With the quarantine restrictions being gradually lifted, we can plan on a time to leave! But there were a few more things to do, one of which I could only do with the trailer out on the street. The plan was to move the trailer to the street a day or two before we were to leave. We can sleep out there just as easily.
With the cabinet project, in the previous blog entry, I was given a location to put all my electronics. In my next blog entry, I will discuss the electronics that we use on the road for internet, satellite TV, and DVR capability. I was able to free up a cabinet above our chairs by moving all those electronics to the new location.
In the previous entry, I mentioned about the backup camera on the trailer. Here is a shot from the dash of the truck that shows it in operation:
I have used the backup camera numerous times already. I am very glad that I put it on. As a benefit, I will also get the tire pressures on my truck screen.
One of the things we had in our house, that I really miss in the trailer, is a remotely accessible thermostat, like a Nest. I thought I had issues with our Dometic thermostat a few months ago but it was a loose wire in the AC unit. It appears that MicroAir has a direct replacement thermostat for the Dometics and it does WiFi and Bluetooth! I got one and put it in. It is wonderful! Plus, since we have the cat with us, I can check the settings from wherever I am. I didn’t take a picture of ours but here it is:
MicroAir also makes ‘softstart’ Air Conditioner kit. I have been very interested in those for a while. The appeal is that not only does it start the compressor smoother but purportedly you can run the AC on a single Honda generator. I used to have two generators that put out 30amp in parallel but rarely did we use them, so I sold one.
We tried, once, to use our generator with just the microwave in Montana but it would not power it. I was confused. By figuring out the wattage needs of the microwave, using the old W=V*A formula, it should have worked. I have finally figured out the problem. It turns out to be the same reason we could not even use a 15amp connection in New York during courtesy parking.
It turns out that the battery charger/converter is a huge power hog when it starts up and for a bit thereafter. I now know to turn it off when we want to used the generator. We have the solar so it should work, and I DID put in a switch to turn it off a while back.
Now, armed with this knowledge, I am ready to try it out. But I have to install the kit. This is the one that worked the best on the street. Here are some shots of the AC with the shroud off:
Initially the install seems daunting and a bit dangerous (you are touching capacitors). However, you do it with the power off (110v) and just slowly follow the instructions and it is easy. The the AC did start up when I was done. That was nice. I will test the unit with our generator when we get on the road.
I didn’t film, or take pictures, of the install. Here are some other Airstreamers that have done it:
One extra minor tweak was an installation next to my side of the bed. It is a very powerful magnet that I screwed to the wall:
This part will be very useful. It is great at holding a heavy metal object that you might need quickly in the evening and don’t want to go hunting for it.
Next entry, electronics!
