Sunday, April 16, 2017

Getting ready for a power upgrade

So, we are getting ready to upgrade the power set up of our 2003 Allegro Bus from a 2000 watt modified sign wave inverter/charger to a pure sign wave inverter/charger. We will also be adding 300 watt solar with an MPPT charge controller. We've received some great insight from a friend of ours, but looking to see what others might suggest.

Quite frankly, we are not quite sure why they sold this RV with a Modified Sign Wave Inverter. The microwave has never worked right on it. I'm wondering if we should replace the current Inverter/Charger with just an inverter and then leave it up to the 'Solar' to charge the batteries, or if we should indeed do a one-for-one change out. Currently. we live full time in our rig and have it parked at an RV park in Sacramento. The rig is under trees, but the end I plan to put the panels on is pointed south and has a fairly clear exposure to the sky.

If we go with the Inverter/Charger route, is there going to be any problem with there being effectively 'Two chargers' on the battery bank.

Lastly, we currently only have about three outlets on the 'Inverter'. Should we keep the wiring the same and again only energize the three outlets, or should we make the process a little more manual where I plug the RV 50 amp plug into an interior plug, which is powered off the inverter when we unplug from Shore power. If we take that approach, how do we keep the inverter from trying to charge the batteries (Because it is getting 120 volts from it's power source) and draw from them at the same time.

I'd really welcome any and all input. Thanks!


Monday, April 3, 2017

Our second trip to see the poppies

A few years back, Eric tried to give Carol a surprise trip to see the California State Poppy preserve to see poppies in bloom. That year turned out to be not such a great year for the bloom and as a result, the surprise ended up to be kind of bust because it was such a poor water year. Also, the place where we choose to stay, in 'Lancaster' was a bit disappointing because of the unending wind.

This year however, with the weather being a much wetter winter, we thought we might have more success at seeing some poppies in bloom. Also, we thought we might change our accommodations and hopefully stay in a place that might be a little less windy. So, this year, instead of traveling straight to Lancaster, we thought we would stay in Bakersfield.
Though we have stayed in Bakersfield in the past, we thought we would try an RV park that we had never stayed at before. We stayed at the 'River run RV park' in Bakersfield. This RV Park is right next to the Kern river and was a wonderful place to stay. The park is about 10 years old, and has all of the modern immunities such as well equipped Laundry Facilities, a club house, store and swimming pool. The park is run by a husband and wife team and they are doing an amazing job with the park.





On our first full day on the trip, we made a run out to the Antelope valley, home of Lancaster and the poppy fields to check out the reserve. On our drive out there, we drove over the 'Grapevine' an arterial road from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. And for these veteran 'Grapevine' drivers, we were admittedly a little surprised as to how green the hills were leading up to the Grapevine.






Once we got to the reserve, the day was a little cold and windy, but we had a much better opportunity this time to check out the flowers. Though, the cool wind kept the flowers still somewhat retracted, there were a lot of sheltered areas that gave us an chance to check out these beautiful flowers.




Reports were that the eastern part of the park, had the best blooms, and that report was correct.






Though our first full day was full of driving from Camp to the Antelope valley, we took a little slower pace on our second day and included some time sitting and relaxing outside and enjoying the warm sunshine and cool breeze. This really is a beautiful park with a great location, especially if your sight is one to back up to the river.


On this second day, we did run into Bakersfield to check out the old part of town and to grab a bite to eat at a 'Woolworths' Luncheonette. This particular dining establishment was part of an old 'Woolworths' store back in the mid-1900's but was closed when the chain closed down. However, someone reopened the Woolworth's luncheonette as a unique dining experience. It was great, because we got to sit at the counter and enjoy a 'Burger and Fries' together. It was the first time Carol got to sit at the 'Counter' of the luncheonette.






The rest of the old Woolworths, was converted into a massive 'Antique Mall'. Even to be found in the 'Antique Mall' was some great treasures to be found. We had a great time on our trip to see the Poppy's and Bakersfield. We will definitely return here again.

Safe travels everyone!

Eric and Carol Anderson