Introduction

[Rovin__Bones]

First, allow me to say that I have been lurking on the forum reading posts for a while now before actually registering.
Second, I think this topic needs a sticky as I am quite surprised there isn't already one for new members to break the ice and introduce themselves to the rest of the members.

With that being said, I'm happy to be here and have this resource to learn from the accumulated knowledge of the user base. I may not be able to contribute much with respect to strictly RV living, but as one who grew up in Boy Scouts and had an outdoors oriented grandfather (hunting, fishing, camping), and having later served in the USMC, all the while continuing to enjoy all the wonderful outdoor activities previously mentioned, I have become quite adept at surviving with minimal pack and minimal "modern conveniences". The less you can do without, the less crowded your "camp" will be and the less complicated things are in general.

So here's my story for any who care to invest the time in reading on.

As I mentioned, I grew up being a Boy Scout and having a grandfather who was an avid outdoorsman. He taught me to hunt, fish, camp, and to respect the natural resources and environment. Boy Scouts, in part, taught me how to be a decent person and how to conduct a moral and ethical life. It refined my camping and survival skills. It built on the foundation my grandfather laid with respect to my interactions with the environment and natural resources. I would not trade those experiences for anything in this world.

I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, so while I may be a city boy by that definition, I definitely have a country boy mentality.

Fast forward to 2012, after working 5 years at Wells Fargo in Institutional Retirement & Trust, I lost the job, was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, lost my home, and nearly lost my life, being at stage 4b when diagnosed. After 13 months disabled by my Dr. I returned to working part time, but not in my career field. It's been a nearly constant struggle to survive, just barely scraping by since 2012. After getting treated in 2015 when I had a relapse, I've been healthy and am back in my field at a good job for the time being. It's a contract job and could end at any time.

During my initial period of recovery in 2013, I began formulating what I refer to as "My Master Plan". This plan is just what so many here do. RV living full time and moving about the country as the mood suits me. I learned about workamping and began researching and learning from everything I could find on the subject. I've read, studied, researched, and contemplated every aspect of a vagabond life that I could possibly conceive of. With the recent loss of my last living arrangement I've finally accomplished Phase One of My Master Plan. I bought an older used Class C RV.

The RV:
24' 1983 Midas Freeport. Chevy 350 V8 mated to a TH400 transmission on a GM G30 chassis. 76,000 miles and it still purrs, shifts smooth and easy, and drives well. The interior is clean, but dated as you might imagine. There are no leaks in the roof and no soft spots to be found inside anywhere. There's an antique microwave, 2-way reefer and freezer, 3 burner stove, oven, heater, toilet, shower, sink, an Onan 4.0 4Kw genset and all of the holding tanks are still securely attached. She has her issues and I'll be spending most of the next months addressing them, starting with swapping out the 16.5" rims and tires for 16" standard size. The fiberglass siding has opened up on the driver's side back end and there's some dry rot issue to get corrected there, and one small spot on the cab over sleep on the driver's side where it's popped out along a short stretch of the horizontal run. This one should be very easy and quick to repair, but the back one is going to be involved, I'm sure. Other than that, there's nothing else it really "needs" other than a good wash and Marine Corps style "field day". The intent is to tow a small trailer with my Harley Sportster on it and more or less follow the seasons, working whatever jobs I can find and staying in one place no more than 4 months when possible.

I've set up a blog page on Facebook (not yet published at the time of this post) where I intend to document this journey. It's under the same name as my forum user name here. Details of "My Master Plan" will emerge there as I begin posting.

I suppose I've yakked my head off enough. I'll retire for now from writing and just go back to working some more on "My Master Plan".

Rovin' Bones

[Rovin__Bones]

Upon further investigation this generator/converter setup does include option C (charger). So my battery does charge when the genset is running (and plugged in in the back). The only two things that haven't been run to test is the water system (too close to winter to mess with it and then the subsequent re-winterizing) and the Norcold 770 EG2 refrigerator running on propane. I still cannot get this cranky old girl to fire up on LP. ONCE, just once, there was a small puff of mostly yellow flame in the sight glass, but nothing since. Looks like this weekend I'll have to do some cleaning and maintenance on the burner orifice to make sure that isn't the issue. It runs nice and cold on 120v, though.

[Rovin__Bones]

Ok. Got ya. I do wonder though, with the generator now providing power to the coach, the meter shows operation in the NORM range, not CHARGE for battery condition. I'll have to do some digging around this weekend when I have time and look at everything back there. Meanwhile, I'll just run the engine here and there as needed to recharge the house battery. I'm not using it too much. Very little in fact.

[DrewE]

Rovin' Bones wrote:
DrewE, thanks again for the suggestion and confirmation of my gut instinct. Plugging in the shore cable to the 30a outlet in the boot was the correct solution. But I do still wonder, if I am running the GenSet WITHOUT that plugged in, is it charging my house battery or not? Hmmmm.

Almost certainly it is not. The house battery is charged by the converter, and that's connected to the main 120V electrical system. The only possible way it would be charged otherwise is if there were some highly unusual modification or design for your particular RV.

Motorhomes are designed to charge the house battery from the chassis electrical system when the main engine is running (through a battery isolator, of which there are a few different designs). Whether or not that's working properly on yours is, of course, a different question altogether.

[Rovin__Bones]

DrewE, thanks again for the suggestion and confirmation of my gut instinct. Plugging in the shore cable to the 30a outlet in the boot was the correct solution. But I do still wonder, if I am running the GenSet WITHOUT that plugged in, is it charging my house battery or not? Hmmmm.

[ro_sie]

interesting reading your adventures.

[Rovin__Bones]

DrewE wrote:
For the generator, check in the compartment where your shore power cord is for a socket that it can plug into. Often, particularly on older motorhomes, the generator is wired to a socket that the shore power cord gets plugged into, and if it's not plugged in, the electricity naturally goes nowhere.

Thanks, Drew. I'll try that. There's a 30a outlet in the boot that I wondered if I should plug into. I'll give it a shot when I get off work today.

[DrewE]

For the generator, check in the compartment where your shore power cord is for a socket that it can plug into. Often, particularly on older motorhomes, the generator is wired to a socket that the shore power cord gets plugged into, and if it's not plugged in, the electricity naturally goes nowhere.

[Rovin__Bones]

Day 1:
Picked up the RV, got the title transferred and drove it back to "my spot". Ran off to Wally-World and grabbed a big 29D house battery and some supplies and filled my 5 gallon water jug.
Went back to the RV and installed the house battery. Went inside and started a good old fashioned USMC Field Day. Looks and smells much better in here now, but still some work to do.
Messed with trying to get the gennie started for a while. No luck so I stopped and made my first supper in my new Mobile Domicile.
It rained most of the afternoon so I couldn't do diddly outside. Decided to head off to my storage unit and grab my bedding, sundry other cleaning supplies, and my toolboxes.
Set up the little porta-potty since I'm not using on-board water right now. Made my bed, read Facebook, and wrote a few posts.
Went to bed at 10pm.

Day 2:
Turned on the propane tank as soon as I woke up. Lit the stove without issue. Brewed a pot of coffee while running all 3 burners to warm the house. (Gotta have my coffee!)
The oven pilot lit but won't fire up the burner when I turn up the heat. I don't anticipate using it any time soon so I put off messing with it until later.
With coffee on the range, I set to getting the furnace working.
The igniter button was a little sticky so I hit it with a little squirt of WD-40. After about 20 minutes of farting around with it, it finally lit off. Nice and cozy in the coach now.
Went outside and opened the gennie access door and checked connections where possible. Tried starting it. Not happening. Went back inside and RTFM. Oh, duh! Keep holding that start button, son. Did so and after about 30-40 seconds it sputtered to life.
For the first 10-15 minutes the governor kept cycling from high to low RPM. It eventually smoothed out and ran beautifully.
Discovered I don't have juice at any outlet inside. Reset all of the breakers on the converter. Still no power. I'm left wondering if the house battery was even charging during the 2 hours or so that I ran the generator. I'm going to have to limit my usage of the 1000w modified sine wave inverter I put on the house battery until I know the gennie is charging it.
Been messing with the 2-way refrigerator off and on all day trying to get it started on propane. At one point there was a brief puff of flame in the pilot sight-glass. I haven't gotten it to start yet, however.

I have heat and can cook. That's most important to begin with. I'll worry about the electric and charging issues later.

That's all for now.

Like and follow me on Facebook: Rovin' Bones

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Welcome! Congrats on the first step! Here's a great blog by a young woman who quit her job and started workcamping. Love reading her blog. http://www.interstellarorchard.com/

[2gypsies1]

Best of luck to you!!! Come back often with questions or comments.

[bob213]

Looks like you've been thru a lot to get here. Glad you are here now. Welcome to the forum and keep us updated on your progress. There is a wealth of information to be had here if you can weather the occasional storm to get it.