281–290 of 351 posts
Just finished my first 10,000 km ride from Sikkim to Kathmandu to Uttarakhand, Himachal, Kashmir, Zanskar, Ladakh, etc.
It is cheaper, but sometimes a bit tough, when you have to cross a cold stream a half of meter deep..)
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That's incorrect. At no point or state of charge can you connect two lead battery packs in parallel and have them oscillate charging/discharging no matter how long connected. Either one will charge the other or they will sit without changing.
That's only true if they were ideal devices, but they are not. I have not tried it myself, but from what I read if you leave two batteries connected in parallel for a while they will have less charge than if you had left them not connected to each other. Batteries also don't discharge at identical rates, so each time you use them you will end up cross charging them, which wastes energy.
These are both new batteries that have been installed at the same time (without an O2 vent by the way, that is a serious mistake imo) and for all intents and purposes will simply function as a larger battery.
Even if they were not identical and not the same age they would still not do anything cyclical, but would function as a larger battery with the charge/discharge characteristic much like that of the older/weaker battery.
This is why it is not recommended to add a new battery to an existing pack, it will age very rapidly.
You do need a diode separator if you intend to charge your RV batteries from the regular alternator as well so that you don't end up trying to run your starter motor off the (usually) gell household batteries (they can't provide that kind of current), and so that you won't run your fridge/monitor/whatever off the starter battery which you will need badly to turn the engine over once you decide to move.
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> you can buy a house just about anywhere in the country, which means you can find a house for $50k instead of $500k. Hell, depending on weather you can buy naked land and live in a shack or a tent.
This also depends on what regulations there might be where said land is at. In some places, living in a tent, even on your own property, is illegal.
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I live in a van.[1] I started out in the van with a girlfriend, then our relationship came to an end (the van probably helped it last a bit longer) and so I got back into dating. I'd say dating with the van was easier than before I had it. You must lead with it. You have to make sure it's upfront with everyone - you don't bring it up last - it said it all over my OKC profile - and you know - nothing starts conversati…
I'd disagree with your statement that "the van isn't a big deal" in your last sentence. If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
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I travelled around the world for 6 years and the number one impediment to staying in any country was the visa situation. If you are staying there longer than a tourist visa, and especially if you want any kind of employment (or are in a situation where you are visibly employed) the red tape in the vast majority of countries is very tough. The only exceptions I know about are Chile (which gives one year visas that are…
Poland does not require visas for US citizens (even though US requires visas for polish citizens). As for working you could just incorporate. It costs maybe 30$ and most hacker-type polish friends can help you with that. Later it costs $250 per month to own a company (mostly social security fees and health insurance, not sure if this is obligatory for foreigners but probably yes, plus service to help you deal with pa…
I did something similar a couple years back - but much simpler. I just bought a cap for my truck and stuck my sleeper futon mattress in it: https://www.instagram.com/p/tLu_9wAR4p/
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I read your story on reddit a little while ago. Its a really interesting choice and I applaud your sense of adventure. What I don't get was the swap to a Mercedes diesel. Your argument for it made sense, but why not a toyota diesel, for example? :)
At the time I thought it made sense... of course hindsight is great. If I wanted a Toyota diesel, I would have just bought a Toyota, but I didn't want that. The reason for the merc is that the engine I chose (the OM606) is the most sophisticated non-computer controlled diesel possible - actually it came from the factory with a computer, but by using the injection pump from the earlier OM603 it can be made fully mecha…
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I'd disagree with your statement that "the van isn't a big deal" in your last sentence. If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
I think he means that it isn't interfering with his romantic life. Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
It doesn't really matter because with dating - you only need to win once.
I did something similar. I wanted a vehicle I could explore the world with, so I turned my Jeep into a house on wheels with fridge, drinking water and filtration, solar and dual batteries, interior cabinets and a custom modified pop-up roof so I can stand up and walk around in the Jeep. I joked about applying for a home owners grant :) The full pictures and story are in this album - http://imgur.com/a/OLK3o I'm drivi…
Oh man, I remember reading your reddit post, and pooh-poohing your idea as stupid and irresponsible. I reckoned a Jeep was about the worst possible vehicle for the job, that you would break down and be stuck because nobody drives Jeeps in Africa. I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs, but it seems the Jeep has held up fine. I'm act…
Of course the landcruiser would have been. It also would have cost twice as much, and I couldn't get a diesel one in Canada.
Registering and insuring a vehicle in a country you don't live in is near impossible, and then renewing it while on the road is even closer to impossible. It's not something I wanted to deal with.
I find it strange the conventional wisdom is to drive a 25+ year old vehicle with 300,000+ miles instead of a near-near vehicle with My last Jeep didn't have a single mechanical issue in 40k miles from Alaska to Argentina, and of all the overlanders I have ever heard of (a lot) I have never heard of a single landcruiser or defender doing that.
It's all about choice, and variety. If we all did the same thing, life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it!