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I got an eye roll and a sigh from a younger fellow when I told him we use a Garmin GPS when traveling along with paper maps. I told him we use the phone for trips around cities but out in the boonies it simply doesn't work, especially if you want to change your route because the road is closed...

To answer the op's question, I have two 100W panels mounted on the roof. My rule of thumb is that "ideally" each should generate 5 amps for a total of 10 amps. Only occasionally do I see more than 10 and often less when clouds, smoke, sun angle, shadows etc hinder more optimum performance. With...

Sorry to be late to the party, but been away. We had oil canning last spring in a high wind situation. I crawled out of bed and deployed my speaker stand to very gently push hold the center of the roof up. I didn't press against the ceiling directly, but I didn't press against the rear lift bar...

I tried rubber snakes. Funny story. At Craters of the Moon NP in Idaho last summer we noticed a few ground squirrels running around the campsite while we enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail. I pulled out several of the rubber snakes I had purchased for just such an occasion and placed them just behind...

We always carry our winter coats balled up and stuffed into heavy-duty pillow cases to use as extra pillows. Came in handy this August when camping in the Sawtooth NF and woke up to 30 deg temps. Set the heater that night and next day woke up to low 50s so heater didn't run - go figure. We...

Yup Alan

If you are concerned about your battery charging, it is much cheaper and easier to add another solar panel than it is to change the wiring. It would also allow you to stay in place for a day or more depending on the weather. Alan

I thought we already had a thread for this topic: "You know you're a geezer when..." :D Alan

Yikes! At first, I thought you had the start of nice children's book about how you and your mouse buddy Wandered the West. Now I'm thinking it's more of a cookbook. Glad you and the camper are safe. The mouse too. Alan

Ah, if the fridge draws less than an amp, you've got no worries. You can run it 2.5 days full time before the battery gets unhappy. Have a great time! Alan

I think the questions you need to answer are: 1) How much current can your truck provide to the aux battery when your driving? 2) How many hours of driving are you planning on doing each day? 3) How much current does the fridge draw when it is cycling? 4) Given the heat you expect, how many...

The evolutionary purpose of ticks is to make more ticks. It is the biological imperative... little bastards. Alan

With regards to the louvered window beside the emergency window, we have a side dinette and use this window for ventilation when it rains. We seem to attract rain when we camp so this is not infrequent. We close the upper soft windows to keep water from blowing in but the louvers solve this...

Got distracted leaving Devils Tower NM. Drove one hundred miles through WY at 70+ mph before stopping for gas and noticing. No damage but the wife and I both double-check now. Bright side: I don't worry too much about wind damage anymore. Had the front passenger side latch come undone on recent...

We run with just the two of us. I don't see adding even a small one and making it work in our Hawk. There is surely more than one way to "Wander the West" and an Arctic Fox is as good as any and better than most. I assume you've considered and rejected a trailer or a small motor home. We're...

I'm sure your truck and the camper will be fine with that misalignment, but it sure sounds like you won't be so go ahead and fix it - it will be worth your while. Alan

And here I was only worried about alien abduction as we drove near Roswell, NM. There's a whole world of insulation-craving rodents out there to keep me up at night. I am dismayed to hear Old Crow's story about damage happening on a single overnight stay. I will look into one of those rodent...

That explains it then, thanks. I suppose if you're staying there for an extended time it makes a lot of sense. Maybe some enterprising animal rescue place will team up with an automotive accessory company and market a line of coyote pee products to spray around one's engine compartment. Alan

We recently completed a three week trip to Carlsbad Caverns through AZ and NM. We stopped at Gilbert Ray CG outside Tucson while we visited Saguaro NP. There were a lot of snowbirds there and we noticed something odd: many left the hoods of their vehicles open while parked - even overnight. Some...

Quite a few members have had issues with Renogy flexible panels. Renogy recalled them. Much of the concern seemed to be related to gluing them to the top of the camper where heat significantly reduced their output and led to failure. Other manufacturers haven't had this issue though heat is...

He actually wrote a series of articles, but here is the first one: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-real-story-of-2016/ Not to hijack the thread or anything... :D Alan

Buckland, It's not that the pollsters were wrong, but the interpretation of the polls by the press was deeply flawed. The polls were within their margin of error for nearly every state (possibly every state). The press considered each state's outcome as an independent event and made their...

Take a camping buddy with you to pick it up. Take this person with you on your first trip. Make that first trip as soon as possible after receiving the camper. So much info that's it's nice to have a second set of eyes and ears. Congratulations on the new camper! Alan

I use PeakAR for help identifying peaks. Doesn't always work as well as I'd like but it's free. Alan

The social conflict between urban and rural areas is ancient. Rural citizens generally get more in government services than they pay in taxes but reasonably feel they have little voice in governance. While I believe this movement is doomed, I wonder if each county in the proposed "New...