Getting her Ready to Roll!

I have to give a huge shout out to Paul for managing so many technical and mechanical aspects of the Airstream and everything he has done to get it ready for our trip.  He put together the summary below outlining everything he has done to get us "Ready to Roll!"

In our vision of traveling the USA we love the idea of being as self-sufficient as possible.  We took a big step towards independence with our electrical upgrade.  In doing our research, we decided to have a company named Airstream Nuts and Bolts complete the design and installation.  Ronnie Dennis, who is the proprietor, is very well known in the Airstream community for doing very high-quality work.  Their shop is in Dadeville Alabama about 30 minutes from Auburn University.  So in November of 2024 Paul hooked up the Airstream to drop it off at Ronnie’s shop on his way to work in Port Fourchon LA.  At the end of Paul’s hitch, Jen flew into New Orleans to travel back to Ronnie’s shop to pick it up.  

What we had done:

·       We replaced our batteries from old school lead acid to Battle Bourn Lithium-Ion batteries.  We added 2 of these batteries rated at 270-amp hours each.

·       We added a 3000-watt Victron inverter.  An inverter converts 12-volt DC electricity from the batteries into normal (household) 120 Volt AC electric.

·       We replaced our two sad solar panels with 8 (100 watt each) solar panels.  We also replaced the solar controller with and upgraded Victron solar controller.

·       We added the ability to connect the electrical charging system in our truck to charge our batteries on the rig.  This was accomplished with a Victron Orien DC to DC charge controller that limits the draw on the alternator to 50amps.

·       We also added a 7-inch touch screen in the rig that controls all of these functions and monitors the state of charge and discharge so we can manage our power effectively. 

·       And finally, we added two soft starts controllers to both of our air conditioners.  We added these to help lower the power draw upon startup of the compressor.  Paul installed these prior to our appointment.

 

How these upgrades help us be more independent

These upgrades make it possible to not have to rely on an expensive campground to plug our rig into.  So when we are traveling, we can spend the night off-grid so to speak.  This includes spending the night in a parking lot (Harvest Host) or out on BLM land out west.  The limitation on this is that if we need to run the Air conditioning, the batteries will not make it all night.  But what it does do, is give us the ability to run the AC for a lunch stop or before we get to a campground where we know we will have a plug.    

Other Upgrades

·   Tires.  We decided to replace all 5 (one spare) tires on the rig as they were more than five years old.  This may seem to be wasteful to discard tires that have plenty of tread on them.  Tires that do not get used regularly can and do develop dry rot.  This is a problem on the trailer if and when they delaminate or blow out.   Along with the safety concern is the damage concern when these slabs of tire tread came flopping around and dent the panels on the airstream.  Replacing panels is very expensive.

·    Starlink. We are lucky to live in a time when internet communication has become so accessible.  Starlink uses low orbit satellites to provide very high speed internet connections virtually anywhere in the world.  We permanently installed the router in one of the cabinets above the TV.  To get on to the internet takes about five minutes of setting the antenna outside and placing it with a clear view of the sky

·    Bikes.  One of the biggest challenges we had was finding a reasonable method to carry bicycles either in the truck or in the rig.  Because of the layout of our airstream, a bike rack on the back of it was not a great solution.  We purchased foldable full-size bikes from etrailer.com  The brand is "Montague."  I ordered the mountain bike for myself as I am a bit sturdy, and I wanted to get a bike that could take a beating.  We got a road bike for Jennifer.  I built a couple of crude boxes to put on my bed slide and it all seems to work.

 

This is Jen . . . we are currently at Little Manatee River State Park after a productive trip to the Airstream of Tampa a few days ago to get our front AC replaced and our stabilizer jack switches replaced as well.  This was the last big repair we needed prior to our adventure.  It was cool to be at Airstream and read more about its history and founder Wally Byam.  They have been making Airstreams in the good ole USA since 1932 and 75% of them are still on the road - we are honored to be part of this great story.  Here are a few pics from our visit:

A huge thanks again to Paul for all of his hard work getting us ready!  

Cheers and love, Jen & Paul