Author: Rae

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Just Call Me MacGyver!

I did some more research about Macbook Pros and voltage before shutting down my computer earlier this morning and found information that led me to believe that I could still charge under slightly lower than optimal voltage, it just wouldn’t be as efficient.

The motorhome engine battery puts out more than 14 volts when the engine is running. Could that be enough to charge my Macbook Pro while I was driving? Hmm…

All of my inverters are designed to be hard wired to a battery, so they do not have a 12V plug. I had a one of those left over from when I added my 12V outlet in the study, so I spliced it into my 300W inverter. I got into the cab, plugged in the inverter, turned on the engine, turned on the inverter, plugged in the computer and… voila! I got a solid hour of charging while getting to the next rest area, giving me 50% battery capacity.

By managing my computer use, I will be fine for computer power while I’m traveling, but this is obviously not going to work when I stop to boondock for an extended period of time. So I will be ordering the 12V charger to be sent general delivery to a post office in the New Orleans area.

I’m feeling much, much better now that I understand what has been going on and am now confident that my battery bank is working as it should be! It’s wonderful to be sitting here with the solar array monitor telling me the batteries are fully charged and that the battery monitor and the batteries themselves confirm it!

I called ahead to the Walmart just south of Charlotte that I was eyeing and they definitely allow overnight parking! They’re only a couple of hours away from this rest area, so I will spend several hours here and will leave around 2PM or so to avoid rush hour.

Tomorrow is the big day: Atlanta. I’ve done my research on the RVing forums and the consensus is to stick to the interstate’s centre lanes through the city rather than use the bypass and to go through at either midday or midnight.

At the rate I am going, I could be in New Orleans by Thursday or Friday, but I’m just playing it by ear. I’m really enjoying these short driving spurts coupled with long pauses at rest areas, even if the semis are noisy!

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Frigid Night in North Carolina

BRR!!!!!!!!! We went well below freezing last night in Henderson! It’s till unpleasantly cold out there. At least, the sun is out!

I treated myself to a new duvet before leaving Hampton Roads and it is divine. I didn’t even know how cold the rig was until I poked my nose out from under the blankets this morning!

I had left the furnace set to about 50F (thinking in degrees F? I’ve been in the US too long!) and it kicked on seconds before I reached the thermostat to crank it up. I went back to bed with the iPad since the Lowe’s had wifi (!!!!!!) until it was warm enough to get up.

Since there’s a rest area a few minutes down I-85 from Henderson, I decided to just dress and go there (here), where I could have breakfast, assess my electrical situation, and hang out for a bit. I’ll be shortly moving on to another rest area as there are 50 billion signs here saying no loitering, 2 hours max.

My laptop’s out of juice, so more later. Hopefully, I can find some power for it today. Gah.

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Bad News About Charging a 17" MacBook Pro Through an Inverter

This morning, I ran my battery bank through the paces to eliminate problems one by one. The problem is either my inverters or my laptop. I can’t imagine having three bad inverters, so the answer must be the laptop.

I’m running off a battery that’s at about 97% right now (12.5V) with a draw of about 0.3 amps, which is the fridge. BTW, I never, ever run my fridge on auto, so it cannot switch over to electric.

If I turn on the big inverter. No problem, I’m now drawing about 1 amp. Turn on the UPS for the office stuff and run the external drives. No problem, I’m below 2 amps. Plug in the laptop and it charges for about five seconds, long enough to tell me I’m drawing about 6 amps, and then the inverter starts shrieking that the voltage is too low.

I pulled the Kill-O-Watt metre into the inverter to see what kind of wattage the charger is drawing right before the inverter cuts out, and it fluctuated between 90 and 120 watts, the lower end of which is comparable to what the battery monitor was telling me.

So I finally did a search on solar powering a MacBook Pro and, surprise, surprise, there is no easy answer… because the MBP requires a higher voltage than that supplied by an RV system. There’s the answer! The MBP is trying to draw something like 16V out of my system, which obviously won’t work!

I found many references to a guy who has successfully hacked a Magsafe MacBook brick to run straight off of 12V power, not through an inverter. It’s pricy, $170, but if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes. In the meantime, I need to find a Starbucks. Gaaaaaaah. Apple, why do you do this to me!

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I Am Missing a Piece of the Electrical Puzzle

My electrical system is working perfectly, only it’s not.

I started the evening with a fully charged battery. I ran the furnace a little, an LED light for a couple of hours, and the fridge. Three hours later, the battery monitor says that I drew 6.5 amp hours from my battery bank, which makes sense and still leaves me about 145 amp hours.

I turned on the inverter and the monitor said that it was drawing 4 amps when the inverter shrieked out a low voltage warning and shut itself off.

Amps-wise, I’m fine, but I seem to be having a voltage shortage that mystifies me. My entire system has smaller gauge wiring than specs call for and I have short cable runs.

I am baffled. Even the 300 watt inverter refuses to work tonight, and by work, I mean charge my laptop. If I can’t charge my laptop, then all of my upgrades were made for nothing.

I’m so disappointed. But at least I’m warm, so I guess that’s something. 🙂

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Suffolk VA to Henderson, NC

I’m parked at the Lowe’s in Henderson, North Carolina. More on that in a bit.

I’d scheduled departure for around 12:30 so I was in absolutely no rush this morning and didn’t even start to act like I was going to pull out until about 11:00.

Today, I really wish I had taken picture of the rig prior to previous departures over the last four years. Except for putting the office away, interior prep was just putting things where they belong. There’s nothing on the floor, nothing in the sinks, nothing on the arm chair, and only my inbox on the bed in the back. Even the office dismantling was minimal. I have finally achieved that balance I sought between having a proper home and having a home I can pack up at a moment’s notice.

The exterior work went quickly and by noon I was ready to roll off my levelers and get them put away.

This is my pile of levelers:

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And this is how badly Miranda needed them!

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Mom came out at one point to check on my progress and I apologized for the mess I made of the grass. She laughed and said, “Doesn’t bother me in the least. Less to mow!”

This being Sunday, the road was not too busy, but I was still glad to have my friend as a spotter as I eased myself out. The actual manoeuvring was a non-issue, just back straight, crank right, pull ahead, done.

Hooking up the truck took a bit, but went very well! I’m getting the hang of it! I just need to find a visual clue as to how far up I need to bring the truck to the motorhome.

I took off around 12:30 and drove steadily to Emporia, about an hour away, to Jellystone Park/Emporia Yogi, which appears to be part of a chain as I remember seeing a Jellystone Park in Montana. The office was closed, but there was a sign saying to call if anything, including propane was needed. I called and was told to park at the propane tank; someone would be with me shortly.

Indeed, a gentleman in a golf cart pulled up to the tank about the same time as I did. As he was filling the tank, I asked if I could use the dump station and he looked at me for a split second then said, “Uh, there’s a charge for that.” I replied that I wouldn’t have expected anything else. He told me to instead go into one of the sites as that would be easier than getting in and out of the dump station. I did as instructed, then went inside to pay before dumping.

The dump fee was $15 and the propane was about $48, which is actually quite reasonable. I could have probably found a free dump station, but I was there, I understand the costs involved in maintaining a dump station, and it’s not like I’ll be paying for parking in the next couple of days anyway.

I’d taken on water in Suffolk, so I just had to empty the tanks and did so without incident. Jellystone park looked a little barren without any leaves, but the sites were nice and big with full hookups.

Fuel in Suffolk was about $3.24, the highest since I got there (the lowest was $2.98!!!!!!!!!), so I had decided to wait, regretting my decision as prices in Emporia were in the high $3.50s! But I was due by the time I left Jellystone, so it was time to find a gas station regardless of the price. The first one I saw with an easy in and out was marked… $3.19. For once, fueling procrastination paid off!!! Just a mile down the road, prices were back up above $3.50!

My goal for the night was the Walmart in South Hill, VA, at which I arrived at about 3:30. I had called ahead and was given the impression that RV parking was allowed. Well, nope! The South Hill VA Walmart is extremely RV unfriendly. The manager said she doesn’t want to see RVs in her lot at any time and that any there at night will be towed. Shop elsewhere!

For some unfathomable reason, I didn’t have any backup options! But it was pretty early, so I decided to try my luck at the next Walmart down the road, which was in Henderson, North Carolina.

On the way there, I thought, “I should have called them!” I guess I’m still not used to having a phone. But it would up being good that I didn’t call because if I had, I would have again been told rudely no and to go away and I would have missed a great overnight spot, the Lowe’s I spotted on the way to the Walmart.

When I came out of the Walmart, the sun was setting. It was crunch time. I decided to call the Lowe’s and if they said no, I would try the Cracker Barrel even though my rig is too long for their RV/bus spots.

I was on hold with Lowe’s more than five minutes before I finally got someone who could tell me whether or not RV parking is allowed. He said that they really don’t care as long as people park in the back of the lot at the top of the hill. Woohoo!

The Lowe’s lot is very steeply sloped, but there is a flat section at the top. I was able to squeeze in between some trucks and am now in a nice fairly quiet and well lit spot.

The game of over night parking roulette had left me feeling a tad drained, plus I had planned to get groceries at Walmart, so I decided to walk over to the Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner, where I had some really good salmon!

Tomorrow, I plan to drive to a rest area for a good part of the day and may land just past Charlotte. But I will call the Walmart I have in mind to make sure they do allow overnight parking!