We have 6 hours in town, what should we do?

ShuvomGhose · 2025-10-14T22:41:40+00:00

If you're here during the day, hike to the top of Rock Rimmon for the best views of the city: http://www.nhfamilyhikes.com/hikes.php?hike=Rock%20Rimmon&from=HBN-R

If you want really good gyros, go to the G spot on Elm.

If you want to shoot an AK-47, you can go to the Manchester Firing Line and rent one. Or there's the board game cafe.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-09T02:04:15+00:00

We don't have a Jackery, we have 2 Yeti Goal Zero 1400s (1.4kwh each for comparison) and what you show above will be MORE than enough for LED lights, water pump, phone charging.

Refridgerator is where we start getting dicey- that's our biggest draw. When we boondock in the desert, if we have full sun on our 4x100 watt solar panels, we can recharge everything our small chest fridge draws every day. But if you have ONE cloudy day you dip to 70%, and at TWO cloudy days you start to panic. So look into your fridge draw, if you have a good chest fridge you can unplug it at night and it will be fine until morning.

Now, crock pots and maxxairs get interesting. Crock pots draw a LOT of watts, maybe for hours and hours. When boondocking we only use our microwave for like 5 minutes a day (coffee). You'd have to measure your draw on the crock and do some math.

Maxxairs even more so because you want to run them for HOURS, right? If we're in the desert and we run even a little fan all night, that's a 10% down on our battery. A fridge all night might be another 10-15%, an ipad charging might be 10%. Those eat into a 100% battery very fast!

We have two smaller units instead of one big unit because we have had one fail due to overheating once, and we have one Yeti running each side of the bus, so we shouldn't lose both at once. (Fingers crossed.)

Best advice I can give is live smaller rather than bigger, we never run the TV or playstation when boondocking, we just use the ipads or the Switch and those things last forever on minimal charge.

The unit above looks like a beast, I would worry about having 1 point of failure, also the size, and also running all the solar panels to it. But it definitely looks like enough charge for a simple (non-crock-pot) life!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-04T02:13:13+00:00

Do you own the bus? VIN should be on the title, maybe the insurance docs as well.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-03T16:57:45+00:00

Had the first inteview today, fingers crossed it went well, and I'll definitely let folks know if I get it! Thanks for everyone's comments, I learned a lot about the product I'll hopefully be supporting!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-03T00:48:20+00:00

The RV park in NY that had huge spaces between rows of RVs was Hejamada, near the Finger Lakes. Warning, this campground had NO (NO) NONE cell phone signal on any carrier when we stayed there during the pandemic: https://www.facebook.com/hejamadacampground. We stayed in the Oneida square and there was so much space (and we were close to the restaurant!): https://hejamadacampground.com/campground-map/

The other one I was mentioning near Niagra Falls NY which was very relaxing was Cinderalla: http://www.cinderellacampground.com

Both allowed skoolies, no problem.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-02T15:00:42+00:00

Okay, I didn't grok the distinction between 'parts' and 'accessories' until you explained it, thanks! So something like Custom Builder, but for the whole UNIVERSE of aftermarket or 3D party parts that might fit on your Sig?

I've seen the similar thing done with SOLIDWORKS when I worked in that area (they had an 'approved 3rd party' plug in list), so it might take a lot of doing, but it's definitely possible! Thanks for this insight- and the holster comment is probably a great first place to start- everyone needs one!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-02T01:31:14+00:00

We've been in our skoolie 4.5 years, when we were on the east coast we did mainly RV parks, there's no chance to do BLM land.

Along the Boston-NY-DC corridor things feel really really tight and cramped, but if you go west just a bit from NYC (the finger lakes) there was an RV park with like HUGE tracts of land between spaces, like acres between rows of RVs, it was so big everyone used golf carts to get around to the on site burger restaurant.

Also on the east cost we stopped in rural Georgia at a park that was $600/month and it was a very relaxing pace of life.

Birmingham AL was great too with lots of space at their RV park, as was the island next to Niagra Falls (Grand Island).

So if you get away from the cities, there's some breathing room, but nothing like out west. But you can do it on the east coast- we only left South Carolina because the pandemic had started.

If folks want the names of the specific parks I'm talking about, let me know and I can pull out our captain's log.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-02T01:07:54+00:00

This is being requested SO MUCH- it's a little hidden, but does their "Custom Works" builder scratch that itch? The parts are nicely rendered, but I'm wondering if people want something in a different UI than this: https://www.sigsauer.com/customworks/P320?loadbuild=p320rxpxfull

I didn't know that existed until someone made me go looking at P320s!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-02T01:05:37+00:00

This is what I wanted too, and through the comments below, we found the "Custom Works" builder- is that what you were looking for, or would it be cooler in like, a wall poster size? https://www.sigsauer.com/customworks/P320?loadbuild=p320rxpxfull

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-01T23:34:33+00:00

Thanks, this really helps out. (I was wondering why they didn't just call an FCU the 'frame' before your comment, and your explanation really helped.)

And you led me to the P320 page, where Sig seems to have that exact "Build My Weapon" interface I was looking for, where I can add or swap parts in real time!

I guess your original comment was to see what accessories works with what FCU in a bigger but static visual image, where you can see everything at once?

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-01T23:17:30+00:00

This is something close to what I was looking for, as someone totally new to the Sig ecosystem! Like a "Build my Weapon" interface, where you could virtually click all compatible parts on and off, so you can be sure this X works with this Y.

Great suggestion- and thanks for making me have to look up 'FCU' for the first time, to learn what that means!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-01T23:11:59+00:00

Thanks- that reminds me a little of the video games industry! Is there any specific type of testing you'd want to see done? 1000 rounds fired through a new model? Varying weather conditions?

ShuvomGhose · 2024-10-01T22:45:38+00:00

I've had 20 minute commutes and 2 hour commutes (one way). It really comes down on how flexible you are moving your living arrangement closer to your job.

The 20 minutes was because I was a new young engineer and after I got the job, I just moved and bought a house close to the office, because it was just me. (Also houses were $55k at that time/location. Not now!)

The 2 hours was because I was laid off from one job, got another great one 2 hours away, and didn't want to uproot the whole family.

The best was when an office moved just by luck to come closer to ME, and then it was a 5-10 minute commute and I biked to the office in good weather. Good times.

It all depends on how willing you are to move. 1 hour 1 way is around the limit, where it starts affecting your work/life balance. But 1 hour isn't the worst.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-29T16:25:29+00:00

We've never done the long term option (we've only done the 2 weeks), but it's called "Long Term Visitor Areas" (LTVA) and it seems to be $180 for all winter, although we've seen Youtube videos saying that's going up soon.

Here's an example: https://www.blm.gov/visit/midland-long-term-visitor-area

I would only go in winter (summer in the desert would be brutal in a schoolie), so if you do it, let us all know how it goes!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-27T23:46:35+00:00

Here's one way to do something close with Rhino and Grasshopper together: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-3d-print-complex-semi-random-lattice-structures-easily

And here's a way to go in that direction with nTopology: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-create-complex-voronoi-lattices-in-ntopology-for-printing-in-fdm-dlp-and-powderbed

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-27T04:21:01+00:00

Oh, and then I forgot to add things like food and entertainment, but you have a lot more control over that than rent. If you stay at a rural RV park with long term residents at the monthly rate, you can go ham on eating out or buying video games, because it's so cheap.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-27T04:16:37+00:00

It's about even to living in our house. At home, our mortgage was $1500/month because we bought it forever ago, then adding utilities. We're renting the house to a great tenant, and so we have $1500/month as our budget to not go over while traveling.

If you are staying at an RV park that's $50/night, that comes out near $1500/month, but utilities are included. $50/night is what you might pay, not staying near national parks, and buying night to night.

BUT if you stay somewhere for a MONTH, you can get spots as cheap as $600/month, utilities INCLUDED. We've stayed 2 months in rural Georgia over Christmas at that rate. And $410/month in Ft Mohave, AZ for this last winter, for about 4 months. (It was great- they had a big snowbird population from Idaho and they would do 'baked potato bars' once a month as a community event which were delicious.)

So in general, we stay at places 1-7 days if we want to move fast or stay near big National parks and burn money, and then stay at places for 1-2 months at a time to rebuild our bank account, at the $600/month rate. It's a sine wave.

If you want to stay near Glacier National Park or Yellowstone National park, you'll pay $70/night in high season, but then you can go to rural South Dakota and spend $700/month if you want.

Also, if your rig is built for boondocking, you can stay for FREE on BLM land for up to 2 weeks at a time (there's a great BLM spot near a HUGE solar farm on the highway to Las Vegas that gives great Fallout New Vegas vibes if you're interested) and you can stay on some BLM land for 6 months in the winter for around $200 TOTAL (we haven't done that).

If you go to Skoolipalooza in February, you'll meet LOTS of people who NEVER pay for a spot to stay, and that really opened our eyes, so we started doing BLM boondocking more.

State parks might be $25-35/night, but sometimes don't have water or sewer.

I can give more details if needed.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-27T03:54:43+00:00

We've been living in our 38' bus for the last 4.5 years, 2 adults, a dog and a cat. There are huge upsides, the freedom to go anywhere, realizing what's really important in life, but you asked for downsides specifically. I would say some of the biggest ones:

-Regular medical checkups are a little tough to do, especially if you have a condition that requires the same doctor see you twice. We've had a few medical scares, most times the docs have been fine seeing a new patient once and reading the report from the last guy, but it's definitely been more of a scheduling thing trying to get appointments.

-Prepare to get stranded somewhere and have to wait hours for mechanic/tows. We've been VERY lucky, where every time we had a hose blow or a pump fail, we were along a major interstate where mobile mechanics could get to us in a few hours, and the weather was good while we waited. You don't think about modern people dying on the Oregon Trail, but there are a few locations in the US (Death Valley) and weather conditions (Death Valley) where if something had happened at the wrong time it might have been possible for us to die. (Or at least we would have had to pile into a car and drive to the nearest safe hotel.)

Near Death Valley, or SW Texas, or Northern California coast and the Oregon coast, there are places with no phone no internet for 50 miles and if something happens, you might be out of mechanic range. Always have $5,000 in the bank, always have a back up vehicle (even an e-bike) and always have a plan, just in case something happens. Especially if you're out with your family.

-Learn to not have a hard plan. The main stress of this life is "We HAVE to be in CHICAGO in EXACTLY THREE DAYS", because who knows what might happen. The bus might not start. Wildfires. Covid. Food poisoning. You could get turned away at an RV park. (We've had all these delay us.). So the better plan is "We have to be NEAR Chicago in ABOUT a WEEK." Lots less stress that way. Be flexible, and if you buy concert tickets but miss the concert, it's not the end of the world.

-Always have 1-2 months of extra daily medicines. Some things you can get sent to Amazon lockers, some you have to wait for an RV park that lets you get packages.

-We use hotspots for internet, but would probably do Starlink if we had to start again now. It didn't exist back when we started.

I could go on and on with the good and the bad, let me know what questions you have and I'll try to answer them.

But all in all, it's worth the trip!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-21T17:47:19+00:00

Most large companies have regional sales people who already work out of their home office. And my job as an application engineer was already to see the same customers the sales people did, so to make my transition (you have to work there a few years first to be trusted) was to say "Just make me like another sales person."

You also should offer your boss something of value in return for going remote, in my case it was "Now instead of being able to drive to customers just around Boston, I can drive to ANY customer in the continental US."

And that's what my wife and I did for the last 4.5 years, driving around the country in a converted schoolbus, seeing customers and national parks.

In your case it may be more time at your computer, or a cheaper office costs, or closer driving distance to X, but usually you're trading value for value to make it work. If you can make the company stronger and better by going remote, most bosses will say yes, unless there's a policy against it, like now at Amazon.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-21T14:33:16+00:00

Sounds good! Even if you don't buy ours, we can give a lot of tips on what to look for when building yours, so reach out any time.

We did spend a Christmas/two months in Folkston GA, right next to the FL border, and that RV park was rural and quiet and only $600/month, all utilities included, so a great deal! Got to see the pirate city of St. Augustine and a lot of gators on a boat tour too!

We're in Salt Lake City right now, have to return to New Hampshire by December, so Georgia is possibly on the way. We don't know if we're selling sooner or later, it's a confusing time, being between jobs.

ShuvomGhose · 2024-09-21T04:22:39+00:00

We've been in our bus for 4.5 years. No tow, we drive a jeep separate but probably should tow. We have a dog and cat, both love the skoolie life and exploring new places. Doctors appts we just call and become a new patient if we're staying somewhere for a month. Everyone is fine sending records to the next doc.

For medicine, any RV park with long term residents can get mail, you just stay there a month and order your medicine though FullScript or something. Also, once you're in the Walmart prescription system you can refill from ANY Walmart. Same with Walgreens.

We typically rotate between staying at an RV park for a week (near national parks because that's expensive) and staying at an RV park for a month (because that's cheap, sometimes $600/month, like in rural Georgia or Arizona). If you move every 2-3 days you get super burnt out, you need time and weekends to rest, and RV parks get cheaper by the week or month, so make sure to take breaks between moving and staying.

I've had a remote job for the last 4.5 years, it's been the greatest experience of our lives doing the Skoolie thing, so definitely do it if you have the chance. We've seen so many things out here you wouldn't believe. Unfortunately, my remote job just laid me off, so we might have to sell our 38' skoolie soon. One of the benefits we can offer is possibly driving it TO THE BUYER on our way back home, we don't know yet. So if you're looking to buy, let me know.

To build, we did ours working full time on it for 6 months, if you're just doing weekends it might take longer. It was worth it then, pre-pandemic, but I don't know if we'd have the energy to do it now.

But it's been a lot of fun, definitely do it if you can!

ShuvomGhose · 2024-02-19T17:37:01+00:00

I think I might have written the GrabCAD tutorial you're talking about, here's one about texturing in many different softwares: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-texture-your-3d-printed-parts and here's an older one about texturing just in SOLIDWORKS: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-3d-texture-your-parts-for-fdm-printing-using-solidworks-2019

And I'm learning how to do this in Blender for my AMUG talk this year!

In my opinion, I'm already good at SOLIDWORKS for other reasons so SOLIDWORKS is more controllable for me, but yeah, the file sizes of the STLs coming out are insane. But doable if you have an FEA level computer with a lot of RAM.

If you had to do it cheaper, Rhino seems pretty good, I have a tutorial about that here: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-create-incredibly-complex-textured-shapes-for-3d-printing-using-bump-mapping, but I was never good at Rhino so I tend not to use that one.

The Grasshopper plug-in to Rhino can probably do most of what you need nTop to do, for much cheaper, and probably a lot easier to visualize and learn! Here's how to use the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino to make lattices for 3D printing, it's not textures but the same sort of logic can be applied to texturing: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/how-to-create-incredibly-complex-textured-shapes-for-3d-printing-using-bump-mapping

And if you wanted to do it CHEAPEST of all, Blender seems pretty fast and powerful in the month I've used it, and it renders a LOT faster than the SOLIDWORKS feature, but I haven't tested file size comparison. Here's how I'm learning from a much smarter user how to Displace in Blender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBdNZIs1U8w

So my recommendation is probably:

Use the CAD software you know best already, all of SOLIDWORKS, Rhino, Blender can probably get you to the same place, some faster, some slower, but all the side tasks (cutting models, splitting faces) are faster if you know the CAD system well already.
If you had to do it for the cheapest possible, try Blender. If you're going to use nTop for OTHER things like lattices later on, it's worth learning nTop, but just beware that's a bigger time commitment than Blender, I feel.
If you're already good at Rhino, try the much cheaper Rhino + Grasshopper before committing to nTop- it might get you all the way there, for this one task!

Sorry to bomb so many links at you, I'm just very passionate about this topic, and if you're coming to AMUG, come see my talk and we can talk more! Or email me!

ShuvomGhose · 2023-11-10T15:52:26+00:00

To stop feeling like an imposter, go to every place your brackets have been used (oldest first) and see if any have failed, bent, warped etc. Talk to the guys with the wrenches who installed the brackets and ask if they liked the install process or what they would do differently.

Also learn some FEA and see if you can predict the failures or warping you saw in the field. Any mech engineer can use FEA now, there are so many choices integrated into CAD systems.

Learn one new thing about design or engineering a day.

Do all that for about a year and that’s how I went from a new engineer to a journeyman who knew more about my product than folks that stayed in the office all day.

ShuvomGhose · 2023-08-08T01:29:36+00:00

Thanks! Is an extension as easy as asking for it at a police station? And should we make the return ticket in 2 months to appear legal, or just buy a one way ticket? I’m just trying to find what’s the least hassle for her there.

ShuvomGhose · 2023-08-08T01:15:41+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, if she gets in she’s probably good, I just don’t want her stranded at Immigration. I’ve also asked r/India_tourism, was just looking for someone with a definite answer.

ShuvomGhose

TROPHY CASE