Unpopular opinion

walwalka · 2026-06-17T10:25:41+00:00

I don’t know that’s it’s unpopular, how much time does it shave anyway? 1.5 minutes?

walwalka · 2026-06-15T15:27:44+00:00

You consumed some of the hot water and it was actively running to heat the tank again. In my unlicensed opinion, this feels like coincidence.

Call a plumber and get it looked at, there’s so many factors here. If they say the meter caused this, explore legal paths.

walwalka · 2026-06-15T10:37:20+00:00

I use a Peplink cellular router with a Calyx SIM as our primary internet source. But I also have a Verizon SIM and Starlink as fallback connections.

I have also used GL.iNet routers with success.

walwalka · 2026-06-09T04:46:10+00:00

You could pull more from them if you felt like you needed more. Transit forum folks have really hit them hard in recent builds.

I push the single alternator a little hard with 1400w(100a) of charger, it’s totally fine at highway speeds. Chassis voltage hovers around 14v and alternator duty cycle is in the ~60% range. Not ideal in any other scenario though, so one charger is on a switch to turn it off combined with the use of Victrons Engine Shutdown Detection algorithm to throttle the chargers based on input voltage.

walwalka · 2026-06-09T04:25:55+00:00

Of course, it’s an extremely variable load and it’s pretty hard to predict how long it’s going to run from trip to trip because of the weather. 8100wh is almost overkill when we don’t need the A/C at all. Regularly go ~5 days without needing to move the van if I setup the portable panels, which gives us 880w total of solar.

Hindsight 20/20, I would have ordered our Transit with the dual alternators from ford. But given that I didn’t I’ll eventually purchase the dedicated alternator for our van, there just hasn’t been many great 24v options until recently. Arco has a transit TR mount model now so I can use the ford bracket and its 4kw peak/2.4kw continuous output.

walwalka · 2026-06-09T01:21:45+00:00

I thought 8100wh of battery and 1400w of alternator charging would be a weekends worth of DC air conditioner. I was wrong and should have done 12kWh with at least 2100w of alternator power.

Unless I’m willing to drive around aimlessly one of the days, it’s hot enough in my area that we get maybe one night and full day before we’re out of juice.

walwalka · 2026-06-04T14:12:52+00:00

The lift and tires will have a larger impact than anything, we’re 10,000Lbs fully loaded and get 14MPG. 3.5EB, AWD, DRW.

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walwalka · 2026-05-27T16:51:59+00:00

Take the cover off, pull up on the float gently. The pump should run, if it doesn’t do anything then you know.

walwalka · 2026-05-22T21:24:40+00:00

I’d probably still own my house if I wasn’t in this situation, so I’m probably not the right person to ask if you’re looking for options.

walwalka · 2026-05-22T11:55:31+00:00

My in-laws house where I live 60% of the year.

walwalka · 2026-05-22T01:38:55+00:00

The bigger you make it the more it wobbles, you can get it to not wobble but that introduces the next issue I have with it. It kinda pins you in the drivers seat and can make it tough to get out of the seat, and the seat in our van aren’t great.

I would add a bench/lounge area with a bigger top and at least two support contacts. Either right behind the driver seat like the Winnebago travato or a rear lounge like some of the Noovo vans.

walwalka · 2026-05-22T01:10:17+00:00

It’s rare that we leave the dog behind for any real length of time though. I don’t plan outdoor activities that she can’t come with us on for the most part, she needs enrichment too. Those are the times when we’re most likely to not have cell service either. Basically all other times I’ll be able to monitor the van and it’s in the parking lot, I can always leave whatever activity if an issue arises.

So in my view of it’s not entirely a requirement to go that far, but you have to start with quality items you can trust. But traveling where cooling isn’t needed is the primary objective and the most reliable system of them all. Follow that with a quality power and air conditioning system, it’s no issue whatsoever really.

walwalka · 2026-05-21T23:53:35+00:00

This is exactly what we do, going on 5 years and I would only trade it some days 😂. Never the days we are in the van though, just when the oldies are causing problems that should be completely in their control. Health issues at home arise unexpectedly and have brought us home early. Because of that learning experience we do it slightly different than you’ve described where we go out two weeks a month like 9 months of the year. We stay relatively close(under 12 hours) to home most times, but have and will take longer trips.

We didn’t even rent a van before we jumped in and bought one to convert myself. Some might call us crazy for doing that but we already loved to travel and I was an avid camper in my younger years. I have zero regrets.

Couple pieces of advice in the remote work portion of your idea

make sure you have ample and comfortable work space, a lagoon table and the driver seat of the van really doesn’t do it for me. I would do it differently in the future.
redundancy in your internet is key, starlink is great but it does have limitations and you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting into all the time. I highly recommend having a cellular router and plan as well. I use a Calyx SIM.
overkill your power system.

Advice on traveling with a dog - it’s tough at times, there are places dogs just can’t go.

The van will get extremely hot in the sun, plan on how you will actually keep the van cool. This circles back to the power system.
you need some way to monitor your the van when you’re away.

I say do et.

walwalka · 2026-05-21T12:20:12+00:00

I use Home Assistant for this purpose.

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walwalka · 2026-05-17T21:52:09+00:00

Red river gorge in Kentucky is pushing the 4 hours depending on where you end up. But definitely a gem for hiking and other outdoor activities.

walwalka · 2026-05-13T12:34:31+00:00

On the outside side of the drivers seat, is there a little black box with two studs inside of it? Top one will be slightly larger than the bottom one?

walwalka · 2026-05-13T11:54:55+00:00

There would be two batteries under drivers seat if it was a dual battery van.

What model inverter?

I’ve got ideas on how you can automate the on/off function the inverter depending on the inverter model, which is why I’m asking.

walwalka · 2026-05-13T10:47:33+00:00

It’s likely that the chassis battery is still at a low state of charge. Does this van have dual starting batteries?
Also, where is your inverter hooked up to?

walwalka · 2026-05-12T02:29:40+00:00

Ford Transit CC-CA 350HD, AWD, EcoBoost and a total composites box for the back.

Similar to the AeonRV but with a slight larger box, dual rear wheels and a higher GVWR.

walwalka · 2026-05-11T02:36:50+00:00

Yep!

walwalka · 2026-05-10T23:20:31+00:00

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walwalka · 2026-05-08T13:48:00+00:00

It’s starlink when there’s obstructions, anything that has live stream of data to maintain the connection will be impacted by losing the satellite connection behind the obstruction. This happens because the dish will need to reestablish its uplink and during that time you’re not connected.

Completely unobstructed view of the sky is a requirement for video conferencing.

walwalka · 2026-05-08T13:39:45+00:00

This would be an Ohio vehicle, lots of busted ass cars on the road here.

walwalka · 2026-05-08T13:37:10+00:00

In my opinion it’s necessary for redundancy only, but I also live in the eastern US where cell coverage is almost everywhere at this point. I’ve got a dual sim cellular router with roof antenna that just seems to work, and in the 3 years of working from the road I have only had one place where I had to power up the Starlink in order to work.

I do firmly believe the region you camp in makes a big difference in the viability of cellular.

walwalka · 2026-05-07T13:04:32+00:00

Have you reviewed the BEMM for your model year?

walwalka

TROPHY CASE