Stormwind

I know that Chinese diesel heaters are supposed to be the way forward. But I am typically out in 14d increments and the OEM diesel tanks seem to hold 2-3 days of fuel. If I ever do install a CDH I’ll likely mount a diesel tank under the van and fill it from outside.

We have a Eberspächer fuel heater that uses gasoline rather than diesel fuel, and it is tied directly into our van's fuel tank. It seems rather efficient - over the course of a week below freezing we only noticed the gas gauge going down a little.

We really liked Fort Stanton/Snowy River Cave NCA too - it even brought back memories of limestone hills in Texas' Edwards Plateau. It eventually got too warm in mid-July while we were there but we plan to go back in cooler weather. In addition, the easy access to Capitan for supplies and Amazon locker deliveries at Brewer's gas station was convenient (I did some van repairs using some Amazon supplies we picked up).

At the time Rob Jagger's Campground was closed for an equestrian event unfortunately, so we ended filling up water in Capitan at Mama Bear's RV park for a small fee ($5 I think).

Reminds me of a few months ago when part of Lincoln National Forest closed due to the the fires near Ruidoso.

The closure notice described the designated area for closure in such a way it was very hard to understand and visualize, and this closure notice didn't include a map of the closed area. I had to just call the Capitan Ranger District HQ and ask if the area in which we planned to dispersed camp was open or closed. I thought it was in the designated area for closure, but the ranger said it wasn't closed and was open!

We moved from Fort Stanton/Snowy River Cave NCA up into the Capitan Mountains - it was a scary drive up the mountain, but we loved it up there.

Update: near Los Alamos/Jemez Springs, NM we had a pack rat build a nest in the engine bay right under the Rid-a-Rat between my periodic checks of the engine bay, so perhaps it doesn't work as advertised.

The GPX file seems to be truncated at 1MB, but the CSV file seems to have more entries.

I imported the CSV file into a Google My Maps, then exported KMZ from there into GaiaGPS for my own use.

Re: mouse wars:

I've been using a Rid-a-Rat Model RC-2 for over a year now and haven't had any rodents in the engine bay yet.

It is overpriced for what it is (low power flashing LED light) but it was easier than making my own or doing something manual every night.

Starlink dishes need an open unobstructed view of the sky to communicate with the satellites. You'd need the dish to be outside and then be in range of the wifi from the dish's router (or other routers or mesh system you set up).

IMHO Starlink is best when living or boondocking in remote area without other options and with enough open sky view to get a decent connection. I have a Starlink dish on my van to get internet access when 5G coverage is not available.

The new Starlink Mini dish might be of interest - a small dish, power-able by 12-48V DC or USB-C PD. In the US it is $600, then $30 a month but only 50GB per month before extra charges.

FMCA TechConnect+ has some plans including an unlimited but speed capped AT&T plan for around $60 a month.

I've found these Android apps useful:

• Trail Sense and it's Solar Panel Aligner tool (given a time length or all day, calculate and assist alignment of panels to maximize production)
• RV Solar Forecast to see theoretical maximum possible
• Sun Surveyor to see where I can put my portable panels to get the maximum light without shading

Re: this post and "cheap portables experiment":

I use the Powerwerx Panelpole outlets inside my van, but on the outside the "weather tight cover" failed to stay closed and would frequently pop open, exposing the port to weather.

I put it under a secondary cover and used it for my outside DC outlet, and replaced my external solar panel outlet with a CNLINKO LP-28 2-Pin IP67 Waterproof Connector rated up to 50A.

I did that so if I leave my external panels outside overnight, I didn't have to worry if an unexpected rain storm gets the outlet wet.

We have very little open room in our van, so I spent stupid money on a compact 400W folding solar panel for "van roof in shade" and "need extra power" days.