Any GTAM'ers have a tiny/micro camper? | Page 8 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any GTAM'ers have a tiny/micro camper?

From the pics I see it looks good.

hell if a volt can tow that I’m sure my WRX can tow something similar.
 
Something's borked on the forum this evening....images refusing to load and attach. @Paul ! ;)

Anyhow, interior pictures here.


Go to Images.
It looks like at least some of them have a stove beside the door where you have full height cabinets. I think I prefer the additional storage space/more pass through room that yours provides.

xHelio-O2-floorplan-11.jpg.pagespeed.ic.O8MUgE_g4r.jpg
 
anybody using solar to top up the house batteries?
 
anybody using solar to top up the house batteries?
It's theoretically possible, for most use cases, I wouldn't bother. You can calculate the power to use and therefore the power you need to generate. If you rigid mount the panels, that means you need to park the trailer in the sun with the panels in the correct direction. That may not be where you want to park and may not be the direction you want to face. If you put them on a separate rack so you can aim them easily, that is a pain to store, setup and move.

My thinking is most of the trips for this thing won't be that long and you will be moving reasonably often. House batteries may survive the trip as you are running LED lights and fan. If that isn't sufficient, either charge from the tow vehicle or run a generator a little (required if you want A/C).

I might put a small panel on the trailer (18x24 or smaller) so that it was always ready to go when parked between trips.
 
Yes I too prefer the extra cabinets versus just another countertop space with a stove. I bought a nice outside butane stove that we will probably use for 90% of our cooking and bought a single burner induction cooktop for inside/outside use.

We have induction here at home and it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, and less risk of any renters damaging the headliner if they choose to cook inside because of flame ups or excess heat - all of the heat goes directly into the cookware instead of the air.
 
As for solar I may put one of the new style flexible panels on the roof however it would only be to maintain the house battery against phantom draws as in reality the amount of panels you need for any significant charge rate exceeds the real estate space I have on the roof. ?
 
I'm thinking about a portable panel you can set up and plug in. If we're very careful we can boondock about 3 days on the house battery (lights and water pump) it would be nice to extend that.
 
I'm thinking about a portable panel you can set up and plug in. If we're very careful we can boondock about 3 days on the house battery (lights and water pump) it would be nice to extend that.
So how many kWh of battery capacity lasts you three days? You need to figure out the load to properly size an effective solar system.

Canadian tire (and I'm sure other places) sell what you are looking for ready to go. Wait for a sale. I leave a smaller version in the tinny to keep the battery running the auto bilge pump happy through the summer.

 
So how many kWh of battery capacity lasts you three days? You need to figure out the load to properly size an effective solar system.

Canadian tire (and I'm sure other places) sell what you are looking for ready to go. Wait for a sale. I leave a smaller version in the tinny to keep the battery running the auto bilge pump happy through the summer.

Is that charging 6 or 12 volts? I'm looking for something for my motorhome so i don't have to run the generator. i only run the LED lights for the most part
 
hell if a volt can tow that I’m sure my WRX can tow something similar.

Jury is still out on that, for the record.... ;)

As for the solar vs generator thing, the ONLY thing I'd personally rely on solar for is maintaining the house battery when the trailer is in storage, not actually providing any meaningful level of charge while camping. I rely on my generator for that, or plugging in to shore current whenever we do happen to find ourselves somewhere with power. I also have the option of using the Volt to power the trailer as well, something I may actually opt for on occasion as the car starting and stopping occasionally is quieter than even my little Champion inverter genny.

On the generator front, ToSlow, if your onboard unit is too noisy/annoying and all you need it for is charging your house batteries, consider picking up a little Honda 1000i or 2000i. The 1000i is the cats meow so long as it'll provide enough power for your house battery charger (which it may not) as it's sooooo tiny and compact. The 2000i or one of the many other inverter options available now is another great option and is almost certainly going to be quieter than the built in genny.

I like my lights and frills too much to be a watt-pincher when camping. I like it to be bright inside and to power things from the battery (inverter to charge the laptop etc) while boondocking or on a campsite without electricity. If it means I need to run my quiet inverter generator for an hour or so to recharge the next day, so be it.
 
Jury is still out on that, for the record.... ;)

As for the solar vs generator thing, the ONLY thing I'd personally rely on solar for is maintaining the house battery when the trailer is in storage, not actually providing any meaningful level of charge while camping. I rely on my generator for that, or plugging in to shore current whenever we do happen to find ourselves somewhere with power. I also have the option of using the Volt to power the trailer as well, something I may actually opt for on occasion as the car starting and stopping occasionally is quieter than even my little Champion inverter genny.

On the generator front, ToSlow, if your onboard unit is too noisy/annoying and all you need it for is charging your house batteries, consider picking up a little Honda 1000i or 2000i. The 1000i is the cats meow so long as it'll provide enough power for your house battery charger (which it may not) as it's sooooo tiny and compact. The 2000i or one of the many other inverter options available now is another great option and is almost certainly going to be quieter than the built in genny.

I like my lights and frills too much to be a watt-pincher when camping. I like it to be bright inside and to power things from the battery (inverter to charge the laptop etc) while boondocking or on a campsite without electricity. If it means I need to run my quiet inverter generator for an hour or so to recharge the next day, so be it.
Since you have a shower now, what's the hot water situation and how is it powered?
 
Since you have a shower now, what's the hot water situation and how is it powered?
Standard propane RV hot water tank, although a pilot light based system, not auto-ignition. Oh, the humanity LOL.
 
Standard propane RV hot water tank, although a pilot light based system, not auto-ignition. Oh, the humanity LOL.
Haha, I have no problems with pilot lights for hot water. They keep the water hot. Pilot lights in furnaces or fireplaces on the other hand are helping you half the time and hurting you half the time.
 
I’ll admit I’ve grown partial to the “flip a switch” electronic ignition tanks, but I will survive lighting my hot water tank like a mere peasant. Somehow. ?
 
Booked a campsite out at Presquille for the first weekend in May for the shakedown camping weekend....although if the weather cooperates I strongly suspect we'll have been out at least once already somewhere else.

$110 for 2 nights in a power site, and only limited facilities (IE no showers) because of Covid. Jeebus....I know it's been about 7 or 8 years since we last booked at a provincial park after selling our last trailer but I seem to remember it being about $80 for 2 nights which I thought was bad enough then.
 
Booked a campsite out at Presquille for the first weekend in May for the shakedown camping weekend....although if the weather cooperates I strongly suspect we'll have been out at least once already somewhere else.

$110 for 2 nights in a power site, and only limited facilities (IE no showers) because of Covid. Jeebus....I know it's been about 7 or 8 years since we last booked at a provincial park after selling our last trailer but I seem to remember it being about $80 for 2 nights which I thought was bad enough then.
I booked a few weekends in June and July it is pricy think I will take the trailer so we can use the shower. I may do a few Boondock weekends with the old class b just to try it once I have it finished.

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there are two types of solar panel, the really inexpensive CTC type on an angled stand need to be in complete sunlight, if a tree leaf falls on the panel all the cells wired down from that stop producing. The good ones are pretty expensive. Some of the RV's that are coming with a set of panels on the roof dont work as well as they should , they are often cheaper panels. something about mono crystals vs poly crystals , science something...
 
Havn't done the real math yet. My battery says "79 A.H. @ 20hr" . 79 amp hours dosen't sound like much but it's an RV specific battery.
It will run lights and water pump about 3 days.
I'm planning to upgrade the bulbs to LED. My meager research leads me to believe about a 100w folding solar set-up would be the way to go.
Crankcall - monocrystalline are more efficient and expensive than polycrystalline.

Surprisingly I don't know a lot about solar panels and I have a 10Kw system on house roof. I know what's important - IT MAKES MONEY.
(when the government starts handing out money you can either complain or start filling out the forms)
 
Booked a campsite out at Presquille for the first weekend in May for the shakedown camping weekend....although if the weather cooperates I strongly suspect we'll have been out at least once already somewhere else.

$110 for 2 nights in a power site, and only limited facilities (IE no showers) because of Covid. Jeebus....I know it's been about 7 or 8 years since we last booked at a provincial park after selling our last trailer but I seem to remember it being about $80 for 2 nights which I thought was bad enough then.
What are you doing to the class B, is it something you're building or repairing?
 

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