29 replies to this topic

[natjwest]

Quite the expediton. Did you get the surepower hooked back up? Did you visit the battleground while you were at the lave beds?

Hi Craig, no I didn't get the Surepower hooked back up. I'm debating a Hellroaring unit, or a 1314, or most likely just a big battery switch under the hood so I can keep the Surepower out of the loop during most driving, but with the flip of a switch, put it back in the loop. That's probably how I'll solve that problem. Well, that and some nice 1/0 gauge wire.

And no I didn't visit the battleground, but did read the history. We'll probably visit there again next year and have it on the list.

Thanks everyone else for the sentiments. One thing I should have mentioned is that we have many more years of trips ahead of us because we're homeschooling. The road is as good a classroom as any I reckon.

[SunMan]

Outstanding report...i think your daughter had it spot on... without a doubt that was indeed a real road trip. Great adventure, can't believe you scored Mattole completely empty.

[marc]

Way COOL! What a trip. Thanks for sharing the adventure.

marc

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Great report and photos! Thanks for bringing us all along for the ride.

[natjwest]

... can't believe you scored Mattole completely empty.

Yeah, it was a great visit. No rain, not too much wind, nice puffy clouds. On that road in via Honeydew and Humboldt, my daughter and I couldn't imagine that anyone else would ever visit there. It's a LOONG way from anywhere. We were at Gold Bluffs Beach in June and that was a zoo, but the conditions were better at Mattole in February! We'll definitely be back there, my wife was jealous.

[natjwest]

Hi Craig, no I didn't get the Surepower hooked back up. I'm debating a Hellroaring unit, or a 1314, or most likely just a big battery switch under the hood so I can keep the Surepower out of the loop during most driving, but with the flip of a switch, put it back in the loop. That's probably how I'll solve that problem. Well, that and some nice 1/0 gauge wire.

After more research, and realizing I need to upgrade off the Surepower 12023A (because my new alternator is too many amps), I am going to put in a 1315-200 with no switch. I like how that unit lets you run alternator directly to truck battery, then from truck battery to camper battery, unlike the Surepower isolators which run the alternator power to the isolator, then split to the two batteries. I'll get solar on the camper not too far in the future, so I think that will be the best setup.

[pods8]

Good read and great trip with the daughter. I'm looking forward to being able to do similar stuff with my little dude!

[Desert Rancher]

That's probably how I'll solve that problem. Well, that and some nice 1/0 gauge wire.

I think you are jumping a bit off the "deep end" here. I recall your "problem" was a bad alt, which is fixed.

https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4178/page__fromsearch__1

Go back to your old post and re-think, do you consume "that much" power (amps) in one sitting that you need to re-charge in a few minutes...

If a battery is low, you want to slow charge it - not dump 130A into it. It will boil water and acid out.

You other guys jump in and help out here. Pods knows this stuff

Sorry the trip wasn't the best memory!

[natjwest]

I think you are jumping a bit off the "deep end" here. I recall your "problem" was a bad alt, which is fixed.

https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4178/page__fromsearch__1

Go back to your old post and re-think, do you consume "that much" power (amps) in one sitting that you need to re-charge in a few minutes...

If a battery is low, you want to slow charge it - not dump 130A into it. It will boil water and acid out.

You other guys jump in and help out here. Pods knows this stuff

Sorry the trip wasn't the best memory!

Good points here. The alternator upgrade isn't intended to recharge the battery. It's intended to run a kick-ass thumping stereo, a snow plow, winch and 20 spotlights.

No, seriously, the upgrade is done and installed. I could have justified either a 105 or 145 like I got, but I was in a pinch and actually couldn't source a 105 at the time. And yes, my driving/battery usage habits tend to be winter luxury camping which uses a lot of amps per evening, followed by very brief (a few miles max) driving during the day. I didn't size the alternator in an attempt to charge my (pair of) batteries in a few miles of driving. I now acknowledge that I need a solar panel to address my needs appropriately.

And you must not have read the whole TR because the trip was the best memory. I'd do the whole thing again in a heartbeat, we had so much fun when things weren't sucking.

[UglyScout]

I think you are jumping a bit off the "deep end" here. I recall your "problem" was a bad alt, which is fixed.

https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4178/page__fromsearch__1

Go back to your old post and re-think, do you consume "that much" power (amps) in one sitting that you need to re-charge in a few minutes...

If a battery is low, you want to slow charge it - not dump 130A into it. It will boil water and acid out.

You other guys jump in and help out here. Pods knows this stuff

Sorry the trip wasn't the best memory!

I was thinking the same thing. Avoid the shotgun approach, find the root problem and solve it. I don't think you did when you replaced the 1st alternator. It sounds like you got it solved with the 2nd alternator and the rewiring.

As for needing solar, if the batteries where fully charged to start and where getting charged each time you drove - you'd have had plenty of power for the camper and starting. I ran my camper for 3 days with the heater set pretty warm at night, lights, water pump, some inverter usage and had plenty of power to spare at the end without starting the truck once. Do you have a 12v fridge (that might push you into solar territory)?