First camping trip of the 2023 season! It was cold, wet, and very windy spring weather for most of the week. There was only 1 evening we could have a campfire. 😞 The new solar setup & expanded battery bank on the camper worked great. The new Thule awning worked great also, but I didn't have it up much due to the wind.

There was lots of work and cleanup to do after the long winter. Picked up downed tree limbs. Chainsawed & removed some fallen trees in the cornfield fence perimeter before they plant the field for the season. Also worked on cutting & removing invasive honeysuckle as part of our timber rehab plan - a never ending job. I took the pups for long hikes and they loved exploring the trails thru the timber. It felt good after a hard day of work to settle down for the night in the warm camper.

Looking forward to doing more!!  

#camping #nature #dogsofmastodon #offgridsolar #cargotrailercamper #lovethemchessies #springfinallyhere #iowatimberfarm

Temperatures finally warmed up enough here to roll the camper out of the garage. YAY!🎉 ☀️

I added the Thule awning to the roof rack on top and finished up wiring and attaching the expanded solar panels on the roof. I had re-worked the 12v electrical system during the winter in the garage to add 2 SOK 208AH batteries in parallel to expand my capacity to 416 AH as well as beefing up the wiring and additional safety fusing.

The 600W on the roof should help recharge my batteries in under 5 hours as well as snag some energy when it's cloudy. I also have a 200W suitcase panel that I can deploy on the ground that goes into a second solar charger for additional charging.

Am soooo excited for camping this year! Will be heading out in 2 weeks. WooHoo!!
#camping #offgridcamping #cargotrailercamper #solarcamping #campingwithdogs

How it started...
and how it's going....

Been working on upgrading my camper electric system for the past 2 months. Basically tore out the old and started over. Added more safety features as well as another 206AH LiFePo battery to get 412AH total capacity. Also added another solar charger controller to help top the batteries off quicker. Will be adding more solar panels to roof when I get the camper out of the garage for the season. It will help me stay off grid longer and camp more comfortably. Hopefully it will open up more places to camp too!

When I first built my camper I made it real simple. But I really enjoy tinkering and trying new things. Especially pushing the limits of my solar. Am hoping it will help me learn what works and what doesn't so I can build it into my own tiny home some day!!

#offgrid #solar #camping #cargotrailercamper #diy

Can't wait for winter to be over so we can get back out there!!

#throwbackthursday #camping #cargotrailercamper #yellowriverstateforest