Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido, and we're going to take a
break this week from our string of travel episodes to update you on our transition to full-time RV
life. We're going to talk about our new Durango fifth wheel and what it's like to tow it with our
Toyota Tundra. We'll talk about our expenses. We'll talk about our how well our solar and
our lithium batteries are performing for us while boondocking. We'll talk about what's going well,
what we would change, what it's like to RV travel on a wing and a prayer in 2021,
and any regrets that we may have about moving to full-time RV life. So stay tuned!
So we moved out of our house and into our RV full-time back at Christmas,
and we actually were stationary in Salt Lake City until May 1st when we got back on the road,
so we've been back on the road now for almost two months. We'd like to take a
look back at what is working well and what we would change about our full-time RV life.
Let's first talk about how things are going with our solar system and our lithium batteries while
we're boondocking. Now in short, our solar and lithium setup has far exceeded our expectations.
We haven't needed to use the generator at all since we got back on the road on May 1st,
so we're at nearly two months of just running off solar and lithium batteries with our inverter to
power our 110-volt AC appliances. Now you need to understand we're treating this place like a
sticks-and-bricks house. We're using electricity just like we would in our home. We're not really
being conservative in how we're using it, and it's still keeping up. Take a look at this trend line
from our RV Whisper system over the past 100 hours. You'll see that the battery is pretty
much staying 24 hours a day between 13.0 and 13.2 volts, which is perfectly adequate for keeping up
and powering our needs. And by the way, as long as I'm mentioning it we absolutely love the
RV Whisper system to be able to monitor our RV systems and keep track of how things are doing.
I can't recommend that highly enough. If you didn't see our episode where we installed and
tested RV Whisper I'll put a link right here on the screen so you can go back and check it out,
but it's been wonderful to not use the generator. We don't have the gasoline consumption. We don't
have the smell. We don't have the noise. We can literally keep up with our energy needs with
the solar array that we have on the roof, and the lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Now you may recall when we were in Salt Lake, that's when we upgraded our solar and lithium.
So just so you understand, we have 590 watts of solar panels on the roof,
and we have 300 amp hours of Battle Born lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Now one thing that we do plan to change when we get back to Salt Lake City this fall
is to replace our inverter. KZ installed a Xantrex Freedom X 1200-watt inverter in our in our RV;
however, the way that they wired it only powers the GFCI circuits. What happens is
there's a branch circuit coming off our main circuit panel that goes to the power inverter.
Therefore it gets 110-volt from shore power or 12-volt from the batteries, and it gets
that 110 shore power from that branch circuit, the circuit breaker on our main circuit panel.
It sends the output from the inverter goes to our GFCI circuits, so only the GFCI
circuits are powered. What I would like to do when we get back is replace that
with an inverter/charger that gets powered directly coming off the shore power,
and then sends its output to the main circuit panel, thereby powering everything -- every branch
circuit in the RV. That way we'll have battery and inverter power to be able to run, say, our
microwave or our non-GFCI outlets, for example. None of our outlets in the bedroom are powered.
The GFCI power outlets that are powered are the ones in our kitchen, in our bathroom,
and in our outdoor area and in our storage bay. It'll be nice to have everything powered that
way if we go to that inverter charger and power the entire circuit panel. So that is one thing we
intend to change, and we're going to wait until we get back to Salt Lake City this fall to do that.
Now a lot of you have been asking about our experience thus far with our Durango fifth wheel.
Now just in case you don't know it's a 2020 model year
Durango D283RLT, which is one of their half-ton towable models. It is their largest half-ton
towable model. We picked it up brand new back in October, and I've got to tell you we are
extremely happy with this rig. It's the perfect size for us to live in it full-time. We've been
very happy with the quality thus far. Sure, we've had a few minor issues that need to be
addressed but they're all inconsequential, and they can all wait until we get back to
Salt Lake City in November. Nothing significant has been a problem with this rig so far. Now
we are definitely at the towing capacity of our Tundra and we'll talk about that in a moment,
but one thing we would like different about this particular Durango is we wish that the
fresh water tank was a bit larger. It's a 55-gallon fresh water tank, which to be honest
with you we kind of push the limits of that by the time we get to the end of a week in one place,
so we've been making ample use of the pillow tank to restock our water later in the week.
It's not an ideal situation but that also keeps the weight down down and keeps this
particular fifth wheel half-ton towable. We also picked up a tote tank for our waste tanks,
so that way we can dispose of our waste water -- both black and gray -- whenever necessary
before we have to break camp at the end of one week and move on to our next destination.
Now that leads us to the next question that I think we've been getting more than any other,
and that is, how is the Tundra doing towing this fifth wheel? Now like I said it's
right at its capacity, both payload and towing capacity, and I've got to tell you it's exceeded
our expectations as well. It does a an admirable job towing this fifth wheel, and oddly enough
even though this fifth wheel weighs 3,000 lb. more than our former travel trailer did, it actually
gets 1.5 miles per gallon better fuel economy when towing the fifth wheel than we did with the travel
trailer, and it also tows in one transmission gear higher. So the truck is actually working less
even though the fifth wheel weighs 3,000 lb. more. Now I can only chalk that up to aerodynamics,
the front cap of the fifth wheel being tucked behind the cab of the truck
probably creates less of a Venturi effect between the two, and that's the only rationale that I can
come up with with why this is having an easier time towing the fifth wheel than it did the travel
trailer. Now as well as it does with towing I am more concerned about its braking ability
than I am its towing capacity. Wolf Creek Pass getting over from Pagosa Springs
over to Creede, Colorado was a very interesting experience. Even though we had it in low gear
we found that the brakes were having a hard time keeping up. Even though we were stab braking
we did have to pull over and let the brakes have a rest and cool down for a moment.
I would be much happier with a three-quarter ton diesel truck with a diesel engine brake. That
would make me a lot more comfortable on those long steep downgrades where the fifth wheel,
honestly, is pushing the Tundra because the Tundra doesn't have a lot of weight, at least
relative to the fifth wheel. And that's coming. We didn't want to make two large purchases at once,
and there was really no need to dive into both of them at the same time when the Tundra
is actually quite capable of pulling this fifth wheel. So while it's not an ideal situation the
Tundra is doing a great job and you know, I bought that Tundra with 30,000 miles on it.
It now has 125,000 miles on it. I've done nothing but change oil and tires. I mean,
that truck has been amazingly reliable and I love Toyota quality. I wish that Toyota would import
one of their diesel engines that they offer in other countries on other vehicles,
and put them in a Tundra. That would make an ideal compromise for me. Unfortunately they don't,
so I suspect that we'll be moving to a different brand out of necessity
in order to get a diesel engine and a diesel engine break when it's time to upgrade this truck.
Now our biggest impediment to full-time RV travel so far has been reliable internet. As
you know we have Visible internet in the RV and we also have an AT&T MiFi. That way we can choose
whichever carrier is stronger in a particular area, Verizon or AT&T,
and use it accordingly. The problem that I'm having is that sometimes finding a nice attractive
boondocking spot with reliable service can be a challenge. We encountered that when we were in
Pagosa Springs. We found an absolutely beautiful boondocking site that would have been perfect,
but the throughput rates were just not adequate for me to work from the trailer, which I do.
We work from the RV while we travel Monday to Friday, and reliable internet has been a problem.
That's how we ended up in an RV park in Pagosa Springs because we just simply couldn't find
an acceptable boondocking spot that had reliable internet. That's why honestly I cannot wait for
Starlink. That is going to be an absolute game changer, when we can set up virtually anywhere and
have no restrictions and have reliable high-speed internet to allow us to work now. Right now we
are on Starlink's waiting list. They have our $99 deposit. We're expecting the call-up to be able to
order the equipment sometime around third quarter of 2021 is the estimate that they've given us,
and that is going to absolutely change everything. The only problem I see with Starlink,
at least initially, is that they do not have a receiver and dish designed for mobile use.
It's designed for residential use, so it uses a full 100 watts of power. That's going to be a
problem while boondocking, and that will probably prompt me to add a fourth Battle Born lithium iron
phosphate battery -- another 100 amp hour battery -- to make sure that we can last all day with that
extra 100 watts of draw from the Starlink dish. But either way, that is just going to change
everything for us, and that's going to make full-time RV travel (especially for
boondockers) a completely different situation, if in fact like us you work from the road.
Now let's talk for a second about our camping expenses. Since we got back on the road on May 1st
we've been primarily boondocking for free on public lands, both National Forest and BLM.
We did spend two weeks in a paid campsite, we spent about $200 for our week in Dolores, Colorado
and we spent a little over $300 for our week in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
So we're averaging approximately $10 per night over the course of the time that we've been
back on the road since May 1st, as we have spent roughly $500 total in camping expenses. Now those
savings are going right back into our pocket. We're not paying for a house.
We're not paying for any of that. That money is going straight back into our pocket,
and the savings by not staying in campgrounds have nearly paid already for our solar and
lithium battery upgrades that we did this past spring while we were in Salt Lake City.
Now what's it like out here camping without plans in 2021?
We prefer to not have any plans for where we're heading. We like to look at the weather
for the for the next week and decide just a day or two in advance where we're going.
That can create problems, especially in 2021 with so many new RVers out on the road. It
is crazy busy out here. If we wanted to reserve a campsite we can basically
be virtually assured that it's absolutely impossible to do so on short notice, especially
in popular areas. So we don't have that ability to be able to reserve down the road and say, "OK,
we're moving and we're coming there in two days, we need a campsite." That's not happening. Our
preference is to move on Sundays because we work Monday and Friday, and that also gets us into
a new area when the weekenders are leaving. But even the boondocking areas have been insanely busy
for the most part! I mean, obviously if you're in an out-of-the-way area where people are not
drawn to, it's not bad at all. You can find plenty of room like we did in Creede, Colorado, but if
you're in a more popular area like where I'm talking to you right now in Leadville, Colorado,
it is crazy, crazy, crazy busy! Even arriving on a Sunday. I don't think this is going to get
any better in the near term with so many new RVs being sold, so this is going to have to require
all of us including ourselves to adapt to the new normal of so many RV travelers out on the road,
and maybe be a bit more creative in how we find these boondocking spots.
So finally you may be wondering overall, how are we feeling about transitioning to full-time
RV life? Do we have any regrets? And I'll give you the short answer to that: none. Absolutely,
positively none. Changing from a long-term RV lifestyle to a full-time RV lifestyle is one of
the best things we've ever done in our life, and getting rid of the sticks-and-bricks was one of
the best parts of it. I mean, we don't have to worry about mowing the lawn. We don't have to
worry about shoveling the snow. Obviously from an expense perspective we're saving a ton of money.
We love having a different view out the RV each week, and I've got to tell you it is extremely
liberating to get rid of all that stuff. I mean, we had we basically gave ourselves a rule when we
moved out of the house, and that was if we haven't needed it, wanted it or seen it in two years,
it was going one way or another, whether it was donated, given to friends, sold, or thrown in a
dumpster. And it's amazing how little you actually need to live! Everything we own now either travels
with us in the RV or fits in a 10 x 20 storage unit, which is the size of a one-car garage.
And that storage unit also contains Mrs. Grand Adventure's car while we're traveling, so you
can imagine just how few personal belongings we actually have in that storage unit. It's
a liberating feeling. We love the travel and we don't see ourselves exiting this lifestyle anytime
in the foreseeable future. We are just absolutely loving this first year on the road full-time.
So we hope that this information has been helpful to you, whether you wanted more information about
how our solar and lithium is working out, or maybe you're even thinking about going to a
full-time RV lifestyle yourself. But if you have any questions, hit us up in the comments section
down below and we'll do our best to provide our perspective and answer your questions.
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So until next week please remember, life is nothing but a Grand Adventure! We'll see you then.