As some of you who have solar systems, or have looked into them, might know that it is an expensive investment. But the benefits of having a solar array charging silently away at your batteries are truly magical. Unlike generators that need to be refueled and maintained, solar panels last practically forever. They have no moving parts and require no regular upkeep. The fact that they turn our abundant sunshine to usable energy stored away in our RV batteries for later use is a modern day miracle.

As opposed to charging your batteries using an AC extension cord, a solar system bypasses the inverter and charges the batteries directly. That means there is no energy lost during the AC to DC conversion. It is very efficient and obviously an environmentally friendly alternative. Something every solar system should also have is a good quality charge controller. A charge controller monitors the level of charge you have in your batteries and provides the right amount of voltage going into them so they do not get damaged. In a pinch, you can wire solar panels directly into your 12-volt batteries but you are taking the risk of permanently damaging your cells.

A high quality, modern charge cotroller should also be of the MPPT variety. That stands for Maximum Power Point Tracking. As compared to the traditional PVM (Pulse Width Modulation) charge controllers, the MPPT controllers will maximize the amount of amperage and voltage coming into your system and can generally give you a 10-20% boost in the number of amps you are putting back into your system. Think of that as similar to getting 10-20 percent more watts in your solar panels which can mean a pretty significant cost savings.

When we installed our solar system, we purchased the parts individually buy finding the parts we wanted. To be able to completely replenish the batteries daily in an Airstream of our size, we would need at least a 200-watt system. We typically do not boon dock for more than a few days and did not see the need to install such a large system right away. You will also need to carefully consider the size of the panels as they need to fit the space constraints of your roof. We started with just two 50-watt panels that fit nicely in front of the AC unit.

Using the existing solar wiring from the factory, we asked our friends at C&G Trailers to mount and wire the solar panels. Instead of purchasing and installing a complete system, which would have cost close to $2000, the installation of the panels was only a couple hundred dollars. A new set of wires were connected to the batteries and both were lead out to the space directly above the TV and behind the fridge.

To complete the system, I purchased a Blue Sky 2000E MPPT Solar Controller from an online retailer and carefully cut out the space required to install the panel. I taped the area with blue painter’s tape during the cutting process to avoid scratching the surfaces around it. After first testing and then connecting the wires, we were in business.

Here is a video of how the system works in a sunny afternoon.

We are so far very happy with our solar charging system. It will not completely eliminate the need for our generator or electrical hookups but it keeps our batteries nicely topped off when she isn’t being used plus we now have the luxury of not having to run our generator every day when we are boon docking. With the way we installed our system, we spent a fraction of what a turn-key system would have cost and still have room to upgrade to more panels in the future.

Here are the components we bought for our system:

1. 2 x 50W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel

2. 1 x Blue Sky 2000E MPPT Charge Controller

Our total cost of the system came to just about $700. $350 for the solar panels, $200 for the labor and parts of mounting and wiring by C & G Trailers and $150 for the charge controller. That is 1/3 of what a system like this would cost if bought as a package.

over and out,
dan

We started out our trip with a few nights of boon-docking in front of a friend’s house in southern California. After New Mexico, we had the Mish serviced and also had a couple of solar panels installed on the roof. We have been wanting to see just how much it can do to help us stay off grid and this was the perfect time to test it out.

We left after the girls’ bed time as usual to avoid the insane traffic through Los Angeles. We have reservations for a week at Lake Cahuilla County Park, our favorite Coachella Valley campground.

Of course on the way there, we customarily stop and spend a free night at the RV parking lot of Casino Morongo.

The two 50-watt solar panels did more than I expected them to. Between the 2 nights in front of our friend’s house and the one night at the Casino parking lot, the batteries never dipped into an uncomfortably low level. Even though one of the days was heavily overcast with very low amperage pumping the batteries back up.

Our relatively small array of solar cells at only 100 watts proves to be sufficient for probably 3-5 nights of boon-docking before the need for hookups or our generator. I think to completely sustain ourselves indefinitely, we would have to double our solar capacity.

This time of the year is perfect for a trip to the California desert. Low 50s in the evening and high 60s during the day in the middle of February is pretty hard to beat.

We pulled into Lake Cahuilla and got right back into our road tripping groove.

The girls made themselves at home at the picnic table and befriended our furry neighbors in no time.

To celebrate being back on the road, a couple of thin crust pies at Jake’s Pizza in La Quinta felt just about right.

So did the happy hour $7 pitcher of Fat Tire Ale. I am not sure though of the second pint glass the waiter brought over to the table.

I guess he didn’t notice the 31-week bump on the Mrs..

over and out,
dan

(Yes, these are Yoda’s favorites too. )

1. Rincon Parkway – Ventura, CA

This is a spot right on the Pacific ocean next to the 101 freeway right up the road from our home. It is first-come, first-serve only and it has no hookups of any kind. Being along the frontage road of the freeway, there can be some car traffic as well as an occasional train or two. But, you are not going to get closer to the beach than this. With nice weather year round, there is no slow season here. The price is reasonable (for California standards) at under $30 a night and it is self-serve only with payment boxes throughout.

Click here to see more of Rincon Parkway.

2. Thornhill Broome State Beach – Port Hueneme, CA

This is another dry-camp only spot along the Pacific ocean. Unlike Rincon Parkway, there are more facilities here which can accommodate tent campers as well. It is located just north of Malibu and south of Oxnard along Highway 1 in a stretch of the Pacific Coast nicknamed ‘the California Riviera’. It is more protected from the highway noise and reservations are allowed although your site is only assigned when you show up. It is a managed campground with rangers at the gate so expect to pay a bit more than Rincon Parkway.

Click here to see more of Thornhill Broome State Beach.

3. Malibu Creek State Park – Calabasas, CA

Even though Malibu is in the name of this park, don’t expect celebrities and ocean views at this park. This park is in a great spot in the mountains north of Malibu. There is no electricity but there are water faucets shared by several camp sites. They only allow RVs with a maximum overall length of 24 feet. Being a 25-footer, not counting the hitch and bumper, we conveniently did not disclose our actual size during check in and took our chances with the site they gave us. Make sure you are ready to do some careful maneuvering to get into your assigned spot if you are oversized but it is worth the risk. There is great hiking and sightseeing around the park for a place right in the outskirts of Los Angeles. At the end of one trail is the famous site where the TV show M*A*SH was filmed and there are still a few deterioting film props left for a photo op.

Click here to see more of Malibu Creek State Park.

4. San Onofre State Beach – San Clemente, CA

This is another beach side campground with no hookups. Are you seeing a trend here? Some of the best spots in California come with sacrifices. San Onofre State Beach is a series of bluff-side asphalt campsites along the frontage road of the Interstate 5 freeway. It is right on the border of Orange and San Diego county. Although it borders the ocean, it is on top of the bluffs so beach access is not as great as Rincon Parkway or Thornhill Broome. There are some of the best surf spots right along this stretch of coast so if that is your thing, or you want to give it a shot, this would fit the bill perfectly. The road that takes you to the campground has no through access so anyone driving down here is either staying here or visiting someone. That makes traffic lighter than either of the 2 previous beach front campgrounds and much safer for little ones to play and roam.

Click here to see more of San Onofre State Beach.

5. Lake Cahuilla County Park – La Quinta, CA

Aside from camping near the beach, one of our favorite places to go in California is the desert. Too hot to visit in the summer, Lake Cahuilla is a great spot to visit in any of the other 3 seasons. The lake is a man-made reservoir used as a local water source so swimming is a no-go. However fishing and row boating is good to go if that is your thing. There is a boat rental facility but it does not operate year round. Being near the Palm Springs / Palm Desert area, there are lots of other activities like golfing, shopping and sightseeing in the area. This is our go-to spot when visiting the Coachella Valley. Equipped with electricity and water in all of their sites, it is very easy to get comfortable. A handful of them even provide sewer hookups if you are willing to pay a few bucks more a night. County parks are often diamonds in the rough as they are typically cheaper than state parks and can offer more to the visitor.

Click here to see more of Lake Cahuilla County Park.

6. Palm Canyon at Anza Borrego State Park – Borrego Springs, CA

Another great place to visit in the desert is going to take you pretty far out of civilization and into the heart of the desert. Anza Borrego State Park. It is in the Colorado Desert of Southern California and is the largest state park in California and second largest state park in the entire country. Named after the big horn sheeps that inhabits the region, it is a great geological preservation of the Colorado Desert that once was underwater as the Colorado river drained into the Sea of Cortez. With the state park visitor center within a mile walk down a desert path, there is lots of hiking and exploring to do here. Bring a nice, comfortable pair of walking shoes and don’t come here during the summer as it is closed due to the dangerous heat. Every site has full hookups and has newly paved asphalt that is mostly level. Some major renovations were done around 2006 so all of the bathrooms and showers are clean and nice. We have only been here once but we can’t wait to go back.

Click here to see more of Anza Borrego State Park.

You might noticed that we prefer State and County Parks more than commercial campgrounds. That is not to say that we don’t enjoy the occasional stay at a KOA as they are very kid friendly with nice facilities. 4 of the 6 campgrounds mentioned here also do not provide any hookups so a full freshwater tank, generators or solar power would be necessary if you are planning on staying more than a couple of nights comfortably. After all, traveling is less about staying in the RV watching their cable TV and more about getting the most out of where you are. At least that is what keeps us going back out there time after time.

over and out,
dan

It was actually quite nice because the Orleans has a dedicated over-sized vehicle parking lot with plenty of space with no one there to bother you. We paid them a visit in the morning for a little breakfast, another buffet of course, before heading out for a legitimate campground.

At the north end of town, I did some research and found a brand spanking new county park with full hook up RV sites for a mere $20 a night. The caveat is that this park also doubles as a recreational shooting range.

Don’t be scared Mila. Those people with guns are not the buffet police looking for that little one who didn’t finish their mac and cheese last night, they are just here to blow off some steam.

In all seriousness, this is actually quite a little gem. The facility is so large, we are at the end of the shotgun range about a good 1/4 mile away from any other human being. There are almost 100 sites here and probably only 3 campers in the whole place.

We had initially thought about camping at the KOA on the strip but having walked through there a couple of years ago, we were not too impressed with the parking lot like environment and its steep prices. Now that we are more seasoned travelers, we are a little more adventurous with trying new places out.

Over the last several days, we have been trying to link up with our old friends Angela and Jimmy. They are also doing a tour of the southwest in their camper and driving through much of the same roads. Unfortunately we have not been able to link up. Finally here in Vegas, we managed to meet up for one night at the campground and headed out for a nice Japanese Tepanyaki dinner in north Las Vegas.

Don’t be scare little one, it’s not a real volcano.

over and out,
dan

The next morning, things looked a bit grim. There was a lot of moisture on the ground and plenty of cloud coverage. It looked as though rain was eminent and the weather report forecasted that it will last several days. Since we have already paid for 4 nights, we decided to just play it by ear. Going home during the day and sleeping here at night was always our plan. If it rains on us it just means the afternoon beach days are out of the question.

That’s right Mila, that is the Pacific ocean your sister was complaining about being too close last night. Wah, wah.

Sure enough the rain starting to come down. Not really fiercely at first so we came home to wait it out just to see how things shake out. With rain coming down and puddles along the street starting to form, it wasn’t long until the rain boots and coats came out and the big girls headed out.

Sorry Mila, you are still too little to go out there in the rain. Wait until at least you know how to jump, it will be much more fun for you.

Here is Marlene demonstrating the proper method of stomping on a rain puddle.

Not to be out done by her mom, Ava gave it her all here with this double stomp.

The rain persisted the entire time we had the Mish at Rincon Parkway. Although we decided to spend our nights there each night, we did not get to spend any more time at the beach this time around. As we have not used her in a few months since our Lake Casitas trip before we took her for her much needed tune up at C&G Trailers, we needed to get her out and make sure everything is working property before our upcoming trip to Anza Borrego State Park. Stay tuned for a series of posts of our visit there during New Years week.

For now, we have a Princess Tea Party to attend for Ava’s friend Grace’s 5th birthday.

over and now,
dan