Hey fluffy, I admit a Roadtrek is going around in
more style; I did want to buy that $12500 2002 Roadtrek 190 one on Craigslist. But once I get my $7000 after tax Custom Continental Cargo 7' x 14' trailer going I will have:
TWO 2 burner stoves - either my ozark mtn 2 burner propane stove or my
gasoline burning capable Coleman Stove [a classic stove?]
sink - no need for the weight of a sink or heavy wood cabinet system, my one ceramic plate can be cleaned with my thumb and half a cup of water, dumped into the ground. Hence I carry NO HEAVY BLACK WATER TANK, at 8.5 lbs [?] per gallon?
refrigerator - I plan to get a 3 way refrigerator and run it on propane, and store it in my future cargo trailer. Maybe an $1150 Norco or Dometic.
microwave - I got a $20 thrift store 900 watt one [not installed yet] that'll probably run on my 1500 watt Statpower Prowatt Invertor. I got a high amperage capable AGM Kinetik battery from amazon, and this single AGM battery [but heavy one!] can probably have the proper high amperage draw to power a microwave. I tested running my other Microwave, Oven / Toaster combo [1400? watt] device directly connected to my 1500 Watt Statpower Invertor and it wanted to pull over 200 amps, so my current 160 amp alternator + battery was incapable of running a microwave. [- That combo microwave couldn't run at lower power level too, like 40% power or so].
See:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-- But why get or use a microwave when I cook on solar power? Do you know that if you put a Totino's Pizza within its sealed wrapper [or TV dinner] - bought in the morning... And leave it in the HOT sun on the dashboard or your vehicle, - that you will have a "cooked" pizza or tv dinner for lunch or dinner? I have really eaten a lot of Totino's Pizza and Banquet, Marie Callendar's, and Hungry Man TV Dinners ALL SOLAR COOKED ON MY VEHICLE DASHBOARD. But I admit, a microwave is A NICE
OPTION.
Toilet - I made one with foam, a plastic bucket, lid, and 8 gallon garbage bag all from Walmart for around $6. May seem "hillbilly cheap" but actually it's an extremely lightweight "toilet system." No dump fee, you **** in a garbage bag and just dump the garbage bag frequently in any free garbage dump anywhere. No hassle of cleaning up your toilet too.
Shower - I will take a "Filipino Tabu bath" for
infrequent emergency showers. A Tabu is a Filipno term foir a small hand pail that you fill with water from a bucket to pour water over your head. Hence no weight from a water pump, plumbing, and water heater system. Poor Filipinos take this kind of shower all the time in the Philippines. But this is only for backup shower capability when I go to cities with no Planetfitness Health Club. A Tabu bath can be done cheapest with a $2 5 gallon fill up of 40 cent per gallon water refills. I know water refill stations like this at certain rare grocery stores around Chicago. But my $20 monthly Planetfitness Black Card membership gives me the capability to take a shower every day in the 1000+ locations it has throughout America. A Roadtrek with a shower? Nice, but it's probably limited to a 20 gal freshwater tank, right? This past 1 month I logged 9 Planefitness showers at a guaranteed 10+ gallons per shower, so good luck trying that on that RV shower you got. That's why so many RV campers would rather have water hookups too, right? Oh, 9 $12 showers = $108+ in truck stop showers, so a Planetfitness membership is some really good thing going, plus I go for a workout, too. So a shower /sink system, although nice for an RV, is an added luxury, - but it is bulky, adds heavy water and equipment weight, and it decreases vehicle mpg and space. My shower system will be an extremely lightweight, portable and REMOVABLE system! It uses just a water bucket, Tabu, camping shower tent, some kind of catch basin, and / or a drain hole in the floor of my "Stealth Cargo RV trailer." But my main way of taking a shower is at Planetfitness. RV showers are VERY IMPRACTICAL AND INEFFICIENT. Really, I heard that boondocked RV showers are an art form of thrifty water usage!
Solar Power system - yes, I am figuring out that one too, but first I am trying to figure out the Solar Watt charging capability I need. I will get an MPPT charge controller too, - the BEST kind and most efficient type of solar charge controller. I think the most efficient Solar Panels out there now are the Sunpower ones, but there is probably a secret conspiracy out there to get rid of them, as they seem now harder to get...
I have yet to experiment on the solar water heating capabilities of my Solar Coleman $9 Walmart shower bags.
Awning - that is nice. But a Gazebo with an insect screen is better! It can go to the left or right side of your camper, or it can even go offsite of your camper, - like on that park picinc table. And I have two types of portable collapsible varying height camping tables. These can also be used as a portable desktop for my laptops or "Rv Capable" desktop system. I have yet to select the best gazebo yet, but that is something for future expense.
TV antenna - I bought a 50 mile HDTV nonamplified [the best one!] antenna in amazon. It connects to my Hauppage Dual TV tuner USB stick that lets me watch TWO HDTV CHANNELS AT THE SAME TIME ON MY LENOVO T420 OR T430 LAPTOPS, all capable of running 10 to 14 hours on battery power, or all day on less than a 100 Watt Solar Panel. Yeah, I've watched TWO TV CHANNELS while relaxing IN MY MINIVAN.
35 DB Yagi antenna - I have the best kind of antenna for capturing FREE Wifi signals. Most typical antennas are 5 db or less, but mine is directional though. I got this rare thing in a Kankakee computer shop, but there are Yagi antennas on amazon too.
HOME THEATER & STEREO SYSTEM - my T420 & T430 Lenovo laptops with my 3 Bluetooth / USB / Aux Input Speakers function as a very compact, portable, and power efficient "Home Theater / Stereo system." So I listen to over 112gbs of music, watch over 1gb of downloaded Youtube videos, or see HDTV on my
power efficient, multi-use, and space efficient laptops. My current best Bluetooth Speaker - you can test it and buy it at Walmart, see:
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-BT350...etooth+speaker
-- This speaker is really awesome and fits in my waist pack to go everywhere!
Yeah, I've jammed on 5 hours of music and videos on my laptops relaxing at night on my minivan all on battery power. Or watching a movie too.
But this bluetooth speaker is the best one I've tested so far. I have yet to buy it but it is sold and demo'd at Kohl's too.
https://www.amazon.com/House-Marley-...etooth+speaker
So my "Home Theater Stereo System" OUTCLASSES A TYPICAL RV HOME THEATER SYSTEM, as it is very portable, it entertains me at every restaurant, beach, or public place I go to bring it, it is extremely power and space efficient, and it is not LIMITED TO WITHIN MY "RV." It doesn't depend on using an
inefficient typical RV system of going from 12V power through an Invertor.
It all runs on laptop battery power or directly through 12V power, and is 12v solar power capable I also bought 12v power supply converters for my Lenovo T420 on ebay. And I have 112 GBs of MP3's on my Laptops [500+ worth of equivalent CDs?]; I have yet to burn my 250+ dvd collection to MPEG format on a dedicated 4tb external USB drive, to watch my movie collection
everywhere.
PC Desktop system - I just recently bought an Asus ROG Gaming desktop on clearance at MicroCenter. This is a very unique desktop because it has two dual power supplies that provide TWO 12V inputs to the PC. Do you know what this means? This means that this desktop has the capability to RUN CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO A 12V BATTERY. I've already tested this concept on a RARE 22" Best Buy Insignia HDTV / HDMI / PC Monitor that has a power supply providing a 12V input - I directly ran this off a car 12V battery and it successfully ran without any damage. So I've already figured out HOW TO HAVE A DESKTOP PC ON MY "RV SYSTEM" TOO. Or have a laptop / dual monitor system all on 12V battery power.
So fluffy, your $98,000 Roadtrek system is a very nice ready made system, and it is the "Buckingham Palace" of compact Class B Rv stylin' AND IT'S EXPENSIVE AND MAKES YOU LOOK RICH, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT! It just needs to haul a cargo trailer for your extra stuff, but you get 15 to 16 mpg hwy max on your Roadtrek. This past week towing my 1999 Honda Civic HX I got 17.1 mpg at worst hwy running 100% A/C in the hot weather. Without A/C I can get a maximum 20.3 mpg hwy - but I also have a Yakima 21 Pro and Thule Sonic XXL cargo boxes on top of my vehicles.
But my "Beverly Hillbilly" minivan towing a vehicle or stealth RV cargo trailer system concept is potentially maybe the best most efficient "RV / urban stealth camping system" out there. You know, I did once WORK FOR NASA on the Space Shuttle, Space Station, and Lunar Lander Projects. So I do know my technology / high technology, methods, and mechanical engineering systems. I'm high tech although you don't know that. And my stealth RV system is actually high tech too, although it may seem hillybilly and "homeless technology" instead [like that Walmart bucket toilet]. But I am homeless with a Net Worth of $500,000+ I am just in this situation because I have inheritance and unemployment problems, and I have to thriftily survive on my SSDI.
So enjoy the show! And my minivan / stealth RV system once fully configured and outlaid will maybe cost an estimated $21,000 total max, vs a $98,000 Roadtrek! I can go everywhere, steath "boondock" urban camp everywhere, RV FT even in winter without winterizing, and see America ON THE CHEAP!
My Used 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT tow package minivan - $5750
A decked out custom Continental Cargo Trailer after tax and delivery estimate - $7200
My extra stuff I bought -- $$$???
A good solar power system is expensive, that's why...
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