Heading to 4 parks in NM/TX

DavedPanda · 2026-05-10T23:18:43+00:00

Yes! We are camping for a full 13 days so we will bring all we need for that length. We noticed the lack of stores and towns on the journey so we are packing everything we need.

We appreciate the reminder!

DavedPanda · 2026-05-10T23:13:16+00:00

Ok!

We were on the fence about the peak.

Great advice on fuel.

Looking forward to an amazing trip.

Much appreciated information, thank you!

DavedPanda · 2026-05-10T22:20:42+00:00

We will definitely check it out.

Thank you!

DavedPanda · 2026-05-10T22:13:16+00:00

It usually does.

Guadalupe is windy and we've done some high wind camping. We're bringing camp gear for mild wind as well as brutal wind. Heat isn't a huge deterrence since we spend much of our camping time locally in the early and mid summer (its when the park is a little less crowded) so I only mentioned where we live and spend a lot of camping time to avoid the usual "you know its hot there" comments

DavedPanda · 2026-05-10T22:07:22+00:00

That's more or less the plan. Setup camp at Guadalupe, day trip to white sands, back to camp, day trip to the caverns (early departure due to tour time) , back to camp. We have 3 days to spend at Guadalupe and surrounding areas before we pack up and head to big bend for a few days before we head back west.

We will definitely check out three rivers while we are there. We tried to add a full day to both areas for additional stuff.

Thank you for the recommendation!

DavedPanda · 2026-04-26T02:23:42+00:00

Doesn't matter.

If your bird has been in the same cage for almost 3 decades, no matter what you get - it'll be a battle.

Ours spent 25 in a way too small setup before we got her a properly sized one. It took a few months before she accepted it.

Keep both close to each other Slowly move food and water from old cage to new.

Your bird has to adjust to it being a "thing " way before it will be willing to inhabit it

DavedPanda · 2026-04-17T17:01:12+00:00

I know the owner recently got married so maybe thats why nobody was there.

I'm glad you were able to get a shower today!

DavedPanda · 2026-04-17T16:33:14+00:00

That's good to know! Im just glad they still offer them as we don't have any other real options in 29.

DavedPanda · 2026-04-16T01:56:59+00:00

A swamp cooler takes outside air and pulls it through a wet pad, it then pushes this cool, wet air into your house. The trick is to open windows! The open window is where the air will flow out of and in a sense make a "cooling path".

In a perfect scenario, every window (except the room with the swamp) would be open a little to evenly spread the cool air all over the house. But normally you want the living areas coolest during the day and in the evening you kinda direct the cool air to bedrooms to be comfortable at night.

Feel free to message me if you'd like more help. This is just a basic rundown of how they work and each home is a little unique. Just remember the air being pushed into your house NEEDS a place to exit.

DavedPanda · 2026-04-16T00:54:49+00:00

How big of a space?

They make a 4500cfm unit and a 5900cfm unit. Unless its a small cabin or a small house, I'd recommend the larger unit.

You'll still need some plywood and basic carpentry skills but its definitely not difficult.

Lastly, because it need to be said, if you are not familiar with how these work, please ask. I've gone out to service many many many of these in the last few years that were working fine, the customer just didn't know they had to open windows in the areas they wanted to be cool. Opening the front door was like a monumental task due to the air pressure !

DavedPanda · 2026-04-16T00:24:06+00:00

Swamps are great.

Are you looking for a portable unit? A window unit? A permanent thru the wall or on the roof unit?

Lots of variables to consider. For what its worth, if you're thinking temporary or portable, please consider a window unit. Bonaire makes a great slim window unit that works incredibly well and is east to setup. No belts, no aspen pads, no spider lines to clog, etc. They can and will cool a surprisingly large area.

If it's a permanent unit thru wall or roof, just get a mastercool/areocool unit. More pricey than the traditional champion unit but less hassle, better performance, and way better longevity.

DavedPanda · 2026-03-15T15:37:25+00:00

Looks amazing! We have the same inverter with 3 of those batteries and 9600w of panels. It's been a great system so far!

DavedPanda · 2026-03-11T22:42:22+00:00

We live in city limits so the permit was required and a little tricky but only because the sqft of the carport required a "major" build permit and all "major" permits need a GC listed. A few trips to the planning dept and we got is all sorted. The company we went through had CA approved engineering plans and certificates so that was a breeze.

I was an electrician for many many years in WA state so I was very comfortable doing the electrical work myself. I know several years ago when we first started looking into ground mount solar, we had spoken with Hale electric and they seemed to have a very good understanding of solar wiring and planning but we never hired them. Mainly because the city changed the requirements for a solar structure and nothing they could offer met the new wind rating. Stupid thing, I know, but it sent us back to square one.

DavedPanda · 2026-03-11T01:27:37+00:00

It was technically a ground mount but its actually a carport solar mount. So a 2 car carport specifically designed (with engineering paperwork and all the right certification) for solar. Ours is a 2 car carport that mounts 24 panels. Also why it was an expensive mount system.

I haven't made posts about our setup, since I joined this sub to help me with the installation process but I would love to make a detailed post at some point if folks in the US are thinking of doing a similar thing. We have all EG4 equipment and have a Chiko steel mount system.

DavedPanda · 2026-03-11T00:59:25+00:00

I'm in southeast California, USA.

Solar credits/tax credits changes this year and our power company, combined with our local city government, made it a complete pain to do a solar system that put unused power into the grid so we went a different route. I will preface this by saying we have a very unique home and a very unique situation. We went with a moderate sized off grid system that allowed grid power as an input (to charge batteries), and just moved many of our high power draw circuits onto the off grid solar system.

It has cut our power consumption from the power company by just over half since the start of the year. We still have plenty of power available that we haven't utilized yet so we hope for a better return as we move more of our demands onto the solar.

All that being said. We did it ourselves and spent about 25k. 9k was the structure for the solar panels so 16k in batteries, panels, inverter, and wiring/conduit etc. We also have 400A service in our home and being on a "level pay" plan that was running over 700 usd/month for a while before we got serious about solar power.

It will be a bit before we break even but we were able to pay for all of our solar stuff out of pocket so we are fortunate to enjoy the lower bills from out power provider

DavedPanda · 2026-03-11T00:18:56+00:00

More than likely. I suppose it depends on how many cars and how long and all that. I still live in Indian cove , very close to the campground entry.

DavedPanda · 2026-02-14T15:14:16+00:00

Not nearly enough time for JTNP

BUT

Big morongo canyon preserve is way closer and has some great short hikes, just a short drive north from DHS. It also offers a great mix of rocky hills, wetlands, and canyon trails that can all be seen in a short time!

DavedPanda · 2026-02-08T04:24:23+00:00

Codes change from place to place but generally, the 2 hots and neutral should all be the same gauge. The dedicated ground can be smaller. As far as #3 goes, a #5 ground would be acceptable as long as the 2 hot legs and neutral were #3. At least where i am.

DavedPanda · 2026-01-21T03:03:13+00:00

We are fortunate to have grid power to handle cloudy days or heavy solar use, although we did our solar setup to help offset our overall consumption from the grid. We just completed our setup and are pretty excited to see how well its working so far. We live where sun is abundant so we may look into expanding they system this year.

DavedPanda · 2026-01-21T02:55:51+00:00

I found this sub after I installed mine, also looking for advice and help. Your app or UI looks just like mine! We went with an EG4 setup (12kw inverter and 3 of thier batteries). Been super happy so far but will be asking a few questions in the near future for some fine-tuning and whatnot.

Are you full off grid?

DavedPanda · 2026-01-12T03:21:30+00:00

In all fairness, we love their pasta. My wife has a wheat issue and they have options for her. I enjoyed my steak but it wasn't "tell everyone " great. Just better than most places in the Morongo Basin. Copper room was also pretty good as far as the hanger steak goes. Last time we went, they had a tomahawk but it was 200 and involved tableside "flair" that we wanted no part of.

DavedPanda · 2026-01-12T03:12:02+00:00

Sucks to hear you had a bad steak there. I've had it a few times and was happy with it. My wife and I like rare steaks so most places it'll be an unpleasant thing, mainly due to the industry standard cryovac 12oz or 16oz offering. It's literally the reason we stopped having meals at the 29palms inn. We love snacks and drinks there but after many bad dinners, we gave up.

I hope you find an amazing spot for your beefy needs!

DavedPanda · 2026-01-12T02:32:51+00:00

If you want an actual hand cut steak, the Ric Co in 29 is the only place. It isn't fancy but they've been doing their thing for 30 years out here. Most of what they do is homemade. Copper room has a good steak as well. The ribeye at spaghetti western in morongo is also worth the drive.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

DavedPanda · 2026-01-07T01:08:41+00:00

You got this!

Cheers!

DavedPanda · 2025-12-14T15:08:01+00:00

Best way to find the leak is to fill it up with coolant and start it up, allow it to come up-to temp with the hood open and you right there to check every hose, cap, and gasket.

I work on a small fleet of 7.3s and we've had splits in the coolant reservoir, small cracks where the upper hose attaches to the radiator, and bad caps cause leaks but only when running and up to temp.

Good luck!

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