by Bill Moeller
Keep in mind that the lower the humidity in the air, the colder the air temperature will be as the air exits the cooler. Bachman Enterprises, the manufacturer of the TurboKOOL, states that the average relative humidity should not exceed 75%. (Other swamp cooler manufacturers say they will still cool in high-humidity places, only not as well.) See the efficiency chart supplied by TurboKOOL that compares the outside temperature to the cooled inside temperature.
This chart shows how much cooling an evaporative cooler will do in various outside temperatures and humidity. For instance, at 110°F and 30% humidity the cooler would lower the temperature 20°. (Bachman Enterprises)
A TurboKOOL cooler mounted on the roof of an RV. (RVIA)
We personally have not had any experience with swamp coolers, but we do think they might be a good substitute for an air conditioner if you spend most of your time in the desert areas of the West.
Window Coverings
The window coverings in your RV can help keep you cool. Some pleated shades have an insulating feature, as do good-quality light-blocking, roller-type window shades. In the summertime, these are effective for keeping the sun out (and in the winter, they’ll help keep the heat in). Miniblinds do not have these properties. Dual-pane windows also contribute to keeping your interior cool in the summer and warm in the winter, although they are expensive and must be ordered from the manufacturer at the time you buy your rig.
An awning that runs the length of the RV or individual awnings on each window will shade the RV and keep it cooler. Some of the newer models unfurl themselves at the push of a button and will roll themselves up if the wind gets too strong.
CHAPTER 7
Communications and
Navigation
As mentioned in Chapter 1, boondocking doesn’t mean leaving the world behind—unless, of course, that’s what you want. New developments in the fields of computers and communications provide direct benefits for the boondocking RVer.
CELL PHONES
Cell phones have not only become a great convenience, but we believe a real necessity for RVers for reasons of time, money, and safety. Many cell-phone plans include unlimited longdistance service with no roaming charges, and coverage areas are broader than ever before. In fact, coverage today is almost 100% along interstate highways, so if you have an emergency you can reach help instantly.
(RVIA)
Recently Bill was traveling alone in our rig just outside a very small town in Idaho when he blew a tire on the trailer. He tried but couldn’t reach our emergency road service or anyone else on the cell phone. Since the tire blew on a curve while going up a hill, he reasoned that the trees and the hill were affecting the phone’s signal strength. So he started walking down the hill toward the town about 2 miles away. Eventually he got a weak signal just around the bend and was able to call our emergency road service. Because he was on a small intermediary highway, it took over 2 hours for help to arrive, but it did come eventually. The driver swapped the blown tire for the spare in short order, and Bill drove to Moscow, Idaho, 20 miles back down the road where he could buy a new tire and get back on the road.
A few years ago, this situation would not have been resolved so easily and conveniently (even with the wait). You would have had to unhitch the tow vehicle, drive back to find help to change the tire, rehitch, and go to a tire dealer for a new tire.
Digital cell phones operate between 0.25 and 0.6 watt, with a range of about 20 to 30 miles. A booster, such as the SmoothTalker (www.smoothtalker.com), can raise that output to 3 watts, the wattage at which analog cell phones operated (and they always had great range). This results in a signal five times stronger than the phone’s original signal.
We know of many campgrounds, for both boondocking and regular RVing, that we would like to visit but hesitate to do so for long-term stays because of poor cell-phone coverage. With a booster, these places are more accessible.
SmoothTalker claims that in flat country and under optimum conditions, its units can transmit a signal up to 60 miles. A more realistic distance is probably about 30 to 40 miles in average terrain, which is still pretty good. The only obstacles that can stop or interfere with the signal are hills, trees, and buildings.
Even wattage-boosting antennas can help improve your cell-phone signal, particularly when you are calling from inside your rig. The reason is that most trailers and motorhomes are basically metal cages—consisting of steel or aluminum frames. Both of these metals are great signal stoppers. Outside antennas on a rig can be a big help, whether they are roof mounted or window mounted using a through-the-glass type of antenna. (An antenna will work on dual-pane windows, but not as well as the magnetic-type antennas used on the roof.)
When you are boondocking, any technique or technology that will improve your ability to communicate with the outside world is worth the peace of mind. You never know when you may have a medical emergency, so it is nice to know you can summon help when you need it. If your cell phone has a GPS receiver installed, when you call 911, it will transmit your exact position in latitude and longitude to the 911 operator. This feature is the reason why so many people trapped or lost in out-of-the-way places are successfully rescued.
E-MAIL
Most RVers use e-mail to stay in touch with relatives, RVing friends, and even business contacts. For years, we’ve used PocketMail (www.pocketmail.com) for our e-mail, which is a mobile e-mail service that uses a telephone to transmit your messages. We can easily correspond weekly with family and certain friends.
The PocketMail Composer is a small handheld device with a keyboard and LCD screen. You compose your e-mail messages using the keyboard, then transmit the messages with a telephone. The unit has a fold-out microphone and a receiver, and the whole thing fits neatly over a telephone receiver. Dial the PocketMail service, and when it answers, hold the unit up to the receiver and push the send button. PocketMail also has a device you can connect to a PDA, giving you mobile e-mail.
Today, we find that with the ever-increasing disappearance of pay phones and the development of other better computer methods, we use PocketMail less and less.
INTERNET ACCESS
When you’re home or in a private campground with complete facilities, you have many options for accessing the Internet:
Dial-up: uses your computer’s built-in, dial-up modem, a phone line, a telephone cable with an RJ-11 jack on each end, and an account with an Internet service provider (ISP).
Broadband: a high-speed connection, with two options—DSL (digital subscriber line), which uses a special phone line; or cable and the same RG-59 coaxial cable used for television reception.
Wi-fi: short for wireless fidelity; uses small radio transceivers built into the computer or in a PC card to send and receive the signals between the host and your computer. The problem with wi-fi is range, which is only 100 to 150 feet indoors.
Cell phone: uses a cell phone—see below.
PC card for a cell-phone tower: uses a specific PC card from your cell-phone provider; see below.
Internet satellite dish: allows access to a satellite for Internet service (separate from a television satellite dish); see below.
When you’re boondocking, however, the only viable options for accessing the Internet are cell phones, a PC card for cellphone towers, and an Internet satellite dish, all of which we cover below.
When you’re boondocking, you can still keep up with current events by accessing the Internet on your laptop. (RVIA)
Cell-Phone Access
New technology now allows you to use your cell phone to access the Internet from your laptop computer. We have used Verizon’s mobile-office kit for about four years now and have found it to be satisfactory—within reason. With a transfer speed of only 14.4 kilobytes per second, it is awfully slow, plus we have to be in range of a cell-phone tower. We’ve also tried Verizon’s broadband service, which is faster and works very well. However, it is also expensive, and we still need to be in range of a cell tower.
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If you want to use your cell phone for the Internet, make sure you have a phone with the necessary features, matching software, and a connecting cord. Many phones are not suited for this purpose.
PC Cards and Cell-Phone Towers
You can also use a cell-phone tower to access the Internet from your laptop in the same way your cell phone works. All you need is a PC card provided by your cell-phone company that plugs into the PC slot on your computer. The service is broadband, with data transmitted over radio waves. The card has its own antenna and cell-phone number, and it will not affect your regular cell-phone use. We find this system works well for us.
The one drawback is you’re still limited to a 5- to 7-mile range from the nearest cellphone tower. However, as with a cell phone, you can use a booster or amplifier to increase that range. You can purchase cables that will fit most cards, as well as antennas to fit on your RV Check with SmoothTalker about its units.
Internet Satellite Dishes
All RVers are familiar with satellite dishes and the wonderful TV service they provide. It seems that most RVs nowadays are equipped with one, whether it is a portable or roof-mounted unit. A new development that has appeared on the scene is the Internet satellite dish. These dishes come as either a tripod-mounted dish, which must be manually aligned to the satellite, or a roof-mounted unit that automatically adjusts with the push of a button. Either way you go, this technology is probably the best solution for boondockers wishing to get on the Internet.
Our computer setup. Not shown is the floppy disk drive or the DVD and CD burner drive.
The systems are expensive though;the roof-mounted automatic dishes run from $5,000 to $6,000 (installation is extra), and the manual tripod dishes range from $1,300 to $1,500 dollars.
Internet satellite dishes are much more sensitive to alignment than television dishes, although once aligned, they work well. With the manual dishes, you will have to devote a certain amount of time to learning how to find the satellite. While we’ve had no experience with either type, we have heard that the tripod models are very difficult to align with the correct satellite. Plus it can be a real chore to realign the dish every day while traveling. A friend who has a roof-mounted model says he is very happy with his because it is so easy to use.
The tripod dishes are also much larger than the television ones, so storing a unit while you travel may pose a problem.
SATELLITE RADIO
One form of satellite communication that we enjoy very much is satellite radio. At present there are two companies offering programming, XM Radio and Sirius. Both companies broadcast all kinds of music on many channels: pop, rock, blues, hip-hop, swing, country, bluegrass, jazz, classical, and some other types we have probably forgotten to mention. They also offer news, weather, talk shows, politics, and sports (with many sports events covered from kickoff to the last inning). Recently, we were given an XM Radio receiver and we enjoyed it immensely during a trip to Arizona. We never had to worry about switching stations when a signal started fading out. Satellite radio is ideal for boondockers—especially when we are camping in areas with no radio coverage and thus no local access to news and weather.
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) RECEIVERS
GPS is a twenty-four-satellite navigational system that was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military use. However, because of the system’s enormous potential, the government released it for civilian purposes in the 1980s.
GPS works in any weather, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. The GPS satellites are in very precise orbits and emit radio signal information as they circle the earth. GPS receivers lock onto these satellite signals and measure the time delay it takes for the radio signal to reach the receiver. A receiver must lock onto at least three satellites to pinpoint its actual latitude and longitude. With four or more satellites, it can also calculate altitude. The accuracy is within just a few feet. Other available information includes speed, bearing, trip distance, and destination distance.
GPS receivers range in size from small handheld units to larger ones that can be mounted on the dashboard of your tow vehicle or motorhome, and they range in price from $100 to over $1,000. You can also attach a unit to your laptop and use mapping software. When programmed, a receiver can follow a course from one end of the country to the other, giving audio driving instructions to guide you along the way. The viewing screen displays a full-color, graphic map of all the turns, highway changes, and service stations along the way, even the nearest McDonald’s, until it finally puts you in your destination campground. GPS receivers are so sensitive they can also guide you up a four-wheel trail in the mountains, showing every turn. The single RVer can get a lot of help with his or her navigation with one of these great devices.
CHAPTER 8
Boondock Electricity
Made Easy
The biggest problem a boondock RVer confronts is the one of charging the RV’s batteries rapidly and completely enough after a night without an electrical hookup. This is particularly true when the RVer wants to boondock for several nights in succession before moving on. The folks at Trailer Life magazine told us quite a few years ago that one of their most frequently asked questions was, "How do you charge the house batteries in the RV after boon-docking?" (We’ll draw the distinction between house batteries and starting batteries shortly.)
We believe many RVers would like to do more boondock camping, but upon trying it they are stymied by depleted batteries that they can’t seem to recharge. Consequently they don’t try primitive camping again. But the rewards of boondock camping are too great to let this scare you away. Dead batteries may be an inconvenience, but they’re nothing to fear. The world won’t come to an end if your batteries die. Practice electricity conservation, match your battery capacity to your needs or your needs to your capacity, and recharge your batteries as soon and as thoroughly as possible, and you’ll do fine.
(Winnebago Industries)
Another problem is that many people are afraid of electricity, thinking that it requires esoteric knowledge and higher math. Fearing that any electrical system modifications they make in their RVs could have unforeseen consequences, they avoid the subject altogether.
The truth of the matter is that the electrical knowledge the average RVer needs for boon-docking is very small and can be learned quickly. All things electrical are interrelated. Once the fundamental relations are grasped, the electrical system as a whole is easy to understand.
BASIC BOONDOCKING
Many people practice basic boondocking without even thinking about it. They will pull into a place, spend the night, then move on the next morning, recharging the batteries through their alternator as they drive down the road. This is easy to do, and is probably the simplest form of boondocking.
Many of today’s alternators, however, are only designed to replace the current used to start the engine, not to replenish partial or fully discharged batteries. This is particularly true with the alternators on many trucks, SUVs, and passenger cars. The alternator’s amperage output is just high enough to replace the current used to start the engine, and then the current tapers off rapidly until it has very little charging capability.
While it’s true that a starting motor places a heavy draw on a battery, that demand lasts no more than a few seconds. In contrast, the demands placed on a battery by "house" needs—lights, fans, refrigerator, coffeemaker, computer, TV, etc.—have the capacity to discharge a battery much more deeply over time than a starting motor ever does. The crux of the boondock RVer’s problem is to have enough battery capacity to meet domestic needs when not plugged into a campground outlet, and enough charging capacity to replenish those batteries efficiently.
YOUR RV’S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
An RV has all the normal automotive electrical needs, of course—headlights, dashboard lights, power windows, radio, and so on—but since these are only needed when the engine is running, supplying them with power is not a problem. The standard automoti
ve battery and alternator are so good at satisfying these needs that you rarely even have to think about them.
But your RV also needs to supply power for cooking, recreation, communication, creature comforts, and other domestic needs when the engine isn’t running, and this is a taller order to fill. Your RV’s "house" electrical system comprises both DC (direct current—i.e., battery-supplied) and AC (alternating or household current) appliances. DC appliances include 12-volt lights, the freshwater pump, and perhaps the furnace, among other conveniences. AC appliances include fluorescent lights, a satellite dish, a television, a DVD/VCR, a laptop computer, a microwave, and small kitchen appliances such as a coffeemaker—unless, of course, you have 12-volt versions of any of these.
Components of an RV electrical system. (Xantrex)
When you’re boondocking, all these appliances are powered by your batteries, either directly in the case of DC appliances or through a DC/AC inverter in the case of AC appli-ances. Yes, you could generate AC power from a gasoline or diesel generator—either a small portable one or a larger installed unit—but generators have decided drawbacks as we’ll see in Chapter 11.
Our preferred approach is to manage our electrical needs carefully, carry enough battery capacity to meet those needs, monitor our battery usage and recharging closely, and meet as much of our electrical needs as possible with solar panels. This is the approach we will be describing in this and the following chapters. If you’re thinking about boondock RVing, think twice before buying an RV that is laden with power-hungry AC appliances. Our refrigerator operates on either AC power or propane, and we use a gas oven rather than an AC convection oven.
