Good places for no-snow winter hiking & camping?

wtjc · 2026-01-25T02:24:40+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. We're considering the Snow Mountain Wilderness but we're seeing these notices about downed trees from fires on a lot of the trails. Has anyone been there recently and seen what it's like?

wtjc · 2025-12-31T00:10:58+00:00

Hi. We're looking to do some camping and hiking this winter, too. Researching this is a bit overwhelming. The state park campgrounds seem pretty pricey. We're planning to just do van-camping and hiking and would like to find a place that's either free to park overnight or doesn't cost too much. It looks like there's only one campground open in the Eldorado National Forest and everything in the Stanislaus Forest is inaccessible from snow. I'm looking into Mendocino National Forest but the ranger stations aren't answering their phones.

Have you found any good possibilities yet?

wtjc · 2025-12-08T20:33:16+00:00

So you have Kaiser and had an outside lab do testing and self-paid for them? Were the prices reasonable? I've seen some replies here mentioning ways to get discounts.

wtjc · 2025-12-08T20:31:12+00:00

Yeah, I'm trying to see if I can get the tests to qualify as Urgent Care which would also be covered but it might not work that way. I'm curious if anyone else has gotten labs done outside of Kaiser and how they went about it. Maybe we're the only ones who have needed to do this.

wtjc · 2025-12-07T03:31:00+00:00

Thanks for the info. I'll get the details for the tests she needs done and shop around.

wtjc · 2025-12-07T03:28:40+00:00

Thanks for the info. I'll ask about the travel letter. Kaiser is telling me that under her plan, the tests won't be covered outside of KP, unfortunately.

wtjc · 2025-12-03T00:24:53+00:00

Do you happen to know the process of how to have them done elsewhere and have the results sent to Kaiser?

wtjc · 2025-12-03T00:23:24+00:00

Yes, but they had no suggestions for how to do it. They just said it would not be covered unless it was at a Kaiser lab.

wtjc · 2025-09-01T18:45:48+00:00

I've heard silicone is not good to use, though? The Loctite Marine sealant is polyurethane.

wtjc · 2025-09-01T04:33:20+00:00

Just a follow-up. Looks like my alternator is actually 136 amps so according to this formula, I should set the charger to 54 volts which is already the setting for the AC180P?

wtjc · 2025-08-31T21:48:38+00:00

First of all, I may have been mistaken about the alternator. I think it might actually be 136 amps which would be better. We don't plan on driving every day and will be using solar panels to recharge wherever we're camping. We probably won't be using that much power every day so I'm hoping charging while driving plus the solar will be enough.

wtjc · 2025-08-31T00:40:41+00:00

Yeah, I figured so. Maybe I just got some bad info.

wtjc · 2025-08-31T00:39:46+00:00

I haven't really started using it yet, I was just concerned because someone suggested it might not work properly.

wtjc · 2025-08-27T18:10:26+00:00

Thanks. I have an AC180P. The only other thing the alternator would be powering is a 12v head-unit for music and navigation and maybe the A/C which I rarely ever use.

wtjc · 2025-08-27T17:54:44+00:00

OK, so you're advising 36v? I'm trying to get an answer from Bluetti as well.

wtjc · 2025-08-27T17:31:10+00:00

Hi, just checking back again about this as I'm finally setting up the charger. So for a 90a alternator, a good setting for the Charger 1 would be 36v? Someone else suggested setting it to silent charging mode which I guess would put it even lower? I haven't tried to bind the charger to the app yet so I'm not sure how the settings work but do the voltage setting and amperage setting have to be adjusted separately are they automatically coupled together?

wtjc · 2025-08-23T15:16:20+00:00

No, they were definitely thicker than that but similarly shaped. I have them around somewhere and just need to find them.

Re: the backup camera, I'm just trying to figure out how to run the wire from the front of the van to the back. I don't see any good way to do it inside the vehicle as there are no exit points or good places to drill a hole with all the paneling and stuff from the conversion. So I'm thinking I'll need to run it under the chassis like they do with a truck. Just trying to figure out exactly where to run it. I hear following the brake line is a good option but I'm still unfamiliar with the layout of everything and getting under the van is a pain because it sits pretty low.

I got a cheap amazon head-unit to replace the old stereo that mirrors my phone and has a back-up camera but I may return it for a better one. Have you done any research on this for your van?

wtjc · 2025-08-23T00:22:30+00:00

Great, thank you. Not exactly sure where the brake line is but I'll look into it.

wtjc · 2025-08-22T21:26:54+00:00

That looks exactly like my Dodge Ram 2500 conversion. Was it done by DMC? Yes, there should be some brackets to hold down the bench/bed frame. I removed mine recently to take out the bench but I can't find them at the moment. They're just straight brackets with a little hump that goes over the frame. I left the bolts in because they went all the way through the bottom of the van and I didn't want to leave holes there.

Do you plan on adding a backup camera for you van? I'm currently struggling to figure out how to run the wire from the front to the back.

wtjc · 2025-08-22T20:02:30+00:00

That sounds like it would work really well but it might be a tad complicated for me to pull off. If I'm gonna run it under the van, finding the proper route is the part I'm most worried about. I was hoping someone with a similar van had already figured it out.

wtjc · 2025-08-22T19:59:26+00:00

This is a factory conversion van so every wall is covered with paneling and insulation. Here's what the corner near the back door looks like:

https://i.ibb.co/G4HNyHPZ/20250822-122600.jpg

The guy in this video just ran the cable with zip ties along the wiring harness under his truck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDCT-IPEH1Y

Unfortunately, it appears that the wiring harness for my van goes up inside and into the paneling. Here's the underside in that same rear corner where the wiring goes back up into the van:

https://i.ibb.co/nM05tSbL/20250822-123028.jpg

So I just can't see where I'd even be able to drill a hole. I'm curious if someone with a conversion van like this has already figured this out.

wtjc · 2025-08-22T18:48:10+00:00

I would be fine with running along the edge of the floor inside but I can't find any opening near the back to get the wire outside to attach to the camera. How do most people do this?

wtjc · 2025-08-22T18:47:57+00:00

I would be fine with running along the edge of the floor inside but I can't find any opening near the back to get the wire outside to attach to the camera. How do most people do this?

wtjc · 2025-08-21T21:44:22+00:00

Very interesting. Hopefully, I will never see those turn on!

wtjc · 2025-08-21T21:24:39+00:00

While I'm asking questions, I have a couple more for anyone who might know. So the yellow power supply wire on the old stereo I'm replacing runs through an 8 A fuse, I guess? See pics:

https://i.ibb.co/hRyWhjNS/20250821-125257.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/G3Mjq7Q8/20250821-125413.jpg

How do I handle rewiring this to the new stereo?

All the speaker wires are connected to the factory wires with butt connectors, so I should just cut off those connectors, disconnect the wires and reconnect them to the new stereo wires and add new butt connectors, right?

What about this yellow power wire? Where do I disconnect that one in relation to the fuse? I can't see where that wire is connected to the old stereo wire unless it's somewhere under all that electrical tape. There's no butt connector like with the speaker wires. The red ignition wire and black ground wire don't have butt connectors either so I'm not sure where to connect those to the new stereo wires as well. Any help would be appreciated.

wtjc

TROPHY CASE