Yes, and so far, I am mid-build on a solar panel rig to mount to said roof rack. That said, I think I have enough real estate to mount the panel sideways between the struts. Iām evaluating now as I just learned about Hobotechās videos. I learned about him as I was trying to figure out how to recharge my solar generator via DC power from the 12v ports. 300w pure sine wave inverter is apparently the answer and Iām waiting for its arrival. Iām traveling to a location with extremely limited sunlight so wanted to have a back up recharge option as Iām powering my CPAP from the solar generator.
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Itās definitely hard to do solar for must have uses off grid with limited sunlight. Most people I see on YT who are doing much charging off the vehicle get a high output alternator.
What size solar panel are you getting? 100w? I wouldnāt think youād get a full size (300w+) on an Outback, but if you are and havenāt bought it, lmk, I might be able to find you a good price.
Oh, and if youāre willing to do stuff like this and you want to make (really just assemble) your own 1000wh lithium batteries for like $280 check out this guy:
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I built a 400 W / ~380 Wh solar+battery system for my cabin a while back. It was simple, but the life-changing moment came when I converted everything over to consume DC power. The inverter I was using was not efficienct, and wiring DC lights and figuring out how to charge devices and a laptop on DC was easy as well.
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Yup 100w panel. Iāve tested the devices Iāll run from the Bluetti device and expect to recharge once 4-5 days so the solar panel install may get deferred in favor of the pure sine wave inverter. Regardless, Iāll be installing solar at my new property and then I will reach out you as, yeah, my expected power needs will increase by a lot!
ETA: Thanks for the offer! I always forget we have a solar expert aboard UP.
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Definitely hit me up in the early stages of planning for your house.
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My first two cushions turned out good. On the third, I tried to get fancy because I was short on material and was overconfident. Itās kind of a monstrosity, but itās still a cushion.
More cushion for the pushing.
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Not camping but staying in the Smokies for a few days. Saw some Alpine Glow at sunset. You can see how orange it is on the 2 mountains.
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beautiful, where is this?
Iām in Waynesville NC. Between Asheville and Gatlinburg.
Yeah, I know where you are. Beautiful area. GSMNP is beautiful. I shot one of my favorite photos there.
I mean, of the ones Iāve shot.
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Nice! Yea Iām thinking of moving to the area in the next year or so.